The worst car ever? How bad is a Lada? 

Lada - the star of millions of Russian car crash compilations.

WE NEED MORE ROBERT! Aging wheels tells the best stories

That ending: I think everyone should be driving the same car. Every manufacturer making nearly identical electric/hybrid couches with an hd tv console 🗿

My mum was in a terrible car accident about 30 years ago, the paramedic and fire service said if she was driving anything other than her lada she would have been dead almost definitely. So thanks to lada I still have a mum today

Eastern Bloc Cars in the USA is a great group! I loved seeing what everyone had

These cas are a lot better than most people think they are. Strong, comfortable and easy to work on.

One of the cool things about Lada is that they arent the only Fiat based vehicles round - they include Lancia. Best mate used to have a Lada Niva (the 4WD) and he put a 2L Lancia engine and fiat drivetrain in it, the only part he couldnt replace off the shelf was the rear axles so he was a little worried about dropping the clutch and snapping those lol. Amazing vehicles tho - everything might fall off the thing but it will just keep going, over just about anything.

My father had a Lada Niva Austro Taiga (search the one in Hungary that went over full restoration) version, with beige interior, green-white paintjob for 20+ years, here in Transylvania. We used it for off-road driving on very harsh terrain. It started even in -30-35°C without any issues, warmed up fast, and never left us on the side of the road. It was the first car i have druven, and i miss it a lot. Thanks for the story and for the nostalgia that came with it!

LOL I love the ending... if you said that during the 70's or 80's... you would get in so much trouble. Here in Montreal the Lada's are also ultra rare. they were laughed at by anyone who didn't own one, but those who owned one loved them because of how reliable they are. Sadly we salt our roads quite extensively in the winter... all cars from Montreal rust to death. Specially those from the 80's, 90's and early 2000's. The best of the best is the Niva... that little Russian 4x4 just works.

I had a Lada once. But it was the Samara, the modern FWD hatchback with injection engine. Best bang for buck car I ever had, loved it.

Robert might like the GAZ Volga, a legendary Soviet car. Maybe even a Moskvich, Zaporozhets, ZiL, or Tatra. Great story and a fascinating, wonderful car that VAZ 2107.

Роберт, спасибо за интересную историю! Удивительно что машина 91года не прогнила на сквозь. Видимо сказался климат.

Fun fact: KGB used to have Rotary lada with 1 or 2 rotor Wankel. Whole idea was to have stealth car that is faster than any car in Russia. And engine was just replacement part.

It’s probably not a lada fun (Sorry)

One of my first jobs in '91/'92 was working at a billiards store, besides sales we also did maintenance and restorations. The boss had family in Russia and he would buy up old Lada cars here (Netherlands), use them for the business for a couple of months, then ship them to Russia to his family where otherwise they'd have to wait years for a car. (This was during the fall of the Soviet Union) I don't know how this construction worked because I never asked but in the time I worked there I've seen a handful of Ladas come and go. At the time I was still learning for my driver's licence so I didn't get to drive them regularly, however there was a gas station across the street of our shop so sometimes I had to fill up the cars there. Hateful little things to drive! Selecting a gear was mostly guess work and the steering wheel had so much play you could rock the wheel back and forth at 90 degree angles and the car would go straight on.

I drive a Lada every day, 1000km per week. 1997 Lada 2107 1700i, the 1700i was a bit special European export model. It is fitted with a GM single point TBI and a catalytic converter. It is a great car in the cold Finnish winters. I haven't had massive problems with it other than a wire under the dash that caught fire at a traffic light. I've had it 6 months and before it i had a 2000 Audi A4 1.8T which i traded in for the Lada. I love the Lada and other people love it too.

Robert is an amazing guy with very quirky taste, I always love seeing him featured on this channel. Long time fan of his work.

My old man had a Moskvich 412, in the UK of the very early 70s. The differential grenaded one day while we were out food shopping - off to the scrapper it went.

