I recently bought a 1997 Nissan Primera in a private sale. I had it AA checked and test drove it and everything was good. I paid my deposit and arranged to pick the vehicle up the following month as I needed to sell my car first to come up with the funds, which the seller was OK with. I agreed it was fine for him to continue to drive it in the mean time.
When I picked it up last week we went for a quick test drive and then did the hand over and change of ownership. Because of the delay in handing it over I signed an agreement to say the car was in the same condition as when it was originally viewed.
However, now I have driven it on the open road it is missing and stuttering quite badly at around 90-100kph. I'm not sure it was doing this when I originally test drove it. I have texted the seller and he says it has always done it since he bought it a year ago but hasn't gotten any worse. He said it is likely to be a MAF sensor. I've looked into it and they are nearly $1000 from Repco!
What can I do! Am I entitled to get my money back! I have been patiently waiting for the car and now am feeling a bit ripped off. It only does it at that speed on the open road which could be why I missed it.
Thanks
intrade,
Nov 27, 8:23pm
well if you would ask on here before then we or at least me would have told you the AA test is usless. and that a 5 year old can write a better report about cars. secoundly you dont buy things from repco and thirdlyyou dont replace parts nilli willy.
intrade,
Nov 27, 8:26pm
private seller and sign of a notice as is meansyou cant return it unless the seller is willing to do so. thats whyyou make people sign that note because otherwisethey can sueyou under consumer guarantees act years later all over its almost like america in this country now.
intrade,
Nov 27, 8:33pm
a new mass airflrow will be about 300$ or so . i hope you did not buy a automatic car becuas then we can rule out the problem being from the transmission.! Also repco standsfor rip-every -poor -c*#/- off remember that one the last place to buy from once every other place was to expensive you try there only. Now post exactly what car it is what engine it has . I found stuttering problem can be as simply as sparkplug faults . if your happy with the car then you should do a propper full cervice starting with all things service related that can make a car stutter. thats what i do on everycar i buy full service unless i get a surprise and the services where however all done already. only got one car in my whole liveso far that was serviced correctly in this country.
desyla22,
Nov 27, 8:55pm
Thanks for the replies.
It is an automatic 2 liter. I've now heard of a place in Nelson that will check AFM $120-$160 for repair if damaged, or just $30-$40 if not (checking/cleaning fee) so I might do that. It was serviced about 5000 km ago and got plugs, fuel filter and air filter 10k ago.
It starts missing at about 2500-3000 rpm and only noticeable in the top gear once it finally changes up and the revs drop it starts happening.
Am I basically stuck with this car then!
kazbanz,
Nov 27, 9:14pm
Op - To be honest Im scratching my head at YOUR take on this. You made the seller wait for their money. You had a PP inspection and now you want to back out of a private sale. AFM issues are pretty common with the older nissans and the fix isnot drug money--ignoreing the ripco price.
theram1,
Nov 27, 9:15pm
Last time I mentioned 'dog and lemon guide', I was I was questioned about my state of mind. Avoid Nissans over 150000KMS , Nissan's are designed to last around 10 years, that's all American buyer expect. Sorry to hear about your experience, it must leave a bad taste in your mouth.
beast9,
Nov 27, 9:19pm
get a can of brakleen take the maf out and spray the small resistance wire and surrounding area with it then blow dry with an air compressor if that doesnt fix it you might have get a diagnostics done on it
intrade,
Nov 27, 9:23pm
the problem is the dog and lemon guy is a complete moron if he gets things right then purely due to luckjust like AAprepurchase inspections i recall once somone had a AA check done 2 weeks after it blew up . and then other times they advised not to buy acar because of to mutch paint scratches.
motorboy2011,
Nov 27, 9:26pm
You state you're not even sure if it was doing this or not when you drove it, you can't complain about something your not even sure on. I'd suggest doing the plugs and leads 1st over the afm.
