bazza_g Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Randomly to liven up the Jap section of the forum I thought let's hear from Nissan owners past and present! What did you have in years gone by? They have produced some classic sports cars in the past. What do you have today? What do you like about them, what don't you? personally I'm in love with a car brand I never thought would do anything for me. I rejected the 350z I test drove at the time in favour of the mk4 R32. After that I could never see myself going anywhere but German... Don't get me wrong Nissan are not perfect, their customer service still seems to be stuck in "Micra mentality" but the products - GTR, 370, Navara, Juke, Qashqai - are great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 I've had 3 Nissans over the years. R33 GTR, fantastically capable car, but hugely expensive to run and quite frankly, scary. Pulsar GTIR, absolute pile of poo, chassis not stiff enough, handling rubbish, no wonder it never won any rallies! Bluebird Turbo, stonking engine, trapped in a taxi! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mook Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Never had a Nissan, but I did have a Datsun :D It was a Datsun Cherry I bought for £85 and ran for four months til the MOT ran out and then sold it again for £85. Typical build quality for the Japanese cars of the time (falling to pieces and nylon interior), but it ran and ran and ran. I've been toying with the idea of a RWD Japanese track toy and fancy a Nissan 200SX, as long as it's not been already in the drifting scene. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milo Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 (edited) Having a brother who works at Nissan means we have had a succession of cars every 11 months including Almeras, Micras, Notes and Qashqais via the employee lease scheme and previosuly we have bought them cheap and sold them onto relatives. In total, I reckon we've had about 13 different cars over the last 15 years and I've never, ever had anything go mechanically wrong with one yet. Although that's not strictly true. The current one, a Qashqai, is an absolute joy to drive however it's been plagued by niggly faults from leaky windows, dodgy trim to warped discs and knackered suspension components. As a brand though, I think they are ultra reliable and I've seen the build quality just get better and better over the years. The Micra may be an exception to that as the last one we had (2005) suffered from very cheap plastics as they drove the cost down. It's now built in India so I'm not sure how the build quality will hold up. All in all though, I think they've done a great job in dragging themselves out of the Datsun rust bucket image they had and the Qashqai and Juke have propelled them further up the brand leaderboard. It's looking like we're leaving the employee scheme in the next few months so we're looking to buy a car for my wife for the first time in years. I've bounced between 3 or 4 models but always seem to come back to the Juke. It's a 'marmite' car without a doubt but I love its quirky looks. And I can get a very healthy chunk off list which brings it into Fiesta and Cosa territory. Stand them next to one another, and everything looks bland beside the Juke. Decisions, decisions. Oh, and I learnt to drive in a 1985 C reg Micra, one of the box shaped ones Edited January 20, 2011 by Milo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garcon magnifique Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 A good friend of mine back in Oldham was a Nissan sales manager, so I suppose I inevitably ended up in one or two. My first "nice" car was a 1992 200SX in red. Awesome tool, quicker than a lot of far more exotic stuff, hilarious boost laggy rwd handling on wet roundabouts ("where's the power... oh there it is!.... ooh we're going sideways!" ). Then, as an interim after I'd broken a Senator, I had a very blue Bluebird for a few months. Not remotely special, but free motoring. Then, while I had a rather silly Impreza I needed something to get me to Glasgow and back and park on side streets without fear of theft ... so I got a 6 year old Maxima 3.0SE that had already done 130,000 miles. It's probably still running now somewher in darkest Lancashire. I swapped the Maxima in for probably the best Nissan I've had - a 1998 Primera 2.0GT. Arguably the best handling fwd saloon car ever made, barring perhaps the latest import Civic Type R. Not the quickest car in the world, but it handled beautifully and was a pleasure to drive. One day I want a Nissan Cedric. Mock 70s style limo with a Skyline GT-R engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 I had a very blue Bluebird for a few months. Not remotely special, but free motoring.I swapped the Maxima in for probably the best Nissan I've had - a 1998 Primera 2.0GT. Arguably the best handling fwd saloon car ever made, barring perhaps the latest import Civic Type R. Not the quickest car in the world, but it handled beautifully and was a pleasure to drive. My Bluebird was a Turbo ZX (or was it executive? Had full leather) basically the 200sx engine, pretty quick but that was about it, it was white! I'd forgotten about the Primera, I bought one of those for the scumball rally, not a bad car really, £600 150k and everything worked including the air con, think it was an SRi, the sporty one anyway, as you say, good handling and an very underestimated car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazza_g Posted January 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 I'm gutted to hear that the Pulsar GTiR was a pile of shite!! Spent quite a bit of my yooof lusting after one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 I'm gutted to hear that the Pulsar GTiR was a pile of shite!! Spent quite a bit of my yooof lusting after one It was pretty quick in a straight line, but torsional rigidity was non existent, even with front and rear strut braces so handling was poor, and the top mount intercooler was so big it tended to work in reverse, as in warm up intake air, rather than cool it. It's the most disappointing car I've ever owned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 I must admit I've had my Nissan for nearly 3 years now and it's not missed a beat. Servicing costs were a bit expensive though, my old RS4 was cheaper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mort Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 I've had 3 Nissan 200sx. Two S13s and an S14 which I had "improved" to 260BHP... Brilliant cars. Fast. Great agile handling, I can see why they're the perfect drift cars, you really do steer them on the throttle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rottenbend Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 My mum had a Datsun 100A like this one: I think they look quite cool now. Or maybe not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lussac Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 I had a black Primera GT, 1991 model (J69UTF). Great car, very reliable and never a moments trouble. Did a straight swap for a new Peugeot 306 for the mrs in 1994 when company car was imminent which was a huge mistake as the Peugeot was a heap of cr*p - should have kept the Nissan!! Current driver Jaguar XF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarmac_Terrorist Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Many years ago my mum had a Datsun Sunny 120Y and I used to borrow it when I had just passed my test before I bought my own car. (felt I had to get that bit in...it wasn't mine...honest!) It was amazingly reliable but held no street cred! It could pull 60mph in 2nd gear, although it did leave a trace of blue smoke behind if really ragged. Brakes were bloody aweful and I was left having to do 3 point turns in narrow roads after a few close shaves. It would always spin 90 degrees in an emergency full lock up (drums all round iirc). It was a bit prone to rust too - as were many jap cars of that era - Lift the mat in the boot and you could see the road at each side! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shao_khan Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 I've always wanted a S14 but just never bitten the bullit and done it, i quite like the styling even now and everyone that has owned one loved it (or seems to have done). I dont think Ive owned a nissan at all actually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mook Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 My mum had a Datsun 100A like this one: I think they look quite cool now. Or maybe not. No, that's cool now. Any shonky 70s cars are. I've yet to see a Morris Marina or a Princess on the road this century though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkPrincess Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 I used to have a Nissan - loved it (mind you it was only a micra!) But it never let me down. I do miss my Micra but prefer my Zaffy A few of our friends have the Skylines - old and new. The new GTR is a beauty. Waiting to win the lottery so I can put my order in lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theduisbergkid Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 (edited) Datsun 100A. Love that. Had a mate with a turqoise 120Y. What do I think of Nissans ? They're quicker than the cheeky girls... n7fsvVQ5LDI Edited January 21, 2011 by Mook Getting YouTube vid working! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mook Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Rich, when you want to embed a YT vid, just do this: [ youtube ]n7fsvVQ5LDI[ /youtube ] - the "n7fsvVQ5LDI" is the unique reference of your vid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theduisbergkid Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Thanks posh chap, I R fkin sh1t at internetting n that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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