Okay, I thought this would be the place where I can get the best feedback on my current dilemma. My '97 Pajero has come to an end, a fantastic vehicle but with 200 000 miles on it it's ready for retirement. As I've always wanted a SUV I've looked through many and found a used Murano to be the best value. Have in mind that this is from a european point of view so I guess it's a bit different; I'm from Bosnia.
Basically, the model I'm looking at is a 2011 Nissan Murano 2.5 dCi with 68000 miles on it. Used Muranos are here significantly cheaper than other SUVs of this class and there are very few of them. And diesel is the only option and the one I want considering the fuel economy. As this is a big decision for me financially, I need to be 100% sure. I've gone through many forums and boards and have noticed that the biggest fuss is on the (un)reliability of the CVTs. I've always been a manual transmission guy but since Muranos are only equipped with CVTs and other more expensive SUVs of this class are usually equipped with the conventional automatic if bought used. Yesterday I've taken this 2011 Murano at a very good local service for a check up (no authorized Nissan service in my town); they did a computer electronic check up and found no faults - it was reporting some cvt sensor issue but the guy in the service said it's probably nothing so we took it for a ride and did the checkup again and error was not found again. Mechanical check up was all clean, no leaks no rust; just the tube under the turbine could use a clean up but that's all. Mechanically and electronically it looks perfect. I took it for a test drive also and found the CVT a tad slow (everything is slow when you're driving manual for 40 years) but acceptable. But that's not my worry. My biggest worry is the CVT breaking down, which I've found on the internet to be the biggest problem. I'm terrified of that happening, first because of the unavailability of parts here in europe, especially in Bosnia. Everywhere I've read the only option then is replacing the whole thing which is really expensive, can't imagine what would it be in europe as in US you're talking of a 5000$ price tag. My nearest nissan service is 2hours away; I'm not sure they even do muranos but I'm sure even if they would do the CVT it would be waaay out of my budget. So, yeah, sorry for a long post but what is your opinion? Are cvt problems really that common? And that expensive? Should I worry about it?
I've literally fallen in love with this car but at the same time I'm quite scared. I can't risk it at this point.
Again, sorry for the long post.
Basically, the model I'm looking at is a 2011 Nissan Murano 2.5 dCi with 68000 miles on it. Used Muranos are here significantly cheaper than other SUVs of this class and there are very few of them. And diesel is the only option and the one I want considering the fuel economy. As this is a big decision for me financially, I need to be 100% sure. I've gone through many forums and boards and have noticed that the biggest fuss is on the (un)reliability of the CVTs. I've always been a manual transmission guy but since Muranos are only equipped with CVTs and other more expensive SUVs of this class are usually equipped with the conventional automatic if bought used. Yesterday I've taken this 2011 Murano at a very good local service for a check up (no authorized Nissan service in my town); they did a computer electronic check up and found no faults - it was reporting some cvt sensor issue but the guy in the service said it's probably nothing so we took it for a ride and did the checkup again and error was not found again. Mechanical check up was all clean, no leaks no rust; just the tube under the turbine could use a clean up but that's all. Mechanically and electronically it looks perfect. I took it for a test drive also and found the CVT a tad slow (everything is slow when you're driving manual for 40 years) but acceptable. But that's not my worry. My biggest worry is the CVT breaking down, which I've found on the internet to be the biggest problem. I'm terrified of that happening, first because of the unavailability of parts here in europe, especially in Bosnia. Everywhere I've read the only option then is replacing the whole thing which is really expensive, can't imagine what would it be in europe as in US you're talking of a 5000$ price tag. My nearest nissan service is 2hours away; I'm not sure they even do muranos but I'm sure even if they would do the CVT it would be waaay out of my budget. So, yeah, sorry for a long post but what is your opinion? Are cvt problems really that common? And that expensive? Should I worry about it?
I've literally fallen in love with this car but at the same time I'm quite scared. I can't risk it at this point.
Again, sorry for the long post.