Anyone got experience with (classic) Ladas...

I would rather get a Moskvich or Volga. Classic Ladas are pleb tier, at least in Russia. But of course reliability-wise they're okay, and in spare parts availability they are definitely number one in exUSSR territory.

Aren't Moskovichy and Volgas like really expensive? Both in purchasing and maintanance. I don't really see how they could ever be a viable everyday car.

Engine is set up to work on shit petrol, and suspension- for gross overloading because russki don't give a fuck in that regard and will stuff the car with stuff until engine can't pull it anymore. Nothing a set of simple mods can't fix, Fiat 124 is pretty nice to drive and it's the same car except not toughened up.

Just remember that the mechanics and so on became worse as production went on, and quality dropped off tons. Even before the collapse of the Soviet Union the Ladas being produced had shoddy build, panel fit etc.

I would still go for a VAZ-2101 because it's a much purer car, closer to the 124 than all the rest, but I guess it depends on what you want.

From my perspective, I'd get the 2101 since I'd be happy to put a bit of time to make it a 124 on the cheap and enjoy driving it, but if you just want a runner to get you from A to B with no frills, a later one would be a better buy.

I didn't say it wasn't. They were cars perfectly suited to their communist niche.

For a daily driver, yes, Lada is the best choice. Volga can be a DD if you are willing to spare your every weekend for a pre-working week maintenance and service. Moskvich is an esoteric car that will always fail in most exotic ways possible. And the quest for the most of spare parts is not for the faint of heart. Anyway, yeah, Lada is boring but is really the only sensible way to go.

What this guy said, there's more interesting Eastern-bloc cars out there. I'd be looking at one of those 100-series Skodas or a Zaporozhets since they're much more interesting cars, or even a Fiat 126 (which I do actually own)

I love the headlights they got. They indeed are very pure.

Where I live Ladas aren't nearly boring anymore lmao. All of them got exported or abandoned after the fall of communism. I rarely see them driving around anymore (lots of spare parts around tho, God bless)

youtube.com/watch?v=wQNzpMJXz_E&ab_channel=BBCBrit

Imagine owning pretty much that with thicker steel (heavier but less rusty) with a bit of effort

Why not fiat 125p at this point? It was a better car.

Never saw the 124 in this much detail. It indeed is exactly the same, holy shit.

Russian YouTube is full of hipsters showing off the Ladas they fixed up. It's a nice watch, even though you don't understand shit. youtu.be/UQtmwVbqcA4

They have no power steering or ABS though (obviously), would you think that's a big of a problem?

Good luck getting one in eastern Europe

Naaah, just be smart and enjoy the workout for your arms.

I own 2 classics, one of them doesn't even have a brake booster and neither have power steering/ABS. I've never missed them. It just means you have to make up for it with your own skill, which makes you a better driver after a while.

As long as you keep your brakes/tires in good condition ABS is not really a problem, right? Roads aren't that good here and I don't want to kill myself by slipping out of control. It's not like the Lada has airbags to save you.

Mechanically primitive compared to a Lada/Fiat 124. The drivetrain and suspension were taken from an older Fiat, not the 125

The classic Moskvich sedan was a cheaper, lower-end car than Lada. But since its production ceased in the late 80s, it's difficult to find them in good condition, and spares are scarce. Its successor, the 2141 hatchback, was bigger and ostensibly a more upmarket car, but it's of little interest as a Soviet classic (and also the metal bodywork and paint was so abysmal that most of them have crumbled into rust flakes within a decade)

Volgas were high-end cars, but maintenance isn't all that different from Ladas as they're simply bigger, not more complex. Ironically, it's easier to find a 1960s Volga 21 in original condition than the newer boxy Volga 24 or 31 series - the former were already considered classics and preserved, while the latter were used as beaters in the 90s since their "luxuriousness" vanished overnight when used Germand and Japanese cars became available.

You'll learn to rely on engine braking pretty quickly, but yeah just make sure your tires are good and brakes are too, basic stuff really.

You can learn to prevent wheel locking under braking by just easing off the brakes when you feel it going too. Probably more effective than a primitive ABS system too lol

Doesn't ABS actually just makes the distance you travel while braking longer? The only thing it does is keeping you in control of the car.

Depends on where you live. One of the key differences between Ladas and Fiats/pFiats is a significantly more rugged suspension on Ladas.

