The Yugo was a shortened variant of the Fiat 127 and built by Zastava Automobiles in the former Yugoslavia. With an assist from entrepreneur Malcolm Bricklin, the cars found their way to the U.S. during 1985-92 but developed a dubious reputation when it came to design and build quality. You don’t see one of these cars pop up very often today, much less a pair as we have here. Neither one runs, but perhaps you could make one good car between the two as the parts supply may be a bit sketchy. Located in Clintonville, Wisconsin, this pair of subcompacts is available here on craigslist for $2,500. Hats off to Pat L. for digging up another interesting find.
Getting the car into the U.S. was a bit challenging as the first three test cars had issues passing emissions inspections. Once that was resolved, more than 141,000 of the cars would follow, which is interesting given the negative press the Yugo would receive. But the $4,500 MSRP and a 10-year/100,000-mile warranty must have attracted buyers in droves. The seller’s two cars are from 1987 and 1989, respectively, with the former being the most popular of all the model years.
By and large, these two cars are twins as there is little difference between them. We’re told they have been stored in a barn for years and have recently seen the light of day, complete with an accumulation of dirt and dust. The seller has not tried to get either of them to run, so there is no idea what it will take to get one or both roadworthy. These cars had 1100 cc engines with 4-speed manual transmissions, so they’re not likely to inflict whiplash when running again. They’re only being sold as a pair, so how does $1,250 a piece sound for a 30-something-year old Yugo? The collectible of tomorrow?
$4500 MSRP? I thought the ads, in the day, were $3999 for Yugos and $4999 for the Hyundai. Maybe that was only for the first year. Those are also very old memories.
I love old cars, I love quirky cars, and I really love old quirky cars.
But even I can’t see $1000 here, let alone the asking price. Maybe if had more info, but from what I see, I’d offer $300 perhaps, and plan to get one working vehicle out of what’s essentially a parts pile.
As the old car salesman line: “there’s an ass for every seat….”
I guess in Clintonville, Illinois they don’t have hoses…..or water. This guy must not want to sell them too much or he’d at least take of the first layer of dirt.
Clintonville, WISCONSIN
That layer of dust is there to start a fire when a match is placed on the car…May these Yugos’ rest in pieces….
I would take them for $2500, but he’d have to give me a cashier’s check first.
Now there’s a pair that will beat a full house!
What’s worse than a pair of Yugos?
TWO PAIR!!
2×0=0
Your wrong….
2×0=……-4
1 for thinking of buying these
2 for trying to think you can make 1 good car
3 for not being able to find the missing parts you need
4 for having a few drinks before you make this purchase
There you have it…4 good reasons to stay far away
So, a guy walks into the auto parts store and asks the clerk if he would give him a radiator cap for a Yugo.
After several seconds of receiving nothing more than a blank stare the customer let’s out an audible sigh. The clerk says give me a second, I’m still thinking about it.
These were not so bad if you actually did a little preventive maintenance on them. Of course, initial quality control was horrible, but what could you ask from a semi communist country at the brink of civil war? The price was right, but if you were not at least a little bit mechanically inclined, prob best to pass on them in those days. Unfortunately, related to the cheap price, people bought and abused them. Never changed the oil, stuff like that. A slant six Dart you could treat like that, not a Yugo.
Hope they come with rear window defroster… keep your hands warm when you’re pushing it
The civil war really killed these things. We had one sitting on the lot at the shop for 3 years waiting on parts that never came. The owner eventually towed it to the junkyard. After the war started, if it wasn’t in dealer inventory, or available aftermarket you were not getting it. GOOD LUCK today!
Come on! The chances of making one good Yugo out of two non-running examples? Total crap-shoot! Go to Vegas and put it all on red! better luck there!
If Yugo and buy these, Yugonna regret it…
My buddy had two of these, one with a different colored fender and one pristine. He drove the banged up one to work and kept the other in the garage. He got married and drove from a little town fifty mile east of Erie Pa to Niagra Falls and he swears he filled it on the Canadian side for under $5.00. If he did that thing was making gas on the drive. The ignition was all Ford Cortina parts, available anywhere. I saw these at one dealership I worked at with mirrors falling off and other things like that. I think they were 3995.00 with air. I haven’t seen one of these turds in twenty years thankfully.
Bring them to Utah and lets talk
Thumbs up to all the great wisecracks in the comments. I got some serious chuckles from them.
I’ve got a 21hp Kohler from a zero turn that would bolt right in. Not so sure about the mower deck…..
Yugos were also movie stars. In the movie Dragnet Dan Acroyd kept wrecking cars and was finally give a Yugo for an official vehicle. Finest Serbo Croatian Technology
You can’t put those two together because they will try to kill one another! John DeLorean had an easier time building cars in Northern Ireland.
If the 2 Yugos are stull available please contact me at 901-690-6501.