Lens mechanism is probably damaged or dirty. My father had a Canon die as a result of too much desert dust in the lens mechanism.
You may be able to send it out for repair, but as it is no longer under warranty, it may sadly be cheaper to buy a new camera. There are guides on the Internet for repairing the lens mechanisms of a lot of cameras prone to this kind of problem, but I would only reccomend that as a "last resort" approach to repairing the camera before giving up on it completely.
Also, in general, when asking for help, the more detail provided the better. There are MANY Nikon Coolpix models, it's hard to give information without knowing the specific model - some may be more prone to lens problems than others, and some may be easier to repair than others.
That said, other than general familiarity with lens mechanisms, I don't use Nikon cameras so can only provide generic advice.
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