Used Nissan Primera Saloon 1996 - 2002 reliability review
The Nissan Primera is a practical, sporty family car in a plain wrapper
- Nissan Primera Saloon (96 - 02)
What should I look for in a used Nissan Primera?
Take a bow, Sunderland. The people at Nissan's factory there built the Primera to run and run, so it's generally a tough bit of kit and solidly screwed together. A good service history is still very desirable, though.
Claims made by Warranty Direct customers are almost exclusively for electrical, suspension and axle faults. The climate control is an area of particular concern, so give that a proper test because it will be a pricey fix.
Watch out for tyres that have worn unevenly, since that can be a sign of suspension trouble. On the test drive, be wary of clonks and make sure the car tracks straight, corners tidily and has a little give over bumps.
Alloy wheels, where fitted, are known to have a corrosion problem. Also 1.6 and 1.8 models built in 2001 had a fault that caused them to stall. A recall should have sorted it, but check.
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