Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Anyone here use their M35 Stagea as a daily family car? I currently own a VZ exec wagon for the same purpose and would prefer something a bit 'sportier' in a family mover. So to you who do use your Stagea as a daily... A few questions?

Average fuel consumption (with minimal mods) drove normally? My VZ gets around 10-10.5L/100kms babying it for comparison.

Insurance? Mega expensive? (28y.o/perfect history)

Service costs? Compared to the average Aussie family car? I expect it to be a little more expensive due to it being an import, but not say... Legnum expensive?

In general... Does an M35 Stagea make a good family car?

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/370341-m35-stagea-as-a-daily-family-hauler/
Share on other sites

  • Replies 42
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Fuel economy babying it is around 13-14L/100

Insurance can be mega expensive, depends who you go through. I've seen anywhere from $800-2000 for full comp.

Service costs? I've seen nothing shocking so far. Quality fluids and filters are the same price, I guess the difference is you want to make sure you put quality stuff in. Just depends on whether stuff breaks, but most parts I've bought so far haven't been much more expensive.

I think it'd make a good family car, but I don't have a family :P

* Yes, I use it for eeeeeverything.

* Yes it makes an awesome family car (no kids but a wife and 90kg of canine means I need a wagon).

* Fuel economy will not be fantastic. I drive a lot of hwy and generally average 10-11L/100 or so. Around town is pretty bad, but they have a bit fuel tank for a reason!

* Insurance I pay 1200pa full comp as a daily with all my mods listed through Shannons (34yo)

* Servicing shouldn't be more expensive than any other Nissan... but do yourself a favour and do your own servicing.

as a daily yes it'll work but u do have to consider warming it up and cooling it down............ u cant just do 5min runs in it, and that said females usually dont have a clue on this.

i know my car is a little over tempremental but even stopping into a servo and filling up doesnt always make the car to happy to start again if its a quick stop............

other than that it's a great car, done everything from going on holiday with 5 mates and stacking the car to hauling my german sheperd around, but also if ur like me and u get a car like this the mods keep coming pretty damn quick!!!!!!

cheers, Theo.

You might need to look at that starting problem Theo, I've never had an issue...

pretty sure its the battery too and i'll do another ecu reset but i'll let them do that when i go for a service in 600km and get my free battery under warranty :)

i know my car is a little over tempremental but even stopping into a servo and filling up doesnt always make the car to happy to start again if its a quick stop............

Turn the key to the accessory position for 2-3 seconds before cranking it over instead of just quickly turning the key. :thumbsup:

Turn the key to the accessory position for 2-3 seconds before cranking it over instead of just quickly turning the key. :thumbsup:

aaahhh let the glow plugs warm up first aye :P ROFL............... bloody diesels HAHA

I use my car as a daily driver/work/family car.

Average economy prior to mods = 12.7L/100 with mods 13.5 - 14.5L/100km.

Servicing costs are cheaper than any other car I have owned as I do all my own work on it. No timing belt to replace and very helpful forum make looking after it possible.

Insurance = 1500 but my stock Outback cost 900 so not much more given that is not business registered. Oh the value of living in Sydney. (over 40 and good driving record)

pretty sure its the battery too and i'll do another ecu reset but i'll let them do that when i go for a service in 600km and get my free battery under warranty :)

Sounds like the battery....I had the same problem.....battery lost amps

yet another family man here.. love it the stagea dearly!

i put on my on direct gas injection to keep fuel costs down.. get about 16L per 100 giving it squirt now and then and the rest in traffic gets a bit better on the freeway.

would highly recommend one!

  • 3 weeks later...

was looking into legnums too before deciding on the stagea...

had a chat with a few mates and they mostly adviced me to go for the M35 stagea because of support (service etc cos shared with most local Nissans), newer (01-04) compared to Legnums (95-01? correct me if i'm wrong), and the luxury features offered with the M35 (Axis, ARX and RX? i'm noob, correct me again if i'm wrong)...

was looking into legnums too before deciding on the stagea...

had a chat with a few mates and they mostly adviced me to go for the M35 stagea because of support (service etc cos shared with most local Nissans), newer (01-04) compared to Legnums (95-01? correct me if i'm wrong), and the luxury features offered with the M35 (Axis, ARX and RX? i'm noob, correct me again if i'm wrong)...

