Nissan Micra 1.0 > Reviews (99)

I bought my 1992 Nissan Micra 18 months ago because I'd been driving a newer, more expensive car that I could no longer afford because insurance and petrol costs were just too high. I needed a basic, reliable and cheap car on a very modest budget of £600, so I logged onto Autotrader and started looking at cars…

I decided that a Nisan Micra would probably suit me, because I’d read that they never break and that they are cheap to run. So I arranged to see six different Micras that were all different ages, with different mileages recorded on the clock. The cars really did vary in condition - one car I saw was the 1997 Micra model and it had a lot of viable rust around the wheels (no thank you), I saw another car which looked like the door was falling off and a third car with ripped upholstery within the interior (it was a real mess). I was starting to loose heart and seriously reconsider my budget when I stumbled upon a garage in Blackburn, I saw a red 1992 Micra - the body work looked good and everything seemed just so under the bonnet. So I took the car for a test drive (it ran perfectly) and I then asked about the car’s history. I was told that it had one previous female owner and considering the car had done less than 50,000 miles and the owner was called Winifred, I made the presumption that she was probably a little old lady who had purchased the car as a run around.

It was priced at £550, which I thought was a bargain. So I went ahead and purchased the car.

Appearance

Nisan Micras vary in style and shape. I have the Nissan Micra Shape (pictured below) which has a slight curve to the body. However, some Nissan Micras are more square in appearance, but in general you can tell when you spot a car that belongs to the Nissan Micra family.

I don’t think this car is particularly nice to look at and the interior is very basic (don’t expect an in-built CD player), but for me, appearance and mod-cons weren‘t over-riding factors when I purchased the car and you can, of course always make moderations once you‘ve purchased the car.

When you are looking at older Nissan Micras I recommend that you examine the colour - to make sure it isn’t fading and to look closely at the body work to make sure there are no signs of rust.

Drivability

This car shakes at 80 mph, but obviously the speed limit is 70 mph so that's not really a problem. Although the car doesn't go particularly fast, I think it is quite nifty when you are setting off from traffic lights. I also like the car's combat size, it is so easy to park and you can wind around tight corners with ease.

When I have a full car (which is rare) I can feel the load on the steering, but it is still relatively easy to drive.

General affordability

I paid £550 for this car and my insurance is £60 per month - this is an ok rate considering I've only been driving for two years, I have three points on my licence and I live in an inner-city area which is notorious for high insurance costs. I will also offer a word of warning - if you do purchase an older Nissan Micra, then make sure you invest in a steering lock, because I learned to my detriment that old cars with no alarms attract joyriders.

Thankfully they were stopped mid-way through the steal (my boyfriend chased them off with a mop), I purchased a steering lock the next day and touch wood - I’ve had no other issues with idiots thinking the car is an easy target since.

Petrol-wise at the moment, because the price of petrol has risen so much it costs me around £35 to £40 to fill the tank up and I'd say that I get about 600 miles out of that, so with the high petrol prices I still only pay about 6.6p a miles.

Problems

I’ve had my fair share of problems since I purchased the car. Despite having spotless paper work, it failed its first MOT and needed £300 of work. However you've got to expect to pay a certain amount on older cars when MOT time arrives and although £300 was a lot of money to pay out, it was cheaper than the amount that a new car would have cost.

I also had to purchase a new windscreen because a stone hit it when I was driving on the motorway (which can happen to anybody at any time). My uncle repairs windscreens for a living so he fixed it for me, but he explained that there was rust on the body which he sanded down and pained over for me. Apparently, Micras are made out of very cheap materials but the engines are good (and touch wood [again] the engine is about the only area of the car where I’ve not had any problems).

At Christmastime (almost a year after I’d purchased the car) I broke down on Saddleworth Moor (in the snow) because my clutch failed - cue another £150 mechanic’s fee and last night my exhaust fell off, which will cost me around £100.

So, in 18 months, on top of the £550 I initially paid for the car, I’ve been forced to folk out an additional £550 - which seems crazy considering I’ve only covered 20,000 miles. However, my siblings both have newer cars which they bought for over £2000 and both of them have had to pay additional costs due to break downs. So although £550 is a lot of money to pay out over an 18 month period, I think that cars always cost you money, regardless.

Would I recommend this model?

I would advise you to take somebody that knows cars along when choosing your Micra though, because sometimes old cars do need quite a bit of work on them and there are always con merchants out there looking to rip you off.

Personally I think this car is better suited to a female driver because its size and the appearance will appeal more to women than men. It will get you from A to B and compared to other cars it is very cheap to run. However if you are regularly going to be covering a lot of miles then maybe this car isn’t for you, because, as I’ve explained, older models do occasionally develop faults.

If you are buying an old car and you’re on a budget then you need to think very carefully because an older car can end up costing you more than a new one. You have to be prepared for things to break unexpectedly and random wear and tear jobs to appear. However despite my problems I have enjoyed driving my Nissan Micra and I think that £1100 for 18 months of driving is fairly good - that equates to about £61 a month (which is much less than I’d play on finance for a new car.

I am giving this model four out of five stars because although it's no Jaguar, and it has cost me money to repair, for an old car it runs well and most of the time it's the perfect, nifty little run-around.