cheap car, Lada Kalina

Pep

I am on the market for a cheap car and I am eyieng a used Lada Kalina, 2015 45Tkm 4500eur.
Of course I accept there is a reason why its cheap. The car itself is cheap even when new. Im fine with it.
This maker, Lada from Russia, is extremelz little diffused here in Europe.

Question: will the fact that the car is very rare here cause challenges when it comes to repair, like difficult to find replacement parts, or workshop that can do the work?

mamil314

I know our hobby sometimes makes us seem masochists but this would be a new high.

cooldad

Or low...

cougie

4500 euro doesn't sound that cheap.

I'd stick to a more common make and maybe get it a little bit older.

Pross

Ladas used to be fairly commonplace but I haven't seen one for years. Possibly worth seeing if they share parts with other makes, they may be using another manufacturer's old model. I'd agree with the above that it doesn't seem that cheap, possibly worth looking at a more common budget manufacturer like Dacia?

ayjaycee

Don't know where you are but If there was anything else available (and I mean that literally), I wouldn't touch the Lada with a very long bargepole. You would just be buying yourself a world of trouble.

pottssteve

We used to have a Lada.

Don't do it. I repeat - don't do it.

That's all.

knedlicky

Don't know where you're located, but if there is no Lada garage nearby, but an independent garage, check if they'll service a Lada. There is a Russian garage by me and they do any car very satisfactorily and with very good prices. They've done great work for me on a Seat and on a Ford, but I'd guess they'd be especially at home with a Lada.

Despite the hesitation shown by some posters about choosing a Lada, since late 2012 Lada has been 75% owned by Renault, so newer models are much more reliable than Lada was even only a decade ago.
In reviews I saw in 2016, the new Kalina (as from 2014) was judged just as good as similar-sized models from the likes of Dacia and Mitsubishi. Only not so good if on any one trip you have to drive over 600 km or several days of 600 km (because not the best handling). Or if you lay weight on side airbags or a brake assistant (neither of which it normally has).

My feeling about the price is that it's okay for the 64 KW model from a dealer who has given it a proper check-over/service, but I'd expect it for less in a private sale - by at least 250-450 € if in good nick, has had standard service, etc.

ayjaycee

knedlicky wrote:

Don't know where you're located, but if there is no Lada garage nearby, but an independent garage, check if they'll service a Lada. There is a Russian garage by me and they do any car very satisfactorily and with very good prices. They've done great work for me on a Seat and on a Ford, but I'd guess they'd be especially at home with a Lada.

Despite the hesitation shown by some posters about choosing a Lada, since late 2012 Lada has been 75% owned by Renault, so newer models are much more reliable than Lada was even only a decade ago.
In reviews I saw in 2016, the new Kalina (as from 2014) was judged just as good as similar-sized models from the likes of Dacia and Mitsubishi. Only not so good if on any one trip you have to drive over 600 km or several days of 600 km (because not the best handling). Or if you lay weight on side airbags or a brake assistant (neither of which it normally has).

My feeling about the price is that it's okay for the 64 KW model from a dealer who has given it a proper check-over/service, but I'd expect it for less in a private sale - by at least 250-450 € if in good nick, has had standard service, etc.

Any good stuff said about a Lada was probably when it was brand spanking new and had been thoroughly gone over by Lada mechanics before delivery to the reviewer. Give it a couple of weeks and bits will start to fall off and / or break down. In simple terms, don't buy it or expect lots of grief if you do. By common consensus, Ladas are probably the worst cars ever built anywhere in the world.

pinno

What do you call a Lada with a sunroof?
A skip.
Why do Lada's have heated rear windows?
So you can keep your hands warm when you are pushing it.

ayjaycee

How do you double the value of your Lada?
Put £5 worth of petrol in it.

surrey_commuter

Customer - can I have a roof rack for a Lada?
Salesman - seems like a fair swap

ballysmate

Anybody on here drive a Punto?

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars ... -ever.html

tangled_metal

Anyone drive a Nissan, Mitsubishi or Renault? I bet you're laughing your socks off at driving something made by the same consortium that makes Lads cars. Reason? Well, you bet they'll put good quality systems in place and will use suppliers of their brand for lada parts. Also, lads are members of various sector based systems/organizations relating to quality, chemical safety, etc.