Depends on the surface, but in most cases yes. However, it's a worthy tradeoff for retaining control, especially on a RWD car.

Might just add too that no power steering can feel like shit when you're slow or stationary, but when you get up to a decent speed, it's pretty light.

No. If you lock up your brakes, you will be using the tires to stop you. The brake pads are more efficient at stopping you.
There was an old Top Gear cheap car challenge where Clarkson had a car with ABS and the others didn't and there was a stopping distance test. I'll see if I can find it, but the car with ABS stopped significantly earlier than the others.

tune.pk/video/3252853/top-gear-season-4-episode-3-£100-car-challenge
Around the 10 minute mark

Yeah, I don't think power steering will be much of a problem. The Lada I'm looking at is only 1000~ kg anyway.

Of course locking up your breaks isn't any good but if you break moderately they won't lock up in the first place.

ABS is designed to give you max brakes until wheels start to lock, at which point it eases the brakes. In theory it would provide a shorter stopping distance than you doing it manually, but yeah, you'll get a feel for it.

I guess I'll get my Lada soon. I'm stoked

Steering is horrible. Shitton of freeplay, heavy, no road feel at all. Ruins the car.

Engine is also very rough at higher rpm's but this is not as annoying as steering.

It was not.

Pushrod engine, leafs in the rear.

just dont
there is a reason why they are cheap
I had to use my grandfathers 2107 a few times for the tow hitch and sure it was kinda interesting because "muh lada" but the steering was super heavy the gearshifts were ridiculous the brakes hardly worked and the throttle was retarded
not to mention they dont maintain idle RPM until they warm up
Buy a cheap polo or golf or something it will be 20 times better

Ladas are still common here, especially Samaras.
And they're very cheap too (i've found one for about 890$)

Just be prepared to do some work on it, like any old car really. Take care of the car and it'll take care of you

> and they're very reliable from what I heard
If you enjoy spending your weekends in a workshop - sure.

>Zaporozhets
Fucking awesome car. Rear-mounted aircooled V4 engine, torsion bar suspension, the body style is two-door sedan (not coupe), its light weight and short wheelbase make it great for light offroading (I'm not even joking, look it up on youtube), basically it's Soviet answer to the beetle. I am seriously considering buying one for shits and giggles, and another one for converting into a baja car, or for parts. There is also LuAZ, which is the off-road monster but it's like the ugliest and most basic car in existence, due to its military origins.

>dat ass

I've always liked cars which use lack of weight for offroading, not like these modern giant ass SUVs and shit. The Fiat 126 I have is pretty similar to the Zaporozhets, but I'd love to own one. A pity there's next to no Eastern Bloc cars in my country other than some odd Lada Nivas

The time will come soon. I might go and buy a Lada 1200s (VAZ-21051) today. I hope it is on good condition

>the throttle was retarded
Pictured is the throttle in my dad's lada 2105.

Complete meme car unless you live in poverty in rural Russia or something.

garbage
only reason they ever were popular was
>a)
only car you could buy if you got a governmental permit
>b)
the cheapest rwd car to buy and build into racecar
and now communism is over and bimmers are cheaper
literally 0 reasons to get it especially if you for some retarded reason are going to keep it stock in which case you need to find someone who can reverse lobotomy

> Calls ladas by their numbers

There is nothing cheaper than Lada. Even a starving ukrainian peasant can buy one.

me the starving peasant

3 speed gearbox is a letdown on those.

>Moskvich was more lower end then a Lada
Do we live in the same ex-Soviet Union?

>Like most Soviet industries, products started off being copies of western products

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Top Gear meant that the steering rack a Lada uses keeps straight on bad roads unlike the common rack and pinion steering, retard.

>it's like the ugliest car in existence

dude what? It's an adorable babby G-wagen

...

They were roughly equal actually

>1983 prices
Zaporozhets — 5 600
Lada 21011 (old basic sedan) — 6 400
Lada 2103 (old upscale trim sedan) — 7 500
Lada 2105 (newest basic sedan) — 8 000
Lada 2107 (newest upscale trim sedan) — 9 000
Lada 2121 (Niva) — 10 300
Moskvich 2140 — 7 500
Moskvich 2140 "Lux" — 8 000
Volga — 11 200

>doesn't call cars by their model numbers

I really hate German car naming.
Audi A4 can mean every single A4 there is. Volkswagen Golf doesn't give too much information either. With Ladas' or should I say with Жигyли, it's much simplier. There are couple of Lada 1200. One is the Fiat copied design and the other is the boxy shaped thing. Lada 1200 can then be a VAZ-2101 or VAZ-2105, but it this case they have separated the models by giving them a letter after the number. Lada 1200 and its upgrade version Lada 1200L is like Lada 1300 but with 1.2 liter motor. Lada 1200S is like 2105 but with same engine/transmission as VAZ-2101.

