Good Cheap Motoring: Nissan Micra K13 Buyer's Guide and Road Test

[@grumpybear3066]

Just stumbled across this, i have the K13 2012 3 cyc auto which has now hit the 180,000 klm. Still no problem with bearings control arms or struts. I have done the brakes myself and just last week a coil on number 3 cyc broke down, i have replaced all three including iridium spark plugs plus this service i also included an engine flush. this car was an ex rental with 50k on it when i brought it with still one years warranty left on it. I have to say it is the most reliable car i have ever owned and i am 66 years old. Have had no problems with the trim or glove boxes but of my own choosing i imported a new fascia to support a 10" screen to upgrade the entertainment system, new fascia was just $33 AU so i now have navigation and thanks to a DAB+ dongle i have DAB+ radio.

[@turn6garage640]

Thanks, great to hear your K13 has been treating you well. As a reliable, fuel efficient and cheap to run daily driver, the K13 is one of the best.

[@bencrallan6049]

If I’m honest, I feel you’ve been a bit harsh. My 16 plate K13 is a good work horse for me. The gearbox is okay and the power is fine? I can get 0~60 mph okay without going over 2.5k revs per shift. I service every 6 months due to mileage and usage. The only point I really agree with is the trim. But we’d all be boring if we had the same opinion.

[@CharlieBaes]

I believe the older k13s before the “facelift” didn’t have the build quality nailed but 2014 and onwards the k13 (facelift) are sweet little cars and nice to work on

[@malcolmnicholls2893]

Ours is from India. Bought new is about 5 years old. Tyres lasted nearly 50,000 miles the set, remarkable. But, the front A arm bearings were shot. Tyre mileage confirms careful driving. Bushes must be bad. My wife's car so garage serviced. So, had discs, linings, A arms at 45,000 miles. Most people blame Renault input. Car is fast enough for general use and a comfortable driving position. 3 cy. engine pulls away OK but lacks low end power as stated, probably eco computer mapping. Gearbox sounds like an old coach from new but seems strong. (UK).

[@turn6garage640]

Thanks for sharing your experience with your K13. Gauging from what I saw when we changed the lower control arms, they weren't the first ones that were put on that car. Both were different, someone did them at different times, although I think that the ones we put on were the 3rd set for that car, the ones we removed looked like aftermarket parts. Our K13 has 116,000kms (72,000 miles) and I was pretty certain when we looked at it, the brakes had previously been done at some point as had the front wheel bearings (car had no history to confirm, only history I was able to get over the phone from the previous mechanic and original dealer were oil changes). CVs on the left also looked to have been changed as well but not the right, which we had done. Apart from that the previous owner didn't do anything, oil was very dark and filthy, air filter was six years old, tyres were bald and mismatched, rear wheel bearings were worn out and they left the interior quite a state. The car does share parts with Renaults, I would like to do a Clio III or IV at some point and see the commonalities between the two. I would like to sample a 1.5 four cylinder to see if the extra cylinder gives it more useable low end power, but I agree that there is definitely eco computer mapping going on with that engine.

[@wiarsihsomara.5633]

@@turn6garage640 n

[@MrWilliam.Stewart]

Another thing these cars love to do is shed their side mirror glass on the ground. The reason for this problem is obvious when you see Renault stamped on the black plastic that held the mirror glass in place. Renault did the glove box too, obviously.

[@ikbalkhan7535]

I have a k13, my oil never goes black, the worst i had was brown wood ish color

[@Prince5887]

Have one 2012 1.2 it’s fine one thing their a chain on the timeing belt not rubber

[@simonbone]

Got a 2015 K13 with 90,000 km on it. It failed inspection due to the front control arms. I replaced them myself - parts were cheap and the job was fiddly but not hard - and it passed. Bearings fine so far. The only other mechanical problem so far has been a premature failure of the engine fan assembly. (Edit: And the clutch started to slip at 84,000 km. Got a garage to replace it for a relatively reasonable 600 euros. Forgot about it because I didn't do it myself!)

[@jarnevanhecke7913]

What if it is FEUK13? Instead of FA or FB?

[@Bareego]

Bought a 2014 auto 1.2l a couple of years ago for 7k, was cheaper because of some hail damage. Great car but don't expect much of a hill climbing experience. Another thing to mention is that the headlights being almost horizontal, get a lot of UV exposure and will easily get cloudy, so park the car with shade on those when possible. Reason I bought was that I had driven this car before and it must be the easiest car to park that I know. Fits everywhere and has great vision all around. Also when I bought it had to replace that left rear wheel bearing, was cheap for A$70 part and A$110 labor. Don't go to the mechanics that want to charge you over A$500 for it.

[@turn6garage640]

You did very well on price with your car, there was another 2014 (manual 1.2 ST) I looked at a couple of years ago that sold for $4500 with minor side damage, which was a real bargain. Definitely agree with the headlights, I had to clean those quite a bit. That was a Queensland car for most of its life so they were especially cloudy given that car's UV exposure. I got the bearing and did it myself (although I had to get it pressed for $88 for both drums) as it was a cheap DIY fix.

[@nethamilton6573]

yep, my top glove box snapped off!

[@turn6garage640]

Ones with original intact top glove boxes seem to be a rarity. The common break point is the top of the two small circular clips where the lid rotates. From looking at the one off this car and others at the wreckers, the plastic is quite thin and brittle at this point, which might explain why this occurs.

[@mustafanaji6591]

Very good car.

[@robinazza198]

Warnane apik lek

[@john_yeager]

What about handling I heard the worst and steering like a boat

[@turn6garage640]

Handling was good on our K13, there was a bit of understeer but that's expected for a front wheel drive econobox. For our car, the good handling partially had to do with the Continentals put on it. The dead rubber it was on originally really didn't help its cause, a good set of boots would really get the most out of the K13.

[@27hatchlane]

Am abt to buy used car micra cvt 2018 for 5000 dollars