I've got a 54 plate Almera, and a year ago posted on here trying to decide between the Seat Ibiza and the Almera (they were my choices based on price alone). I test drove both, and despite that fact that my other half and I are 26 and 23 respectively, we opted for the Almera.
Street cred? Who cares - we have a safe, dependable car which we bought to run us across the country from Buckinghamshire to Somerset to see the in-laws frequently. The Almera was much more comfortable than the SEAT, and our model (we bought the SE) was much better kitted out than an Ibiza of the same price.
My one small gripe is that I only get around 32mpg in city driving. However, we get at least 40-45 mpg on the motorways (even with my, shall we say, spritely driving ways).
I can imagine that as a kids'n'shopping runaround it'll do fine, and a 1.5's not that high insurance wise either :-)
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Many thanks to all that have contributed.
We are off to test drive one tommorow and, all being well will order tommorow afternoon (assuming the deal stays valid 'til then!). I assume that because they are on the site that 'Buymynewcar' are reputable and really, I mean what a deal!.
The comments about a neary new Focus are completely valid but there isn't much better than a car you know 100% has not been abused and has been looked after to the n'th degree.
Now just time to pick the colour...........
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It did mention in the NOTW today that you could get a 2 year old one for 3k.
BTW, I didn´t buy the paper, honest.
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So the new one will depreciate by £3,000 over two years with those two years having had the security of the Warranty and the peace of mind of a new, safe car. Sounds like reasonable value really. And leaves me with a years W/tee left anyway
Not sure about these NOTW readers though.......... :0)
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Thinking about it, can anyone find it cheaper than the £5,949?
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Maybe you could by an aftermarket warranty for a couple of years, should leave you with change from 3k. It was just something that caught my eye in a paper that, ahem, I don´t normally read.... good luck for tomorrow any way!!!
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Sounds like you have discarded the idea of a Ka, but just to add to what someone else has said, the Ka is very stable at high speed on the motorway, but IMO much too noisy for regular long journeys. Also getting in and out of the back seats is difficult, and probably impossible for elderly/infirm people. In many respects a good car though.
Leif
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The Ka is good Leif but I think Gavin wants a bigger (read safer) car for his wife and kid.
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It did mention in the NOTW today that you could get a 2 year old one for 3k. BTW, I didn´t buy the paper, honest.
The £6k is for the Flare which I don't think was out 2 years ago.
The Almera S(on which the Flare is based) of 2003 vintage was not as well equipped. I am not sure if it even had ABS then or Aircon?
I think the car is one of the best buys you can get.
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It sounds like a good buy, but having only 3 doors would be a bit of nuisance. Surely there must be a few 5-door ones on sale too?
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No, just a 3dr special edition.
Mind you we v.rarely would use the back seats. I already have a bad habit of shoving shopping into the back seats / back seat foot wells so this will force me to use the boot!
The reports of 2yr versions for £3k sound like bargains for other people to take advantage of, but have you ever seen one that cheap? I havn't. It is more likely to be the trade-in you would be offered I would think, but stand to be corrected. And would they have 'star-ship' miles?
1 year old examples of the basic 1.5S (now with ABS, EBD, A/C and a few other acronyms) with 10k miles are up for £7,495 - hence the better specced Flare at under £6k tempting us!
Off to have a look this morning and will report back later.
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No, just a 3dr special edition.
i just checked Nissan's website -- sorry, you're right. I wonder if they have a surplus of 3dr models to offload?
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Oh I'm sure they probably have.
Mind you there is a 4 week waiting list which implies being made to order.
Still, who cares at that price!
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My only experience of the Almera was as a hire car in Ireland three years ago. It reminded me of the Datsuns I drove 20 years ago. Not quick, not the best handling car, but very quiet and conmfortable, a very smooth gearbox and knowledge that it will probably never break down.
My grandfather had Datsuns/Nissans for 30 years his last a 1989 Bluebird which he had from new. It eventually fell apart after 17 years and 200,000 trouble free miles. In this time the only major part he had replaced was the radiator.
For a second car at that price I'd be tempted.
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You will find some dealers asking more money for a two year old one of similar spec. I have certainly seen it on other models on which there is a big new discount. I hope they don't find anyone mug enough to pay it.
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The Almera is a safe dependable purchase and this current offer is really good value. The Almera has a galvanised body and has good ratings for collision in the Euro-N-Cap. No disrespect to the Ford KA it is a good car to drive but it is not just a size issue it simply is not in the same league as the Almera when it comes to build quality.
