Buying a 1 year old 1.5dci Acenta on Monday

All Nissan Pulsar related discussions
todduncious
Posts: 16
Joined: Fri Jul 28, 2017 10:32 pm
Location: Ballyskeagh, Lisburn, Co. Antrim

Post by todduncious »

Hello,

My first time here so apologies in advance if this has all been asked before :) I am buying a May 2016 Pulsar Acenta 1.5dci on Monday next, (31st July 2017), and just want some advice from the forum before I sign on the dotted line. The car has 11 400 miles and will replace our 2013 Qashqai +2 1.5dci 360 with 54 000 miles which we both thought was a disappointment to drive and own. We seem to be getting a good deal with not much money required to change but I suspect this is because the Pulsar has not been a great seller for Nissan, (unlike the QQ+2!), and may be on the road out? This doesn't bother me but I just want to know if there is anything that I should be particularly aware of at this mileage and age.....hopefully not though :)

The car drives much more smoothly than the QQ, is quieter, feels faster and is just as roomy for 5 adults but there aren't many on the road. Is it an underrated bargain or should I think again?

e.g. I had to replace the clutch & dmf on the QQ at 50K and was a little suspicious when the salesman suggested I press the brake pedal during start up rather than the clutch as indicated on the dash as this caused less wear on the clutch. Am I being overly concerned here.

Your collective advice would be very welcome asap! :)

Regards.

Deleted User 667

Post by Deleted User 667 »

I swapped from a 2014 1.2 DIG-T QQ (long story short.... it was an utter lemon) and bought a 2016 1.6 DIG-T Pulsar. Again, not a lot of money between trade in and purchase of Pulsar, seemed to good to be true but the family much prefer it compared the 2014 Qashqai.

You are correct in that the model seems to have not met Nissan's expectations despite it being a good car overall, and there are rumors knocking around that the model is about to be dropped. Not sure why as I really like my Pulsar!! This has helped the 2nd hand market to push prices down, that and Nissan were being funny about new orders when I was looking around just over a month ago. I suspect the cost difference between a new Pulsar and QQ was not that much, and the QQ being the more tried and tested car, people were swayed towards the QQ.

The 1.5 DCI engine has been around for a while now, and going off the lack of 'issues' reported on the QQ Forums which shares the same engine, no real issues have been reported.

As to what to look for.... I don't think the cars are old enough to have developed a list of 'to look out for' to be honest. Do your usual 'due diligence' checks on the car...
nottmsteve
Posts: 152
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2017 4:35 pm
Location: East Midlands

Post by nottmsteve »

Welcome to Pulsar ownership!

Sorry, I haven't really got anything to help - I'm a 1.2 petrol Pulsar owner.

I have to say though that I like that there's not many about.

Had mine just under 2 months now and I can honestly say I enjoy every time that I drive it, and you're right, there's loads of room in it.
2017 1.2 Pulsar Tekna
2017 1.2 Micra Acenta
kt53
Posts: 626
Joined: Sun Nov 13, 2016 4:29 pm

Post by kt53 »

The only real negative as far as I'm concerned is the Stop/Start system which seems to kick in at random and is inclined to stall when you try to pull away. I've stalled in the Pulsar at least a dozen times in the 9 months I've owned it. I honestly can't remember the last time I had a car stall prior to that. I've got to the stage where I switch the Stop/Start off, it's on the occasions where I've forgotten to do it that the ****** thing stalls. I'll get them to check it out when it goes in for service, but I didn't want to be without a car so haven't taken it in for specific investigation.
todduncious
Posts: 16
Joined: Fri Jul 28, 2017 10:32 pm
Location: Ballyskeagh, Lisburn, Co. Antrim

Post by todduncious »

Hello again,

Thanks for all your replies - all very helpful. Yes, the 1.5dci is like the 'National Engine of France', millions of these units made by Renault. The main problems have been premature timing belt wear due to the proximity of the water pump and sticky egr valves which can cause concerns with turbo cooling and reluctant starting. I haven't experienced any of this ,though I've only kept the car 10 months ,but I think they have been fairly well addressed in recent times.

