Russians were named 12 cars that they can buy by giving up business lunches

According to Rosstat, the average cost of lunch in Russia at the end of March 2026 exceeded 600 rubles. The editors of Motor magazine studied which cars can be purchased for the amount that a Russian spends on business lunches in one year. And the choice of available cars turned out to be very wide.

If we multiply the average cost of lunch in a canteen, cafe or snack bar for one person recorded by Rosstat in March 2026 (601.1 rubles) by the number of working days in a five-day working week (this year there are 247), the amount will be 148.5 thousand rubles.

Rounding up to 150 thousand rubles, we see that on the secondary market with such a budget you can find fairly recent Lada cars with low mileage, as well as take a closer look at the legends of the nineties from Audi and Volkswagen, and even buy a minivan or truck. And all this will be on the go.

Lada Samara and Priora

So, for 150 thousand rubles you can become the owner of a Lada Priora, produced from 2007 to 2012. The mileage of such cars declared by the owners starts from 120 thousand km, and there are often examples with a mileage of under 300 thousand km, although they have already undergone engine overhaul. There is a choice in terms of body type: both sedans and hatchbacks are actively offered for sale, and there are also station wagons.

Lada Priora
“AvtoVAZ” Lada 2114
“AvtoVAZ” Station wagon Lada Priora
“AvtoVAZ”

“The car is not new, there are minor defects, they do not affect the speed” – typical phrases in the description of such a car, immediately after listing the replaced components.

Other front-wheel drive Ladas fit into the same budget – from well-worn “eights” and “nines” from the late eighties with imported Swedish glass and a fashionable brown interior to the completely “fresh” VAZ-2114, released in 2012-2013.

“Classic”

Having saved a year on business lunches, there is a good chance of purchasing one of the “classic” VAZ models, including those belonging to the “young timer” category.

A typical offer for 150 thousand rubles is a “kopek”, “troika” or “six” produced in the late 1970s with a well-preserved body and factory paint. You shouldn’t count on carefully preserved cars with minimal mileage and all the original parts on such a budget, but it’s quite possible to find a completely live example with a strong body, a well-preserved interior and a mileage of 50-100 thousand km.

VAZ-2101 “Zhiguli”
“AvtoVAZ” VAZ-2101 and VAZ-2103 on the factory test track
“AvtoVAZ” VAZ-2106
“AvtoVAZ”

A VAZ-2105 from the early eighties with all the attributes of early cars – a 1.2 engine from a penny, aluminum bumpers, original rims – also fits into this budget. For the same amount you can buy a pre-restyling Niva from the late 1980s.

Legends of the nineties

European cars of the 1980s and early 1990s, which poured into our country in a powerful stream in the first post-Soviet years, are still alive and on the move! For 150 thousand rubles in the regions you can look at a second-generation Audi 80 with a mileage of under 300 thousand km and a 54 hp naturally-aspirated diesel engine, or an Audi 100 of the same years. In the post-Soviet space, such cars were called “cigar” or “herring” for their body shape and were valued as an alternative to “Zhiguli” for their maintainability and galvanized body.

Volkswagen Jetta
Volkswagen Volkswagen Passat B3
Volkswagen Audi 80
Audi Volvo 940
Volvo

Its peer Volkswagen Jetta or the Volkswagen Passat sedan of the B3 generation will cost approximately the same amount. A typical offer for 150 thousand rubles is a car with a mileage of up to 600 thousand km. and year of manufacture from 1988 to 1993. Owners of such Passats tend to be laconic when describing their cars. “On the go, but requires investment,” is a typical formula from an advertisement for sale.

In the late 90s, the Passat B3 with a solid “ski panel” instead of a radiator grille became the “people’s” foreign car in Russia. Used cars poured in from Europe, and our compatriots appreciated the spacious interior and maintainability of this car. Proposals in the budget of about 150 thousand rubles are also found for Swedish cars: Volvo 940 sedans from the early 1990s with a mileage of under 400 thousand km fit into this amount.

Minivans and trucks

For the price of a year’s business lunch in Russia, you can even buy a minivan: a conventional 2000 Chrysler Voyager with corrosion on the wheel arches and body parts from other cars. The mileage of such a car declared by the owner will be close to 400 thousand km, and the condition of components and assemblies in this case is difficult to predict.

GAZ-3302 “Gazelle”
GAS Chrysler Voyager
Chrysler

In a year, you can save up on dinners for a truck: Gazelles from the late nineties fit into the 150,000-euro budget. “There are no thresholds, the side is covered with plywood,” are typical epithets describing their technical condition.