Faults:

Radiator sprung a leak (wear and tear)

Brake pipes had to be changed (just its age!)

General Comments:

What a brilliant car, I've had quite a few Nissan and earlier Datsun cars, but this is the best yet, totally reliable starts 1st time every time no matter what the weather is like.

Fuel consumption is not that good compared to modern cars, but then it does weigh about as much as your average house! But at least its built to last unlike modern junk!

Very well equipped (electric everything) and very comfortable even after a very long journey, i would trust this car to go anywhere... not bad for a 17yr old car!

Cornering and handling is much better if you fit wider tyres (185/65-14)

Faults:

Power window mechanisms on driver side died.

Sunroof motor stopped working.

Alternator bearings seized.

General Comments:

Stunningly good old car!

Interior specs make you feel like you're driving an expensive model, but at this age, and THIS price, it's a giggle.

Motorway driving smooth, comfortable and pleasant.

The big hatch can take a lot of stuff, should you need it.

BIG seats with rear split ones that RECLINE!

It's a real BLUEbird, with blue interior and navy blue paint job... not the natty silver ones, but like someone else said... no-one's gonna nick it, are they?

Faults:

Clutch needed replacing this year.

Alternator light has been on for the last two years, and the garage cannot fix it. Problem is with alternator, not the light.

Occasional preignition problem over the last two years, again no garage has been able to resolve.

Exhaust needed replacing this year (end fell off)

Aerial replaced this year.

Rear window currently taped up as fallen out of runners.

General Comments:

I adore my reliable Bluebird.

It is probably time to stop spending money on it, but I like it too much. I particularly like the fact that it is so big, and the silver colour looks so striking.

My car is always able to find an extra "hoof" in tricky situations. I feel it has a personality.

I am indeed, a girl.

Faults:

The gearbox has just started jumping out of first gear.

The petrol tank has a hole in it.

I had to get the brake lines replaced along with the very expensive rear brake discs (which have an integrated hub).

Drivers electric window works intermittently, sunroof doesn't work.

General Comments:

This car is seriously quick, that turbo boost is fantastic! This also means that the fuel consumption is lamentable, I got about 25mpg on a good run and usually that was nearer 20mpg.

The car was very comfortable inside with excellent inflatable lumbar and side supports in the drivers seat, the driving position was fairly low and reclined too which I like. The interior is very spacious.

Looking back this car was a bad buy, but I saw somewhat naive in gauging how much was actually wrong with the car. I got her for £250 and have probably spent another £1000 over last 8 months and have now decided to cut my losses and get something, more reliable & practical, but not half as much fun - a ford orion.

Faults:

Power steering pump at 170,000 miles.

Internal heater Matrix sprang a leak at 190,000 miles.

Rear nearside section of Handbrake cable required replacing at 225,000 miles.

Drivers side windscreen wiper link bar required replacing 3 times in the 4 years I owned the car.

General Comments:

A well built extremely reliable all-round car which never let me down even on the coldest mornings. Excellent Japanese engineering.

The 1.6 engine was probably a bit under powered for this size of car so acceleration was a bit poor.

Fuel economy was ok. Around town I got about 33 mpg and on a long run about 39 - 40 mpg.

The Premium model I owned was the base model which the original purchaser could add extras too. They chose power steering which was a bonus.

This car was 13 years old and had covered 245,000 miles when I parted with it and was only just starting to show signs of rust, which is a testament to how well it was built in the first place.

My only gripe is with the price of Nissan parts. The rear nearside part of the handbrake cable (handbrake cable comes in 3 parts) was only available from the dealers and cost over £60.00!

The only other gripe was the windscreen wiper link arm which had to be replaced 3 times in 4 years as the nylon cup on each end wore out. The Nissan dealers told me that this was their biggest selling spare part, so it was clearly the only design fault.

The interior of the car was spacious and quite comfortable although the drivers seat was starting to sag a little.

Boot space was copious. Plenty of room for luggage.

This is a car more suited and comfortable for long journeys rather than urban driving.

I would have purchased another Nissan, but was only put off by the high price of parts and the high insurance groups which I think is ridiculous for a range of cars built in Britain. Comparative cars built in Britain are Fords and Vauxhalls and parts and insurance groups for these makes are a lot cheaper.