Is it risky to buy this very old car with very low miles?
Discussion
It's about 15 years old with only 11k miles. Old lady owns it near me and barely drives it (600 miles in the past year). It's now registered as off the road. MOTs were all fine until this year when it failed for:
Offside Outer Vehicle structure has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30cm of the body mountings sill (6.1.B.2)
Then it passed 2 days later so I guess it's been welded. I read that corrosion is pretty common with these nissan micra k11s but as I know nothing about cars (this is my first one), is it risky? She only wants £700. Thanks
Offside Outer Vehicle structure has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30cm of the body mountings sill (6.1.B.2)
Then it passed 2 days later so I guess it's been welded. I read that corrosion is pretty common with these nissan micra k11s but as I know nothing about cars (this is my first one), is it risky? She only wants £700. Thanks
If the welding has been done, and the work undertaken can be evidenced (i.e. with your own eyes), then it shouldn't be a problem.
Petrol-engined K11 Micras don't mind shorter journeys as much as some cars do, so I wouldn't worry on that score.
Subject to the welding being legit, and it driving straight, take it of the old girl's hands and give it a proper Italian tune-up on the way home. That'll blow away the cobwebs.
Petrol-engined K11 Micras don't mind shorter journeys as much as some cars do, so I wouldn't worry on that score.
Subject to the welding being legit, and it driving straight, take it of the old girl's hands and give it a proper Italian tune-up on the way home. That'll blow away the cobwebs.
MorganP104 said:
If the welding has been done, and the work undertaken can be evidenced (i.e. with your own eyes), then it shouldn't be a problem.
Petrol-engined K11 Micras don't mind shorter journeys as much as some cars do, so I wouldn't worry on that score.
Subject to the welding being legit, and it driving straight, take it of the old girl's hands and give it a proper Italian tune-up on the way home. That'll blow away the cobwebs.
lol thanks. I forgot to mention it's automatic - does that change anything? and what do I look for to see if the welding is a good job? I don't even know what the mountings sill isPetrol-engined K11 Micras don't mind shorter journeys as much as some cars do, so I wouldn't worry on that score.
Subject to the welding being legit, and it driving straight, take it of the old girl's hands and give it a proper Italian tune-up on the way home. That'll blow away the cobwebs.
MaxSmithson said:
MorganP104 said:
If the welding has been done, and the work undertaken can be evidenced (i.e. with your own eyes), then it shouldn't be a problem.
Petrol-engined K11 Micras don't mind shorter journeys as much as some cars do, so I wouldn't worry on that score.
Subject to the welding being legit, and it driving straight, take it of the old girl's hands and give it a proper Italian tune-up on the way home. That'll blow away the cobwebs.
lol thanks. I forgot to mention it's automatic - does that change anything? and what do I look for to see if the welding is a good job? I don't even know what the mountings sill isPetrol-engined K11 Micras don't mind shorter journeys as much as some cars do, so I wouldn't worry on that score.
Subject to the welding being legit, and it driving straight, take it of the old girl's hands and give it a proper Italian tune-up on the way home. That'll blow away the cobwebs.
1) Have the car in "D" (Drive), stationary, with your foot on the brake. Shift to "R" (Reverse), take your foot off the brake, and hit the throttle pedal reasonably hard (make sure there's nothing behind you!!!) If the car hesitates, or makes a loud clonking noise, there may be a problem with the gearbox. The transition from D to R should be smooth, and pretty much instantaneous, with power available straight away.
2) When driving along (in D), count the number of gearchanges. 15 year old K11 Micras were fitted with a 4-speed slushbox, so you should be able to count four gears. If you don't count four gears, or the revs look higher than you'd expect at any given speed, the 'box may have a problem.
3) Find yourself a hill (nothing too treacherous, a regular sort of incline is fine), and make sure the car is pointing uphill. With your foot on the brake (vehicle stationary), and the gear selector in D, let your foot off the brake. The car should either remain stationary (steep hill), or creep forward (slight hill). If the car rolls backwards, there may be problem with the gearbox.
Good luck.
MorganP104 said:
If it's an automatic, there are a few checks you should do on the test drive to satisfy yourself that the 'box is in good nick:
1) Have the car in "D" (Drive), stationary, with your foot on the brake. Shift to "R" (Reverse), take your foot off the brake, and hit the throttle pedal reasonably hard (make sure there's nothing behind you!!!) If the car hesitates, or makes a loud clonking noise, there may be a problem with the gearbox. The transition from D to R should be smooth, and pretty much instantaneous, with power available straight away.
2) When driving along (in D), count the number of gearchanges. 15 year old K11 Micras were fitted with a 4-speed slushbox, so you should be able to count four gears. If you don't count four gears, or the revs look higher than you'd expect at any given speed, the 'box may have a problem.
3) Find yourself a hill (nothing too treacherous, a regular sort of incline is fine), and make sure the car is pointing uphill. With your foot on the brake (vehicle stationary), and the gear selector in D, let your foot off the brake. The car should either remain stationary (steep hill), or creep forward (slight hill). If the car rolls backwards, there may be problem with the gearbox.
Good luck.
Are these Micra-specific tips or do they apply to other torque converter gearboxes?1) Have the car in "D" (Drive), stationary, with your foot on the brake. Shift to "R" (Reverse), take your foot off the brake, and hit the throttle pedal reasonably hard (make sure there's nothing behind you!!!) If the car hesitates, or makes a loud clonking noise, there may be a problem with the gearbox. The transition from D to R should be smooth, and pretty much instantaneous, with power available straight away.
2) When driving along (in D), count the number of gearchanges. 15 year old K11 Micras were fitted with a 4-speed slushbox, so you should be able to count four gears. If you don't count four gears, or the revs look higher than you'd expect at any given speed, the 'box may have a problem.
3) Find yourself a hill (nothing too treacherous, a regular sort of incline is fine), and make sure the car is pointing uphill. With your foot on the brake (vehicle stationary), and the gear selector in D, let your foot off the brake. The car should either remain stationary (steep hill), or creep forward (slight hill). If the car rolls backwards, there may be problem with the gearbox.
Good luck.
aka_kerrly said:
A 15year old micra or any car is not "very old", I assume you must be barely old enough to drive.
The micra of that age are practically indistructable, a solid choice.
Indestructable, except it is already destructing itself by rusting The micra of that age are practically indistructable, a solid choice.
This year had a patch, next year it will likely need more welding. Repeat until it has fallen apart too much to weld ;(
Not saying it isn't worth getting a patched car, but it definitely shows its days are numbered unless you spend serious time or money sorting it.
I am also a bit anti extra low mileage cars. I have bought 3 or 4 and every single one of them became uneconomical well before their time. Maybe I was just unlucky.....
EDIT: btw, before you think the low mileage cars I had were all Austin Metros they weren't. Well, one was (crap car), but another example was a Yaris. Mechanically falling apart at 40,000 miles and 10 years!
Edited by brman on Thursday 9th November 15:33
There is a good argument that regular use and a decent amount of mileage is good for a car.
I tend to buy mid to high milers, my current one had 129,500 on it when I got it in September.
In my experience, cars that haven’t had a lot of recent use tend to require a bit of fettling in the first few weeks after I get them and start putting 500 plus a week on them. Usually then they settle down once they get used to it.
I tend to buy mid to high milers, my current one had 129,500 on it when I got it in September.
In my experience, cars that haven’t had a lot of recent use tend to require a bit of fettling in the first few weeks after I get them and start putting 500 plus a week on them. Usually then they settle down once they get used to it.
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