Nissian Prairie 1988 (Australia)

[bison_bloke]

Can anybody tell me anything about these cars? I think they're the coolest car out, possibly cos they're so ugly. I want to buy one but wouldn't mind knowing what type of engine they run. Is it a standard datsan? Are parts easy to get?

Thanks to anyone who can tell me anything.

[dUa]

Hello bison_bloke,

I am from Romania and i have an '86 Prairie since last year. I bought it for just 600 euros and this was the cheapest deal ever because is in perfect shape ( fizical and optical ). My Prairie has a 2.0 liter engine ( model CA20E ) and is 4WD with manual gearbox. There are 2 other model types that i know... it is another 2.0 liter 2WD and a 1.8GL or SGL.
Two months ago i discovered some problems and i went to Nissan service and they told me that i should replace the next parts:
Belt-timing - 40 Euros
Tensioner Assy-Belt - 90 Euros
Seal-Oil Camsha - 7 Euros
Belt Fan - not in stock and unknown price
Belt-Power steering oil pump - 20 Euros
Belt-Compressor - 20 Euros
Seal OIL CR/SFT - 40 Euros
Oil Seal-Crank - 7 Euros
Element oil - oil filter - 10 Euros

Those represent a total costs of 250 Euros without the pays for the man who will assemble them. I think that the total cost will be around 500 Euros.

In Romania i didnt find any piece for this car and the nissan service dealer gave me the address of an american parts dealer. This dealer is no longer shipping internationally .
In Europe its very hard to get parts for this car. I dont know what is the prairie parts situation in Australia but i want to give you an advice.

DONT BUY THIS PIECE OF SHIT CAR

It is like you are marrying with a bitch.. you always know that you will be having problems with her and always repair. )

I apologize for moderators for answering to a preistoric post but my post represents an advice for future owners

[Tchotto]

Hello and poor you , dUa ! What have you done ? It seems that you bought a car without having the means to maintain it in good conditions and drive it "normally " .
When reading your post, I found a little bit unreasonable from you to complain so much about this car ! Indeed, personnaly, when I buy a second hand car , I intellectually and tacitly accept that I could or will have to spend some money to make it run the way I like ! It's not a brand new car you bought there, isn't it !
The maintenance fees you showed us that you'll have to pay are normal to keep driving in good conditions after one year of use . How many kms do you read on the meter of your car ? And how many did you drive sinds you own that one ?
When you buy second hand car, the level of quality you may expect from it us a question of luck too depending the way it has been driven and maintained buy the previous owner s) . And it depends also on the time it didn't run also ! Once you have done all these little maintenance details ,I guess you"ll be satisfied ! To find the parts inyour country is another thing ! But your Nisssan dealer or importer should be able to get the parts from Japan . They must have all the computer means and links to do it !
Personnaly , I am the owner and driver of a Nissan Prairie 1,5 1500cc of 20 years of age - 1988 . This Nissan Prairie 1,5 shows 165.000 kms on the meter . I bought it as a second hand car 14 years ago . Within these 14 years of driving, I changed the oil , the oil filter only once ! But I am carefull to add regularly the quantity of oil missing without never overpassing the minimum and the maximum ! The same with the water level !I changed the 4 sparkling plugs only once too ! No twice , to be honest! But the second change wasn't necessary because the problem I got at that time was humidity in the sparkling wires . It's always parked outside the house all the year through . And it's still running ! The 5 speed is out of order ( it jumps out .) ,and up till now I did'nt feel the need to change all the gearbox by a secondhand one for +/- 400 € ( or dollars ) . All together, I estimate the cost of repairs and normal changes (tires,battery,)done on this car at about 1.000 € ( = same in US dol +/- ) . The best car I ever got amoung all the second hand ones I always bought uptill now for 35 years ! Of course I am conscious that I am not driving a new car and I dare taking the risk it breaks down any time !
To find the parts you need, maybe this address could help ...

[url]http://www.247spares.co.uk/nissan-Prairie[/url]

A pic of the model I drive

And from the front here ...




The africans like to buy and import such car in their countries because there are not yet any complicated electronic devices in it ! Easy and cheap to maintain with 2d hand or recycled parts .
As long as it runs ,Idon't want to get rid of it and prefer to spend some money to fixe what's wrong on it year after years !
So , don't panic ! And spend that small amount of money to make it work ! Bye ! And Good luck !

[Tchotto]

Hello to all of the readers of this site ! It's been a long time since I visited this forum which doesn't seem very active , helas . Hum !
I pop in this 26th of february 2012 to let you know that I just have to and did sell my car - Nissan prairie M10 1500 cc 1988 - one year before it becoming an an " oldtimer " . I had to get rid of it because of the city office's environmental new policy . They wanted me to throw away the car because it didn't fit the annual technical control rules and was considered as a polluting car eventhough I wasn't driving it on the roads anymore and had it parked on the private ground in front of my home. That wasn't enough for the administration : such cars are polluting and should be scratched for them and not put in the trafic anymore. I nearly had to pay some fine . I begged for some delay and finally had time to sell it to a very happy man . Better than throwing it away !
Finally, I could sold it yesterday to Nissan Prairie lover ! And I am very glad he will fix it and drive it for a long time, I hope ! I am sad i couldn't keep ir for myself ! That's life !
Instead, I bought a 24 years old Mercedes-Benz 250 D diesel . The car body is nickel , no one negative point concerning the checklist estabished for the legal and compulsory annual technical control .
That means I wont feel very much concerned with the Nissan cars anymore ...at least for a certain time . Who knows that one day I come back to that maker.
By the way, the Nissan Prairie = Nissan Stanza Wagon in the States = Nissan Multi in Canada had this exceptional particularity that it had no vertical door separation between the front door and the sliding backdoor. Great !
But there is a good news : The car maker Ford is putting a new model on the market , starting this year 2012 which has the same feature as that Nissan Prairie ! waw !
Maybe in a near future could I buy that Ford model when it will be available as a secondhand car ! Let's be patient !
The Mercedes-benz 250 D - motor W214 diesel , 5 cyl - anno 1988 - seems ok. The car-body is perfect but a bizarre noise located in the back transmission box appears when driving too slowly at a to high speed : for instance : at the 3rd speed at a very low rpm such under 2.000rpm . I'll have to deepen my search for this problem ! The car has run +/- 250.000kms , I think, eventhough the meter is indicating 175.000 kms only but doesn't seem ti work correctly ! . I'll probably shift to a Mercedes-Benz forum in the future . See you one day here or on a MB forum ! Ciao ! You will follow me by checking my nickname in google or another Net engine ! Ciao!
Bye to all and enjoy your Nissan Prairie and keep it running for a long time ! Ciao !