Nissan Elgrand Problems

Because the Elgrand was not officially imported into Australia by Nissan, parts can be a bit difficult to obtain. Mechanical bits are not such a problem as the Elgrand used mostly Nissan Maxima or Altima mechanical parts. But body panels and trim pieces can be more difficult to obtain.

That said, there are specialist parts recyclers that deal in these vehicles. A quick internet search might turn up what you’re after or at least give you a few clues on where to look next. The companies that import these vehicles for sale here also sometimes import spares parts as well, so they’d be worth a call, too. While not terribly thick on the ground here, the Elgrand is popular enough that there will be a part supply industry that has built up around it.

The Elgrand is quite reliable and at 100,000 km or so verified by the auction house should give you good service for some time to come.

No one seems to be prepared to say what the maximum towing capacity of the Elgrand is; the best we could find is that the tow bar available for the Elgrand is rated at a maximum towing load of 1400 kg. That effectively limits the towing capacity of the vehicle to 1400 kg.

Nissan told us that "like a number of overseas models, Nissan Australia has studied the possibility of introducing the Elgrand people-mover but, at present, local market demand for this model and its overall business case are insufficient to make the Elgrand a full-volume-compliance model in our brand's local vehicle range. It should be noted that the government requirements, processes and overall costs for a small local second-hand car importer to bring some used vehicles from Japan are different to those for an official full-volume vehicle importer like Nissan Australia."

Buying a grey import is always a gamble. As a car it's decent enough, but I would want to know whom it is I'm dealing with when I'm buying one. I would ask who imported the car, what is its history before it was imported, when it was imported, does the dealer support it with spare parts and servicing.

BUYING a grey import requires a lot of homework before you commit. You need to start by checking the bona fides of the so-called dealer and how long he has been in business, how long he has been importing this vehicle, if he stocks spares, how he takes care of customers after they've bought a car from him. Talk to other people who have dealt with him and perhaps even bought one of the Nissan vans from him in the past. If he ticks all of the boxes on that check, do your homework on the vehicle itself. It's important to understand that you know virtually nothing about the history of the vehicle and you won't be able to take it to your nearest Nissan dealer to have it serviced and to buy spares. If you do your homework and satisfy yourself the person you are dealing with is reliable, you can buy with confidence. On the other hand, you can buy a van such as a VW Transporter 4Motion that will do exactly what you want without the potential problems of buying a grey import.