04 Micra Pre NCT Test

Ace07

Any advise /help appreciated

Brought car for an NCT pre-test and got a report saying it will cost me circa €2k for repairs to pass, which obviously isn't worth it considering age of car and what it's worth (76k miles) .
Prices quoted are as below with faults found . This is from a recognised Nissan dealer . I will obviously get it checked elsewhere but this car has been services regularly , every 12/18 months and bar the starter being worn I wouldn't have noticed there was anything wrong from driving it .
The last time I was there the guy said the ignition contact was only a small part and easy to replace ?
I'll probably just have to take it on the chin and was looking at a new car anyway but any advice appreciated.

Thanks

Reverse Light switch € 81
EML on dash for timing chains € 980.00 (there is also an oil leak at top of engine & gearbox but we can clean that up if we are doing the chains)
Starter motor is worn along with ignition contact € 493.00
2 rear tyres are ok
2 front tyres are worn €72 fitted & balanced
Brake fluid flush € 64
Air filter € 19

tomdempsey200

run it through the test and see what happens

Saucy McKetchup

Ace07 wrote: »

Any advise /help appreciated

Brought car for an NCT pre-test and got a report saying it will cost me circa €2k for repairs to pass, which obviously isn't worth it considering age of car and what it's worth (76k miles) .
Prices quoted are as below with faults found . This is from a recognised Nissan dealer . I will obviously get it checked elsewhere but this car has been services regularly , every 12/18 months and bar the starter being worn I wouldn't have noticed there was anything wrong from driving it .
The last time I was there the guy said the ignition contact was only a small part and easy to replace ?
I'll probably just have to take it on the chin and was looking at a new car anyway but any advice appreciated.

Thanks

Reverse Light switch € 81
EML on dash for timing chains € 980.00 (there is also an oil leak at top of engine & gearbox but we can clean that up if we are doing the chains)
Starter motor is worn along with ignition contact € 493.00
2 rear tyres are ok
2 front tyres are worn €72 fitted & balanced
Brake fluid flush € 64
Air filter € 19

For nct you will need
Reverse light switch
2 front tyres

That is it
None of the rest are checked

Ace07

Thanks guys. What risk do I take by not getting timing chain replaced or starter motor in short term, is car likely to pack it in ?
Can I assume timig belt cost is due to being very labout intensive to strip down ?
I might just get the tyres and light and try the test . Won't worry too much about €200 as happy to have new tyres for safety reasons.

mickdw

If you have the timing chain issue, it will likely get worse to the point of non starting.
Still, no reason to get it done for the NCT and if you are not seeing any issues, no reason to get it done at all yet.
As pointed out above, get the reversing light fixed and get tyres if you need them. Dont be going to nissan either.

Ace07

Thanks Mick and others. I'll get the necessary bits done and try the test.
It seems from here and talking to a few others that the other bits aren't part of teh NCT test so might get away with it for a few months while I shop around for an upgrade .
Appreciate all the coments .

bazz26

Pre NCT checks are a waste of time and nothing more than a money making racket imo. Also bringing a 10 year old car to a main dealer for one is just madness.

Ace07

Thanks Bazz. To be fair to them they have serviced the car over the years at a fair price and I've hardly had to spend a penny on it bar a service every 18 months .
I'd say 'madness' is a little extreme, but in saying that I'm sure one of their sales team would be happy to speak to me if I wanted to look at a trade in if repair costs were too high !

Ace07

Also the pre-NCT test is free, no obligation to get any of the suggested repairs done with them. If I get tyres and braking light done and that saves me failing and having to redo and pay another NCT fee then I think that's fair enough .

coylemj

Ace07 wrote: »

Thanks Bazz. To be fair to them they have serviced the car over the years at a fair price and I've hardly had to spend a penny on it bar a service every 18 months .

Yet when you submitted the car for a pre-NCT check they discovered a few very expensive faults, most of which would not affect the car's ability to pass the NCT.

If they were above board and not out to screw you and given that it wasn't a service but a pre-NCT check, they should have given you two separate lists - one identifying faults that needing fixing to pass the NCT and the other a list of fixes you should consider having looked at sooner rather than later to avoid bigger bills in the future.

The faults with the reverse light and front tyres you could have discovered yourself by doing a visual, that should tell you that pre-NCT checks are a waste of money. Even if they're free, they usually involve a shopping list of expensive repairs as happened with you.

JohnBoy26

A decent independent should be able to sort out the chain for a good bit less. Anyway as others have said drive it into the nct and see what it fails on.

Ace07

I know you've all mentioned that they can't fail on the major items as they aren't checked for NCT however I was just thinking can they fail it based on an orange warning light on the dash? ie the engine management light (EML) mentioned in the report I got ?

bazz26

Ace07 wrote: »

Thanks Bazz. To be fair to them they have serviced the car over the years at a fair price and I've hardly had to spend a penny on it bar a service every 18 months .
I'd say 'madness' is a little extreme, but in saying that I'm sure one of their sales team would be happy to speak to me if I wanted to look at a trade in if repair costs were too high !

