16th Dec 2006, 07:22

Still Cr*p! The other cars were obviously stuck in traffic.

24th Dec 2006, 12:07

Samara is the Kalashnikov-like car. Inexpensive, easy to maintain and repair.

But there is no safety features; the body rust is ubiquitious for cars produced in mid-90's.

Best regards, Moscovite.

30th Dec 2006, 20:18

"There is (sic) no safety features"? The Samara has progressive crumble zones incorporated in its bodywork; the steel panels are almost twice as thick as those on equivalent Korean and Japanese vehicles; the seats are double locked for safety; apart from safety belts all around, the Samara has rear fog lamps as a standard safety feature, as well as a heated rear window; anti-dazzle interior mirror, adjustable hydraulic headlights (from the interior), steel bars in the door frames, a duel braking system (if one hydraulic circuit ever fails, the other one will ensure you can stop), a comprehensive array of gauges and warning lights in the dashboard to warn the driver of any imminent problems. In those countries where air bags are mandatory, the Samara is fitted with them.

With regard to rust, my Samara has none - and the car is a 1989 model. Perhaps its because I do wash and wax it, on occasions, and yes, it is garaged.

5th Jan 2007, 17:40

Guys do any of you know where to buy Lada in North America and how to register it in the USA?

8th Jan 2007, 22:53

Hello.

I live in Toronto and I am looking to buy a Lada in Canada. I know that there are a number of them in Quebec. I will go anywhere in Canada to get one it does not have to be in running condition. If you or someone you know is selling one please let me know via e-mail at djokanovic@trebnet.com.

6th Apr 2007, 14:46

To the Russian guys. I think there is a huge difference between Ladas made for the domestic market (Russia) and imported ones (Canada and Europe). I never owned one (thank God) but I read about them a lot and originally I'm from Russia too, although I live in USA now. My father used to own a 2104 station wagon when we lived in Russia. The 2108 and 2109 and the updated versions are considered pretty bad cars in their home country which are often modified by the youth to race with foreign makes. They are I'm sure much more inferior in construction and level of assembly to their exported brethren because Lada didn't want other countries to think their cars are junk. Which is why you see the Canadians saying how great and reliable Ladas are given proper maintenance and the Russians saying how horrible and unreliable those cars are.

Also, just to make it clear, you cannot buy these cars in USA legally, only in Canada. They will not pass US emissions and safety tests without a large amount of modifications worth many times the original cost of the car. Only when they're 25 years or older, there might be a possibility of actually importing them into USA for driving on the street.

To people seeking old Ladas in USA, I saw some on eBay, they do sell once in a while, but those are going to be the 2101 series from 70s - early 80s. They're over 25 years old and considered antiques by now.

9th Jun 2007, 00:44

I don`t think ALL Russians think that their cars are "horrible and unreliable" at all. I have a suspicion that this type of rhetoric emanates mainly from those "Russians" who have abandoned their country and culture, and chosen to live in other countries - such as the U.S.A.

14th Aug 2007, 18:06

We had Lada here in rural Nova Scotia back in the 80's and they were crude. However, they were easy to work on and fun to beat around the country in. They rusted quite badly, and there are virtually none left around here now. I don't think that anyone rustproofed them back then.

3rd Apr 2009, 05:37

If it came down to a cheap economy car face-off, I'd probably take a Lada, if rust hadn't taken it first. They don't like salt on the roads very much. The Samara, whatever it's faults, is still leagues better than the Fiat 128-er, the Signet, that was exported to Canada before it. Reliability, dependability, simplicity, all thanks to the double-checks that the vehicles got when they were exported.

9th Aug 2009, 07:14

As you can see (I drive a Corolla), there are a numerous reasons why people buy this particular car, and not the other one. I liked Ladas a lot in the eighties. I was only in my teens then, but (in Belgium) they were a part of the street image at the time.

I don't like the recent model's styling, but simplicity (especially in electronics) is a brilliant thing. A Lada is a tremendous choice if you drive around town till even a 14,000 miles a year. It doesn't have the gizmos, or the 'image' (who cares about THAT?. Beemer drivers?), but it gets you anywhere, anytime and above all, very low cost. I was curious to read about Lada in here. And I am positively surprised.

13th Mar 2010, 09:11

Hi, this is a comment from Finland, I have had more than ten different cars and I have to admit that the best one, by far, was my Lada Samara -89.

In my country the distances are huge. You have easily 20000-30000 km per year, just to go to your summer cottage weekly and to your work daily. And in harsh conditions: cold, snow, mud, sand, stones.

I bought it used (120000 km) and I drove another 1200000 km without no problem. I did most of the maintenance myself, just normal things plus anti-rust operations.

Then it got crashed (by some jealous driver, was not my fault). A Russian guy bought it right away from the street saying that exported Samaras are so well made that they deserve being bought even crashed...

Finns are car crazy people, they do not only drive cars like crazy, but cars drive them crazy. So if Samara can survive in this environment, it proves something. The general opinion here is that Ladas, as functional cars, are reliable, safe and good to drive in any conditions.