Corolla v Primera

alisonj

I'm looking for a new (to me) car -- something safe and reliable. Mainly for collecting my kid from school, going to the shop, the beach, park, etc. A few times a year we might drive to other parts of Ireland.

I was initially looking at a 2006 Nissan Primera, as I was hoping to stay in the €3000-€3500 range. But, I've seen a few and I'm not sold -- they seem a little plastic-y. The one that we would be most likely to buy (if we did) is a T-Spec, 68000 miles, no service history provided, NCT until August 2017.

I've now considered raising my budget a bit -- found a Toyota Corolla (2005) with about 75000 miles. Full service history with Toyota. NCT expires January 2016. It's priced at €4500. A few questions:

1. Would I be getting a much better car in going with the Corolla?
2. I've read the "sticky" on this forum with tips for examining a used car (VERY helpful). But, is there anything in particular I should bear in mind looking at these two cars?
3. Would you bother with a 3rd party mechanic doing an inspection on either of these (they are both available through dealers)?
4. Would you be at all concerned about an NCT set to expire in January?
5. How much room for negotiation do you think I'd have on either?

Sorry for all the questions -- I haven't bought a car in a LONG time and never in Ireland (I'm not Irish). We did buy a car here last year, but my husband bought it, rather impulsively, and it turned out to be crap. So, I'm a little overly worried about getting scammed again.

Thanks!

ianobrien

Don't get a Primera of that era. They are regarded to be unreliable, and give electrical, gearbox and window regulator trouble.

flended12

I'd a 2005 primera SVE 1.7 and for some reason the only main thing went wrong was electric driver window motor gave up. Replaced.

It drove forever and just stopped one day - due to yours truly not taking care of it.