Micra - any good

ANSI

Friend is looking for a small car with two year nct. Wonder what people think of
this car

Would the one litre engine be Ok for long journeys. Any comments re Micra in general appreciated. He is male is it more a girls car?

mondeo

ANSI wrote: »

Friend is looking for a small car with two year nct. Wonder what people think of
this car

Would the one litre engine be Ok for long journeys. Any comments re Micra in general appreciated. He is male is it more a girls car?

Ye it's a girls car

colm_mcm

My missus has one. Great yoke, biggest issue is that the cv joints are tiny weak things that frequently go but they're cheap.
Grand around town but lost on the motorway, engine screams at 120kmph. As a result she gets 27mpg on motorway runs. Great mpg if you drive below 80kmph but that never happens.
A 1332cc starlet would be a better bet in that respect.

dharn

that car looks overpriced and it is very girly also

colm_mcm

dharn wrote: »

that car looks overpriced and it is very girly also

The guy selling it is a bit of a comedian

garclo

micra -any good

not two words you hear together that often!

pajo1981

kermitpwee

colm_mcm wrote: »

The guy selling it is a bit of a comedian

:D:D:D

meoklmrk91

In my opinion that car is overpriced for what it is. If I had that kind of money to spend that would not be my choice of car, and speaking as a girl I would see that shape Micra being more of a girly car, but I wouldn't look down on a lad for driving it in fact I would think he is being more sensible for not getting himself a 95 civic or starlet which often have the **** driven out of them. If I were him I'd go Polo all the way, I have one and I am happy out with it, very rarely gives bothe and you still get the cheapness of of 1L in a more asexual car if you will;).

Jarren

OP

if your friend really have to....

http://cars.donedeal.ie/find/cars/for-sale/Ireland/?filter%28make%29=Nissan&filter%28max_price%29=3000&filter%28max_year%29=2005&filter%28min_year%29=2003&filter%28model%29=Micra&source=all

Much better value IMHO

veetwin

Ridiculously overpriced imho. Just got a Peugot 206 for my niece with one third of that mileage for less than €2k. Ok it was 2 years older but still. Also a bloke could drive a 206..that well you would have to ask him..

bazz26

Crazy money for that model Micra which was never really loved the same or as reliable as previous models.

I'd be looking at the Ford Fiesta. 1.25 litre will be a bit better on motorways than a 1.0 litre. My sister has one for over a year and has had no faults with it.

This seems good value for money:
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201135204158465

rai555

1.0 micra engine is chain driven, so no hassle with timing belt

robbie_998

rai555 wrote: »

1.0 micra engine is chain driven, so no hassle with timing belt

so ?

my 1.4 civic is chain driven... who cares ?

loads of cars are using them now instead of timing belts !

which is smarter really

anyway to the conundrum at hand

girls cars.. its a micra... over priced.. cheap and tacky ... not comfortable ... wouldnt trust one on a motorway ... wouldnt bother my hole with one !

sorry but there are other cars out there that are a good price and are a bit decent ... even for hatchbacks !

Raskolnikov

Nothing wrong with that car at all. The engine certainly isn't as bad as folks are making it out to be, 67HP isn't that bad, especially considering that this car is well under 1,000kg. Car is perfectly fine if most of these things are in your friends criteria.

1. Cheap to insure.
2. Cheap to tax.
3. Low yearly mileage (think 5k miles).
4. Mostly national road driving.
5. Decent reliability.

EPM

robbie_998 wrote: »

so ?

my 1.4 civic is chain driven... who cares ?

loads of cars are using them now instead of timing belts !

I'd care when I was spending €3-400 on a new timing belt.

robbie_998

EPM wrote: »

I'd care when I was spending €3-400 on a new timing belt.

i was just making the point that the micra isint the only car in the world using a timing chain.

AndrewBond

rai555 wrote: »

1.0 micra engine is chain driven, so no hassle with timing belt

O yeah! But they suffer a lot from stretched timing chains and that is way more expensive to fix than replace a timing belt on ANY car. These micras also giving troubles with power steering units (electrical) - about 2 grand to fix.
Its more older people who are driving them then girls by the way.

Definitely overpriced. For this sort of money you can get Yaris, which is good or even early Honda Jazz which is absolutely brilliant. I know folks who are selling Jazz for less than 3 grand and apart from dent on the rear door car is in good shape and has less miles on the clock

biko

It's an ok car, not all that comfy for longer journeys but cheap on the petrol, insurance etc.
For around town, go for it.
For inter-city travel, not so much.

I prefer the old shape but then again, function before fashion eh

mmarks

Just my 2c worth, but nearly 100,000 miles on a 1 litre engine, 8 year old car for nearly 3.5k? Seriously overpriced.

Nothing wrong with a Micra, but I would be looking at a max of 2.5k for that car (probably less).

Keep looking would be my advice, there are plenty of low mileage, full history, well looked after cars for the same or less money.

rai555

AndrewBond wrote: »

O yeah! But they suffer a lot from stretched timing chains and that is way more expensive to fix than replace a timing belt on ANY car. These micras also giving troubles with power steering units (electrical) - about 2 grand to fix.
Its more older people who are driving them then girls by the way.

Definitely overpriced. For this sort of money you can get Yaris, which is good or even early Honda Jazz which is absolutely brilliant. I know folks who are selling Jazz for less than 3 grand and apart from dent on the rear door car is in good shape and has less miles on the clock

chains get stretched if oil changes does not happen in time

rai555

EPM wrote: »

I'd care when I was spending €3-400 on a new timing belt.

i'd care if time belt breaks

barura

If your friend is doing long journeys, something like a 1.6 ford focus hatchback would be a nice common ground. Easy to manoeuvre and, due to the petrol engine, be okay for doing short hop stuff also. 3.5k should get you that car no problem, with change for tax and a few months insurance.

I drive a small car and have done some long enough trips in it... Not comfy at all, though it is doable.

AndrewBond

rai555 wrote: »

chains get stretched if oil changes does not happen in time

You are right. Still there are plenty of people who don't even know that oil has to be regularly changed. I'd say you'll be surprised how many of them are around.

rai555

AndrewBond wrote: »

You are right. Still there are plenty of people who don't even know that oil has to be regularly changed. I'd say you'll be surprised how many of them are around.

I think they are saving on the oil change and not oil only - air filter etc

Suprab1

As already said chains stretch if not serviced properly & alot of people just take for granted that they are fine. Micras are good little run arounds but suffer bad from under body rust as do all nissans. Yaris would be a better buy or the older 1332cc starlet which really is bullet proof.

Oh & don't buy a polo/ibiza & especially the 1 litre 3 cylinder as they are known for giving trouble with the valves & will cost more than the car is worth to fix.

billyhead

Op,

I had a micra for about 8 years. First car and passed my test in it. Their excellent little cars. Very economical and well build and reliable. Great for city driving. Only reason I sold it on was that it was a bit small for me. Apart from that I would highly recommend them. Had hardly any trouble with it.