Man do I love the Soviet car classification system. All cars are classified as type 2. That is why Lada or VAZ (BAЗ) are called by their number such as VAZ-21013.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automobile_model_numbering_system_in_the_Soviet_Union_and_Russia

At least they're classified quite clearly by the chassis code. The worst is what Fiat's done, where it's pretty damn impossible to track down information/parts efficiently for cars like the 500 and 124 (classic models)

I think, you should buy one, if you don't mind working on it yourself. The engines are really simple, there are lots of videos, forums or downloadable repair manuals on the internet.
Your safest bet is to use your Lada as a weekend/secondary car after buying it, while you have an other car for daily use (your parents'/friends'/brothers'/sisters' car, that you have regular access to). Then spend some time with your Lada, practice some basic repairs on it (like change oil/sparkplugs/air filter, maybe clean the carburetor, etc.). If you don't have the confidence to drive it far away, just drive around your street first, and then slowly increase the distance to the next street, then some other parts of the city, then to the next city, then maybe smaller road trips, and go on... If something happens with the car on one of these "cruises", you'll probably going to be able to fix the problem, if you practiced it before (example: car has less power, and sounds weird - maybe one spark plug died, or the cable came off from it), and you'll build more confidence in the car.

And now some buying tips:
>Watch out for the rust!
>If possible, test drive the car before buying it
>If it pulls to the left, or right constantly, the car possibly had involved in a heavy crash earlier. Don't buy it, because it's expensive to fix that
>If it has blue exhaust smoke, the engine is dying
>Don't buy the cheapest ones! Those are usually used to death already
>Keep in mind, that the engine needs a rebuild around 100k km
>The odometer only counts until 99 999 km, and then resets. So if you see one with (for example) 35 000 km, it's possible, that the real mileage is 135 000, or maybe even 235 000 km
>Join a Lada fanclub. You can get parts cheaper, easier, and if you have problems with your car, that you don't know, how to fix, they'll always going to help. You can go to meet-ups, where you can meet awesome people with the same interest, and see each other's Ladas.

That's about it for now. I think, i wrote down the most important things.
Personal side note: My father has a '95 2105 with 5-speed gearbox, and the 1.5 L engine. He is the second owner, he bought it 12 years ago, and it had almost zero problems within this time. It's relatively quiet, and the seats are amazingly comfy.
He also has a facelifted, second gen Renault Clio 1.4 16V in perfect condition, but he barely uses it.
He loves the Lada that much...

Pretty much what he said. You'll basically be buying into the classic car life, and slowly you'll understand that there's actually not a lot that can go wrong, and what does can usually be fixed on the roadside (probably with a hammer). Get a workshop manual (Haynes are usually go-to) and give it a good service when you get it.

I'd recommend buying an electronic ignition kit since it practically eliminates any timing-related issues (which are the cause of about 80% of common engine woes). I own a 1974 MGB that's done 350k kms, and despite what everyone says about old British cars, it still runs like clockwork and has never let me down (other than the time I ran it out of petrol). You'll find that stereotypes around cars are usually due to owner neglect more than anything.

Good points, but there's two things I'd disagree with:
>If it has blue exhaust smoke, the engine is dying
A lot of the time it can just be improper ignition, which can happen when starting from cold or carbs that need to be retuned. I'd be careful to write it off completely due to that, especially if it's cold around the area.

>Keep in mind, that the engine needs a rebuild around 100k km
Not true with most engines. That's usually a rule of thumb that people use for Mazda rotaries, but generally piston engines can last for ages without requiring a rebuild.

A few points I'd add on top of that:
>Bring a magnet and test for filler behind the paint. If you feel entire sections of no steel, you'll very likely be seeing rust soon.
>Take note of small details e.g. mismatched panels or signs of neglect. These can tell you a lot about the history of the car that the owner isn't willing to.

i love mine
shes a farm hack/daily into town
goes hard for what it is
and thats an underpowered sqiushball ruster but i love her for it

Been looking for a Lada with my friend, and I've seen a lot of Samaras. Are those any good?

