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Unfortunately, I have bad news.

The Primera was heavily damaged in a hit-and-run incident. I was not driving the Primera, it was hit while parked outside my friend's house. I heard a loud bang and came out to find my car heavily damaged.

It was an incident between two cars, it was unclear what happened. It seems two people in cars were having an argument or chasing each other. They were Vietnamese or Cambodian. One of their cars hit my car, but left the area immediately. I don't have their details, but I was told it was an Audi. The police attended and seized the other car, a Hyundai Santa Fe.

The car insurance situation is difficult in the UK for old cars. Basically, I cannot claim for my damage because it will cost me more. My car insurance costs me about £1000 per year. Even though it's not my fault, if I claim the car insurance for my car, the insurance company will probably seize and scrap my car, then pay me a small amount like £300-500. Then my next year car insurance will be at least £2000.

Basically, I have no choice but to pay for all the repairs myself. If I'm lucky, I may locate the car that hit my car and pressure the owner to give me money. But it's unlikely.

The damage so far seems to be:
- Front Support Panel
- Inner Fender Panel (Passenger Side)
- Outer Fender (Passenger Side)
- Front Bumper and Cover
- Bonnet
- Headlight (Passenger Side)
- Turn Signal (Passenger Side)
- Fog Light (Passenger Side)
- Coolant Expansion Tank
- Horn

There may be other damage, but I estimate my repairs to be at least £2000, probably about £3000 (500,000 円). The entire chassis alignment will need to be adjusted, because the gap between the fender and door has narrowed. It may be impossible to find the correct type of front bumper cover, because it is a unique part for Series 3 Primera in UK. I will probably need to fit a standard type bumper.

I'm very annoyed about the situation and I hope the driver was injured badly in the crash. Because of their recklessness and selfish driving, I now can't get to my office job. It will take me a long time to repair the Primera, probably more than a year. The cost of repairs will be extreme, even if I try to use the cheapest parts.

For now, I'm not sure what to do. But I have a big headache.

I have owned this Primera for a long time now.

When I initially owned it, I think it had about 102,000 miles (164,000km). Now it has about 152,000 miles (245,000km). It's my main car.

I bought it during a recession in the economy. At that time, a lot of people were starting to panic about fuel costs, so it was almost completely worthless. It cost me around one week of salary. At that time, it was a "middle" car that was not new, but also not old. I always liked the P10 Primera and felt this was the most perfect type of specification. I also love the FP0 Bluish Green Pearl Metallic, it sometimes looks more blue or more green depending on the lighting conditions.

It is the very final UK Series 3 model "2.0eGT". It's similar to a HP10 Te model, but there are a lot of small differences. The front bumper has extra brake cooling ducts, there are darker tail lights and the interior is full leather, like the Japan model T4 Leather Edition. There is also a different front grill, similar to the Autech model (but it's not the same). Also, the radio antenna was changed to a roof-mount type.

Over the years, many Japanese have asked me about the front bumper, front grill and tail lamps. Sometimes I also get questions about the roof antenna. I like the "Full Normal" appearance, so I kept most parts as standard. I only changed the stereo (Addzest Cassette and CD from 1997).

It becomes more frequent that I need to make repairs. Last week, I ordered new bearings for the LH stub axle. A few months ago, I needed to change the upper radiator hose and thermostat. Each time I need a replacement car part, it's more difficult to find the parts.

At some time, I started to notice that it was an old car. I can't remember the moment I thought about it, but my "modern and reliable" car became an old car at some point. This makes me feel old, too.

Sometimes I can hear the suspension creaking or the engine struggling to idle correctly, but I'm glad it still keeps running. The car is tired. I'm tired, too. But we will keep driving.

Today I have been trying to fix some problems on the Primera. It has quite a lot of problems, but I'm slowly repairing it. I decided to write a list of every problem so you can see how much I have to do. I also included a list of things I repaired already.

