Thinking of getting a Micra but needs some help??

Hello all

this is my 1st post and also say hello to everyone in the forum.

i,m thinking of getting a micra as i heard there engines is superb and overall great cars but apart from that i dont know that much about them, so if anyone can help me with some answers i would be very gratefull.

the car that i,m interested in is:

nissan micra 1.0s 2000 in red with gray interior (private sell)

  • 12 month mot (01/12/2010)
  • FSH - no idea if its nissan
  • comes with 2 keys
  • loads of old bills
  • two owners from new
  • new breaks just fitted
  • new bosch battry
  • new wipers
  • new tyres
  • coolent changed ready for winter
  • just had service done
  • £800.00

thats as much as info about the car as i have.

now here are the questions if some are stupid please bare with me:

- are the 1.0s engines 16v?
- are they reliable and nippy compare to a clio 1.2 lets say?
- does the 2000 year have a cd player as standard?
- is there anything i need to ask the current owner or anything to look out for or test for know issues on inspection?
- any idea how much is that tax on these please?

i have asked the owner about mileage and other stuff (tax) as soon as i know i will post.

thanks all for reading
 
Hi, welcome to the club! I'll try to answer your questions :)


  • Yes they're 16 valve
  • 59bhp, compared to the Clio's 60, but probably much more reliable. They're pretty bombproof engines and nippy
  • According to Parker's the S only has a cassette player
  • Check the sills and crossmember for rust, make sure there isn't too much timing chain rattle
  • 6 Months tax: £68.75, 12 months tax: £125
Hope this helps :)

James.
 
hi James

thanks for that, really helps.

ohh i had a clio 1.2, it was ok but it had rattle issues inside the car, everything rattled like if it was made from left over plastic. the build quality was simply crap. i hope these micras are better and dont suffer from silly issues.

there are so many trims on these micras, S, celebration, vibe etc

i will check parkers guide if it does turn on out to be cassette when i view it is it a pain to replace it with CD/MP3 player if so are there any recommendation for that type of car and is there any adaoters and wires i have to get, what kind of price we lookin at to change that if you know?

sills i know, crossmember i dont know what that is timing chain rattle defantly no idea what that is? :grinning:

if you could / anyone clarify please.

what a decent mileage for that price for that age of the car?

what are these like on motorway doing 70+? would it try and die or struggle like the clio for example :)

cheers its very helpful
 
Alright man, welcome.

micras are amazing. lol.
Changing it to a cd/mp3 is really easy mate, as you just need to un screw the casset and get yourself a new cd player and fit the cage to the space, plug it all up, which you usually get with the cd player.
The crossmember is at the fron of the car, just behind the bumper, if you openthe bonnet and look straight down its a square frame bar that runs along the bottom, they are really bad for rust, but if you get one which is ok just fill it up with some wax or sealer to stop water from gettin in and thats sorted.
also look out for ones if they have a sun roof, they have drain hoses which run into the inside of the sills which is a big reason for them going, again simple to sort, just take the hose out of the sill and put it out through the wheel arch.

timing chain rattle is when the chain which keeps the engines internals moving correctly, if it starts to rattle, ive had 3 micras and had friends who have had them, never had an issue with that.

ohh and btw, youll pump a clio no bother, i used to have a 1.0 liter micra before my 1.3 and youll keep up with anything up to a 1.4 no bother atall.

Get one basically :D
 
Motor way speeds are perfectly do-able but are pretty noisy, and you will feel the cross winds, but thats no different really to their small car contemporaries. They can be encouraged to hustle along much quicker than other motorists will be expecting. So look out for folk pulling out and changing lanes!
 
omg that is the second face-lift micras i will be very surprised if there is anything wrong with it and that price is about right for what he is asking 94k is nothing mate i say go for it you wont regret it
 
hi jim_bling

than ks for that mate, can i ask what so special about been 2nd face lift.

94K i would of thought its a lot to be honest.

little options like electrics windows and PAS, ABS and cd player would of been nice lol

does it even have A/C for dreaded winters and worm summers?

