2010 Nissan Micra rust

SARAHBLANKLEY

MEMBER
2010 NISSAN MICRA
1.2L
MANUAL
63,000 MILES

I'm looking to buy a car. The engine mount has surface rust and the wheels do also. Discs are fine just the inner wheel and the old bolt does too. Do I walk away. A few people have said surface rust is fine and isn't a problem. The car's actual body etc has no rust/scratches or dents it's perfect. It had 1 previous owner. Help please!

Thanks

Sarah

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,916 POSTS

If you're looking at surface rust, you're looking at the wrong stuff. If you find a car you like, ask the owner to let you take it to a shop of your choice to have it inspected. They'll look at the brakes, tire wear patterns, steering and suspension systems, and things like that. A good inspection takes about an hour.

You might want to find out if the engine is an "interference" engine. That means if the timing belt breaks, the open valves will be hit and bent by the pistons as they coast to a stop. I personally will never own such an engine because the cost of repairing that is very high. There's two different 1.2L engines used in this model and I can't find a thorough listing for the four cylinder. There's no reference to the three cylinder engine being an interference engine.