One point of fact, lada's best selling car is the small hatchback called Niva. It's also got a crossover / SUV called x-ray. They're actually based on the Renault / Dacia platform. Kind of like seat and Skoda are based on vw platform. I remember a time Skoda cars were thought of as not much better than lada cars. I remember, much more recently, when Dacia were a joke (even made it onto top gear as a joke car the nerdy one liked on a filming in Romania). Now who thinks of Skoda as low quality? Who wouldn't look at a Dacia if they had little money to buy a brand new car (well me actually, I prefer secondhand)?

You get my drift? One day all lada jokes will be accepted as part of the brand's historical past. Not there now. Partly because they've not got the model for Western Europe quite right yet. However, it'll come. Renault have form with Dacia. Add in Mitsubishi and Nissan! You think they'll let an opportunity to combat the cheap Chinese car manufacturers that'll one day get into Europe? Or Indian ones. I mean there's European brands selling cars that are re-badged cheapo cars from India and probably elsewhere. I heard the same factories making dacia or dacia parts in Romania actually make cars / parts for mainstream / respected Western European cars.

My point is look at the car itself not the history of the brand. If anyone had test driven a current model lada kalina or current model Niva or their land rover defender clone their views would be interesting. It might be fun to see if any of the jokes still pan out completely. IIRC you have to look at 2016 models onwards.

And of course model cycles last several years so you probably need another 4 years before the majority owning consortium's influence, money and design filters into the brand. It's the Dacia business model being revisited by Renault with the Lada deal. I bet you'll see lada cars in Britain one day as commonly as you now see Dacias. BTW they're surprisingly common round here.

cooldad

Tangled Metal wrote:

Lot's of waffle.............

IMHO totally silly to buy a car with no dealer or spares network, even if it is based on something else.

davebradswmb

knedlicky wrote:

Despite the hesitation shown by some posters about choosing a Lada, since late 2012 Lada has been 75% owned by Renault, so newer models are much more reliable than Lada was even only a decade ago.

Ownership by Renault doesn't fill me with much confidence that reliability will have improved.

tangled_metal

cooldad wrote:

Tangled Metal wrote:

Lot's of waffle.............

IMHO totally silly to buy a car with no dealer or spares network, even if it is based on something else.

Where was the op from? I got the impression he did not a native English speaker, so from the continent perhaps. They sell a fair few into Germany and the Baltic countries. Dealer network there? Plus do you know for sure that the Renault / Nissan / Mitsubishi dealer networks don't support lada where he is from? I doubt they do here but in countries where it does sell?

I do go on a bit don't I! But I was really replying to the old lada jokes rather than saying it's a good idea to buy that car. Personally for that money I'd buy older car from a mainstream brand.

My point is they're majority owned by a consortia made up with a company that has a track record of turning a little known Eastern European brand into a serious contender for the budget end of the market. They will move into the UK market and sell here too, one day and it might not be too many years neither.

Note that Renault majority owns Hyundai too. A much improved brand as well.

ayjaycee

davebradswmb wrote:

Ownership by Renault doesn't fill me with much confidence that reliability will have improved.

My first thought also.

Yes, Skoda has improved dramatically since the days when they were regarded as a bit of a joke (although, I would suggest, nowhere near as big as Lada were / still are) but it took them an awful long time to get over it and they had the advantage of NOT being built by Russians. I suspect that Lada are currently very near the bottom of the recovery slope and, if Skoda are anything to go by, they have a lot of years to go before they are anywhere near the standards expected by UK buyers.

Personally, I hope that I never have to be in a position where I need to make a choice but, if I do, I suspect that I would rather buy a cheap Chinese or Indian car than a Russian one any day.

My bottom line on Lada is that you can't polish a turd but we are all entitled to our own opinions.

cooldad

Tangled Metal wrote:

cooldad wrote:

Tangled Metal wrote:

Lot's of waffle.............

IMHO totally silly to buy a car with no dealer or spares network, even if it is based on something else.

Where was the op from? I got the impression he did not a native English speaker, so from the continent perhaps. They sell a fair few into Germany and the Baltic countries. Dealer network there? Plus do you know for sure that the Renault / Nissan / Mitsubishi dealer networks don't support lada where he is from? I doubt they do here but in countries where it does sell?