Ace07 wrote: »

Also the pre-NCT test is free, no obligation to get any of the suggested repairs done with them. If I get tyres and braking light done and that saves me failing and having to redo and pay another NCT fee then I think that's fair enough .

While the pre NCT might be a no obligation check, the objective here is to drum up new business either by encouraging you to get them to do the repair work, buy parts, etc. to pass the NCT or cut your loses and buy a newer car from them. It works with some people, not with others.

Not suggesting there is anything wrong with what they are doing, it's a pretty standard business model at bringing in new business. It's a bit like Specsavers offering free or half price eye tests when they are really trying to sell you a new set of glasses.

Ace07

I realise they are hoping to get a sale from it and some unscrupulous places will try it on of course.
I'm just looking for advice on best course of action which seems to be to get the light and tyres and then hope it passes.
I'll be looking at a replacement soon anyway, just don't fancy 5 pen points and a fine if stopped in the interim.

Can anyone comment on warning light? Will it automatically fail if orange light on dash. Can that be turned off by garage?

djimi

Find a decent indy, say nothing about what the dealer has told you, get them to check out the EML and mention that its going in for a test and could they give it a quick once over. See what they come back with. Chances are the list wont cost anything like €2k...

Ace07

Can anyone recommend a decent garage for this? I'm Dundrum area but anywhere south side Dub or not a million miles away would be fine, Thanks again for replies.

Atlantic Dawn

Ace07 wrote: »

Can anyone recommend a decent garage for this? I'm Dundrum area but anywhere south side Dub or not a million miles away would be fine, Thanks again for replies.

Bring it in for the NCT then you have a definitive list of what needs to be fixed and you can bring it to dealers or call them over the phone getting prices as you will have a list of what's needed. At the moment you have a list of items that may or may not need to be fixed in order to pass the NCT.

mickdw

I'm open to correction on this but I think the engine light in itself is not a reason to fail on a petrol car at least.

toyotaavensis

Ace07 wrote: »

Any advise /help appreciated

Brought car for an NCT pre-test and got a report saying it will cost me circa €2k for repairs to pass, which obviously isn't worth it considering age of car and what it's worth (76k miles) .
Prices quoted are as below with faults found . This is from a recognised Nissan dealer . I will obviously get it checked elsewhere but this car has been services regularly , every 12/18 months and bar the starter being worn I wouldn't have noticed there was anything wrong from driving it .
The last time I was there the guy said the ignition contact was only a small part and easy to replace ?
I'll probably just have to take it on the chin and was looking at a new car anyway but any advice appreciated.

Thanks

Reverse Light switch € 81
EML on dash for timing chains € 980.00 (there is also an oil leak at top of engine & gearbox but we can clean that up if we are doing the chains)
Starter motor is worn along with ignition contact € 493.00
2 rear tyres are ok
2 front tyres are worn €72 fitted & balanced
Brake fluid flush € 64
Air filter € 19

Reverse light switch could be got from a breakers and fitted cheaper than €81 by an independent mechanic.
Independent will charge 300-500 to supply and fit the chain. Is there a rattle from the chain or is the rev clock wobbling a bit?
You could get the starter reconditioned for a couple of hundred or chance a second hand one for not much money.
Get good tyres
Brake fluid flush should be at most 50 in and independent mechanic
Air filter is a tener or so at a motor factors. You can fit it yourself in under 2 minutes.

I wouldnt do any of these until you send it for a test first. See what the NCT say needs doing and go from there.

micraX

Ace07 wrote: »

Also the pre-NCT test is free, no obligation to get any of the suggested repairs done with them. If I get tyres and braking light done and that saves me failing and having to redo and pay another NCT fee then I think that's fair enough .

If it only does fail on brake lights and tyres that's only a visual, not more nct fees. Check fuse etc on lights and wiring to switch, might be a simple fix.

toyotaavensis

If you put money into the car now and it fails and you end up off loading it you have wasted your money.

gooner99

I have an old Mazda 323 as a runabout. 14 years old. Body is pretty rough now, but the engine just keeps on going. She always goes into the NCT without going near a garage first. I do the usual (I'm by no means skilled at motors), give it a good clean inside and out and tidy up anything I find that I can do myself. I then check the oil, water , washer level, bulbs, wipers and tyres and top up or replace as needed. I give her a good Italian tuneup and on the day of the test I arrive at the NCT just on time with the engine nice and warm. Last Year she failed or ball joints and headlight being off. So far touch wood the emissions have been ok. She will be in next month again. Damn the year flies by.

