Nissan Cefiro

[catinamosh]

Hi, newbie here.

Is a second-hand 97 Nissan Cefiro M/T a good buy? What are the things that I need to look out for when shopping for this car? What are the common problems that owners experience? How about maintenance? I'm assuming since this is already a 10 year old car, I might need to have some things fixed.

Thanks in advance!

[kmo]

it is a good buy very comfy plus with the manual tranny i guess its not sluggish alam ko problem lang with the cefiro is the readitor .. check that nalang besides that alam ko this car is very reliable and sturdy

[catinamosh]

Thanks for your reply!

Do you suggest that I should have the radiator replaced once I buy the car? The stock radiator on the 97 cefiro isn't made of metal right? When our old car overheated a long time ago, we replaced the plastic(?) radiator with a metal one and it hasn't overheated since.

Any other comments about this car? I would really appreciate it

[OTEP]

The OEM radiator is a combination of plastic and aluminum.

The top is plastic because its supposed to destroy itself in the event of an overheat (sort of like a fuse for the cooling system). Otherwise, the pressure will relieve itself at the next weakest point. Which is usually the [very expensive to replace] cylinder head gasket.

Your past overheat may not have been due to the radiator having a plastic component. It just so happens the radiator sacrificed itself to save the engine.

[catinamosh]

The OEM radiator is a combination of plastic and aluminum.

The top is plastic because its supposed to destroy itself in the event of an overheat (sort of like a fuse for the cooling system). Otherwise, the pressure will relieve itself at the next weakest point. Which is usually the [very expensive to replace] cylinder head gasket.

Your past overheat may not have been due to the radiator having a plastic component. It just so happens the radiator sacrificed itself to save the engine.

Thanks for the info

Any comments on the 97 cefiro? I'm planning to buy a 2nd hand car when I get back from my trip.

[OTEP]

I like that model. It's the one that looks like the Inifiniti I30. Units now go for as low as Php230k which is a steal.

There were issues with overheating and blown gaskets but I'm guessing you can find a unit without those problems. The fully automatic climate control also had its share of bugs (dead, not responding, etc.) but this would have been probably corrected by the former owner by now.

Suspension is not that complicated. The rear is not even independent so there are less things to go wrong.

Even the most basic Cefiro with minimal wood and cloth seats feels luxurious.

Other people may contend that driving a Cefiro makes one look like manong tsuper. But I guess nasa pagdadala na lang iyan.

Other popular vehicles in the segment included the Accord, Galant, and Camry. But the Cefiro trumps them all in terms of sheer bling factor.

[catinamosh]

I like that model. It's the one that looks like the Inifiniti I30. Units now go for as low as Php230k which is a steal.

There were issues with overheating and blown gaskets but I'm guessing you can find a unit without those problems. The fully automatic climate control also had its share of bugs (dead, not responding, etc.) but this would have been probably corrected by the former owner by now.

Suspension is not that complicated. The rear is not even independent so there are less things to go wrong.

Even the most basic Cefiro with minimal wood and cloth seats feels luxurious.

Other people may contend that driving a Cefiro makes one look like manong tsuper. But I guess nasa pagdadala na lang iyan.

Other popular vehicles in the segment included the Accord, Galant, and Camry. But the Cefiro trumps them all in terms of sheer bling factor.

Yeah, I really like how it looks. I dunno about bling though... The unit that I'm currently looking at is silver. I'm not really conscious of what people would think if they see me driving a car like this.

Is it expensive to have the automatic climate control repaired if it breaks?

I'm looking at a M/T 2 liter v6 model. Does that engine have enough grunt to carry that big chassis? Does anyone have an idea on the hp and torque output? I haven't driven a big car before so I wouldn't know, hehehe I'm asking because almost all of the new executive cars has at least a 2.4 liter engine nowadays. Albeit, all of those 2.4 engines have 4 cylinders instead of 6.

I read that the cefiro's ride and nvh is really good. How about handling?

Thanks! Keep the replies coming

[OTEP]

The 2.0 makes 155bhp. Adequate for local conditions.

The control panel is the most expensive part of the a/c system. Not sure how much that panel costs. But don't count on it breaking much. The other parts like the compressor, evaporator, etc. costs about the same as similar parts for the Sentra.

[vinj]

It is a good car but if there are repairs to be made to the engine, it can be heavy as well so make sure on the following:
- no oil leaks (common with the first VQ engines when they go over 80,000kms). if there are leaks, the engine has to be brought down and gaskets have to changed (and water pump na rin para isang babaan nalang)
- no overheating; if you get a unit that overheated badly before then it'll be expensive to repair.
- no engine knock/"tope" when you drive (test the car with the windows down). if it ahs engine knock, either the knock sensor has to be replaced or the car isnt running on 95 octane fuel (Cefiro requires 95 Octane).
- service history intact

The suspension is good and not hard to repair (daming parts). We had a unit before and it was a really good car. Lotsa space and good power for long drives. The make or break factor is finding a unit that was maintained properly by the owner.

[IMm29]

That model is a solid car. NVH and ride are great. Its market value is just quite low mainly due to its brand. Had it been with a 'T' badge, it would still be priced higher. If you can find a well-maintained unit, go for it.