I think any of them would do the job. The Almera 1.8 will have a bit more power, which could be usefull in hilly country - Astra 1.6 autos are a bit sluggish.
My personal choice would be the Almera - reliability similar to the Toyota but service and repair costs similar to the Astra.
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Astra 1.6 autos are a bit sluggish.
You can get the Astra auto as a 1.8, a fine engine, crisp and free revving.
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Astra 1.6 autos are a bit sluggish.
I'm asuming you're refering to the 8 valve engine? Nout wrong with the 16 valve one connected to the autobox.
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An Astra of that era is quite good to drive however an Almera is rather less so.
I would say it is likely to be the other way round - except it's looks there is very little one can post against N15 phase 2 Almera (and that's what £3000 will buy - old shape, 6-7 year old Almera). Both cars were not too bad to drive but Almera IMHO had handling and engine advantage over Astra. Vauxhall's 1.6i in Auto version is painfully slow even for retired sector, 1.8 auto is quicker but suicidally thirsty (22-24 mpg is something you expect from 4WD Subaru auto, not from Astra). Nissan's chain driven 1.6 auto is maybe not a tyre burner either, but it is quite versatile, refined and well tuned. In general it will also be much easier to find well preserved, well kept 7 year old Almera than 7 year old Astra in good nick.
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[Nissan 2.2 dCi are NOT Renault engines. Grrr...]
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>> An Astra of that era is quite good to drive however >> an Almera is rather less so. >> I would say it is likely to be the other way round .................. Both cars were not too bad to drive but Almera IMHO had handling and engine advantage over Astra. >>
My experience was to the contrary and I had a lot of experience of these cars around 1998 to 2002, for instance picking up hire cars at Glasgow and driving around the highlands, very challenging roads. The '98 on Astra has a good chassis and fine free revving petrol engines, the Focus is even better though it's 1.8 an 2.0 are slightly harsher than the Astra 1.8, the Almera IMO just did not compare, probably reliable, competively economical and with the clear benefit of a chain cam engine though with a soggy chassis that did nothing to inspire confidence, where the Astra and Focus were fun to drive the Almera was dull zzzzzzzzzz.
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As always with the Astra you need to drive it first.
I found the Mk4 Astra positively offensive to drive. The driving position was all wrong for me, the seats hard and the car has been the only one I've driven in the last few years that gave me a nasty backache after driving it for a few hundred miles. The gearchange is atrocious, and the 1.6 engine rough and noisy. I've driven three of these things and hated them all. I couldn't wait to be out of them.
This is only one person's opinion, but I've known others say the same at work (where there were a number of these as pool cars for a while) and hence I'd say you need to drive one for a long distance (not just a test-drive) before handing over any money.
I wouldn't have one if you gave me it free.
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The 8v is a bit rough though a healthy 16v is a smooth engine.
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Think these were 8v cars.
In fairness to them I don't recall them going wrong too often. One juddery clutch and a few worn wheel bearings and jammed starter motors (the latter two seem to be recurrent faults) being the only faults I can recall on 4 of them covering about 150K or so between them. Not amazingly brilliant but no horror story either, I personally think the clutch was down to the driving style of one of my colleagues (starting off in second, overrevving engine etc).
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As for the Almera, only drove one briefly (and found it to be perfectly acceptable but it was motorway driving so hard to tell), but I've owned a Nissan Sunny for 4 and a half years now and I find that it grips pretty well on the twisty roads, nothing wrong with it at all, especially against the typical Escort/Mk3 Astra it was up against. And it has been superbly reliable -- not a single fault in the 45K miles we've run it over (just the odd brake pipe, exhaust, battery, tyre, but that is to be expected at 14 years old).
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Thanks for the replies, more cars to look at this weekend.
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An Almera auto it is, runs well with FSH and old MOTs, autobox runs up and down the gears nicely. Dealer was a good salesman, if the car is reliable then I'm sure I'll visit again .... but I'm positive I can hear that camchain rustling away :-0 Paranoid? Me? Never! ;-)
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If you listen carefully you'll always be able to hear the camchain (more noticable on a 16v engine, because it has two chains). A very quiet "rustling" as you describe, is just the noise of a lubricated chain zipping round. If it's a horrible metallic "death rattle", then it's time to worry. I've heard that these engines usually do in excess of 150k before the camchain knackers, although the new shape almeras with QG engines have had problems with tensioners causing chains to skip a notch, or in some cases fall off the sprockets.
On my older GA engine, there's a very faint sound present at idle, but as soon as the engine speed is raised, it goes away. Not worried in the least because I've been told that the death rattle is a very noticable, unpleasant sound. The faint sound was also present on my last car (Sunny with GA engine), and I covered 30k without a problem.
Anyway, glad you chose the Almera and hope you have the same experience of Nissans as I have. Give it an extra oil-change halfway between the annual services and the chain should be fine.
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Yes, the car should be doing about 10k per annum so it will be subject to 6 monthly oil changes and a check over.
">QG engines have had problems with tensioners causing chains to skip a notch, or in some cases fall off the sprockets. <"
Eeeek!! The car is a 1999 1.6 older shape so hopefully it should be OK. It's done 40k (FSH and MOTS, very few stonechips on the front, no wear on the pedals or steering wheel), however, the steering feels vague in a straight line at motorway speeds so there might be some work needed. I'll be delivering to mature relative this weekend so the car can enjoy a life in the Dales. Previous cars retired to the Dales have soon acquired a veneer of agricultural materials ....hides the dents though!
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Yeah it'll be a GA16DE engine (used in Sunnys since early 90s), so don't worry about that camchain! Nice low mileage too! The PAS is a conventional hydraulic system, so it won't feel as sharp as modern electric systems at high speeds. If it feels like the car wanders, get someone to have a look at the tracking, ball-joints etc.
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Thanks Greg,
Car delivered to the Dales yesterday, ran well on motorway/dual carriageway, vagueness in a straight line has improved after adjusting tyre pressures, but it's not 100%. Surprisingly agile on the twisty roads through the Dales.
The car is spoilt by an aftermarket CD player (Sony CDX-MP40), the display is demented and glows in the dark. Couldn't find the dimmer for the radio or the instruments so I'm sure I must have resembled the late Boris Karloff on the A1 last night ;-)
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