Anyway OP I would just fix what you know they will check and put it through. You will then see if you need to fix anything else for the retest, that's if you need a retest. Once you have an NCT you can then decide what to do. I'd suspect you may get the work done at an indy a bit cheaper. I only ever went to the main dealer during the warranty period. So with a 10 year old car you have options and can shop around.

Notch000

Ace07 wrote: »

Any advise /help appreciated

Brought car for an NCT pre-test and got a report saying it will cost me circa €2k for repairs to pass, which obviously isn't worth it considering age of car and what it's worth (76k miles) .
Prices quoted are as below with faults found . This is from a recognised Nissan dealer . I will obviously get it checked elsewhere but this car has been services regularly , every 12/18 months and bar the starter being worn I wouldn't have noticed there was anything wrong from driving it .
The last time I was there the guy said the ignition contact was only a small part and easy to replace ?
I'll probably just have to take it on the chin and was looking at a new car anyway but any advice appreciated.

Thanks

Reverse Light switch € 81
EML on dash for timing chains € 980.00 (there is also an oil leak at top of engine & gearbox but we can clean that up if we are doing the chains)
Starter motor is worn along with ignition contact € 493.00
2 rear tyres are ok
2 front tyres are worn €72 fitted & balanced
Brake fluid flush € 64
Air filter € 19

the starter motor is not worn until it wont start EVER, i replaced my own a few weekes ago, 40E from breakers yard, only 3 bolts to swap out.

EML is probably nothing to do with a worn timing chain, TC will get noisy as it gets nackered

sjco

if the chain is stretched it will bring the light on it won't fail on the light but may fail on imissions due to the timing being slightly out. common problem with the micra usually struggles to start doh

Ace07

Guys, bringing this old one up and glad to say after replacing the tyres and braking light the car passed the NCT no problem, even though engine management light was on .

The problem I have now is that things have started to deteriorate .

The starter motor / ignition switch seems to be close to going as I'm having trouble starting it sometimes. It takes a bit of fiddling around with and it's only a matter of time I feel before it just won't start.

Also I have to assume that the diagnosis re the timing chain were correct or else there is some other problem as it has cut out on me a couple of times in the last week. Once while on the M50 and just had to pull in (just lost power and no response from accelerator) , gave it a few minutes and started up again fine and nor peoblem for a few days, but then had the same when stopped at a set of lights today , where it took a couple of minutes to get started again .

I've decide to get it fixed by independent garage if possible (ideally as someone said further up 300-500 for timing chain and maybe 100-200 for starter motor and iginition switch) as I'm going to give it to my sister who could do with a second car as she has 2 young kids and had been looking at a run around .
Can anyone recommend a local garage that they know are reasonable and might do the work for this kind of money? I'm in Dundrum but anywhere no a million miles away would be fine . Thanks in advance .

Ace07

This is directly from the Nissan dealer report . SOme of you more knowledgeable people may understand these codes but from what I can see it may not be a timing chain job, Certainly from what some have said above , I don't hear any noise or rattle from it .

Reports and recommendations
P1706 p-n pos sw/circuit. P0011 int/v tim cont-b1 - State - RED
Timing chain required. Starter motor and ignition contact required

Looking online at P1706 and P0011

P1706 Nissan - Park and Neutral Position Switch


P0011 Nissan - Intake Valve Timing Control Performance Bank 1

(from engine-codes.com)
Possible symptoms
- Engine Light ON (or Service Engine Soon Warning Light)
- Possible engine lack/loss of power
- Posssible engine rough idle

toyotaavensis

Intake Valve Timing is controled by the timing belt.

Ace07

Thanks Toyota . Is it possible the timing chain doesn't need to be replaced then ? Looking back at service history the timing chain was actually replaced back in 07, by a Nissan dealer, €80 parts and €200 labour .
I definitely need to get a second opinion anyway.

Anyone know a good trustworthy garage/mechanic , southside preferable .

djimi

2007 is a long time ago. How many miles has the car done since then?

Ace07

About 35k miles since . I was more pointing out the cost . If I rememeber they may have done it at a discounted price as it was only 3yrs old , but they've quoted €980 this time . Someone above said a local garage would prob do it for 350-500?
Basically if I can get it , provding that is the problem , and the starter motor and ignition contact/swicth done for about €600 all in I'd get it done asap .

jca

Ace07 wrote: »

About 35k miles since . I was more pointing out the cost . If I rememeber they may have done it at a discounted price as it was only 3yrs old , but they've quoted €980 this time . Someone above said a local garage would prob do it for 350-500?
Basically if I can get it , provding that is the problem , and the starter motor and ignition contact/swicth done for about €600 all in I'd get it done asap .

If you get the chain done you should consider shortening the service interval to no longer than 12 months.

toyotaavensis

It could be something else but the key thing is that the timing chain will rattle if thats the problem

toyotaavensis

also have you a rev meter?
if so is the needle wobbly?