I do go on a bit don't I! But I was really replying to the old lada jokes rather than saying it's a good idea to buy that car. Personally for that money I'd buy older car from a mainstream brand.

My point is they're majority owned by a consortia made up with a company that has a track record of turning a little known Eastern European brand into a serious contender for the budget end of the market. They will move into the UK market and sell here too, one day and it might not be too many years neither.

Note that Renault majority owns Hyundai too. A much improved brand as well.

He's in Germany. I have no idea about dealers in Germany, but he said "Question: will the fact that the car is very rare here cause challenges when it comes to repair, like difficult to find replacement parts, or workshop that can do the work?"

I'm sure he's in a better position to work that out than a bunch of Lada hating foreigners....

tangled_metal

I doubt/hope I'll ever be in a position to choose between Russian, Chinese or Indian built cars. I think I'd choose bike instead. However the Eastern European car industry has more than the Skoda example. How far down the quality spectrum was dacia? They're a good, cheap car now.

BTW that punto situation surprised me. Zero ncap rating! Didn't think that was even possible, thought a brand just wouldn't get it tested. Mind you there's been a downgrading of cars with each new model over the years. The ncap responds to improved safety by upping the requirements for each rating. It's meant a few new models of existing cars have lost a rating. The focus based Ford cars all got downgraded to 3 star from 4 star for example. That includes the kuga and possibly the cmax too. I think the new criteria relates to automatic driver aids. Without them you can't get 4 or 5 star ncap. Although I heard the ford kuga had otherreasons relating to structure for its downgrading. A Ford salesperson told he that earlier this year believe it or not. I wasn't in the market for a car like the kuga so she was honest with me about not liking some of the SUV cars out right now for various reasons.

However the punto downgrading to zero is dramatic. I can't understand how fiat would let that be designed.

pinno

What's the difference between a Lada and a golf ball?

You can drive a golf ball 200 yards.

robert88

Why a Lada? Why not go the whole hog and get a Skoda?

What do you call a Skoda with a sun roof ?
A skip

pinno

Robert88 wrote:

Why a Lada? Why not go the whole hog and get a Skoda?

What do you call a Skoda with a sun roof ?
A skip

Pinno wrote:

What do you call a Lada with a sunroof?
A skip.

Want to buy the new 16-valve Lada?
8 in the engine, and 8 in the radio.

What's the difference between a Jehovah's Witness and a Lada?
You can shut the door on a Jehovah's Witness.

ben@31

Thats a blast for the past. I never knew Lada was still in business and still producing cars !!!!
Last time I saw one was a Lada Riva about 22 or 23 years ago. Im old enough to remember the ironically named Skoda Rapid, (1984–1990) at a time when Skoda made eastern bloc cars before their merger with VW group.
At one point I wanted an East German Trabant

pinno

A kid is walking down the road when a car pulls up beside him.
The window winds down and a middle-aged man peers out and says "Come into the car and I'll take you for a drive."
The kid refuses and walks on.
The car follows him and pulls up again.
"C'mon" says the driver "Hop in and I'll give you a packet of Smarties".
Again the kid refuses and walks away.
The car follows him and pulls up beside him again.
The driver steps out and says, "If you come for a drive I'll give you all the sweets you want".
The kid turns around and says, "Look Dad, you bought the bloody Lada, now you deal with it!"

pinno

Did you know:

"The Russian-built Lada 1200 and 1300 produced until 1988 were based on the Fiat 124, along with other licensed variants ".

robert88

Pinno wrote:

Did you know:

"The Russian-built Lada 1200 and 1300 produced until 1988 were based on the Fiat 124, along with other licensed variants ".

So they took a Fiat and made it worse!

:shock:

pinno

Robert88 wrote:

Pinno wrote:

Did you know:

"The Russian-built Lada 1200 and 1300 produced until 1988 were based on the Fiat 124, along with other licensed variants ".

So they took a Fiat and made it worse!

:shock:

You wouldn't think it possible.
That means that the Supermirafiori 131 Sport is related to that Lada built right up to 1988.

Pross

The Riva above looks very similar to the Fiat 128 my mum had.

pinno

Pross wrote:

The Riva above looks very similar to the Fiat 128 my mum had.

30 years of a lack of product/process development and second hand machinery too.
BMW discovered that to the cost of 2.2m when they acquired Rover.