There are many KA vehicles on the road with rusty jack points and door edges at under two years old. I hired an Almera for a 600 mile round trip a few years ago and found it to be a nice car the handling was surprisingly nimble and the 1.5 unit was very free revving and offered reasonable performance.
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Well, we have visited the dealer and test drove a 5dr SE 1.5(all they had, no 3dr's to look at even). Guy there very nice and helpful.
Took it for a 10 mile drive with the three of us and the salesman. Despite the weight (I am not a lightweight and neither was the salesman!) the 1.5 engine coped admirably and was only a little coarse when revved hard. Plenty of space inside for all of us. Smooth taut ride and handling OK.
After having read and seen the video review of the car on the WhatCar? website last night all interest in the car was much reduced but the reality is it is fine.
The boot is very big too!
I can get comfy and see all the numbers on the speedo (not possible in the Fiesta as I am 6ft tall). The aircon and CD player are welcome and having the ABS, EBD and Emergency Brake Assist (as well as twin airbags) makes me feel happier for the family to be in the car on the school run. The parking sensors should be a godsend too.
Some of the trim was a little cheaplooking (elec window switch mountings especially), but it also looked durable which is a consideration with a 5 year old!. Most of it was perfectly acceptable.
I fully take on board that any other mainstream new car may well be better but at this price point competitors would be old shape Kia Rio, Daewoo Matiz, etc (good cars no doubt but suspect Nissan would be easier to move on in a few years. Also the engine / kit level / space unlikely to be as high).
I showed the deal to the dealer and gave him the opportunity to match it. He seemed flabergasted (I was not convinced as they must see big discounts waved at them off the internet everyday) and went off to discuss with 'the manager'. He came back 10mins later and said they could not see how the deal could be done. He claimed they cost them £8,500 and the best deal they could do would be cost price. He was very pleasant about it and said that at the brokers price, I would be mad not to buy it. He wished us well and reminded us we could always come back to them for servicing. Nice chap.
So, I have spoken with the helpful lady at buymynewcar and am awaiting her call to take a deposit from me.
Only dilema was choice of colour. My wife has chosen metallic black as looks the best when you have black plastic side strips / mirrors, door handles, against Silver that would look cleaner for longer. My wife however tells me I will just have to clear it more often! Great..........
I have not heard any reports on buymynewcar but assume (rightly or wrongly) that if the HJ website has them on, not only advertising but also being featured, then they should be OK?
Is anyone else tempted to take up this deal?
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Is anyone else tempted to take up this deal?
Yes, me. Well my dad at any rate. He's just retired and is selling his '94 Rover 214. We were looking at a used Polo for around the <£6k mark, but this deal sounds very good indeed. I shall chat to him tonight. Personally I'd buy the used Polo, but I'm not retired. I think the Almera would suit him down to the ground.
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When you look at what you get in the Polo v. the Almera (be it kit, space, performance and even reliability) the Nissan seems better - as well as the 3yr w/tee. Having driven the Polo as well I know what I would prefer! Worth testing back-to-back though.
Have just found out from bymynewcar that the car is pre-registered into their wholesalers name 24 hours before we collect the car so we will appear to be the second owners but this seems pretty trivial when you consider we will be keeping the car for a few years and a 2 owner car versus a 1 owner when it can be demonstrated that it was a paperwork juggle rather than two heavy footed drivers owning it seems OK to me.
They have confirmed the car is a 2005 model year and is very much new.
I will report back with progress when I have some for those that are interested.
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I don't see how you can lose.
Happy Almering
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Funnily enough I've got a March '05 Almera on the drive at the moment ready for a 200 mile trip tomorrow (on loan off a dealer mate who has it up for sale). These are good cars and are well and truly 'debugged' now, so you shouldn't have any problems. The trim is actually quite solid and even 4-5 year ones don't normally rattle. I really can't think of any mechanical or electrical weaknesses.
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Cue sound of smug grin sticking firmly on face. K-Ching! :0)
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This offer is no longer on their website. SlightlyFatRep - did you manage to get a deposit down for one?
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Hummmmm. No, not yet.
They are not sure yet if I am too late or not. We shall see.........
