RE: 400-mile Lada Niva for sale
Discussion
Draxindustries1 said:
As basic as it gets and as reliable and cheap to fix as it gets.
Those slating it need to compare it to other white goods like BMW,Merc, VAG products ect, their reliability is through the floor and sometimes impossible to repair.
The Lada doesn't need any special tools to fix it either , a hammer & a few spanners will do.
It's over priced but these are good reliable tough as old boots cars..
Easy to fix, yes, reliable, not so much, one I used to use was a fairly new one but used to break down a lot. Perfect rugged little work horse, but crazy at that priceThose slating it need to compare it to other white goods like BMW,Merc, VAG products ect, their reliability is through the floor and sometimes impossible to repair.
The Lada doesn't need any special tools to fix it either , a hammer & a few spanners will do.
It's over priced but these are good reliable tough as old boots cars..
A mate I worked with had previously worked on a massive civil works site, They had 10 Nivas parked on site with the keys in them. If you needed to move around the site you jumped in went where you needed to and then left it there. He said they'd run and run with minimal repairs in all weathers. The site was very rough and they ever got stuck.
When my ex ran a Riva estate I looked at buying a Niva several times. They were around 8K new and that was early 90s.
When my ex ran a Riva estate I looked at buying a Niva several times. They were around 8K new and that was early 90s.
J4CKO said:
25 grand, if it came with a certain dictators severed head nailed to the bonnet maybe.
Otherwise, just evidence that the world has gone mad.
That's putin the boot in rather harshly ain't it?Otherwise, just evidence that the world has gone mad.
Having seen East European cars in their own setting in the early 1990's I have a certain respect for them! The Lada Niva was always known for it's off road ability. Didn't realise you could still get them (sort of).
It is a great shame that Russia has chosen the path that it has.
V8 FOU said:
Mmm a lot of hate. As is usual for PH.
I sold one a couple of years ago and people were fighting over it.
These later ones are really good - jeez, it even has aircon!
They are brilliant to drive and about the best thing off road. As the saying goes, don't knock it until you've tried it.
I tried one year's ago. The hate is not for the car but the price.I sold one a couple of years ago and people were fighting over it.
These later ones are really good - jeez, it even has aircon!
They are brilliant to drive and about the best thing off road. As the saying goes, don't knock it until you've tried it.
Bloxxcreative said:
I have so many questions, my biggest being....why are there 3 gear levers.
Proper old school full time manual 4x4. Consisting of: Normal manual gear lever, hi/lo ratio selector (when in tough terrain, select lo and you can rev higher without spinning the wheels and climb up and out of all sorts, also helps descend with control), and the third one is a full central diff lock meaning all wheels can be locked to rotate with power, even if some of the wheels are spiining in mud or up in the air, you are still getting power to those wheels with some grip.This is the very effective manual/mechanical version of the clever modern 4x4 automatic climb/hill descent which has wheel and drivetrain sensors to apply power to the wheels that need it, that old skool offroaders bemoan as the computer takes the fun and ability out of it.
I had one of these, I'll never have one again, despite it looking the part with some bull bars and flood lights, being quite fun to bomb around the backroads and tracks of Wiltshire, anmd the more modern ones supposedly being better built, it really doesn't look like it in the pics.
I bought one for about 2.5 grand in the 90s which was 4 years old, for a bit of fun, and actually drove better on road and was quicker than a much older series 2a Land rover I also had my eye on. 4 years old, but could have really been a 40 year old classic car the way bits just fell off and stopped working. I had to completely soundproof it to make it driveable over long distance. Brakes were terrible, slam on the brakes and the rear would overtake the front. Radiator corroded and cause overheating so I had to get the radiator head skimmed and gasket replaced.
All the panels seemed to be bolted together with corroded self tapping screws that rusted and fell out, the carbs and old points used to ice up and get wet regularly.
I finally got rid of it when it would start jumping out of 4th gear, which was an expensive fix, and dealt with temporarily using a girlfriends hairband attached to one of the other levers which held it in gear. I also found, as you're likely with this one, that parts supply are almost non existent in this country (though managed to find that the headlights from an early range rover fitted exactly!) so although reasonably easy to maintain, ordering parts from France, pre-eBay and internet days was an expensive gamble. I used to get it repaired at a dealwer in the forest of Dean who used to cannibilise a few older Nivas, then he finally threw in the towel when he ran out of donors.
In my opinion, unless that car is a complete nut & bolt rebuild using new galvanised panels, non OEM (i.e. they actually work and last) parts, proper soundproofing and a decent modern reliable engine, that £25k price tag is a complete piss take.
And above all, despite experiencing some post Berlin Wall and Glasnost related Soviet Chic in the 1990s which made me paint a hammer and sickle onto the wing of my red Niva, (like wearing a Che Guevara t-Shirt I suppose). But now, I can't imagine ever wanting to buy something from Russia ever again.
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