1989 Nissan Pintara GLi 2.0

Summary:

Flimsy trash, but strangely reliable

Faults:

The odometer stopped working soon after I bought it, so it's hard to tell how many km I have done, and even harder to tell when I should service it.

I've been skinned a couple of times during what I'd hoped were routine services, where the garage found over $1,000 worth of stuff to fix. This could of course be due to my own naivity.

I accidentally broke the aerial, and purchased another that was designated for my model, but didn't fit. I assumed that although my car was first registered in 1989, it was probably built in 1988. I looked for a 1988 aerial, but they don't exist. I still get only one radio station.

All four doors latches are continually coming loose. The back doors must be pushed shut firmly, or they will spring half open - very annoying if you've just locked them locked them. Every six months the drivers door needs to be re-adjusted because it does not latch firmly enough to extinguish the "open door" warning light. The interior light has actually drained the battery twice because of this.

Every single vent in the dash (4 of them) have broken. You have to jam your little finger between the louvers to adjust the direction of air flow.

General Comments:

The seats are comfortable, but there is no lumbar support - a pretty common feature even in 1989.

The air-con has been great and required no service.

The car always starts first time and runs well.

For a 2.0l, it has heaps of interior space. It is competitive with pre-1986 Commodores in interior space.

The windscreen wipers are annoying. They are set below the fringe of the bonnet, and cannot be lifted for cleaning unless you run them up the windscreen first. They also have a minimum 2-wipe cycle which dives you nuts when there is only a little rain.

Power is OK with one or two adults inside, but sluggish if under load. Avoid towing.

Space in the boot is good, but not compared to modern cars.

These cars have plummeted in price of late (but most have). For A to B travel, they are quite good at $1500 (used in 2003). Nothing seriously major has gone wrong in my car, but the little things that break make me mad. I have two friends who has joyfully discarded their Pintara, and they had similar niggly problems to mine.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 15th February, 2003

1989 Nissan Pintara GXE 2.0L

Summary:

A reliable economical large car

Faults:

Only issue is with the air conditioner when I bought it, evaporator core is apparently leaking.

Rear wiper works on a random basis.

General Comments:

It is a reliable dependable car, which is cheap to run and quite rugged.

This is one of the best cars I have ever owned in my entire life. I do not know if I will ever find a model of car of this high calibre!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 10th January, 2003

1989 Nissan Pintara GLi 2.0 petrol

Summary:

A very reliable all-round type car.

Faults:

Only age related problems. Firstly, there was a hole in the resinator, fixed at a cost of $80.

Then the exhaust pipe broke off from the engine itself, $200 to fix.

Other than this, no complaints at all.

General Comments:

Very lucky with this car, no problems, and despite the kilometres, still had enough go when you needed it.

It will be a shame to see it go.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 4th May, 2002

1989 Nissan Pintara GLi 2.0 single point injection

Summary:

White-goods on wheels, but good reliable transport nonetheless

Faults:

Mainly wear and tear issues.

Viscous fan hub died just after I bought it. $300 I didn't need to spend.

"Feet" mode of the fan blows at about mid shin. It annoys me.

Common styling means it doesn't stand out in a crowd.

Child seat restraint shows in the back window. An annoying distraction.

General Comments:

Good car. Has a touch of "Japanese White-Goods on Wheels".

Driver's seat is slightly dead, but understandable at 200,000km.

Bumpers hang slightly after a few minor taps.

Interior has too many "holes" where there were unfitted options.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 20th August, 2001

10th Aug 2002, 07:58

As the original author of this review, and the car's now done 218000 km (last count) It's been a serviceable steed. Nothing's gone wrong with it in the last 12 months - only the fan hub thingummy.

It's light on fuel, it's got more spark plugs than any of my friends cars (they can't drive V8s - P plate laws in Victoria) and it will do 150 km/h on a straight stretch.

Read some of the Gregory's manual - it's more technical than anything built by Ford or Holden in about 1994, and it's a 1986 design.

Find a good Nissan, they'll serve you well!

15th Dec 2007, 17:45

Original writer of the review again. The same car has done 356,000 km - it's about to be written off because of an accident, not through wear and tear. Find a good Pintara, change the oil frequently and you will have many years of solid reliable motoring!

1989 Nissan Pintara GLi 2.0 litre efi

Summary:

A reliable practical car with hidden talent

Faults:

Apart from a persistent oil leak in the engine, this is one of the most reliable cars I've known. Nothing ever seems to go wrong with it.

General Comments:

Everything's good about it, except, obviously for a 4 cylinder it's a little tired. But still it's a very comfortable reliable car, and has the legs when you need them.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 19th March, 2001

19th Jun 2005, 20:32

Try a pod filter.