Used Nissan Jukes - to buy or not to buy

Used Nissan Jukes - to buy or not to buy

Author
Discussion

Daisyjukes81

Original Poster:

18 posts

8 months

Saturday 30th March
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Newbie here!
We're wanting a small SUV and we've looking at Jukes.
Got a budget of around 3.5k ish.
Heard a few good things about them but equally as many bad things but like with any car, there's always pros and cons.
We're wanting petrol as we don't travel far enough often enough really to warrant needing a diesel. And I'd like something with a slightly higher seating position. It would be a manual we buy.

Should we or shouldn't we? Would you avoid and if so, why?
If you'd buy one, you which model would you go for and which would you avoid?
Any common problems?

Thank you!!

bobtail4x4

3,818 posts

116 months

Saturday 30th March
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mainly that everyone laughs at them,

pretty sure the "design" was a joke but became adopted hence the name,

Daisyjukes81

Original Poster:

18 posts

8 months

Saturday 30th March
quotequote all
Take that as a big no then 😂
What other SUVs would you recommend?
Small 4 x 4s etc

biggbn

24,920 posts

227 months

Saturday 30th March
quotequote all
Daisyjukes81 said:
Newbie here!
We're wanting a small SUV and we've looking at Jukes.
Got a budget of around 3.5k ish.
Heard a few good things about them but equally as many bad things but like with any car, there's always pros and cons.
We're wanting petrol as we don't travel far enough often enough really to warrant needing a diesel. And I'd like something with a slightly higher seating position. It would be a manual we buy.

Should we or shouldn't we? Would you avoid and if so, why?
If you'd buy one, you which model would you go for and which would you avoid?
Any common problems?

Thank you!!
I really like them but woukd caveat that at that end of the market, you're looking at entry level cars that may not have been particularly well looked after. The diesel is a Renault unit I think and quite coarse but reliable, the wee turbo four is a sweet engine but can be quite thirsty. Loads around, they are NOT particulalry spacious in boot or back so try one out for your needs. Be lucky!!

Daisyjukes81

Original Poster:

18 posts

8 months

Saturday 30th March
quotequote all
I really like them too, it's nice to hear somekne else is fond of them. Not heard many say good things about them tbh. Which is a shame. I love the quirky nature of them. We hired one a few years ago to on a family holiday to the coast and been in love with them since.

dudleybloke

20,471 posts

193 months

Saturday 30th March
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One of my mates has had one for a few years now and he usually destroys cars within a year.

carlo996

6,815 posts

28 months

Saturday 30th March
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We had one, it cost buttons to run and annoyed everyone, I liked that. The worst thing was the crap mapping, but that’s fixable.

Frankthered

1,630 posts

187 months

Saturday 30th March
quotequote all
Yeah, looks are not great - bit marmite, maybe?

Worst thing about the Juke IMHO is that they are really quite small inside; not super roomy in the front, small in the rear and small boot.

From an inside space point of view, the mechanically similar Note is a much more practical proposition, but of course, it doesn't have the SUV look.

SkodaIan

779 posts

92 months

Saturday 30th March
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Quite a few came with a normally aspirated 1.6 petrol, which would be a good engine choice in an older budget car (less to go wrong than a turbo dieseasel or small capacity turbo petrol.

For what they are, they drive surprisingly well, but are a complete anti-tardis so don't expect it to be particularly roomy or practical.

Daisyjukes81

Original Poster:

18 posts

8 months

Saturday 30th March
quotequote all
Thanks everyone.
Yeah I'm not expecting a tardis but then again all the kids are older and have a lot less baggage now, no buggies etc to put in the boot.

When we hired the juke to few years back, we went to the coast for a long weekend and had buggies, fishing tackle an allsorts. Plus suitcases. And 5 of us. We managed it. Not sure how but we did!

Just to put it into perspective, we currently have an 07 plate suzuki swift, 3 door. Just a stop gap car after we lost a lot of money on a motor last year and the swift was the last resort. I can honestly say it's been a fab little car. It's done it's job and I'll be quite sad to see it go. All 5 of us can't fit in as it's only got 4 seats but we aren't often in the car at the same time these days as kids are all late teens, early 20s. But with family stuff coming up, and a busy year ahead we need that seater again.

Prior to the swift we had a golf gt tdi. Absolutely loveee golf's but trying to avoid turbos.

If we can't find a suitable SUV, anyone recommend a petrol golf?

