Is a Lada Niva first car material?

>>15958025
Yes, very easy to work on. But I heard they might have electrical problems. My grandfather owned two of them when I lived in Russia. I would like to have one as a winter beater here in the states. His first Niva was golden, not a single problem. Unfortunately he lost it in an accident, his second was a fucking nightmare of a lemon.

depends on what you want in a car
if you want to have fun (that's not offroading) don't
if you want fuel economy don't
if you want to impress girls (some people actually choose their cars based on this) then don't i guess
I don't know if it has airbags or other safety equipment
check if it has heated anything or air condition if you live in a country where it gets cold in winter

>>15958025
Nivas (or rather, Lada 4x4s as they're now called) are good for one thing only, cheapo offroad conversions of various kinds. They handle terribly and have fuck all for safety features; reliability is also shit when not serviced properly, which is a rule rather than an exception for cheap commie cars. Definitely do not buy one as your first car.

>>15958130
>I don't know if it has airbags or other safety equipment

It doesn't. No airbags, no belt pre-tensioners, no crumple zones, no traction control. Newer ones, from 2012 onwards iirc, have ABS at least.

>>15958025

Had Niva as first car.

Car itself is not that bad. Size is right, suspension is nice and very modern, rear has ton of flex and travel stock, front is double wishbone with forged arms, 4 pot caliper brakes and so on.

Steering is kinda shitty, quite a lot freeplay even when new.

Engine is passable - noisy and rough, not well balanced.

Drivetrain is what ruins the car. There's no way to get rid of vibrations in stock car. It'll shake really bad at high loads and drone at high speeds. You'll want to kill yourself. This issue is fixable but requires front diff relocation kit which involves welding and maybe something to further fix center diff.

If you want to play rough get suzuki samurai. If you're not that hardcore get suzuki vitara. Niva is not for you.

>>15958025
those headrests are sick as fuck

Ideal car if you want to get into wrenching. Even if you can't fix something, repairs are still very cheap on this thing.

Insurance is a pittance, which might be important if you're young.

Actually a pretty fashionable car if you ask me.

>>15958025
you're gonna need something bigger to plow through those immigrants blocking the road, anon

>>15958177
Vitara is nice, I second this.

>>15958177
Op here, holy fucking shit, I forgot about the Vitara, not a fan of the samurai, A friend of mine rolled one while we were going to the beach, that kinda left a bad image, thanks for the advice

>>15958189
Insurance isnt an problem where I live, the older you are the cheaper it gets so if your father "owns it" on paper, its cheap

>>15958198
>>15958200

Vitara compared to Niva has shittier and weaker front suspension, less travel in rear and less ground clearance.

However drivetrain is really smooth and will not drive you insane over time with droning and vibrations.

There's also jimny is you want something more recent.

>>15958231
What can I say small off-roaders are a weakness to me

>>15958241
Fiat Panda 4x4

>>15958241

Yeah, had many 4x4s small and big and samurai is my favorite, most fun of them all but better have healthy back how rough suspension is.

As for it rolling over it's nowhere near as tippy as Hilux and no one bitches about that one.