intrade,
Nov 27, 9:27pm
also get the auto trans serviced by a automatic trans rebuild place befor it starts to die , full service with flush and filter and all other potential things. like some youcan adjust bands for example some mazda capella trans that i serviced . I get all info on how to correctly do thingy from my local trans rebuilder. Usually its tightening a screw then looseningspecific turns to adjust bands. each trans will be different its why you need somone with all the knowhow, and automatic trans rebuilders should have that knowhow. Good luck with it .
theram1,
Nov 27, 9:30pm
Pure luck then that he mentions idling problems and other problems!. One read of this book would make me look past Nissan's. As for AA I did not mention them.
intrade,
Nov 27, 9:33pm
also what ever somone tells you about a car being done . assume it is a lie. You be amazed as to how often i got told cambelt was done and then when i purchased the car it infact had not been done at all. as a example Also i just got a corolla automatic from a client moving back to europe next year it had a wierd miss just before it switched in to topgear. I knew it be either a trans problem or the engine . So took it to the trans rebuilder for him to give opinion and sell me the parts and servicing instructions. He told me to drain the diff also on that box as it is seperate from the trans and it wont be the transmission at fault. i saidyea it be the engines sparkplugs then . pulled the plugs and they where like burned off candles the car had about done 40,000km on them ngk plugsfitted new ones and problem solfed. Serviced trans and all the rest of it and its now a mint corolla again.
desyla22,
Nov 27, 9:38pm
I guess it just sucks that they knew it was happening but didn't mention it in the ad or even while we were looking over it, even though it had apparently always been happening.
The owner said he had previously cleaned the AFM with brake cleaner and it did make an improvement but has kept doing it slightly, then they got a diagnostics scan which brought up nothing but a TPS error whatever that is.
Does Midas have a good reputation with transmissions! They have done my car services in the past and have a transmission flushing device but I don't know if that means they can adjust the bands.
Once again thanks for all the advice.
beast9,
Nov 27, 9:40pm
TPS stands for throttle position sensor
intrade,
Nov 27, 9:42pm
do not go to midas or pitstiop! you want a automatic transmission rebuild place.Read my posts.
theram1,
Nov 27, 9:50pm
read your post,it only mentions Europe, is there somewhere local!:)
intrade,
Nov 27, 9:53pm
you open your local phone book. there myght be somone in there. Or you could ask on here where in your region is a good trans rebuild place.
desyla22,
Nov 27, 9:55pm
This is starting to sound so expensive. Transmission rebuild place! Isn't a service a service! They have a specific flushing machine for it. I was quoted about $200 from memory which seemed cheap, but ok.
Is there a way it could be the TPS causing this issue!
intrade,
Nov 27, 9:56pm
be warned there is cowboys out there in whangarei there is only one good place. the other place i went to once quoted 1600$ for a torqueconverter rebuild and we got it all done in auckland for 180$ that was before i got to know about the good local guy i found after here.
intrade,
Nov 27, 10:00pm
i would get all services done or checked if it needs doing desyla22 by a place you can trust, i dont know any places in hammilton you would have to come to whangarei to my guy to be sure that you wont be ripped off for auto trans diagnostic and service. maybe somone knows a good trusted place in hamilton!
desyla22,
Nov 27, 10:00pm
Thanks for that. I'll be moving down to Dunedin after Christmas so I will hold out until then to get it fixed (can't afford it now). If anyone can recommend a place to take it that would be great.
intrade,
Nov 27, 10:02pm
also you dont just flush a auto transyou always drop the sump and change the filter . it be ending up 350$ or so for the complete works not just 200$ for a flush that is of no mutch use and could be done at home for 160$ as thats what the 15 liter trans fluid cost. You have to drop the sump to clean the magnets that collect the transmission metal rubbings.
intrade,
Nov 27, 10:05pm
to be sure there is no major problem with trans you pull the transmission stick and mesure the fluids with engine operating. and check the colour , if its dextron 3 that i would assumeis what a 96 nissan will run on it has to be like red wine colour nice red. not black. the darker it is the more urgent is a service.
kamitchell,
Nov 27, 10:07pm
If only doing it at high revs could also check your fuel system forpump problem, low fuel pressure orblocked filter. Had a friends mazda do this years ago and was starving of fuel due to blocked filter.
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