Daisyjukes81

Original Poster:

18 posts

8 months

Saturday 30th March
quotequote all
carlo996 said:
We had one, it cost buttons to run and annoyed everyone, I liked that. The worst thing was the crap mapping, but that’s fixable.
Thank you!

Sausage roll

126 posts

61 months

Saturday 30th March
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My wife has had one for the last 5 years or so. Bought from a main dealer on 15,000 miles and has now done 82,000 miles. My wife likes it because it sits up high and the ride quality is quite good.

The engine is the 1.2 turbo petrol. It goes well and is good on petrol. BUT the original engine went pop after about 52,000 miles! I was driving it on the motorway at the time. Because it had always been main dealer serviced, Nissan agreed to pay for a new engine but we still had to pay £1,200 to have it fitted. The original engine always seemed to use oil and as it was one of the early 1.2 ones, I’ve often wondered if there was a fault with them, hence Nissan supplying a new one. New engine is fine and doesn’t use any oil at all.

There have been a couple of wear and tear things over the years, but apart from the engine nothing serious. But just been away in it and what with all the rain etc the exhaust has started blowing, but I guess a new exhaust after 82k miles isn’t bad. I’ve seen some really negative comments about Jukes on here over the years which I have never understood as ours drives fine, is cheap to run and my wife loves it.

Xcore

1,371 posts

97 months

Saturday 30th March
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She has one, clutch is heavy and the boot is tiny.

Sausage roll

126 posts

61 months

Saturday 30th March
quotequote all
Boot is ‘tiny’ compared to what? Always been perfectly big enough for us and if wanted any more space for a dump run or something, just put the back seats down. Also clutch on ours is no heavier than any other car I have driven.

AmitG

3,361 posts

167 months

Saturday 30th March
quotequote all
biggbn said:
I really like them but woukd caveat that at that end of the market, you're looking at entry level cars that may not have been particularly well looked after.
I'm with this. The Juke makes a lot of sense. The looks are divisive but at least it's not boring. They are family friendly. They were so popular (and continue to be) that parts, servicing, repair etc. should be straightforward and reasonable. And they are made in the UK, which has to mean something.

The biggest issue will be the budget. It seems that £3.5k will get you something that is about 12 years old. And the Juke was not really bought by enthusiasts; a lot of owners didn't really care about the car that much. So I would tread carefully here. I suspect that a lot of Jukes in this price range will be in pretty bad condition. I would definitely get an independent inspection, I would want a proper full service history and I would want a fresh MOT.

Suggestion - if your budget is around £3.5k, how about an old Toyota or Honda? In my experience they tend to be the most reliable cars at this price point.

Xcore

1,371 posts

97 months

Saturday 30th March
quotequote all
Sausage roll said:
Boot is ‘tiny’ compared to what? Always been perfectly big enough for us and if wanted any more space for a dump run or something, just put the back seats down. Also clutch on ours is no heavier than any other car I have driven.
Compared to a golf/focus or probably any other mid sized family car

scot_aln

473 posts

206 months

Saturday 30th March
quotequote all
If you will have kids then test drive and make sure they are happy in the back. It's not the space aspect but the little window makes it quite claustrophobic.

LightningBlue

568 posts

48 months

Saturday 30th March
quotequote all
I’ve had a few Jukes as hire cars, even a Juke Nismo. Not a great fan, I’ve driven a lot of cars but find these are hard to place on the road and are tiny inside. It’s hard for me to understand the appeal of crossovers, they aren’t ‘safer’ because of higher driving position which a lot of people assume. At £3500 as someone else mentioned a Toyota of some kind is probably a better bet, whether that’s an Auris or Avensis. A Kia Ceed could be doable and Vauxhall Astras look plentiful at that budget and there are some very clean looking ones around.

Sausage roll

126 posts

61 months

Saturday 30th March
quotequote all
Xcore said:
Sausage roll said:
Boot is ‘tiny’ compared to what? Always been perfectly big enough for us and if wanted any more space for a dump run or something, just put the back seats down. Also clutch on ours is no heavier than any other car I have driven.
Compared to a golf/focus or probably any other mid sized family car
And the boot in a mid sized family car is “tiny” compared to a large estate car. So what, it’s
horses for courses. The boot and load carrying capacity of a Juke is massive compared to an MX5 for example.

Zarco

18,481 posts

216 months

Saturday 30th March
quotequote all
Never considered a Juke to be an SUV.