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jonathan steele
New Member
78 Posts |
 Posted - 14 August 2005 : 09:09:18
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Why were Lada Riva's taken off the market in the UK? They were by far the cheapest new car on the market when they were last sold at only around £4000 brand new. There are no cheap new cars anywhere near that price bracket now. There used to be many really cheap new cars that are no longer sold; Lada Rivas, Yugos (511, 513, 45, 55) at even under 4k brand new, Skoda Estelles. Now that these cars have gone you are lucky to buy a brand new car of anything for under 7k today, although perhaps a few tiny city cars and tiny Fiats for about 6k maybe. So the cheapest new cars of today are hugely more expensive than the late Ladas, Yugos etc.
So that there are cheap new cars on the market they should have kept Ladas and Yugos. I know they were not very much but if people are bothered about low price in a brand new car they should still sell.
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BSCat
Advanced Member
18217 Posts |
Posted - 14 August 2005 : 09:37:43
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The UK has a requirement to build the steering wheel on the right side. Also the UK people are pretty well off these days, cheap cars do not sell in great volumes. I think there are mainly economic reasons for not selling Lada in the UK. You still get the Protons over there. 
France still has a web site for the Lada’s, its not too far if you really want one. 
 CATMAN drives..... feles **** vehere
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slim jim
Advanced Member
2498 Posts |
Posted - 14 August 2005 : 10:43:01
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Perhaps because the're rwd  |
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DavidHM
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
2573 Posts |
Posted - 14 August 2005 : 11:49:23
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When you take into account inflation, you can get cars as cheap as this now.
The Riva was about £3,500 in 1989. That's about £5,800 after inflation, ignoring the fact that average wages tend to rise faster than prices. You can get a Panda or a Ka for less than that now; a Panda or 950 Fiesta was about £5k in 1989. Essentially you can get a western European car for the same sort of money as the eastern Europeans were charging in the 1980s - or at least the brand is western, even if the car is actually built in Poland.
As a result the only way that an eastern European manfuacturer could compete commercially is to have cars that are virtually as good but virtually as expensive (like Hyundai or Kia or, dare I say it, Skoda). Unfortunately, whilst eastern European (Romanian/Polish/Russian) can make cheap cars their cars would only be competitive with something western or Japanese that's maybe even 30 years old like the Chrysler Alpine.
The other thing is that buying on credit has become much more prevalent due to the rise in house equity and low interest rates, and PCP schemes have allowed people to get cars with lower monthly payments than a straight loan. (I'm not saying these are a wise idea for the customer, but people have them).
I'm not sure of the numbers of people qualifying for Motability schemes but a lot of those would also have been in the target market for Ladas whereas now they can get an Astra or the like for nil deposit instead - and Motability never includes cashback so it would be a straightforward choice.
Edit: the final nail in the coffin was emissions (and would later have been safety) requirements, but if the cars were still selling well at that point, it would have been possible to make them comply, e.g., by simply buying in a new engine from Europe. The fact that they couldn't pretty much shows that they were commercially unviable by then. |
Edited by - DavidHM on 14 August 2005 11:50:32 |
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BSCat
Advanced Member
18217 Posts |
Posted - 14 August 2005 : 12:12:51
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You get an 'A' grade from me for that DavidHM.
Not that I am qualified to give grades 
CATMAN drives..... feles **** vehere
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Edited by - BSCat on 14 August 2005 12:13:36 |
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AntMat
Advanced Member
France
22658 Posts |
Posted - 14 August 2005 : 12:48:40
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I once went to collect a Lada with a friend who ral**** them. We arrived at the Byfleet HQ and were asked by the marketing manager where the trailer was. My friend said that he was driving it back on trade plates to the competition workshops in north London. Eyebrows were raised. Anyway on the way back my friend, whilst holding the steering wheel dead straight at 10 to 2 suddenly proceeded to drive across Ham Common.
A steering arm had broken!
He went on to win the National class in the UK rally championship that year. A brave man methinks!
Toot Toot Toady!
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Edited by - AntMat on 14 August 2005 18:51:08 |
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AntMat
Advanced Member
France
22658 Posts |
Posted - 14 August 2005 : 18:54:00
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I always feel a bit sorry for Jonathan Steele (alias glasspool?).
He so hankers after a RWD that perhaps we ought to have a whip round, raise £50 or so and buy him an old Lada. I'd feel good about that.
Toot Toot Toady!
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Clutch
Mr
United Kingdom
5925 Posts |
Posted - 14 August 2005 : 19:29:29
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I'd rather drive a Hyundai than a Lada. Jonathan.
................................................................................................................
' well i live in a car,
yeah i live in a car
well i ain't got no television set or stereo
cos i live in a car '
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BSCat
Advanced Member
18217 Posts |
Posted - 14 August 2005 : 19:54:55
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I'd rather wait a bit for a second hand BMW 1 series, rear wheel drive and I cannot see them being too popular (so second hand prices might drop quite quickly). 
Old Ford Sierra might be a good pick too.
CATMAN drives..... feles **** vehere
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bondgate
Senior Member
953 Posts |
Posted - 14 August 2005 : 22:40:15
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quote:
Originally posted by jase
It was emissions that killed the Lada range.
Given that all of these cars are immeasurably better built, more reliable, more economical, more modern, better to drive etc etc than the Lada, the old Russian bus is just too expensive to be viable in today's market.
If you consider specification inflation as well as money inflation, you'll find that the £6k-7k car of today is far more 'car for your money' than the Lada Riva at £4k ever was. Not only is the new car safer, but will have much more equipment than the Lada could have dreamed of. As mentioned before, in money terms, a Lada would cost as much as a modern-day Perodua Kelisa or Kia Rio anyway, but would trail way back on spec.
Another thing to bear in mind. Ladas and pre-1990 Skodas were made in countries run under Communist lines. There were no market mechanisms to determine what price a car (or anything else) should be set at. Many people in the USSR could buy a new Lada when they wanted, but because the supply was poor, they had to wait years on a list. For demand to fall to the level of supply, Lada should have raised the price much more domestically.
In the UK all we got was a price trasnlated from Kopeks to Pounds, according to the price set in the USSR (+ a small fee needed to pay those working at the importers in Bridlington to rebuild the cars to make them saleable!). Had Lada charged more for their cars they would have been able to pay to catch up with the West in car development and marketed their cars more normally.
"Renault Build A Better Car"
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TomH
Advanced Member
3220 Posts |
Posted - 15 August 2005 : 14:13:46
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most of the old ones were shipped back to Russia where they were worth more! Now you see them in the "classic car" section of ebay occasionally, going for increasing amounts!
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BSCat
Advanced Member
18217 Posts |
Posted - 15 August 2005 : 15:18:27
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Those old Lada’s really did know how to chew up the miles on the eastern countries roads.
They run and run, are easy to fix without high tech tools. The roads over there are kind of empty and long. The surface made my Agila jump all over the place, talk about rough, I think they just laid the tarmac and forgot about rolling it flat.
I drove clear across Hungry (to Romainia) when my Agila was new. Saw lots of them Eastern people cars. 
CATMAN drives..... feles **** vehere
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The Lada Riva
