Nissan Almera Tino (2000 - 2005) 1.8 S 5d (2001/51) Owner Review

What does this car say about you?

I need a car with a lot of space

What do your friends / family / neighbours think of the car?

No opinion see it as just a family car.

Would you buy this car again and why?

Absolutely NOT now the cam chain fault is appearing on most around 50K miles.(Google "Nissan cam chain" there are loads of hits) Nissan are aware but are not admitting liability. Various mechanics apparently know this is a weak spot and costs around £1k to put right (its a huge labour cost as the cam chain is buried). We expected other faults but didn't expect a cam chain to start to fail at 47K miles - not what you expect from Nissan (are they going back to the bad old days of friday "lemons" I wonder?)

What are you likely to buy next?

We were thinking of a Qashqai but this has put me right off Nissans now (apparently the Micra K12 series also has this fault - beware Micra owners). Unless I can be convinced that the Qashqai won't fail the same way or Nissan do the decent thing and hold their hands up and assist with repairs or recall then I'm not sure what else it will be..but it certainly won't be a Nissan!

Type of dealer you bought from?

Independent

Did you buy this car new?

No

What price did you pay?

£4,999

When did you buy the car?

December 2004

Did you get a good deal and why?

Average, price was mid book as windscreen had scratch and mielage was slighlty high.

Is there any special reason why you bought this car?

Space, equipment, all reports at time said reliable and no cam belt to worry about

What was the dealer like?

Friendly. No issues

What's it like to drive?

Drives well but does need a bit of a heavy right foot to get it moving.

What's it like to park?

No worse than any other vehicle.

Have you had any problems with the car?

Ignition switch failure. Rear door lock failure. Impending Cam chain failure due to a notorious fault with the Nissan QG1.5 and 1.8 series engines.

What's most practical about your car?

Space

Favourite gadget, option or accessory?