I like the potential 'rarity' aspect as well. Maybe this will lead to an added rarity value come trade- in time? :D We tend to keep our cars a long time having exchanged a 2005 Passat Tdi Highline 130 with 190 000 miles and a 2004 Almera petrol 3dr with 80 000 for the 3 year old QQ+2. Both were owned from new and we got basically ****** all for both. I hope the Pulsar is durable as we intend to go long term with this too. Anyway, I fear that even current trade in value for a Pulsar might be close to ****** all so there will be no choice! :D

The deal we have is for a 1.5dci Accenta but a 1.2 petrol may well have suited better. It is probably quieter, nippier from standstill yet still quite economical. My mileage is greatly reduced now as I took early retirement last year so petrol would probably have been ok. They only had the diesel in our price bracket and year. Anyway, I'm used to diesels and it was quieter and felt more refined in the Pulsar compared to the QQ+2 during the test drive... the car had only 400 miles on it though! I intend to test drive 'our' 11 400 miler before I finally sign though. :)

Just one other thing, (you'll be glad to hear), the car is fitted with 195/60 tyres. I know these are standard fit on the 16" alloys, but they seem a bit 'skinny' for a modern car. Most of the competition has at least 205/60 fitted. Any thoughts on their suitability or otherwise?

Thanks for reading my book! :D

Regards to all.

One of my wife's sisters has a 2014 QQ 1.2 petrol with Start/Stop and she has also disabled it. She then tried to use it again but it refused to switch on so she simply does without. I personally wouldn't care for it, I'd rather they had fitted parking sensors as standard fit.
kt53
Posts: 626
Joined: Sun Nov 13, 2016 4:29 pm

Post by kt53 »

'Nippier from standstill' isn't a phrase I would apply to the 1.2 petrol. It won't pull at all at low revs in 2nd and, in 1st, seems to rev the a**e of it without really accelerating. Overall though it's a decent car, and I also plan to keep it for years. My previous 2 cars I had for 9 years each, and the missus's Micra is now just over 10 years old. I don't understand why people change cars every 3 years unless they do very high mileage. My neighbour used to do this and he rarely did more than 5 or 6 k per year.
todduncious
Posts: 16
Joined: Fri Jul 28, 2017 10:32 pm
Location: Ballyskeagh, Lisburn, Co. Antrim

Post by todduncious »

Yes I guess the 1.2 won't wrinkle the tarmac but pulls ok when it gets going?

Picking the car up tomorrow @ 1530hrs so from what I have read I'm good to go. :)

Keep any posts going though.

Regards.
Deleted User 667

Post by Deleted User 667 »

Thanks for all your replies - all very helpful. Yes, the 1.5dci is like the 'National Engine of France', millions of these units made by Renault. The main problems have been premature timing belt wear due to the proximity of the water pump and sticky egr valves which can cause concerns with turbo cooling and reluctant starting.
The timing belt issue was when the engine was fairly new and seemed limited to the J10 QQ range. The newer ones don't seem to have this issue.

Sticky EGR seems to be a common thing with derv engines to be honest due to their more 'messy/sooty' exhaust nature. Should not affect turbo cooling though as either they are water cooled, or heat is taken away via oil. EGR is more of an eco/exhaust reburn function rather than cooling!
kt53
Posts: 626
Joined: Sun Nov 13, 2016 4:29 pm

Post by kt53 »

todduncious wrote: Sun Jul 30, 2017 2:20 pm Yes I guess the 1.2 won't wrinkle the tarmac but pulls ok when it gets going?

Picking the car up tomorrow @ 1530hrs so from what I have read I'm good to go. :)

Keep any posts going though.

Regards.
Yes, it certainly shifts once it gets going. Very quiet too and decent fuel consumption of high 30s around town and mid to high 40s on a run.
todduncious
Posts: 16
Joined: Fri Jul 28, 2017 10:32 pm
Location: Ballyskeagh, Lisburn, Co. Antrim

Post by todduncious »

Thanks again. I thought I read on Honest John that the egr valve in the Renault K9K unit played some part in cooling the turbocharger.... but hey... thats great if it is just a 'diesel thing'. :)

I've had two Renaults from new in the past a 2.2D non-turbo and a 1.9dci. Both gave no bother. I sold the dci to a colleague some years ago and he still drives it with 250 000 + miles on the clock! :)

Regards.
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