Lada Riva (1981 - )

Last updated 31 July 2013

Buying Guide

Good

• Based on 1960s Fiat 124.
• 13' 4" long by 5' 3" wide and around 1,050kg.
• Last ones had 1,452cc 72bhp catalysed engine. Very tough. They gave you a full set of tools to fix it when it went wrong.
• Kids don't steal them for joy rides.
• Made infamous by Maureen and Dave Rees from TV's 'Driving School'.
• Owners display their own brand of inverted snobbery. Quite a few 'catless' cars legally took advantage of extended 'cat' deadline.
• Estate cars make the best sense. Dealers and parts specialists can be 'salt of the earth'.

Bad

• Appalling build quality.
• Very basic.
• Noisy, thirsty, dated and lumpy to drive (nothing like a real Fiat 124).
• Spare parts supply not guaranteed to last indefinitely.
• Factory infiltrated by the Russian Mafia.
• Post-August 1992 models fitted with cats have severe trouble passing MOT advanced emissions systems test.
• Hardly any left.

Watch

• Where do you start?
• Conscientious owners look after them properly.
• People who buy them for £100 at an auction, don't bother to maintain them and simply run them into the ground.
• Listen for signs of big ends going.
• Expect some gearbox whine, but not too much.
• Unscrew a spark plug to see if it's burning oil.
• Trim may have fallen apart of its own accord under the inevitable seat covers.
• Electrics play up (fusebox shorts, distributor wears out). If you're paying the full £100, make sure the tools are all there.
• Hardly any left in UK.