dok_tec wrote:Could really use some help here, i'm definitely going to buy a navara its really just where to buy it from.I went into n+m today and they dont have any, they said they are getting in 3 months and even those are sold out but the price to me is great for a new 4x4. My pops however is putting up a fight and insisting on getting it from england which would cost more to land but according to him is of better quality.What I intend for the navara is alot of north coast runs not ridiculous offroad however.
Where are navara's from england made?
Are they that much better and worth the extra money paid?
Are local navara's plagued with problems?
Which route would you best advise?
Input is much appreciated.
Ah yes, come my friend, have a seat here >>>_____<<< ..... let's talk a little about the Navara.
I'll answer each question one by one.
Where are navara's from england made? The Navara's in the UK & Australia are made in "Navare, Spain". The truck itself is named after the region and the main assembly line factory is located in this town.
The Navaras for the Asian market and Latin American Market are made in Thailand, close to the other plants where other brands are made (all our local trucks are made in Thailand now).
The Frontier of the USA is made in Mexico. 'Nuff said about that.
- Are they that much better and worth the extra money paid?
- Are local navara's plagued with problems?The UK/Aussie Navara's have a history of certain problems, mainly with the Flywheel & clutch plate burning out very early in the truck's life (there's been complaints about the flywheel starting to slip in as little as 12,000km). Also, particularly in the Aussie Nav's, there were problems with the timing chain coming loose.
As for the Thailand models, there weren't that many reports on clutch or timing chain issues, however there were a few local reports of Nav's coming straight from Thailand via 3rd party dealers having problems with the Common Rail high-pressure injector system and our low-grade diesel. One guy had to have his entire fuel rail system replaced due to the poor diesel. As for the Navara's from Neal & Massy, I haven't heard much about that particular problem.
I know of a couple instances where guys had to go back to Neal & Massy to replace their clutches at around 20,000 and 45,000 km's - but I think one case was due to poor driving style (riding the clutch) and the other was done as a precautionary measure during a regularly scheduled servicing, perhaps one of the service managers had heard about the UK/Aus nav's having clutch issues.
Another known problem with certain thailand models (mostly the 4x2 models as far as I know) is the turbo-solenoid going bad. One guy with a 4x2 Nav here on this forum had to have his replaced under warranty at N&M at 20,000km.
Other than these problems, from what I remember guys posting on the Nissan-specific diesel forum, there haven't been much other major problems with our local navara's.
To be honest, I really don't think it's worth the money to bring down a Navara from the UK - unless you really, really, reaaaalllyyy want the extras that come with certain modesl like the "Outlaw" or "Stx" or "Aventura". These have Sat-nav (useless in t'dad), bluetooth radio, steering-wheel controls, heated leather seats (again useless in t'dad). Also, the some of the parts between the spanish-made (Serial No's start with "MSK") and the thai-made (serial no's start with "VN") aren't compatible.
For example, the Air filter between the two are different sizes - our navara's have a smaller air-box and thus have to use a K&N filter made for the American Hyundai Santa Fe 3.0L V6. K&N makes a specific filter for the spanish-made navara's and american frontier.
I think the oil-filter is also a different size - so it wouldn't make sense to have to keep ordering parts from the UK every single time you go for oil changes (genuine nissan parts are available at ROC in the bamboo anyway, for much cheaper than at N&M).
Which route would you best advise?Honestly man, I would advise that you buy a bare-bones Navara and just customize as you see fit. You can get lots of accessories from N&M via Kazim Ali, eg. spray-on tray liner, reverse sensors, chrome bullbar & rollbar; you can even get all the chrome trimmings that everyone else seems to like (if you're into that sort of thing...). To buy a 3rd party dealer navara with all the CarryBoy stuff on it will cost too much, they bring in a Navara for say, $255,000 - 4x4, auto, leather, fully loaded/powered. Then they slap on all the carryboy crap:
- plastic bullbar
- chrome headlight & tail-light trimmings
- chrome doorhandle trims
- chrome tail-gate trim
- useless Carryboy roof rack
- tacky-looking walnut wood paneling on the inside
- "navara" scuff plates for the door sills
- double-barrel stainless steel muffler
- led tail-light extender across the tray
And then they add on an extra $45,000 for the entire accessory package.
Total cost = $295,000 for a "fully loaded" Navara, and this isn't even with any 20+ inch chrome rims & tyres (add on another $12,000).
PM me and I'll tell you how much total I paid for my Navara, including insurance, plus upgrading to Pirelli Scorpion all-terrain tyres (which I'll take over any 22-inch crims any day of the week).
Worse yet if you have to bring a navara from the UK. I don't know what's the levies and taxes for those vehicles, but I can imagine it's quite high. And if you decide to bring down the 3.0L V6 turbo diesel - pressure for you both in licensing and for insurance.
Remember that even though our local nav's is a 2496cc engine (2.5L), it's actually an advantage cuz we pay less taxes in licensing compared to the 3.0L hilux and 3.2L sportero.
So... that would be my advice. Buy local, keep the warranty a year or two, and customize as you see fit - it have PLENTY of shops that sell all the accessories if you want them. I wouldn't import a UK navara unless I had the time and money to maintain it and bring in parts on a regular basis (and shipping from the UK is already mega-expensive).
My $0.02, in a long essay
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Good luck with your purchase man, join the Nissan clan!
