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A 1998 1.8 manual 4-door saloon, imported used from Japan. Not Sunderland built. 75,000 miles on the clock, air-con still ice cold, pearlescent white paint still shines and no signs of rust... Still not a bad looking car IMHO. A credit to Nissan. It's all gone gradually downhill from then hasn't it?! Have cars really improved that much in the noughties?
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I bought a new Sunderland built 1.6SX (celebrating Nissan's success in the British Touring Car Championship) in 1998. Excellent build quality. Brilliant handling.
Kept it for 3 years and 25000 miles. Best car I've had.
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That pre facelift version of the Primera was very nice to drive, up there with the Mondeo at the time but with revvier engines.
The interior was pretty horrible though, especially the nylon stuff they used for the seat coverings. Used to get the most amazing electric shocks when getting out of a 90s Primera in the winter. Don't think a Van de Graaf Generator could have developed a higher level of static charge.
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>>..up there with the Mondeo at the time but with revvier engines>>
Ford based the suspension of the first Mondeo range in 1993 on that of the 1989 Primera and made no secret of the fact.....
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I think the 90's were a good period for car design and production. Most of the worthwhile features, like central locking and ABS, and generally good rustproofing (galvanised steel) had been adopted, while retaining some accessibility and not too much computerisation/multiplex wiring to throw the average home mechanic.
I think most 'progress' since then has been in production techniques (i.e. cheapening) and to satisfy increasingly daft legislation to limit CO2 output.
I see plenty of 15-20 year old cars about now in reasonable condition (we own two of them!) but I doubt that many 2010 models will be around in 2030, if only because some relatively trivial fault will be too expensive to fix.
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I always liked 1990s cars. It's not just the Nissans though... Dad's 1998 Citroen Xantia went to folks in our village a few years back and they still have it. Immac rust free body and still cruises about the fen smoothly at 150,000mls +.
I'm positive about car improvements since then though. The new Xantia (C5) is larger and faster yet gets another 10mpg, safety is much improved with traction/ABS/ESP and if you do crash a better bodyshell/airbag setup. For the driver it is stuffed with seamless systems that make the whole experience so much better.
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my 1991 w201 190e mercedesis 19 years old this week and has been entirely faultless since i bought it from new and all paintwork looks new aswell. will never sell it even though ive bought many new cars since then i always love the 190
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My 1994 W124 Mercedes will be 17 in February. It's hardly a simple car though. I've found 7 ECUs up to now and it has a frighteningly complex throttle system comprising of a cable and a drive by wire system as well as electronic traction control. Also an early Bosch CANBus system between the engine ECU and the 5 Speed (partly electronically controlled) automatic gearbox.
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I'm intrigued by the thread title. There's a working-men's-club joke there waiting for someone to complete it. Who's going first?
If my mother-in-law had wheels she'd...
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>>If my mother-in-law had wheels she'd...>>
..be 20 miles away by the end of the day.
By the end of the week she'd be 140 miles away.....
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If my mother-in-law had wheels she'd...
be named as a modern miracle as she's been dead for 12 years...
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Mine has no need for wheels......why drive when you can fly ?
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We were flying back from the Med one Oct 31.
Queuing for the coach that evening, I commented on how clear it was and remarked 'we might see your mum on the way home'. OUCH!
Followed by a comment behind - 'stop laughing'.
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Had the Primera out for another spin last week. Still pretty impressive for a 14-year old car, now on 80,000 miles. Electric everything, and everything still works. Air-con ice cold. And this car hasn't seen a main dealer since it was 3 or 4 years old.
Still see lots of 90s Nissans on the NZ roads, and it's easy to see why. Must beat Toyota in the reliability stakes I'd have thought.
But how small it seems, i.e. haven't family saloons ballooned in size over the past decade?!
Would love to see a Sierra parked alongside a 2012 Mondeo for another comparison!
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My son bought his 2000W Primera P11 (1.8L) 6 years ago for £2400 and it's still going strong. I think he's taken it from 50k miles to about 130K. It was written off after a minor collision in Amsterdam in November, but he managed to get it sorted out OK; he really is quite attached to it!
He researched the Primera when he bought it and came to the conclusion that, because it was the choice of minicab drivers in London, it must be pretty bomb-proof.
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>> it was the choice of minicab drivers in London, it must be pretty bomb-proof.
As was the marvellous Bluebird before it.
edit, my next door neighbour traded in the Bluebird he'd had from new for an Audi 100cc i pleaded with him not to, that thing was nothing but grief, auto box the first of many cripplingly expensive failures, what a white elephant.
Last edited by: gordonbennet on Sun 20 Jan 13 at 21:53
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A pal of mine had a Primera GT in the late 90's. It succeeded a Golf Gti as he needed more room and during his 3 years of ownership never let him down. A fine handling chassis, subtly understated yet only about 150bhp.
I remember it as being a dark plasticky interior, but nevertheless a fine car.
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>>>traded in the Bluebird he'd had from new for an Audi 100cc i pleaded with him not to, that thing was nothing but grief
For the sake of balance...
Mr F snr had a new company Audi 100cc around 1985, a 2.2 5cyl. It was a major step forward in exec motoring being roomy, fast, great ride, very high geared in 5th leading to superb cruising refinement and economy for its size. Did 150,000mls in just under 3yrs with no faults.
It absolutely trounced the 1982(ish) Nissan Bluebird Mrs F snr was running at the time.
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Oh come on, Bluebirds were the epitome of rust buckets. I can see few cars of that era around, Haven't seen a bluebird for years.
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Nor a 100cc.
Company i worked for at the time ran 100cc Diesels as area manager cars, company serviced in house which didn't include a cambelt change, several cars had brand new engines around the 60/70k mark fitted when the inevitable happened, still no cambelt changes.
Weird.
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There's an 02 reg, Primera estate been lurking in the pub car-park near me for the last few weeks. It's got one steel wheel with an 80KPH sticker on it and two other tyres nearly flat. I reckon it hasn't turned a wheel for a month, although the tax is still valid. One front wheel arch has a little damage.
Worth a punt, especially this time of year?
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I am informed that the Primera, certainly of that era, has a chain cam - which is fine if the oil has been changed regularly. I'd be a little wary, therefore, if the car is showing symptoms of neglect (e.g. the flat tyres). But then, I don't imagine it would cost much more than scrap value anyway.
A couple of months ago, we sold my son's tow-bar on e-bay (he didn't need it - parking in London) and the chap who bought it dropped by to pick it up. He had been given his Primera by his elderly father who was giving up driving; the car was a 1999 and immaculate.
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My lad ran a couple of Primeras. Good cars, good examples can be had for pocket money.
The last model - the ugly one, is not a patch on the others however.
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>>
>> For the sake of balance...
>>
Ah, but a 2.2 5 cyl manual would have been one of best of the breed, until they changed from mechanical k jetronic to I think le jetronic. That had carp throttle response compared to the earlier cars.
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When I was choosing my first company car back in 1996, I considered a Primera but, after a weekend test drive, decided I couldn't live with the car - I remember the noise levels being unpleasantly high (a bit like today's Octavia), the rather tinny feel, and also the firmness of the suspension. The Mondeo 2.0LX that I finished up with was the car that changed my mind about Fords - it was comfortable, quiet and economical.
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Nissan Primera II - Mother-in-law's wheels - still going strong - Auristocrat
