TFD advice

[pandamonium]

I'm going to look at a Micra this week, 1998, 1.0.

 

Looks good, but is there anything to watch out for? Are they as indestructible as people say?

 

Is there enough legroom in the back for a 6 year old? 

 

[BorniteIdentity]

Isn’t there some kind of crossmember that rusts on these? Otherwise they’re robust little creatures; 1.3 is amusingly quick up to 40 but have had no experience of the 1 litre beater.

[BorniteIdentity]

Ps I think Vibes have a spunky colour coded interior too !

[Tamworthbay]

My mum’s proved almost impossible to kill, the fact it survived over a decade of her abuse gave me great respect for them

[oldcars]

Front crossmember rusts. Sill ends go as i think if it has a sun roof they drain into the sills. Loved mine, K11's are great. Rear legroom was fine on mine.

[Guest Hooli]

Lord S is your man for these. I think he's got two in the family currently.

[pandamonium]

Ps I think Vibes have a spunky colour coded interior too !

 

Yes

 

 

[outlaw118]

 

 

Lord S is your man for these

Agreed, Mo knows.

 

Nothing to add specifically here, but they're the weapon of choice in the microbangers class on t'oval, definitely stronger than an equivalently aged Ka(ck) or Clio. 

Appear to be fairly hard to kill mechanically too, 95% of the time they're "Last car Running".

[JeeExEll]

There was a thread on here recently with useful info on the K11. Unfortunately 'K11 Micra' is not in the thread title and I can't find it. Anyone remember?

 

My Mrs had a 1999 1.0 3-door basic one with wind-up windows and no power steering a few years ago and it was a great wee thing to drive. Not fast by any stretch of the imagination but then it wasn't meant to be.

Front crossmembers can be fixed but our one had terminal crunchiness at the rear suspension mounts which would have taken a lot of time to deal with. Also, starting work on it would undoubtedly have revealed more and more problem areas. It was broken for spares with under 40k miles on it. We think the hard Scottish winters of 2009/10 then 2010/11 ruined it.

(They are excellent in the snow with decent tyres BTW, just tiny 155s if I remember correctly).

 

Good luck, hope it's a good one.

Edit, just noticed it's a 1998 1.0, so maybe no power steering on that one either. Which is a bonus IMO, a bit more feel to the steering.

You really must check it thoroughly underneath for rust, ours looked deceptively mint otherwise. Got a bit of a shock when MOT came round, Mrs was in tears.

[sierraman]

Rust under the back end of the sills and the crossmember. Expect it to have seen a bit of welding action already, make sure it’s been done proper as opposed to plate over stuff

[JeeExEll]

https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/

 

DVLA MOT history shows up some corrosion issues previously. To be expected on a car of this age. Maybe all properly fixed and treated, who knows?

10 months' MOT so could be a cheap tidy reliable winter car, then see what next summer's MOT brings. . . .

[Psycho Charlie Knobcheese]

I'm on my second one, both 1999 1 Litres.

Cannot recommend them enough. I doubt there's a cheaper car to run per mile.

Crossmembers rust at the front but can be replaced. Part is about £30 but replacing it is a bit 'involved'.

Engine is pretty much unburstable with regular oil changes. 

Apparently the 1.3 and later 1.4 go a lot better than the 1.0 but mine is an absolute hoot to drive. I flog the living daylights out of it- Including a fair bit of motorway driving (mostly spent in lane 3) and it uses no oil whatsoever between (6000 mile) changes.

In 3 years and 25000 miles mine has needed a drop link, cv boot and a recon front caliper- parts cost about 70 quid.

Get it!

[Stanky]

Twin Cam Engine? CHECK

Oversquare bore:stroke for MOAR POWAAA? CHECK

Spoiler? CHECK

3 Door(Coupe)? CHECK

Prancing Bull on the back? CHECK

 

Literally nothing could go wrong (except rust in the sill ends and crossmember, which at least is easily spotted, and reduces kerbweight)

[sierraman]

I always felt very vulnerable in one when the at the time girlfriend had one. I know you could say this about a lot of old stuff but I wouldn’t fancy a bang in one especially if you are carting your kids about in it. If it’s not specific a micra you are are looking for I’d find something bigger, wouldn’t cost much more to run.

[Felly Magic]

If doing 36,000 miles in 6 months by security guards and never being serviced cannot kill one, I do not know what will. Yes front crossmembers do rust on these

[purplebargeken]

Mrs PBK has had two from new and they are pretty unburstable.

 

Engine-wise they will go on forever with regular oil and filter changes.

 

Interiors are also pretty robust.

 

As mentioned previously the sills tend to rust at the rear, more so with the 3 door versions. Crossmembers are also an issue.

 

Door handles can be a bit less than robust with age.

 

Lacquer peel happens on the chewit purple and the peridot green ones.

 

No PAS on base models.

 

Go for it.

[purplebargeken]

5'11" PBK son fits in the back quite well.

[pandamonium]

I always felt very vulnerable in one when the at the time girlfriend had one. I know you could say this about a lot of old stuff but I wouldn’t fancy a bang in one especially if you are carting your kids about in it. If it’s not specific a micra you are are looking for I’d find something bigger, wouldn’t cost much more to run.

 

 

When you are at to 300 odd end of the market, you don't get to be picky. 

 

Have seen this however .. 

 

[Stanky]

AEE/1598cc engine is tough, breather blocks and fills up with mayo. its not HGF. Check cambelt history, its either 20k overdue or got 40k miles in it, though check years. If it goes, its scrap. The Micra is cam chain and they are rock solid duplex jobbies so pretty much a non-issue.

 

Rust on these too, same sort of places as the K11.

 

Tax is more, and they are slugs. 74bhp from 1598cc is grim. Plenty of torque for a 90s petrol engine but low geared IMHO.

 

If it were me, and they are both the same sort of price, I'd go for the K11. cheaper to run, cheaper to tax, more reliable, and easier to spot the issues. Also its got a longer test I think?

[sierraman]

Providing it’s alright I’d go for the Skoda. Easier DIY if your into that stuff, more practical as it’s the estate, a bit more metal round you as well in a shunt. Can’t imagine the cam belt would be a bad job on that Skoda, they’re like lawnmower engines in them. I find stuff like those Skodas show their problems easily, there’s not a lot to check apart from impending mechanical fails and rot. Better with that in some ways than a £300 Focus. Bid him £300 with the cash in your hand and I reckon you’d get that.