Electrical:
LH Front Fog Light: Reflector deteriorated. I have a new part, but I need a different tool to disconnect the old housing that I don't have yet (security-type Torx).
Heater Fan Relay: The relay controller is broken, so the fan only works on setting "0" and "Full". I have a part, but I haven't fitted it yet.
LH Front Window: Window falls out into door when you use the button. I need to change the window mechanism.
LH Rear Window: Window doesn't operate smoothly. I may need a new window mechanism, but it could just be that I need to dismantle and clean it.
Interior Bulbs: Various interior bulbs have failed. Some of the heater controls, power window switches and dashboard button lights don't work. I have some replacements for some of them. On others, I need to change the bulbs.
Power Sunroof: The sunroof motor has failed. I changed it for a used item, but this one also doesn't work well. I may try to repair the sunroof motor itself. I also need to clear the front drainage holes.
Tail Lights: Some of the lights are scratched or have a small crack. I want to replace all of them with new items when I can afford it.

Mechanical:
Ignition timing incorrect: I adjusted the timing as a temporary measure due to a leak in the muffler system. When I change the muffler, I can reset it.
Engine Oil Leak: Small oil leak from the engine cover. I just need to change the gasket (again).
LH Upper Suspension Arm: Squeaking loudly due to worn bushings. I need to replace it.
Wheel Alignment: I need to check this as I changed a lot of parts.

Bodywork/Interior:
Body Paint: A lot of areas need to be repainted either due to dents, scratches or rust.
Wheel Paint: The paint has peeled from some of the wheels. I need to paint them all.
Front Bumper: Bumper is cracked in the corner. I can repair it with plastic welding, but I need to remove it first.
Rear Bumper: Bumper is dented badly. It's quite rare so I've been unable to find a replacement. I can get a new bumper from Spain, but shipping is expensive.
LH Door Mirror: Plastic is broken at the edges. I need to find a new one and paint it.
RH Door Mirror: Some paint came off. When I change the LH mirror, I'll paint this one too.
Spoiler: The plastic clips are broken, so it isn't secure and it rattles (it is held down by bolts, so it won't fall off). I'm ordering new clips from Japan to fix it.
Seats: Leather is torn on driver's seat and deteriorating on passenger seat. Rear seat is OK. I can't find a replacement, so I'll get a car upholsterer company to make a new seat covering (it is plain perforated leather, so it's easy to make it).
Door Trim: Leather is peeling away from the door panel. I need to glue it again.
Steering Wheel: Leather is deteriorated and peeling, I repaired it with electrical tape. I will either replace it or take it to Bangkok to be repaired (I saw a shop at the market doing leather steering wheel repairs).

Items Repaired:
Numberplates: Front numberplate was cracked and rear numberplate was faded. I bought and fitted new items.
Coil Springs: Front and Rear coil springs were changed recently.
RH Driveshaft: Replaced this as it snapped.
Clutch: Replaced clutch and flywheel recently.
AAC (Engine Idle) Valve: Removed and cleaned the inside.
Drive Belt: Replaced as it broke during winter.

Although there's a lot to repair, I'll gradually do it. Many of these problems have been on this car for years, but I want to fix them. When I got this Primera, it was a very cheap car. At that time, old 2.0-litre cars were almost worthless. I can't remember the exact amount, but I paid about £200 (30,000 Yen) originally. Even in this condition, it's probably worth about £2000-3000 now. Even if it was still only worth £200, I'd still be repairing it. I've owned many cars, but I still think the Primera is one of the most enjoyable to drive.

Other than that, I had my first vaccination a while ago and my second vaccination is scheduled in early July. It was the AstraZeneca. I had some symptoms of tiredness and felt some nausea for two days, but after that I feel great! I recommend getting the vaccine as soon as it is becomes available. It's probably going to be required for international travel and that's important to me.

Due to the severity of the Covid-19 virus in my country, I have not been able to spend much time enjoying my cars for over a year now. The last car show I attended was in 2019. Actually, the last normal time I remember was being in Bangkok in January 2020. The border was closed soon after that...

