Thank you Scott, I really appreciate everything you've taken the time to add.
The finance was in form of a loan - the loan taken out by my son on my husbands behalf and the vehicle was not mentioned in the application- will that make a difference? We could obviously prove (if needed) through bank statements the audit trail of transfer and then payment to car sales etc but hubby thinks that mentioning finance maybe a bad move!? He thinks he's read somewhere that Nissan won't touch it if they think there is finance on it... (he doesn't 'do' talking to people on the telephone lol so I need to know he's saying the right thing.
The warranty was 3 months and not worth the glossy booklet it came in - as we discovered 7 weeks after purchase when the half shaft seals went! The garage owner was decent enough though and paid for all parts and labour - cheaply as our friend did the work. I doubt he'd be so accommodating with this tho :-(
Based on the pics do you think we may get a buy back offer? I know nothing's guaranteed but I feel like might be the best option. Our friend says he could weld patches forever more but I don't think we feel the same about the truck now and as you say we can't see what's on the inside. Do they come back after inspections and say it's ok? And if so what if it goes wrong again months later? A car of its age should certainly not be looking like a Swiss cheese surely???
What a mess... what a weekend! Fingers.. and toes crossed Nissan come up with a favourable offer.
Hello Maud
Okay, so from a finance perspective, it would not have any bearing on whether Nissan pay out or not, so don't worry about that.
Further, and in your case, the Navara itself is not subject to outstanding finance since it is not being held as security against the loan. The loan you have taken out is unsecured and entirely separate and distinct. When you discuss matters with Nissan explain that you took out a personal loan to purchase the vehicle, the lion share of which remains outstanding and you'd expect any buy-back to at least cover this...
As Landmannn states, however, the buy-back values have varied considerably and there doesn't appear to be any science or consistency behind it.
The 2006 is one of the older models out there and residual values will be lower as a consequence. That said, the mileage on yours is very low and well below average, so you should expect a little more. Other things to consider are the general condition of the truck and service history (which doesn't have to be Nissan main dealer).
Clearly I am no vehicle inspector and I don't know what critera Nissan apply when reviewing cases, but in my opinion, I can't see your chassis passing. It seems too far gone and I'd be confident in saying that the hole and corrosion you can actively see will be just the tip of the iceberg. If you were to get underneath and give it a good tap with a hammer chances are you'll remove lots of flakes of rust which will expose a far deeper problem. An internal inspection with a borescope will reveal the true depth of the problem inside.
While your friend my be able to plate the chassis as and when required, remember you can only weld good steel to good steel and given the condition, I suspect you'll find that the existing steel is too far gone to get a decent weld.
The chassis on my Navara was in a very poor state, but was salvageable. No cracks and no holes and solid all round despite the surface rust. On this basis I took the decision to have it treated inside and out and had four stiffening plates welded on at the area of weakness (two inner and two outer) for peace of mind. I had the canopy and truck bed removed to enable greater access and ensure a thorough job was done.
I'm glad I had the work done as it would have been inevitable that it would have eventually rotted through. Even then I can't say I'm 100% at ease that it will see me through the next five of so years, but I've done what I can to at least prolong its life.
However, if my chassis was in the condition of yours at that time, I wouldn't have even considered it and resigned myself to the fact it had corroded beyond repair.
To answer your question, yes, Nissan have passed chassis following the Dekra inspection, but remember this is only to MOT standard. If there are no visible signs of corrosion or perforation in the key areas of concern as per the Technical Bulletin then they will not buy-back. This will include corrosion to cross members and areas that fall outside of the areas of focus depending of course upon he extent of the rot.
In your case, however, the hole is located in the 'sweet spot' so I cannot see them wriggling out of this one.
Ultimately you are correct. Despite the length of warranty on the chassis being only three years, you should not expect a vehicle of the D40's age to be corroding so quickly. Remember this is a truck that was deigned and built for a hard life but as we are discovering (at least in many cases) it is clearly not fit for purpose.
