How long can a Nissan Micra go for,,,10 years?

puddy

I bought a 2005 (54 plate) micra in august 07. my plan was that i would 'upgrade' when the car was about 10.

i used to do a lot of miles in the car, about 20k a year, from september i use the car around 3 days a week but dont travel the hundreds of miles i used to.

2 things have happened recently that have surprised me.
firstly, after i stopped working full time in september, i moved the car one morning out of the drive to the road. when i then tried to start it again later, it wouldnt go. local mechanic came out to say that it might have just been a stuck spark plug (dont think they have ever been changed), he got it going by putting his foot hard on the accelerator for a long time.
i read on here, that the best thing is not to start a car up for a few seconds then stop it again (for a micra anyway).

now monday,,, went shopping, came home, turned off car, locked it with the remote key thing. instead of doing its usual 'clunk' sound and flashing the indicator lights to show its locked, it made feeble sounding clicks and the lights kept flickering. i made sure the car was locked and thought no more about it.

later when it got dark, i noticed that the lights were still flickering, so thought i would investigate to find that i couldnt get the car open, the key wasnt working remotely.

panicked and phoned a car locksmith who advised that my car definately does have a keyhole, secretly!! anyway, got into the car and turned off all the lights so that it stopped flickering but the lights having flickered the whole day made the battery flat, so today it was jump started and is now in the garage being charged up.

anyway, my question is, that from a reliable, throw anything at it car, ive had 2 little niggles in the past few months and am worried that this might signal that things are going to go wrong with the car. im assuming that there might be something wrong with the electrics of the car, but mechanic reckons its just the cold.

so can i expect this car to last another 5 years or not?

current mileage is 46k, so is officially under the average for its age but thats only because it was incredibly low mileage when i bought it.

i love my car, i dont want to get loads of hassle with it

Anihilator

Oh dear get a !!!!ing grip

Both are clearly maintainance issues of a minor nature. The battery in your key fob is probably flat.

Of course if you maintain it properly it will last 10 years.

puddy

have you got the male version of pmt today or are you always like this?

rictus123

Look after it and you will get at least 15 years.

Anihilator

jenner wrote: »

have you got the male version of pmt today or are you always like this?

No, I just cant believe how !!!!ing stupid you are.

delain

My mum's got my old N reg micra and it never misses a beat

Never failed an mot, starts first time every time, not bad for a 15 year old car.

delain

jenner wrote: »

have you got the male version of pmt today or are you always like this?

Always like it, no use getting wound up, just leave him to it :rolleyes:

puddy

delain wrote: »

Always like it, no use getting wound up, just leave him to it :rolleyes:

ah, ok.

yes, it is looked after, i have it serviced every year and do the basics to it
just worrying slightly as my mum and dad have a very old micra, my step daughter has a very old micra and my friend has the same car (a year older) than mine. she said her mechanic reckons that the new style micras were not as good as the old ones, but hopefully thats not true

delain

jenner wrote: »

ah, ok.

yes, it is looked after, i have it serviced every year and do the basics to it
just worrying slightly as my mum and dad have a very old micra, my step daughter has a very old micra and my friend has the same car (a year older) than mine. she said her mechanic reckons that the new style micras were not as good as the old ones, but hopefully thats not true

I don't know, unless i win the lottery or something I won't be able to afford anything above the huge 'jump' between the W/Y reg cars and the identical cars with the 51 up plates :rotfl:

It's true that newer cars have more to go wrong, and the bodywork (so I've heard) is less solid.

Also older cars are easy to repair, when my mum reversed into a handrail (don't ask!) she had new rear windscreen within a day, for £80 fitted without having to claim on her insurance. Not that I think you would be silly enough to do that

DaveMacD

Yup, it's probably the cold. How old is the battery? Maybe consider a replacement if it's 4 or 5 years old. Change the battery in the remote too (Poundland will be your friend for that) Don't believe the govt. guff that you NEED a newer car. Most cars are easily capable of a 20 year lifespan as long as you look after them. My old Pug 406 is an R plate(97) and it's still running well, even though I sold it a good few years ago, I still see it driving about.

puddy

yes the battery will be 5 years old. the key fob seems fine, there just seemed to be something electrical stuttering that stopped the lights working properly on monday and then the key working (we have 2, both of them reacted the same way and the 2nd one has virtually never been used). it was weird, the car made a strange light click as i said and then one (only one) of the side lights at the front came on. turning the car on and off didnt seem to make a difference, so decided to wait until my partner came home in the evening. by then (as it was then dark) i could see that the lights had been slightly flickering all day and thats when the keys didnt work to get in the car.
after finding the secret keyhole and accessing the car that way, by today (was out all day yesterday) the keys are working fine again, v strange, but battery still flat as a pancake

i would imagine it is the cold combined with the fact that i used to drive it hundreds of miles every day whereas now its only used a couple of times a week if that.