2005 almera advice

Ardennes1944

im thinking of getting a 05 almera probably hatchback soon. its seems to be a pretty good deal all round. cheap compared to a corolla or mazda 3, pretty reliable, can be nice looking and well equipped.

now afaik renault took over nissan 10 years ago or so and i have heard that there a few problems with gearboxes and that the timing chain can stretch and cost nearly a grand to fix. would most of the gearbox problems have been fixed under warranty like the old corolla vvti oil burning problem.

any almera owners here with some advice? is the fact that a 05 good spec almera with average mileage going for around 4500 telling me something?

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1489994
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1423123
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1505245

appreciate any replies.

kasper

there was a very long thread here about 05 almeras and headlights people were ringing joe duffy and the like because nissan wouldnt do a good will gesture and they were hundreds to fix , two of the cars listed have an nct for what its worth the third doesnt , some one that was following it up might reply here

ianobrien

I've a '05 Almera Hatchback. I bought it three years ago with 19K KM on the clock, it's got 143k KM now. In that time, all I've put into it (besides service consumables) was 2 heater motor resistor packs (€50) and one heater ECU.

Edit - Oh ya, I've also had to change the headlights. Look at the date codes on the top of the headlights to see if they were changed)

The spec on the Irish cars was reasonable for the time. Air con wasn't in the hatchbacks in '05, but was in '06. Saloon's I'm not too sure about. The only option was for a Sunroof

Driving wise, it's reasonable. Granted it's no Elise, but it's fairly reasonable and can be hustled along. There is no point it screaming the engine above 5.5K, but economy isn't too bad for reasonable driving (45mpg is easy).

Rear leg room can be a fraction tight if you've got big people up front, but the seats are comfortable enough. I drove one from Cork to Donegal and didn't suffer any aches/stiffness after the journey.

The big problem is the combined heater/radio controls. I find them OK, while others at home can't figure them out at all. Have a look OP and try to figure them out.

OP, Ask the owner of any potential purchase to drive it first. If they change gear like a bear, that's not good as the gearboxes don't take abuse well. Also, the three ads you linked have problems - The one with the 17' alloys I wouldn't touch unless the original wheels were thrown in for free (not enough give in the sidewalls of the low profile tyres), the secone one doesn't have a/c, but the ad says it does (the button is blank) and the third one, the paint is a bit "flat"

Ardennes1944

thanks lads. reliabilty is a must but i do look after my cars very well so once the gearbox isnt fcuked before i get it, i cant see anything happening to it by me.

jaffa20

TBH, if it's reliability you're after, i'd go a year older for a corolla for the same price or seek out a bargain and negotiate. It would hold it's resale value better.

Ardennes1944

yeah i was looking at the corollas but even a 04 corolla would be at least 5000

For Forks Sake

Without a shadow of a doubt one of the worst gearboxes in existance

Ardennes1944

and if worst comes to it how much to replace gearbox?

PhysiologyRocks

I drove one of these one day.

It was unpleasant.

It looked fine, but it felt very wrong.

Everything was functional.

The drive just made me feel sad.

shamwari

Deutschlandfürimmer7 wrote: »

and if worst comes to it how much to replace gearbox?

Depends on what needs doing, but I reckon you'd be doing very well if you got away for less that €1200 parts and labour to recon a box.

If I was offered a clean Almera with low mileage at a good price then I'd chance it. However I'd change the gearbox oil with every second or third engine oil change. Some of the shafts wear in the box and fill the oil with tiny pieces of oil and swarf. As this goes around the inside of the rest of the box, it causes premature wear of some of the other internals too, making failure inevitable. Make sure the gearbox doesn't make a whining noise when you take a prospective purchase on a test drive!

Another Almera problem is stretced timing chains. These chains have an automatic tensioner which will keep the chain tight until it reaches the limit of its adjustment. Initial symptoms of a chain fault is a loss of performance and then a slight missfire. It may put the engine management light on with a fault code related to the cam position sensor. Replacement is not that cheap.

EPM

We had an 03 almera and primera from new for a couple of years. Stupid electrical problems, dodgey door locks, pigs on juice. My dad hated Ford's but that's what the replacement was. Complete and utter piles of dung. Not even decent cars to drive and the almera was tiny inside for the size of the car

Ardennes1944

then whats the alternative guys?

bazz26

Ford Focus:
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201020198053197

Mazda 3:
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201033199249764

Opel Astra:
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201032199177157

Ardennes1944

cant afford any of those. 4700 is my max really

bazz26

Deutschlandfürimmer7 wrote: »

cant afford any of those. 4700 is my max really

They are garage asking prices. With some good haggling you could have at least two of those cars within your budget. All 3 cars are light years ahead of the Almera.

Ardennes1944

not the focus, dated looking, but i love the mazda 3 my parents have a 07 saloon and the astra is also very nice.

bazz26

Deutschlandfürimmer7 wrote: »

not the focus, dated looking, but i love the mazda 3 my parents have a 07 saloon and the astra is also very nice.

Everyone to their own but I cannot see the Focus being anymore dated than the Almera you were looking at.

Ardennes1944

my personal preference on looks would defo be the almera, updated in 2003 compared to 99 for focus

bazz26

Fair enough but the 2003 model Almera was only a mild facelift of the car onsale since 2000.

Ardennes1944

mild facelift it was, but it made a big difference in my opinion, specially the lights