As a result of this, I did not use any of my 1980s-era cars but continued to use my Primera (I still consider a 1990s-era car to be fairly new). It has been a good friend during the virus outbreak, even though I have rarely driven further than my local area for over a year. I can rely on the Nissan SR engine!

I also repaired my Prelude BB9 2.0, but I didn't take any photos yet. It's not safe to travel on the bus, so I wanted to have a spare car as "backup". Perhaps I will give a few updates soon about the repairs I have made. I still need to repair a water leak from the tail lamps.

Recently, my father retired from his job. He was driving a Corolla Touring Sports Hybrid as a company car, but returned it to the company last week. It was a good car and I enjoyed driving it a few times. The European Corolla Wagon is different to the Japanese version. Perhaps this is the kind of car I will be driving when I am about 70 years old. Or maybe I'll get a Suzuki Kizashi.



My father wanted a different car for his retirement, but didn't want to buy a new car as he prefers to save money for overseas trips and home improvements. He asked me to find a reliable and comfortable car. Eventually, I found this CR-V for sale.



It is the top grade of this model, known as "Executive" with glass roof, navigation, parking camera, heated leather seats. It had only one previous owner, low mileage, all previous records from Honda. It has a 2.0-litre engine that was only available in European countries, the R20A SOHC 16-valve with i-VTEC. It's not fast, but the engine sound is nice. It also has the 6MT transmission, because my father doesn't like Automatic gearboxes.

I used it for a few weeks to ensure it was in good condition and assess any repairs it may need. The only fault I encountered was due to an old battery, but I expected it (the car dealer had to start it with cables). I also spent a lot of time cleaning it and adding wax. The cleaning process took over 30 hours, but I wanted my father to have a clean car. He enjoys driving it, even though he is not very interested in cars.

I hope to receive my Covid-19 vaccinations in a few months and hope that after that I can start to travel overseas again. For now, I'll just enjoy driving in my local area.

I've been busy for the last few weeks, but here's some more photos from Bangkok.



I was eating Milk Tea KitKats and drinking Est (local Cola) every day.



The view from my room at night was cool.



I took this photo while waiting for a train. The train system is a lot more advanced than
the one at home. The subway was good too.



The local bus system is not so good, but it's very interesting! I'm unsure of the model of
this bus. Look at the wire running across the roof!



Most of the buses were by Hino. We don't have Hino buses in the UK, but we get some
of the commercial trucks.



The L50 Tercel/Corsa is sold there as "Soluna". The only Tercel series sold in the UK
was the L20, so it's a very unusual car to me.



In most city areas, you don't walk on the street level. You can walk on these raised
walkways called SkyWalk. Most of the train stations and shopping malls are connected
by these.



Here's a T190. If it was the UK, it would be a Carina E. I'm not sure if they use the
Carina or Corona name (or both).



CB Accord near my hotel. It was in great condition, but the roof had a carbon wrap on
it. It was probably to cover some paint damage from the sun.



Isuzu TFR Spacecab. I saw these a lot, but I liked the unusual cargo top on this one.



This was very cool! N20 Hilux being used as a transport vehicle. I think it operated like
a city bus. If I was down there, I would pay for a ride. The condition was actually very
good. I wonder if they painted it.



On my way to a shopping mall, I saw this event "Japan Expo". It seemed to be mostly
a tourism promotion event, but there was a lot of cosplay and some people singing. I
don't know who these characters are, but I guess they are from anime or a game.



Maybe she's the cleaning staff.



I don't know...



I still don't know... if you know, maybe you can tell me.



I know this one! It's Mr Kiryu Kazuma from the Ryū ga Gotoku game series. He was
a little bit surprised that I knew the character. I was playing it since the first game.



This singer was performing on stage. She was very good, but I can't remember her
name. She had a lot of fans, I think she was the most popular star at the event.



I remember this group, "Lovely Doll". They were popular too.



It was an interesting free event! However, I know more about cars than pop music. I'll
show you some more photos later.