SOLD...Well swapped actually. Will be moving on on Wednesday.
Let's have a last bash at selling this before I go to the trouble of finding winter storage...
When I picked this car up (after spending 13 years trying to find a good one) I had intended for it to be with me for many, many years.
However fate then intervened when someone offered me a deal far too good to refuse on a Merc T1 camper van...which meant I suddenly was short of a space...so something needs to go. Can't justify moving on the Xantia as it's such a competent daily car, and given that I'm really the only one in the family who gets anything out of the Lada... it's the obvious choice.
So...the vital statistics.
[] 1993 Lada Riva 1500E Estate.
[] 20K Miles.
[] Will be sold with a full 12 month's MOT (it's currently lapsed, but as the car is off the road for the winter there seemed little point in doing it unless needed).
[] Has had the famously temperamental electronic carb dispensed with and the pretty bulletproof single point fuel injection system as used on the later Nivas. This has made the car immeasurably more pleasant to drive. This also brought fully electronic ignition to the party, so one less thing to maintain.
[] Generally rust free aside from the odd bit of surface rust here and there, though it does have the usual crispy front wing tops. A fresh set of good quality replacement wings are supplied with the car. Just hasn't made it to the top of the to do list yet. I'd made a start on repairing the existing O/S wing with some glass fibre filler, the nearside just has some tape on to keep the sharp edges out the way. I'll try to tidy this up a bit before handing you the keys as it's frankly embarrassing that I've not sorted that yet.
[] Comes with a plethora of assorted spares, including almost everything which was removed during the injection conversion in case you wanted to reverse that.
Where possible, parts were bought new for the injection work (including £250 of brand new fuel tank and pump from Lada) though the actual throttle body and manifolds had to be sourced second hand as they've been NLA for a few years now. The throttle bodies are generally reliable though so was never too bothered about that.
Given that this car was seen as a long term keeper it's unsurprising that there are a few jobs still in progress, mainly that the injection system needs tidying up. It's been proven to be reliable now, having been in place for a year without it missing a beat. There are a few areas though where it could do with just being made elegant. Like actually bolting the ECU in place and reinstating the glovebox. Nothing which actually affects the operation of the car.
The only gremlin remaining in the system is that the vehicle speed sensor needs wiring up. This doesn't actually affect the operation of anything with the map Lada use other than triggering the check engine light spuriously when you coast (logging code 24), it doesn't affect the operation of the car, and as the light resets on restarting the engine it's not an MOT issue. This was purely because I didn't want to crawl around in the mud under the donor vehicle the loom came from to retrieve that connector. Just want to make sure it's mentioned.
Other than that...she's a 23 year old Lada...and suffers from the usual issues of occasional bits of interior trim that come off in your hand, more things rattle than not, and panel gaps are about as variable as the weather.
The car is currently wearing the original 13" wheels with tyres that were new in late 2016/early 2017 and have plenty of tread. Sadly they're probably going to need changing in the next year or two as the rears are just starting to show signs of perishing. Disappointed about that to be honest. When I got it the car was riding on 14" wheels (bought new by the previous owner shortly before I got the car so they're as new), but I preferred the look (and ride quality) of the smaller wheels so they got stowed round the side of the garage. They come with the car if you want them. The wheels are as new, but the tyres are a random assortment of brands (185/65 R14 size) and having been sitting around for a few years I'd not recommend using them as anything more than a spare.
As stated, the car is currently out of MOT due to the winter layup (it's never been out when there's salt on the road in the time I've owned it), but it will be sold with a full 12 months test on. If you're interested in doing a deal and I'll arrange to get it tested (I reckon she needs a brake caliper and an exhaust but will otherwise sail through no bother) so that a test drive is possible.
The photos below were taken today. The paint's in dire need of a polish but really does come up well. I've tried not to flatter the car though, this is trying to show the car realistically.
Don't worry about the condensation either - that's purely because I'd just been attacking the car with the pressure washer, especially around the heater intake which was clogged up with bits of tree. There's no overall issue with water ingress.
Price...that's the fun part with cars like these isn't it.
She owes me a small fortune. I paid £3500 for the car back in 2016, and have probably spent over a grand on it between sorting the various issues she came to me with and the injection conversion. I'm not kidding myself that I'll make that back though in the current market.
Following a very unpleasant experience with an extremely aggressive member of the public who initially appeared to be a genuine perspective buyer I've somewhat fallen "out of love with the car" so to speak and seeing it parked outside is actually causing me stress...so I'd be happy if someone handed me £3,000 just now.
Knowing it's a bit expensive, but really wanting to see the back of it following the aforementioned experience with having abuse thrown at me from a random passer by who responded to the for sale sign in the window, I'm also open to the idea of a swap at this point...even if I didn't necessarily gain the space back, at least I'd have a car I could enjoy in the meantime!
If you'd be interested in this car, the following are on my wish list:
[] MGB GT. Quite far at the top of the wish list just now.
[] Austin Metro (Mk I).
[] Renault 25 (Monaco or similar spec).
[] Vauxhall Nova Antibes.
[] Jeep Cherokee Limited/Limited SE (4.0 in Pre-facelift form 93-96 form).
[] Citroen GSA.
Though I like oddball quirky stuff...so feel free to ask the question if you have something you think I might be interested in. It's not unknown for me to forget stuff I like!
Hopefully the possibility of swaps isn't violating the rules, I didn't notice anything precluding it when I read through earlier. Moderators please feel free to alert me if it's an issue and I can just delete that portion of the ad.
Let's have a last bash at selling this before I go to the trouble of finding winter storage...
When I picked this car up (after spending 13 years trying to find a good one) I had intended for it to be with me for many, many years.
However fate then intervened when someone offered me a deal far too good to refuse on a Merc T1 camper van...which meant I suddenly was short of a space...so something needs to go. Can't justify moving on the Xantia as it's such a competent daily car, and given that I'm really the only one in the family who gets anything out of the Lada... it's the obvious choice.
So...the vital statistics.
[] 1993 Lada Riva 1500E Estate.
[] 20K Miles.
[] Will be sold with a full 12 month's MOT (it's currently lapsed, but as the car is off the road for the winter there seemed little point in doing it unless needed).
[] Has had the famously temperamental electronic carb dispensed with and the pretty bulletproof single point fuel injection system as used on the later Nivas. This has made the car immeasurably more pleasant to drive. This also brought fully electronic ignition to the party, so one less thing to maintain.
[] Generally rust free aside from the odd bit of surface rust here and there, though it does have the usual crispy front wing tops. A fresh set of good quality replacement wings are supplied with the car. Just hasn't made it to the top of the to do list yet. I'd made a start on repairing the existing O/S wing with some glass fibre filler, the nearside just has some tape on to keep the sharp edges out the way. I'll try to tidy this up a bit before handing you the keys as it's frankly embarrassing that I've not sorted that yet.
[] Comes with a plethora of assorted spares, including almost everything which was removed during the injection conversion in case you wanted to reverse that.
Where possible, parts were bought new for the injection work (including £250 of brand new fuel tank and pump from Lada) though the actual throttle body and manifolds had to be sourced second hand as they've been NLA for a few years now. The throttle bodies are generally reliable though so was never too bothered about that.
Given that this car was seen as a long term keeper it's unsurprising that there are a few jobs still in progress, mainly that the injection system needs tidying up. It's been proven to be reliable now, having been in place for a year without it missing a beat. There are a few areas though where it could do with just being made elegant. Like actually bolting the ECU in place and reinstating the glovebox. Nothing which actually affects the operation of the car.
The only gremlin remaining in the system is that the vehicle speed sensor needs wiring up. This doesn't actually affect the operation of anything with the map Lada use other than triggering the check engine light spuriously when you coast (logging code 24), it doesn't affect the operation of the car, and as the light resets on restarting the engine it's not an MOT issue. This was purely because I didn't want to crawl around in the mud under the donor vehicle the loom came from to retrieve that connector. Just want to make sure it's mentioned.
Other than that...she's a 23 year old Lada...and suffers from the usual issues of occasional bits of interior trim that come off in your hand, more things rattle than not, and panel gaps are about as variable as the weather.
The car is currently wearing the original 13" wheels with tyres that were new in late 2016/early 2017 and have plenty of tread. Sadly they're probably going to need changing in the next year or two as the rears are just starting to show signs of perishing. Disappointed about that to be honest. When I got it the car was riding on 14" wheels (bought new by the previous owner shortly before I got the car so they're as new), but I preferred the look (and ride quality) of the smaller wheels so they got stowed round the side of the garage. They come with the car if you want them. The wheels are as new, but the tyres are a random assortment of brands (185/65 R14 size) and having been sitting around for a few years I'd not recommend using them as anything more than a spare.
As stated, the car is currently out of MOT due to the winter layup (it's never been out when there's salt on the road in the time I've owned it), but it will be sold with a full 12 months test on. If you're interested in doing a deal and I'll arrange to get it tested (I reckon she needs a brake caliper and an exhaust but will otherwise sail through no bother) so that a test drive is possible.
The photos below were taken today. The paint's in dire need of a polish but really does come up well. I've tried not to flatter the car though, this is trying to show the car realistically.
Don't worry about the condensation either - that's purely because I'd just been attacking the car with the pressure washer, especially around the heater intake which was clogged up with bits of tree. There's no overall issue with water ingress.
Price...that's the fun part with cars like these isn't it.
She owes me a small fortune. I paid £3500 for the car back in 2016, and have probably spent over a grand on it between sorting the various issues she came to me with and the injection conversion. I'm not kidding myself that I'll make that back though in the current market.
Following a very unpleasant experience with an extremely aggressive member of the public who initially appeared to be a genuine perspective buyer I've somewhat fallen "out of love with the car" so to speak and seeing it parked outside is actually causing me stress...so I'd be happy if someone handed me £3,000 just now.
Knowing it's a bit expensive, but really wanting to see the back of it following the aforementioned experience with having abuse thrown at me from a random passer by who responded to the for sale sign in the window, I'm also open to the idea of a swap at this point...even if I didn't necessarily gain the space back, at least I'd have a car I could enjoy in the meantime!
If you'd be interested in this car, the following are on my wish list:
[] MGB GT. Quite far at the top of the wish list just now.
[] Austin Metro (Mk I).
[] Renault 25 (Monaco or similar spec).
[] Vauxhall Nova Antibes.
[] Jeep Cherokee Limited/Limited SE (4.0 in Pre-facelift form 93-96 form).
[] Citroen GSA.
Though I like oddball quirky stuff...so feel free to ask the question if you have something you think I might be interested in. It's not unknown for me to forget stuff I like!
Hopefully the possibility of swaps isn't violating the rules, I didn't notice anything precluding it when I read through earlier. Moderators please feel free to alert me if it's an issue and I can just delete that portion of the ad.