I bought one of those brand new in 84 in Canada. I drove that daily through the back roads of Saskatchewan as I was selling construction products to farmers. I even pulled a trailer with it. It was not as fancy as yours. The only available appolstery was black wool. I called it my tractor. It handled snow hood deep on regular basis. I even drove it into a herd of dear in the middle of the night. I hit seven of them at sixty miles an hour and still was able to drive it back to town. They fixed it and I drove it for years before I sold it to my brother-in-law for who rallied it. I impressed my four year old son by driving it on two wheels through the field behind my house. It was tractor but unstoppable!! Thanks for bringing back the memories

Hello there, the 2105 had a 1.3 liter engine (~69 hp belt driven ohc), the 2107 a 1.5 liter with about 74 hp, chain driven ohc. This was a difference at least in eastern Europe. Greetings from Hungary!

Lada is not bad, hell those are the second best winter cars right after volvo & Saab. 2107 has a 1700cc engine, 2105 has a 1500cc, there was 1300cc model aswell :) I can help with Ladas, we got tons here in Finland

-30 that thing will start up cold everytime and blow such hot air and ONLY hot air in to the cabin that you’ll melt.

"It's mechanically... almost perfect". Don't even try to get it perfect. As someone that owned a (2121) Lada Niva and have seen my fair share of ladas, the saying for them goes here locally (especially the older ones) "Always half broken, never broken down". I got mine driving with only some new fuel and a new battery after it not having run for a decade (10 years), outside, in a pretty rainy, humid climate. It died a couple years ago due to terminal rust (USSR steel likes to rust) and it didn't make sense to repair it to get it through the MOT.

This generation of Ladas was extremely popular up here in Canada. In fact, Lada still holds the record as the most successful new car launch in Canadian history. Sadly, by now most of them have biodegraded into nothingness. While the 2105 and 2107 (aka Signet) are iconic, the Niva 4x4 is the legendary one. In fact, 46 years after its launch, new Nivas are still being built today as the "Lada 4x4" because the "Niva" designation is now tacked on to a Russian Chevrolet model (wonder how that partnership is going).

I worked at a Hyundai dealership here in Canada cleaning cars in the 80's. The owner used to have a Lada dealership and the parts car was a Lada. We drove the crap out of that thing trying to kill it. I learned to drive a standard on it. Rev her to 4 grand and drop the clutch! It seems Lada's almost thrived on abuse

I bought a Lada Riva back in the early 90s when a was skint and it was a three year old example and cost me the equivalent of $100… I was expecting disappointment coming from an XR3i but in reality it was pure joy. It never went wrong and was as solid as a T34, In fact my mate borrowed it and liked it so much that he bought an FSO for $50 which was quite hilarious as every time we saw each other driving along we would play destruction derby by hitting each other’s car lol. My favourite feature was the manual prime fuel pump and the little Lada tool kit in the boot which could basically strip the car down if ever needed. A little fact is have a look at the handbrake handle as it’s the same item as the Ferrari 308 and actually it was the only thing I broke on mine when doing handbrake turns lol I didn’t even check the oil in my years ownership and sold it for $75 to some gypsies who put it through an auction at a profit.

I’m a Brit living in Bulgaria. You have to think, if you’re travelling across Siberia and you brake down they’re easy to repair, also if you run out of fuel you can use vodka rakia diesel or lpg. All you need to do is reset the ignition timeing, it’s one of the reasons that the military prefers petrol engines.

the DISRESPECT of this great machine

I was living in Warsaw, Poland in the early 90's and there were Lada's everywhere. They were slightly more desirable than the Polish built Polonase . Those would rust through in one winter. I was in high cotton driving a VW Rabbit, all 1000cc'c and an automatic transmission. Memories 🙂 Actually we could not wait to get out of there, but that's another story .

