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Nissan Note
wicket - 25/10/12 at 08:30 AM

We are looking at a the possibility of buying Nissan Note Acenta 1.4 petrol. They seem like good value for money, plenty of room and boot size, lots standard fitments. Anybody had any experience.


swanny - 25/10/12 at 09:13 AM

only as a hire car. at first glance i thought it looked horrible, but the more i drove it the more i liked it.
would consider now as a second car

paul


adithorp - 25/10/12 at 09:22 AM

They're OK... for a Renault.


designer - 25/10/12 at 09:39 AM

They are brilliant, one of the best cars I have had.


nib1980 - 25/10/12 at 11:51 AM

thanks for all the positive feedback ;-)


britishtrident - 25/10/12 at 12:21 PM

Based on experience with my daughters 1.4 petrol which she has owned from new still has less than 38,000 miles on the clock. be aware the Note is about 60% Renault and 40% Nissan -- the Nissan bits are 100% bullet proof the Renault bits are typical French. It is quite a nice car to drive and a very useful load carrier.


However----
It eats front wishbones daughters she had both replaced under warranty and the near side has since been replaced again due to a knackered ball joint.

Sump rusted through from the outside, replacement part could only be sourced from Nissan, just a simple paper thin steel pressing but it cost several arms and a leg.

Front offside road spring broke had improvise a special spring compressor to to do it --- however it could be due to the large number speed bumps in her area.

Under neath the car has a surprising amount of light surface rust -- however it was a grey import.

One worrying point for longer term ownership is if you open the bonnet in wet weather water runs off the bonnet straight onto the engine management ECU and its' connector. (French electrics !!)


britishtrident - 25/10/12 at 01:10 PM

I forgot to add the front tyres wear quite rapidly (my daughter isn't had hard driver and hasn't had tyre wear issues on her previous cars) and the tyres are not a popular size hence relatively expensive.


froggy - 25/10/12 at 01:19 PM

One issue I've seen twice on these cars is a rubber bushed support bracket on the n/s that ties the subframe to the chassis rail can tear out of the chassis , not rust but a poor design but you will hear it cracking if its an issue


coozer - 25/10/12 at 03:49 PM

I had one as a company car when I worked for Nissan.. was thinking of buying one before I had it.. but, that changed my mind.. horrible tinny ride, poor quality materials for a top of the range model IMO.. and if you use the tail gate a lot the wiring through the grommets from the body fret and break..


morcus - 25/10/12 at 03:51 PM

My dads got a diesel one that he's had four years and in that time it's not been serviced and had no real problems. As above, it's on funny sized tyres, There is only one brand that make them for the size he has apparantly so they're pricy.


britishtrident - 25/10/12 at 04:19 PM

I hadn't heard of the subframe mounting point iissue but after a bit of Googling it seems to be a common failure which will have have a major impact on residual values. These car seem to have to many suspension and steering issues I am going to advise my daughter to get rid of hers at first opertunity.

The Honest John review is worth reading.

Link


britishtrident - 25/10/12 at 04:29 PM

quote:
Originally posted by morcus
My dads got a diesel one that he's had four years and in that time it's not been serviced and had no real problems. As above, it's on funny sized tyres, There is only one brand that make them for the size he has apparantly so they're pricy.



Skipping servicing on any car with a Renault Dci engine will result in problems, these engines need the oil changed regularly and the oil must be a 5w/30 fully synthetic or very expensive major problems will occur later in the engines life due to the oilways getting gunged up.


morcus - 25/10/12 at 05:41 PM

It's had oil I think, and possibly new brake pads. He hates the car though for a number of personal reasons so I don't think he really cares.

If your wondering, he mostly hates the fact that it's not propperly Japanese, it's too narrow, the inside is laid out wrong and it doesn't have enough accelaration.


ian locostzx9rc2 - 25/10/12 at 06:50 PM

When I worked for Nissan I thought they where a good little car drove well lots of room. as with all modern cars they all have issues, 1.4 petrol is a nissan engine, gearbox and suspension is renault, parts are fairly cheap by todays standards.
Theres far worst cars out there but thats my opinion....