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Hmmm...do these cars actually exist? They disappeared very quickly from that website. Assuming that they were a legitimate offer, sounds as though they got registered to a company's fleet or were pre-registered by a dealer who had sales targets to meet. Anyway - hope you manage to get one.
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Often happens. Last year there was a smattering of Scenics for £99pm on a 12 month deal. By 2pm they had all gone. C'est la vie ::shrug::
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Well, an update on my bargain hunt. Buymynewcar.co.uk very helpful but it looks like I missed the boat. Have found another simlar company and they can get hold of one, delivery end of this month.
Price is higher though and I wonder if it is best to wait a while and see if better deals come up later in the year as things slow down with people wanting a car registered in 2006 rather than 2005.
To recap, the Almera 'Flare' is an Almera 1.5S with exactly the same kit and spec, but with added rear parking sensors, for £8995 list (Normal 1.5S has list of £10,250).
We want metalic paint so an extra £350. So, List = £8995+350= £9345. The deal original going for was £5949 + 350 = £6,299.
As we cannot get this, the next cheapest deal is £6715 + 350 = £7,065. This is including Tax etc and, on this occasion, is a delivered price.
This still seems cheap but do other more experianced backroomers out there think, with it being a soon to be replaced car, that I am likely to find a better deal at a later date? Are these generally made to order or will there be a field or two of them to be off-loaded through car supermarkets when the new one comes on board? Even if there was, are they likely to be as cheap as this deal?
I cannot still see a good reason not to buy the car but, as with all things, I want to pay the least! Is the price I am being offered now likely to fall closer to the end of the month like you would hope it would when haggling with a conventional dealer or does a broker work differently?
Any advice appreciated!
Cheers!
Gavin
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Almera is a good sound car but I'd go for the cheapest option, bearing in mind the planned usage. If you do use your credit card (first post) make sure you do it with a 0% interest one.
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Nissan might offload some reasonably priced cars very soon, October sales were down 54% !
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Hmmm...do these cars actually exist? They disappeared very quickly from that website. Assuming that they were a legitimate offer, sounds as though they got registered to a company's fleet or were pre-registered by a dealer who had sales targets to meet. Anyway - hope you manage to get one.
Often wondered about some of the really 'special' offers myself.
There was a thread about some Hyundai Accents at really cheap prices some while ago that were 'all gone' almost as soon as they came were advertised on this site; but they had other more expensive Accents that "were a really good buy!"
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No Brainer
There's a very good reason for Almeras being available at discount rates.
They suffer from a horrendous problem with premature timing chain failure. This is now becoming widely known about and frequently discussed within the repair trade; so trade-in values are beginning a free-fall.
Try Googling "Almera timing chain" and you'll see just how bad this is. A bill of anything from £850 to over £1000 is fairly average - and not just once! The shortest-lived chain that I've heard of lasted only 15,000; most go by around 50,000.
Don't be confused by fake "re-calls" that were really only an attempt to cover this up by making-out that it was just a cam sensor problem. Shame it wasn't - they're cheap; chains aren't!
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Slight scare tactics there.
Its true that some Almeras (1.5's 2000-2002) are turning up with timing chain problems. Basically it is down to "extended" oil change intervals causing the chain links to wear a bit. This results in 'stretch'. The cam and crank sensors then get their signals slightly 'out of synch' and the MIL comes on. An early sign of problems is a 'jittery' rev counter.
Later Almeras should be OK since Nissan made changes to the chain. Also change you oil every 6 months/6k miles. Look carefully at any '99-'03 register Almera 1.5 The 1.8 seem to be OK (at least I've not heard of one with this problem).
BTW - this might be on HJ's CBCB - I've not looked - apologies if I'm repeating it!
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Almeras are going cheap because a) they are being phased out next year b) they were never popular in UK, so there are fields of them ready to go even if it's at slight loss.
I find it funny that German car magazines do 2.2 dCi tests alongside of sport diesels from VW Golf and Audi A3 and British car magazines never ever retuned to Almera for 5 years since first tests in 2000. It has to be the most unloved, unwanted, ignored and forgotten hatchback ever assembled on British shore...
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You are obviously forgetting the Austin Maestro v0n....
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You are obviously forgetting the Austin Maestro v0n....
Seen an X reg one yesterday, must have been one of the Bulgarian / Shropshire ones.
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Well, I'm happy anyway!
What is unloved an unappreciated for one is a bargain for another.