3:20 That’s not true about worse engine, actually, FIAT wanted to sell to USSR same engine as it was on FIAT 124, but USSR government demanded for a better engine, so the fiat had OHV engine with bottom mounted camshaft, when VAZ 2101 has SOHC engine

My uncle and my grandfather had Ladas. I remember them vividly. My Grandfather had a Lada 2101, the softest and most comfortable rear seats imaginable and my uncle had a Lada 2107 yellow. This was all in former Yugoslavia. My father had a Red Yugo. Great times.

Perfect car...... cheap , simple , easy to maintain.....

These are excellent cars! Robust and reliable! A Fiat 124 Spider is pretty much the same in structure.

I always find fascinating that the FIAT 124 was sold abroad for decades after it was put out of production in Italy in 1974. Yes, you heard that right, OUT of production. I've never driven nor seen a Lada, but I've sat into the FIAT multiple times, it's not a super rare in Italy. My grandpa used to have it, scrapped it in about 1985 or something.

I'm from Russia, people are looking for rare American vehicles here like you did with Lada. Good to know some guys from across the ocean do really like Soviet cars!

"It'll go 300 hectares on a single tank of kerosene" LoL In 9 mins he didn't say a single thing about how it was to drive !!! 😠

When you compare a Eastern Block car to a Western European Japanese or Korean car of comparable age of course the Eastern Block car is going to come off second best. They were developed in countries with little interest in making world class consumer goods for export. The vehicles sold in the hundreds of thousands to eager buyers who may have driven them 5,000 miles a year and waited years to be able to buy one. I work with a lady from the former Soviet Union. Her father was a customs official in what is now Belarus. He placed an order for a blue Lada sedan and what he eventually got was a daffodil yellow Lada station wagon. When he complained he was basically told take it or leave it because they'd have another buyer available immediately. She said the first trip the car ever made was to a back alley garage in Minsk where one of the mechanics installed a lock on the hood and using a chisel strategically created a crack in the windshield Her father had to park on the street and would take the wheel covers the windshield wiper arms the antenna and the battery off the car to prevent theft. I asked why did he break the windshield and she said because these vehicles often had broken windshields and replacements could take months to over a year to get so they were often stolen from vehicles parked on the street. On Sundays he would drive the car down to the river and use river water to wash it. She has and probably a majority of owners also have more fond memories of owning or growing up with this vehicle then all the super cars ever produced.

Even with the current dip in the market I'm still glad I can smile back at my portfolio of $12,500 built from my weekly trade.

I had two VAZ 2107s (1991 & 2001). I was the only one in my Russian family who bought these - they chose to buy innomarki (foreign cars) as soon as it was possible. Parts were so cheap back then - $15 per Bulgarian tire (tubed), $25 for a carburetor, $25 for a front bumper, etc. I carried an extra transmission in the the trunk just in case - once, we had to change it out so we rolled the car over on the side. I always carried two tires in the trunk - once a week I would get a flat so you needed a spare spare to make it to the tire "remont" stand. Neither the 1991 nor 2001 came with a radio. I did a lot of singing. Neither came with an automatic choke - you had to reach on the left under the steering wheel to pull the manual choke. Fixing the car involved, generally, a sledge hammer. And curse words. By the way, the 2107 designation referred to the fact that it made 75 horsepower out of a 1.7 liter engine - hence the "7". In the winter when it was -20, you would just stop any car on the street and ask him (always a him back then) to let you jump the battery. Even then, you either waited 25 minutes for the transmission to warm up or you put newspapers under the engine block and set them on fire. My brother-in-law had a kopeeka (2101), which had been built in 1978. Nearly all of the parts from his car fit both of my cars.

I'm definitely excited to see more content with this car, the internet would've shamed you forever had you not bought it, haha.

Oh, poor Mr. Aging Wheels... You just don't know what you're getting into yet. I know these cars, I grew up on them. They never work properly no matter how much time and money you sink in them. Well, at least it'll be an endless source of content for the channel.

