Lovely looking car, but my first thought was "Respray". Can't prove it. But. Still it was nice, and couldn't see any major or minor structural issues.
The things that put me off were
1) Sticking Electric Window Switch
2) Strange clunking when changing gears between 1st and 2nd
3) Lack of Power Uphill (not even steep hills) - Accelerates fine from standstill, but lacks uphill strength unless you slam the gearbox into
3rd or 2nd and give it a bit of welly. Stick your foot down in fourth, and it just sits there under load not doing anything, making a raspy noise from the engine.
4) Veers to the left when you let go of the steering wheel - guy said it was because tyre was underinflated. Im not convinced, though it did look a little flat.
I used my Blazt cable and checked the sensors... TPS, MAF, RPM, O2 etc... all looks fine.
Rocker box cover contents look fine. No gunge, no mayo. But the car just looked too clean for an eight year old P11 Primera.
Was I right to avoid it, or should I have waved a few notes in his face, pumped up the tire, changed the spark plugs, leads, distributor and rotor and ran off with a bargain?
Cos I tell you, I really want that car, and I'd be devastated if these are all easily solvable items. Tell me they aren't?
Cya Simon
Didn't find your answer? Ask the community — no account required.
S
SteveH
Does not compute. It's a Primula. Nice enough cars, but you could never say they were 'lovely looking'.
What about the sills, where they meet the rear arches? - they *all* rot there. Water gets trapped in the sills, sloshes around and they rot from the inside.
'They all do that, sir'
Which engine?
Sounds iffy to me.
Plenty of P11 Primulas out there for sod all cash. Find another.
S
Simon Dean
I can't help it. I have a thing for Nissans. I would have a thing for the P12 if you could change the Radio and fit your own one in their N-Form console.
They may all rot, but, I guess it's a question of when. mine started rotting 5 years ago. My mothers car is still going strong. This one I saw though, erm, shall we say, in terms of paint job, it didn't look too good - it was either dirt, bad polishing, or that was how the car originally looked before they blended the paint work in.
No they dont! Seriously. I know two lots of Primulas who havent done that, of the same age or older than this car.
SR20De.... (2.0 Litre)
Just heard a suggestion that it might have been the cat?
I must admit, when I've had underinflated tyres, I've found that the steering is harder to pull, but, I've never really noticed a veering sensation.
Yeah, but it's a problem trying to find a Primula that's been fairly well looked after - Im not after anything immaculate, don't mind the odd dent, or the odd clunk on suspension, but the engine has to be clean and has to have power, and the bloody electrics and options have to work!
It's also bloody difficult finding one that hasn't been used a taxi with sky high mileage. this one only had 88,000 miles for £850.
formatting link
Cya Simon
R
Ron
You did well to walk away, most people buy a car because it looks nice. It's been repaired after a crash by the sound of it. That would explain pulling to the left unless he forgot to have the tracking adjusted. Forget plugging cables in, learn more about cars as your device can only give limited info. Why would you be happy to drive it with a flat tyre? The lack of power is probably because of the weight of the car and the small engine it has. Clunking between gears doesn't sound good. The switch is easy to change for the window. So which parts did you check underneath? Did it have a new MOT? Any HPI check? Why would you want to change plugs, leads and distributor?
Leave it and move on. Get someone to examine the next car for you.
S
Simon Dean
Something left me feeling cold about the paint job. There were paint bubbles on the rear bumper, dark paint areas on the front bumper, the sills were either dirty, or someone hasn't painted it properly. If it has been repainted, they've done good job, but I looked down the ridges in the boot etc, and something just didn't seem right.
Im sure you can appreciate though, with modern engines, I can get details of the TPS, MAF, O2, make sure the ECU is working correctly, even perform power balance tests.
Shouldn't that be, why is he happy to let people drive it with a flat tyre? What is he hiding? Maybe the suspension is shot but explained as a "flat tyre"?
It's a 2.0 Litre. The same as my P10, the same as my mom's P11. They both pull like anything and are speedy up hills. That was one of the reasons I took offence to him suggesting I just wasn't used to a manual! Reminds me of when my Auto was jumping in and out of torque lockup. Nissan garage said that was normal. I proved it to be a problem with the TPS that they had changed! Other Nissan garage readjusted the TPS but didn't know there were two screws to adjust it properly.
That's another reason why I think it's quite important to check out the sensors. If you can verify that the sensors are OK, and there's still a problem.... Well, I think I answered that question then :-)
I notice he kept talking all over the clunking... And then only let me drive when the clunking seemed to stop.
The engine was also warm when I went to view. Dodgy git.
Still more expense. Turning an £850 car into something more like £1300+
Well I only really gave the underneath a quick skim. I was focusing more on the body work and the sills. I didn't notice any suspension clunks or exhaust rattling etc while driving, which was positive. And the engine looked clean inside and out.
An MOT since May, but he's only had the car for a week, from an auction. Oh, and he isn't the registered keeper.
I followed that £6.99 one on eBay. It has had a couple of number plate changes. From the original to a cherished plate, then back to the original 9 months later. That final change was about 2 years ago.
If that would have fixed the problem, together with a tyre inflate, I could have had a decent car for very little money.
I don't think I did too bad a job. I am quite observant. It's just that voice of reason and second opinion to say "It's pulling to the left, those dull sills you see, are dull sills because the rest of the car IS painted, it's lacking in power because of XYZ". And of course the quick reminders to check the exhaust, look at the suspension arms etc....
As I say, everything else looked fine. The brakes had bite, no lips on the discs, the clutch felt good etc etc.
R
Rob graham
If he can't be bothered to pump up a tyre when trying to sell a car I wouldn't be very interested in his car.
Rob Graham
S
Steve B
That's the P10 (1990-96) that rots there without fail eventually. P11's (late 96 -99) don't rust anywhere except minor stuff under the rear spoiler on GT's. The P11-144 (99-2001) seems to be OK as well.
S
Steve B
The clunking when changing gear could be something as simple as the exhaust not hung properly, or engine mounts soft causing too much engine/exhaust movement. I still wouldn't touch it though, Primeras should drive as good as new at 200,000m.
The only clunk they are prone to is due to play in the front multilink suspension's top link, which is generally just an annoyance not an MOT failure as 1/4" of play is allowed in it before it fails as it's not a safety issue, I've got a copy of the bulletin from Nissan to MOT testers somewhere. New top links have a bit of play in them by design and still clunk a tiny amount anyway. Costs about £150 a side to fix in a garage, or £30 with a DIY job using pattern parts. Any other clunks should definitely not be there.
S
Simon Dean
Was that only a problem with the P10 (Clunking suspension, of which I take my MOT bulletin everywhere I go just so I can thrust it in the face of the MOT guy when he fails it on the top link for excessive play...)... Or does this problem also affect P11s?
Personally, I was more worried about lack of engine power up a hill.
Cheers Simon
S
Simon Dean
The price on eBay eventually rose to £620 - Reserve not met! Oh, that made my day. Shifty git.
Cya Simon
T
Tim..
10:1, the cat or exhaust is blocked.
Tim.
S
Steve B
P11s have the same clunk as P10s. The power loss is very unusual, my P11
2.0 hardly notices hills.
Join the Discussion
Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.
Didn't find your answer?
Ask the community — no account required
Report Content
You are reporting this content to the moderators. They will look at it
ASAP.