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.

[badkuk]

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).
...
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.

interesting

makiki usisa lang po B) so kung nasira nga, pwedeng bilhin ung plastic portion lang, or buong radiator kelangan palitan?

[OTEP]

If it's a Denso radiator, you can have it repaired at select Denso repair facilities. They will have parts for it.

I'm not sure about other brands (e.g. Behr radiators on Mercedes Benz and other Euro cars).

Evercool also makes replacement radiators with plastic tops, AFAIK.