Ladas (and other eastern bloc cars) are dreams of every weekend greasemonkey, and yall would be lying if you say otherwise.

I have seen and driven lots of Ladas in my life, but never seen one with an engine bay that clean. Can't wait for the incoming content around this polished turd.

Life of Boris gives 19 reasons to own a Lada. Is good car comrades.

Growing up in greece ladas were and still are everywhere (especially the nivas) and I love them, I love old soviet robust machinery, the most "rare" lada i've seen is an old riva station wagon that I adored ever since I was a little kid and that thing still drives around today, I saw it after many years at a super market parking lot and immediately recognised it

Lada 2101 (round headlight) was the first model in 1970-1988 and 2105 launched 1980 and it was newer model. But mostly it was quite the same, biggest major difference in body panels was bit more boxy also the engines did get up to 1700cc whit injection.

I just started following the Eastern Bloc Cars USA group within two minutes of watching this. I'd kill for a Volga or a Chaika.

You have to install headlights wipers. Make it true luxury car 😁

The last good classic model is 2106 preferably "export", but the best one to look for is 2101-02 the results shown in the snow drift events are extraordinary. 2107 something went wrong with the production of sheet metal and steel, it all falls apart under abuse or when giving it big air.

I had a 1983 Lada that I bought in 1986 from a Ford dealership for $1,600 Canadian, it had only a little over 57,000 km on it and was in perfect condition. The car was in baby blue with a dark blue vinyl landau roof. It was the Signet version which came with the larger engine of 1,500 cc's, the surprising thing was that it was capable of about 100 mph. The car had 2 design flaws that were irritating, the wheel and brake drum had to be removed to adjust the rear brakes, and after removing the rear wheels several times the wheel bolts (it didn't have wheel studs) would stretch and then needed their tips ground down or they butted up against the backing plates, therefore not tightening down, I found this out the hard way when one day a rear wheel fell off and passed me as I was going through an intersection. The best thing I can say about Ladas is that they were very simple and easy to work on.

Aha everybody gets Lada 2107 :)))) in USSR car was luxury. Line up to get one decades . Especially this model it was like having SL Mercedes:))

You needed to come north to the Glorious People's Republic of Canuckistan. We had brand new Ladas available in the early 1980s. They were functional, but dismal. I test drove one in 1981, and I remember that getting back into my much used 1972 Datsun 510 wagon afterwards felt like a real upgrade.

You know why Ladas have rear window defoggers right? To keep your hands warm while you push it.

Mate, the Lada was the best of the Soviet cars- you should try driving a Moskvich- the king of body roll, or that rolling disaster area; the Zaporzhets. Then you'd appreciate the fact that the Lada was sort of still a Fiat- the geometry was at least sound. The Soviets could only partially ruin it. Anything they actually designed themselves was exponentially worse.

Bering a warmed over Fiat and kept in production way beyond when it should of been replaced, does not make a bad car. I mean, as a Brit I can point to MG in the late 70's and even 80's, that's 50's tech warmed over and kept going. Again, not bad, but very outdated.

Look like a 1975 Toyota Corona

For a second I was worried Robert was abandoning the Trabant, but then I remembered he actually put a 'new' washer 'pump' in it recently. Im looking forward to a video featuring both vehicles, maybe comparing the pros and cons of these classic soviet deathtra... er I mean, people movers.

Lada afterall is just a rebadged old Fiat. By the way, one of Lada 2107/2105 nicknames in the Soviet Union was "I wanna be a Mercedes".

Around 79-80 my brother drove a Lada for a company testing oils. He hated it. Said it was made for short dumpy Russians. 😂 If you slid the seat back you could not reach the wheel and shifter. If you slid the seat forward to reach the wheel and shifter your legs were crammed into the dash. 🤣🤣

I grew up 300 yards from a Proton and Lada dealer. I think Rob would have enjoyed that...