Thanks
 
omg that is the second face-lift micras i will be very surprised if there is anything wrong with it and that price is about right for what he is asking 94k is nothing mate i say go for it you wont regret it

x2 :grinning: that milage would,nt bother me at all (10k/year)
 
yaa itd does seem about right but also brutal. i sat in a cleo with about 50k and it was 2001 or 2000 and it was so flat in terms of power compare to the cleo i had, same power and spec in everyway. that could of been a dog but i alwyas though when a petrol engine gets to those kind of mileage they start to loose them selves unlike diesels.

i maybe wrong. i was hoping to find a 50k at least.
 
you will be very lucky to find a 50k millage car for that cheep and in the second face-lift they are better with rust and have better parts on them as well i just sold my 1.4 sport + and i loved that and i paid 2.5k for it and it had 71k miles
 
well i,m just worried mate, i'll buy it and then gasket goes or something silly like that, i,m student at the moment and my pride and joy i sold (RX8) i sold to help fund for my MSC, but i do need reliable car for job interviews or potential house moves i,m not expecting it to be like my rex but just something reliable and good drive till i ge settled and buy an aston martin lol.

sorry to ask this but does it have an AC?

p.s added more pictures
 
no it doesnt have a/c it does have pas and cd player is easy to change keep fit windows are better anyway as its less to go wrong and there is no way the head gasket can go on it unless you proper rag it to death with no coolant in it or anything
 
cheers mate

no ac, so in this weather you freeze to death, or in summer you sweat to death :)

if i wanted one with that, which one should i be looking at?

to be honest as long as it keeps me cool in summer and warm in winter thats what i need it for. if i want one with climate control i have to pay the price.

sorry for the ignorance but i have to ask :)

thanks
 
you'll wont freeze in the winter and be boiling in the summer as they still have heaters fitted and windows!
 
Hi! Wont go wrong with a micra (Y) :grinning: Yea seats fold down. Did 400m motorway drive in the micra with one short stop. No problems at all!
 
cheers all

well as long as theres heaters and fan that enough. it sounds enourging to get one.

back to the car above, now the guy said there is no tax on it and i did say to him that i will be coming from a distnace to see it so and also since there is no tax on it would you be nogitable with the price.

he said ohh def yes as well as he took on board because i,m covering a fair bit of distance 65 miles approx there wil is petrol money to consider. he seemed fairly considerate towards that. i did ask if there is any rust but he assures there is none at all.

now in terms of price i was thinking £500 area

what do you all think? and also what do you think of the car judgeing from the pics and description?
 
£500 sounds good mate,

see if you can twist his arm a bit though eh?


cheers mate

but i want to be reasonable. its on sale for £745 with no tax, that brings it down to £620. cost of petrol back anf forth with 2 cars say £70

that brings it down to £500, thats how i worked out to be honest.

and i think its reasonable.

looking at the spec and condition of the car i cant spot anything that will make it cheaper for me apart from mileage and owners?

He did also say its HPI clear as well but no prove of it.
 
Looks Like a really tidy example! and if your hot in summer rolld down both front windows! works for me!
good luck (Y)
 
Be happy with £700 mate. You'll have trouble finding one in as good a condition as that for £700, let alone £500.

You can't really ask him to pay your petrol money. It's not like you're being forced to go look and buy the car.
 
i dont know if it were me i would go for the second one purely because of the mileage but with so little details you wouldnt know if it were cared for as much as the other.
 
Silver celebration SOLD, the owner of the red one cant make it tommorow only at 5.30pm or 8.30am kind of difficult to be honest.

kind of wandering does he want to sell the car or not?

another thing i take it this comes with cigarette lighter for the satnav etc?
 
I'm a bit late posting, but you can go wrong it seems. I have a 1999 1 ltr, I bought it with 91K had it service and theres nothing wrong with it at all.

A/C I was warm enough at -5 on friday... can't comment on summer.... I live in wales...

Seats fold down and you can fit two mountain bikes in..just : )

CD player is easy enough to change, you may need an ISO adapter depndant on model.
 
hello mate

noo not at all, its really good to hear about these cars as to be honest i never really looked in micras before till now and have picked up a lot already from here.

i will go and view it tommorow, the guy seems ok when i spoke to him so fingers crossed.

by the way CD player is def must for me, whats the speakers like by the way?

and did you mean Can't :)



I'm a bit late posting, but you can go wrong it seems. I have a 1999 1 ltr, I bought it with 91K had it service and theres nothing wrong with it at all.

A/C I was warm enough at -5 on friday... can't comment on summer.... I live in wales...