I have always sworn by regular Oil changes and to honest my wife will suprise me if she does more than 5k miles a year.
Placed the order today on Look4mycar.com
The guy is very helpful and I hope at the end of this month we will have a brand new car on te drive that will have the safety and security we are looking for for very little cash indeed.
The real bargain is a new Primera for substantialy under £9k. Includes climate control, rear parking camera, dimming rear view mirror etc. A real bargain and a 1/2 but too big for our needs. Tempted though!
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That Primera is astonishingly cheap...
It makes me wonder if Nissan/Renault is now so incredibly profitable as is "portrayed" in the media what the hell is going on in the UK where their vehicles seem to be cannon fodder - ie rental fleets, police vehs (round the corner from me is CID branch and they have quite a few and they often barely look a month old) and ludicrously discounted.
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There is still enough 'fat' on UK car prices that manufacturers can offer substantial discounts and still make a profit. Absolutely nothing wrong with selling to fleets, rental co's and the police!
The P12 Primera is, IIRC, the last wholly Nissan design before their merger with Renault. The body and interior were designed at the Nissan Munich design centre, I believe. The 1.8i 'Flare' Primera at £8250 is an absolute steal.
In early October I visited Nissan HQ in Japan. They have a nice range of cars now - including the Note, which is on sale in Japan and coming to the UK next year - I predict it will sell very well. Skyline and 350Z are also very desirable! They seem to be turning healthy profits at the moment.
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My unqualified impression was that rental fleets and other big fleet users eg Police acted as a dumping ground for cars that a manufacturer can't sell retail ie a means to keep the production line running and keeping the appearance of plenty of new "product" out on the road. How this fits with the supposed Japanese just in time approach I do not know as it therefore shows they do not build to order as such?
Aprila would u care to enlighten us as to whether plants such as Washington do produce fields full of unsold cars as plants did in the past. Do any companies produce entirely to genuine order?
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The P12 Primera is, IIRC, the last wholly Nissan design before their merger with Renault. The body and interior were designed at the Nissan Munich design centre, I believe. The 1.8i 'Flare' Primera at £8250 is an absolute steal.
I've ordered one of those 1.8 Primeras, but after reading some forums re the reliability of the newer cars I'm getting cold feet in a big way.
Aprilia, Can you confirm whether the 1.8 has a chain-cam Nissan engine as per the previous model, or is it an inferior Renault unit? If it's the Renault, I am *this* far away from walking away from the deal and losing my deposit, I can tell you.
There seems to be a wealth of info on the net suggesting that the new Primera is absolutely nowhere near as good as the old one. If it turns out that that is the case, I don't want the car.
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IIRC there are no Renault engines used in Nissans except the 1.5dCi fitted to the Micra and of course the Nissan versions of the Trafic van.
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I don't regard myself as an expert on the Nissan UK factory, however I'm pretty sure that Primeras are largely 'built to order'. The 'bargain price' 1.8 Flare is being advertised with up to 8-week lead time - which suggests that there are not fields full of them!
Washington is currently exporting cars to Japan, Europe, SA and the US and is not running below capacity AFAIK.
The 1.8 engine in the Primera is a well-proven chain-cam Japanese unit, designed at the Yokohama engine plant. I have heard of some problems with engine sensors and power windows - but nothing too bad. It is still a Which? Best Buy car I think... The Primera was designed before Renault took over.
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Any company that has to sell its prime large family car (where most of the fat profit is made) at such a low price has a problem. The Primera has been sales problem in Europe and Nissan are seriously disapointed in the number of units sold.. Dont get me wrong, its not a bad car, just a sales disaster.
I seem to recall somewhere that the primera floorpan was either a renault design or renault have/are using it. one of the two.
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Its OTT to say that the Primera is a sales disaster. It has sold less than they had hoped - but that is true for most mid-size saloons these days. People are buying other types of vehicles - like MPV's and 4x4's (which also carry a higher margin for the manufacturer). Sales of Almera Tino and X-Trail have exceeded expectation, for example. It is much better for Nissan to keep the Primera line running at capacity and take sales off Mondeo, Vectra, than to try to keep prices high.
The Primera has never been a big UK seller since its introduction in about 1990 - this is more to do with UK buying habits and the domination of Mondeo, Vectra than anything to do with the Primera itself.
The Primera P12 floorpan is Nissan's own from before Renault were involved - although it may well be that Renault have adopted it for one of their models.
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