I watched a few of Robert's videos before, but the fact he has a Lada now made me go subscribe to the channel. I have followed Garage 54 on RU-vid for years and seen them put Ladas to hell and back. These cars may seem to be junk, but they are solid when it comes to the off the wall testing these do to any vehicle on RU-vid. I can't wait to see a car featured for something more than an experiment.

Heck yes I'm going to get 2107 content. I've always liked these odd ones.

Say what you will about Soviet cars. They were built for simplicity. Today, it's like driving an iPhone. I'll take simple.

Lada's were a big joke in the uk, they are far too heavy, crap brakes, and based on a fiat which is actually about the worst car company ever to make something with 4 wheels. If you think the lada is bad, try driving a fiat panda mk1, the metal was like paper, a scratch to the shit paint would become a large hole in less than 6months. The rear seat was 2 bars, with abit of fabric between like a deckchair. When mine understeered on diesal after a summer rain shower, it had lethal lift off oversteer at 20mph, it ended on its roof, the petrol tank emptied inside the car, the radio flew out the dash, missing my head by an inch, landed in the growing pool of petrol while still playing. Every body panel was bent despite the car losing all speed as it rolled onto its roof forcing the roof down 3 inches, under its own weight. And its fuel pump failed twice in the 9months i had it, and my mates who also had them also had similar unreliablity. It was a fucking deathtrap. And i forgot to mention the several pounds of body filler which also fell out the car leaving 2 holes over 2ft long under the rear windows which was how the petrol got in when the fuel cap failed.

"Where the communists right about-" I'm going to stop you right there, any sentence that starts with those five words can be answered with a simple no unless the next word is AK-47.

"Imagine that... A 40 year old Italian design, improved by the Russians and now built by a bunch of Egyptians"

despite their bad reputation I want one just for fun! in canada good luck to find one! 1- they are in terrible shape (they aged very badly) 2- too expensive for what they are if you find one 5k and up

Everyone having the same car would be soooooo f'ing boring. Not to mention that everyone would lack drive to achieve bigger and greater things, because there would be nothing to aim for. But thats just me.

Hi Comrade! A small hint if you allow. Give her the sweet name GIGULI, as everybody over there call their trustworthy Lada.

His outro was pretty funny😂

which is a better off roader? the Lada looks beefier but the Trabant has an advanced composite chassis making it lighter and more nimble

Piles of years ago I bought a 1984 Pokski-Fiat 125P, the basic model with the 1300 engine and only four gears. Little go, plenty of body roll-but for only £75 it was in my price range-! No rot, twin lamps and lots of space. Good, solid basic transport. Never missed a beat.

"were the communists right about cars" yes, but also no, but also sort of? they were right that cars shouldn't be the only means of transport to work or the store, but also good roads are useful beyond cars, but also also road trollybuses are weird af but bullet proof

The National Socialists built the best "peoples car". Ferdinand Porsche was a genius.

That hilarious how cool and rare it is to have an old american muscle car here in Russia, and on the contrary, how cool it is to have in ordianry Lada( which is like a part of environment for Russians) in the US

My worst car mistake ever was when I thought I'd take a brake from Benzes and Chevys and instead refreshed a hyper low mileage immaculate barn find Lada VAZ-2105, think it was a 1988 model. One grandma owner and exactly as it left the factory but it had been standing in a barn for two decades so needed brakes rebuilt and pretty much every engine ignition part replaced, new battery and carburettor overhaul and it was good to go. The parts cost next to nothing, must have spent altogether 150 or 200 bucks to make it ready for the very tough Scandinavian MOT test and got it registered. Bought a russian Ushanka fur cap, equipped it with a CCCP badge and prepared to sing Rasputin and Katjusha and Ferrymen of Volga as I drive around enjoying Soviet nostalgia. Instead in two days the nostalgia wore off and I realized I had spent couple of weekends saving a 1960's designed italian cheap piece of crap that was aimed at low-income families and which was then redesigned by drunk Russian engineers and put together by drunk Russian workers near the fall of the union when absolutely nobody cared about anything any more. It was truly appalling to drive; dangerous even when you are used to German perfection in handling, overall just poorest quality I've seen in any vehicle both designwise or by shoddy manufacturing (and I grew up in 1970's Europe so I've seen my share of crappy cars) and there just really wasn't anything positive or funny or even interesting about the poor excuse for a vehicle after the initial excitement wore off in two days. Sold it cheaply to a collector and was just SO happy to get it off my hands and went back to modifying Benzes and Chevys. Lada was simply the worst car-based disappointment of my life.