Yeah get the Wankel

Aren't those pretty rare?

Lol probably, I'm talking out of my ass since I have no experience with them. I should imagine horrid build quality seeing the period they were made. Never really been interested since they seem to be just another FWD 90s shitbox

Huh, i didn't knew, that the blue smoke could mean improper ignition too. Thanks for the advice.
Eastern cars DO need that engine check after around 100k km, but i maybe phrased it wrong. It's not a complete rebuild from zero, just a head gasket change, cleaning, and checking the block, the head, the cam, the pistons, the valves, and making sure, that the block is crack-free.
It's not that expensive (that's why i didn't wrote, that you shouldn't buy a Lada with 100k mileage, just keep in mind that engine work), you just need to find a workshop, that can still work on cars without 6438454 million computers in them. Or if you know, what you're doing, and have the right tools, you can even do it yourself.
And hey, after that, you'll have a "brand-new" engine, that'll be perfect at least for the next 100k km.

Today I finally got my Lada to safe and warm garage. I need to change the front window wiper. After I saw how it was designed, I totally fell in love with this car. It seems, I only need to take out 3 bolts to remove the old motor with the new one and nothing else. Engine bay is roomy and easy to work on. You can easily see where the wires and tubes are going.

Ps. Don't abuse your babushka. They are old and need a bit more love to run them smoothly.

t. 32-year-old Zhiguli babushka owner

An 80s Hyundai will be more reliable than that piece of junk

>headlight wipers
decadent capitalist pig revelling in luxury afforded by the cruel exploitation of bazillions of innocent child-workers
do they work tho?

Older Ladas with VAZ-2101 engine still have a made spot for the handcrank. This same engine also has timing chain and cast iron block.

How many 80s Huyndai do you see around still to this date driving around? I sure as hell have not seen one.

Yup, like most classic cars. The Fiat 500/126 is the most ridiculous, damn thing only has one engine mount

Lada is best drift car.
youtu.be/qQa0XivJmC8?t=2m11s

Nearly unicorn tier. Not many were made and most were scrapped since they were made for police use and those guys don't really like giving their cars away. Even if you manage to find one, the engines burn oil and wear out fast, and spares are really hard to get.
If you just want a fast Lada, it's easier to swap in a modern engine (some people even manage to cram a V6 in there) than to bother with doritos.

>Crimean Touge
With the high gravity center of these bulky bodies making the whole car move arround far too much during drifts, that looks properly terrifying.
Only thing that could beat it would be DDR Touge with Trabbies and Wartburgs but they probably don't have enough mountains in ex-East-Germany for that.

Those are fairly common rally cars around those parts, don't need a mountain pass to go around sideways

I'm a bit late, but thanks so much lads! It's nice to hear something else other from the general 'Ladas are shit' meme. I'll definitely be looking into repair manuals etc., but I haven't found anything in English so far. Anyone that could help me with that?

Get a Haynes manual

Alright bruv. Before I do, you sure that the VAZ-2106 is exactly the same as the Lada 1600 export model? Because that's what these manuals are made for, right?

Oh and besides, is it easy to diagnose what's wrong with these cars? I got the feeling that that will be the hardest part since I have no experience in car repairing etc.

I can't say for certain, but most of the mechanical and important bits should be identical. Anything else should be a Google search away.

Pretty much the same as any classic. If you have friends who have owned any classic and have wrenched on them, they'll be able to help you identify most issues. Aside from that, I think the Haynes manuals provide a troubleshooting section. Otherwise, look online and post on forums. I don't think Veeky Forums is too classic car friendly, but it could be worth a shot too.

Thanks a bunch regardless man. I think I'll get my car either tomorrow or the day after, I'll keep you updated in this thread if it's not 404 by then.

And if it is I'll post a new Lada General.

No worries, I'm done with uni exams from tomorrow so I'll be able to do some wrenching on my cars. Might post some and give you some idea of common issues/causes and solutions

Great! What cars do you have?

MGB GT and Fiat 126. Had the MG for a while, recently got the Fiat. The 126 is in a rough shape, so I managed to get it at a pretty good price. Super rare around here too, only about 80 Fiat 126s (or at least actual Italian ones) were ever imported, so you see funny things like a whole 126 suspension set, newly rebuilt and ready to be dropped in, selling for around $500 USD, since the much more common 500s can't fit them without mods lol.