1991 Nissan Micra GSX 1.2
Summary:
Very reliable, quick, and cheap to run and maintain!
Faults:
Rusted fuel filler pipe at 68,000 miles, but the car was 11 years old!
Replaced rear shocker at 85,000, again foran 11 year old car, not bad!
Replaced headlight... started to steam up due to missing seal on bulb holder... thanks to the previous owner.
Handbrake stopped working on one side... but hey, its 11 years old!!
Usual odd bulb, oil changes, etc.
Don't take any of these negative comments as "Oh no, I had better not buy one of these"... as all of the above were rectified cheaply and easily, as the car is really easy to work on! It's a car of the era where you can take a Phillips screwdriver and a spanner to any part of the car, and take it apart easily... unlike today where you need to hook most things up to a computer first!
General Comments:
This car has been absolutely amazing. It's fast, reliable, and very well built. And this is from a car that was essentially designed in the early 80's! OK, the 1.2l version came about in the late 80's, but it's essentially the same body!
It pulls away very quickly, and the car cruises nicely at 60. At motorway speeds, it gets a little louder and shakier, but lately I've been driving longer distances, and the temptation to cruise at 80 is easily satisfied. I've had this little car up to 98MPH. I felt well shaken after the event! In fifth, it can tend to slow down a little when cruising on motorways and the incline goes upwards!
Although I'm sure we're all adult enough on here not to take this point too seriously, but it'll out accelerate your Fiesta's, Clio's and Saxo's if you get the revs up quick enough, and wow does the engine purr when revved, it's like it enjoys being revved! If you want to know what an Audi drivers face looks like when you overtake his sporty saloon in your J reg Micra, then it's worth buying one just for that!
As you can see from the mileage, I've done 24'500 miles in this car in a year and a half, and it's not broken down once. Nor has it failed to start. The only thing is that on a bitterly cold morning, it can take a couple of attempts and a few revs to get it to stay started. But it's never failed, and to be honest, I have every faith in it going for a lot longer yet. Micra's I've seen in the scrap yard are up to 120'000 miles.
The great thing about this car is that it's of an age where you can pick up spares in the scrap yard! So lets see... Nissan headlight, £40+... scrap yard price, a £5er will do it. Rear shocker, well, I don't know how much, but scrap yard price, £2! I agree with other reviewers though that genuine Nissan parts are very expensive. I needed a tiny component for my brakes, which Nissan quoted me £60 for... scrap yard price, 50p! And it looked pretty new too...
To summarise... Buy one!! I paid £500 for mine, it was in almost mint condition, with body coloured bumpers and tidy interior. I paid the insurance and tax and got it MOT'd in May... and 7 months on, I haven't spent a single penny on this car other than petrol.
All this car needs is a regular oil and air filter change, and it'll just keep on going.
It's just a shame that this era of Micra is starting to come to an end, as like most old cars, they get to a point where the parts become more expensive than the car itself. I'm going to run mine until May 2004, then trade it in against an Almera.
Yes, another Nissan. If it's one thing I've learned from all of the reviews I've red on the Internet and from people I know, Nissan's (like most Japanese cars) refuse to break down.
I quite liked what one reviewer once wrote about Nissan... and it was the only comment he wrote. "If you buy a Nissan, don't bother with breakdown cover. You won't need it". Never has a truer thing been written.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 17th November, 2003
17th Apr 2004, 15:28
My micra has done 98000 thousand miles. I have just renew head gasket, and exhaust, the car has never let me down they are brilliant cars. who ever says there heaps they are sadley wrong.