Wrecking yard said Lada best longest running on cracked block. Wouldn't stop running.

We had a brown one with headlights wipers, my parents bought it to replace fiat 126p when they learned mom was pregnant with me and my brother, although I was only 5 when they sold it I very clearly remember those headlight wipers

The Niva is the most superior Lada you can get. A tiny 4x4 that has a fantastic potential off road.

I'm ashamed to admit I've never driven one, even though here in Finland Lada was the best selling car in some years over the 1970s and 80s. These were everywhere, today not so much. Yes they were joked about and considered inferior to the western cars, but still they were loved by many. Got to get in touch with someone who still has one.

Moskvitch 412 (or 2140) is the king. Much better than lada in everything!

Do not forget lada is a Fiat product. another a Polonez and 125p and 126p are Fiat too

I had a 124. Apple green with tan nauga interior. Maybe my favorite car ever.

You need a moskvich

I love Lada stories. My first car was a 124 Special TC modified with a 1800cc short block from a 131 Mirafiori.

We had a 1979 Lada 2101 (Looks 99.99% like the Fiat 124) as a family car. They had some typical Russian options. - Powerstearing nope, just install a bigger steeringwheel ,grow some muscels comrade. - Tubeless tyres nope, they all had innertubes and you had standard tyre irons for fixing leaks. - Safety options, just use thicker steel and cut off the innerring of the horn activation on the steeringwheel. - Cold wheater options. 1 aditional steel plate and shielding for starting a fire beneath the engine to heat up the engine. 2 removable fueltank in the boot. 3 BIG heather you can drive one in a T shirt in Siberian / Alaskan blizzard. - Multiple fuel adjuster. yes just select the correct octane number on your ignition distrubitor. My advise if you ever want a 2nd Lada go for the 2101 estate.

These cars were everywhere in the UK in the 70's till the 90'sback in the day they were so cheap to buy

Great story! You must be thirsty. Can I offer you a Pabst Blue Ribbon perhaps?

It's a shame you didn't get the special KGB 150bhp rotary engine Lada

What is so odd about old cars with catalytic converters and carburetors? It was very common back in the day. Fuel injection was usually an option rather than standard equipment like today. Strangely the VW bug had fuel injection as standard equipment in 1975 but that was the exception not the rule. I had a 1985 Civic with a tiny 2 barrel carb and 3 valves/cyl. Toyotas of the same period also had carbs and both Toyotas and Hondas in those days were the most trouble-free cars you can buy.

I THOUGHT TRABANT WAS THE WORST CAR IN THE WORLD. THE LADA IS ONE OF THE BEST CARS IN THE WORLD. IT CAN BE USED IN SIBERIA.

And only 2107 only is supposed to have headlight wipers

My mates dad had one easy to service really reliable try that with a new one proper motoring those were the days

I wish I had the money to just export bunch of Eastern Block cars directly to your house for free 😂

no absolutely not

They're still better than China brand cars. Lada 4wds are rugged and reliable.

I'd buy a Lada if they weren't selling for 20 grand in good condition.

Yay! More Robert please.

The engines are solid! There is a channel that can't hardly kill a Lada engine, no matter what they do.....

Not a bad car in case you turbocharged it. 🙂