legnum lol.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • Surely somebody has one in VIC. Have you asked at any shops?  Is this the yearly inspection or did you get a canary?
    • This is where I share pain with you, @Duncan. The move to change so many cooling system pieces to plastic is a killer! Plastic end tanks and a few plastic hose flanges on my car's fail after so little time.  Curious about the need for a bigger rad, is that just for long sessions in the summer or because the car generally needs more cooling?
    • So, that is it! It is a pretty expensive process with the ATF costing 50-100 per 5 litres, and a mechanic will probably charge plenty because they don't want to do it. Still, considering how dirty my fluid was at 120,000klm I think it would be worth doing more like every 80,000 to keep the trans happy, they are very expensive to replace. The job is not that hard if you have the specialist tools so you can save a bit of money and do it yourself!
    • OK, onto filling. So I don't really have any pics, but will describe the process as best I can. The USDM workshop manual also covers it from TM-285 onwards. First, make sure the drain plug (17mm) is snug. Not too tight yet because it is coming off again. Note it does have a copper washer that you could replace or anneal (heat up with a blow torch) to seal nicely. Remove the fill plug, which has an inhex (I think it was 6mm but didn't check). Then, screw in the fill fitting, making sure it has a suitable o-ring (mine came without but I think it is meant to be supplied). It is important that you only screw it in hand tight. I didn't get a good pic of it, but the fill plug leads to a tube about 70mm long inside the transmission. This sets the factory level for fluid in the trans (above the join line for the pan!) and will take about 3l to fill. You then need to connect your fluid pump to the fitting via a hose, and pump in whatever amount of fluid you removed (maybe 3 litres, in my case 7 litres). If you put in more than 3l, it will spill out when you remove the fitting, so do quickly and with a drain pan underneath. Once you have pumped in the required amount of clean ATF, you start the engine and run it for 3 minutes to let the fluid circulate. Don't run it longer and if possible check the fluid temp is under 40oC (Ecutek shows Auto Trans Fluid temp now, or you could use an infrared temp gun on the bottom of the pan). The manual stresses the bit about fluid temperature because it expands when hot an might result in an underfil. So from here, the factory manual says to do the "spill and fill" again, and I did. That is, put an oil pan under the drain plug and undo it with a 17mm spanner, then watch your expensive fluid fall back out again, you should get about 3 litres.  Then, put the drain plug back in, pump 3 litres back in through the fill plug with the fitting and pump, disconnect the fill fitting and replace the fill plug, start the car and run for another 3 minutes (making sure the temp is still under 40oC). The manual then asks for a 3rd "spill and fill" just like above. I also did that and so had put 13l in by now.  This time they want you to keep the engine running and run the transmission through R and D (I hope the wheels are still off the ground!) for a while, and allow the trans temp to get to 40oC, then engine off. Finally, back under the car and undo the fill plug to let the overfill drain out; it will stop running when fluid is at the top of the levelling tube. According to the factory, that is job done! Post that, I reconnected the fill fitting and pumped in an extra 0.5l. AMS says 1.5l overfill is safe, but I started with less to see how it goes, I will add another 1.0 litres later if I'm still not happy with the hot shifts.
    • OK, so regardless of whether you did Step 1 - Spill Step 2 - Trans pan removal Step 3 - TCM removal we are on to the clean and refill. First, have a good look at the oil pan. While you might see dirty oil and some carbony build up (I did), what you don't want to see is any metal particles on the magnets, or sparkles in the oil (thankfully not). Give it all a good clean, particularly the magnets, and put the new gasket on if you have one (or, just cross your fingers) Replacement of the Valve body (if you removed it) is the "reverse of assembly". Thread the electrical socket back up through the trans case, hold the valve body up and put in the bolts you removed, with the correct lengths in the correct locations Torque for the bolts in 8Nm only so I hope you have that torque wrench handy (it feels really loose). Plug the output speed sensor back in and clip the wiring into the 2 clips, replace the spring clip on the TCM socket and plug it back into the car loom. For the pan, the workshop manual states the following order: Again, the torque is 8Nm only.
×
×
  • Create New...