Seats fold down and you can fit two mountain bikes in..just : )

CD player is easy enough to change, you may need an ISO adapter depndant on model.
 
quick update

just had a text from the owner saying to me "its had a new throttle cable on"

should i be worried thinking its been revved to death or maybe a careful owner.

is this siginificant to get it replaced?

thanks
 
quick update

just had a text from the owner saying to me "its had a new throttle cable on"

should i be worried thinking its been revved to death or maybe a careful owner.

is this siginificant to get it replaced?

thanks



throttle cable is nothing to worry about, 42000 miles is nothing for a nissan and for £750 it looks and sounds a bargain...............



buy it before some one does
 
hi Andy

i,m afraid that one is gone yestrday it looked good actully but anyway.

quick update on the red one:

i went to see it, the owner was late which was not a good start and meeting at asda carpark which i though it was a bit wierd.

anyway he came down after about 3-4 calls and a voicemail considering he suggested the time and place.

he came and strightaway i asked for a drive:

- it seemed OK to drive and then notice a knocking noise coming from front passanger side when i turned. i asked and he said that the drive shaft is gone on it and hes got a 2nd hand spare in the boot (which he has), he said it only costs a tenner to fit. for him maybe but not for me necessarly.

i inspected the car:

- all paperwork is there with milage proof (very quick inspection).

- the interior wasnt as clean as he made out, the steering wheel rubber wasstained and warned out.

- there was rattle or something when the car was idling i think this was the timing chain which i said to him.

- back bumbar seemed dislodged or something with it from driver side.

- the registration was not under his name.

- no tax.

- was more then adent, with couple of gashes on the same side.

- cut long story short i start asking him whats his price and he said tell him and i did i said £550.00 he got all defensive and high rated about i,m taking the #### and he said not worth coming down. really apart from what i mentioned above he approach and attitude completly put me off the car (when he said that i though man your no good).

he noticed my uncles car merc a140 and it had an accident 2 days ago lorry drove on to it while his wife was driving and did a runner.

he said the micra is in abetter condition then that car, well i said why we talking about that car as i,m buyying this.

i was nice and friendly and civil with him, i did expect the same back and honest i would of nogitated with him up to the price we can agree on.

all and all he said i have 5 mins and i have to go as he was rushing off and he banged on how he was offered £650.00 and declined.

he wanted £700.00 for it, i wanted to say why didnt you say this on the phone when i asked but at that point just not worth chatting to him or getting the car.

complete ass not worth it in the end and plenty of good examples out there.

but really his attiude stinks.

by the way he rang me when i emailed him so i thought that was encouging at the start but not strigt up from the get go.


this is what he wrote onhis ebay add:

non paying bidders will be reported to

cogent debt collecter of leeds...

i hope this expereince help other members and also i'll be looking for similar example as the celeberation above with 40k+ for a similar price and adecent seller. if anyone see any please let me know.
 
ello mate

ohh defantly it just felt right to leave it and only things i regret is the HPI check and waken up my uncle around 6am for this.
i know that was good one.

i can wait for another one of these to pop up again.

thanks for the links will havea look.
 
where are you based? Ive got a 98 Micra with 112k on the clock that runs sweet as a nut for £500. Brand new front tyres, 6 months mot no tax though but can tax(6 months) for £50 more.

im based in the scottish borders.
 
good call on walking away.

guy sounds like a right cowboy.
not punctual, poor manner, afew issues not mentioned on ad, him expecting you to be able to swap a major driveshaft for cheap, going off topic against the merc etc

and most of all his excuse to rush along cos another buyers offered £650. now thats a classic cowboy move as a method to threaten and hopefully stress the person into making a quick and uncalculated decision to buy it now.

never ever fall for that trick. the car is prob our 2nd biggest investment and you as a customer should fully inspect at ur own pace and make sure the car is up to ur standard at the right price. you make the decision not them.

it's not like its the only offer in the world, there's plenty of more fish in the future
 
hi Aardvark

bit too far away mate, thanks. i,m based in teesside.

@pollyp

i have never baught a car from ebay is usully from autotrader or pistonheads so this def a new expereince doing it via ebay.

well said, and exactly that. fact he wouldnt even look at me just rang alarm bells. like you said plenty of fish in the sea and speaking of that. i have found another.

i will post in abit, your opionions please on this?

thanks
 
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