Life has its serious moments, and taking a chance to escape can be crucial as a pressure relief. Many motoring enthusiasts retire to their workshop to tinker with a classic car or hit the road to enjoy all their pride-and-joy offers. Some less kind individuals might suggest that owning this 1987 Yugo GV will see someone spend more time in their workshop than on the road, but that’s just cruel. This Yugo is an original survivor with 37,000 miles on the clock, and while it runs and drives, the seller indicates it needs a tune-up. This little classic is listed here on Facebook Marketplace in Tallmadge, Ohio. It could be yours for $6,500 OBO, and I must say a big thank you to Barn Finder Ted for spotting this quirky classic.
More jokes have probably been written about the Yugo than almost any car in automotive history. In fact, some believe there was once a pool of pending jokes that had never been assigned to a specific brand, and Yugo built a car so those jokes would have a home! It is fascinating that the Yugo brand in North America would become associated with Malcolm Bricklin because he already had a well-established history with bargain basement cars. Hands up those who remember the Subaru 360. The seller indicates this Yugo spent a long time stored in a barn, although it is unclear whether we are talking years or decades. Its Flame Red paint looks remarkably good, with a healthy shine and no signs of patchiness. The panels are straight, and I see no evidence of rust. The lack of surface corrosion in areas like the engine bay is encouraging, giving hope that this car could be rock-solid. It has probably been sheltered from UV exposure because the plastic is free from problems. The Yugo retains its correct trim and badges, and the glass is clear.
Owning a Yugo involved compromising on outright performance because the engine bay houses a 1,116cc four-cylinder powerplant that sends 54hp and 58 ft/lbs of torque to the road via a four-speed manual transmission. The company never quoted a ¼-mile ET, although if the driver gritted their teeth and kept the pedal to the metal, a healthy Yugo GV could nudge 90mph. However, few people were ever willing to accept that challenge. Cruising at 60mph was realistic, and these cars could return fuel consumption figures on the good side of 40mpg. The seller indicates this little survivor runs and drives, but not whether it is roadworthy. They admit it needs a tune-up, including several manuals and other documentation in the sale.
The interior supports my belief that this Yugo has avoided long-term UV exposure. The seats are free from significant wear and rot, but the back seat and carpet would benefit from a deep clean. The dash is excellent, and there is no crumbling plastic. However, some pieces are discolored quite severely, and treating them to a layer of vinyl paint in the correct color would make a difference. Owners will unlikely confuse this interior with a Cadillac’s because this car represents motoring at its most basic. This was a deliberate strategy designed to keep the sticker price low. The one notable creature comfort this car once featured was a radio, which is long gone. Still, finding an appropriate replacement shouldn’t be difficult.
The Yugo promised much as America’s most affordable road car when it was new. However, the promise didn’t translate into enormous sales volumes. Only 141,651 buyers took one home between 1985 and 1992, with the 1987 total of 48,812 standing as the brand’s most successful year. This one is a genuine survivor, and it is fascinating to think that the seller’s price is almost 50% higher than the original owner would have paid in 1987. Don’t think the price is unprecedented because there have been a few recent sales for figures above $8,000. I doubt that Malcolm Bricklin envisaged that when he began importing these little cars, but with those recent sales results in mind, would you consider pursuing this Yugo GV further?
I’m curious if we can have a post that doesn’t trigger the misconceptions or hype. Corvair/Nader, Cordoba/leather, any AMC/Rambler post, Jeep rollovers and yes, the Yugo. Probably not, but I felt the Yugo was an,,,um, adequate car. Naturally, compared to our Cadilincolnperials, of course it’s going to be the subject of humor, to us. To the people of Serbia, and beyond, this car was no joke. They made almost 800,000, which included over 250,000 shipped worldwide. The US was on the “low” side, at about 141,000, but America had far worse examples. It helped the workers and families live a pretty decent life.
Am I saying it was a good car,,,um, by our standards, no. They were out of place here, and required maintenance we just didn’t ( have to) follow with our big V8s, that required little, in comparison. Most bought econoboxes out of sheer necessity, maybe a Yugo out of pity, mostly to save gas, and some did it better than others. I read, a 1987 Yugo cost $3999 new, almost half of a Toyota Corolla, and sadly, people looking to save a buck with no automotive experience, went with the Yugo, with terrible results. I doubt anyone bought a 2nd Yugo. With the worldwide network of today, parts are around, you may need a translator with the instructions.
Fair, reasonable write-up Adam, and appropriate comments Howard. It’s easy to throw stones at the Yugo and to make fun of it. But it had a place in the automotive universe of its day, and arguably had a degree of success.
Take one to a car show, and it will attract more people than the Vettes!
What a chick magnet!!
I was offered a Renault Caravelle for 4 months, over the summer, by a couple going on a 4-month trip. They didn’t want it to sit, for good reason. This was in 1965 and compared to my buddies rides, it WAS the chick magnet of the group. We had 3 ladies and me in it on a short trip. You can bet this could be a decent chick magnet, especially these days when most cars are designed from a potato.
I think that was the thinking with the guy who was trying to stick a Toyota transaxle into it. Don’t recall his Youtube page; it doesn’t matter. It would really stand out, and it was about 800 pounds lighter than the donor Echo, so it would have really been zippy.
Dimensions weren’t right – he’d have had to widen the front track about four inches to get everything in. Plus, the Yugo didn’t have a sub-frame to support the transaxle, the way Toyotas do.
But, yeah, it would have been an attention magnet. I think the style is clean and timeless – not unlike the first VW FWD cars in the 1970s.
Wow who knew it would last that long .
I mean a Yugo…. