What do you think about russian cars?
Why they are so bad?
Is there any chance they'd get better?

I think they are too bad to become better, to become of normal level, quality and class
But don't know the reason

Why u don't like russian cars? A lot of Russians don't think so :))) Do u know joke: There are 2 problems in Russia - fools and roads :)
Roads in Russia are really terrible! Maybe this is one of the reason why :)

I think a lot of Russians just don't have any other choice. They have to buy russian cars. 'cause they are cheaper. But they are like tin-cans when comparing them to foreign cars

Russian cars are crude, noisy, poorly built but last forever because of their simplicity.
They can handle a lot of abuse with minimal maintenance.

I've heard their require a lot of maintenance ))) Isn't it true?

The geographical conditions of Russia won't allow for a sexy sleek sporty car's quite often when cars we buy are made for various purpose and too bad roads makes the things worse. Moreover Russia is also not a potential market for foreign players.

Ruth wrote:I've heard their require a lot of maintenance ))) Isn't it true?

That's just the luck of the draw! My car for 2 years was secondhand VAZ 2109 and i have to maintains it twice only. The car was developed 1997 :)

maree wrote:Russian cars are crude, noisy, poorly built but last forever because of their simplicity.
They can handle a lot of abuse with minimal maintenance.

I agree with that. Simplicity is not a fault in itself, but poor built quality is.
Many Russian cars coming in Western Europe were found sud-standard, with bad panel gaps, flaky paint, scratches on bodywork, inferior plastic interiors, rust problems, leaky mechanical components, etc...
Most engines were not sophisticated enough to pass increasingly strict emission control, because of poor carburation systems, bad ignition components, etc...
That may satisfy Russians, but not the modern Western market were competition is tough. So, we don't import Russian cars anymore.

In Russia, my prefered car is the Volga, but even that is not without faults.

Yes many factors contribute to these factors , they are not at all stylish, and as Jazz points out most of his observations are true to the point. Some just don't love their cars they just keep it rolling and do all the work it can afford without any service.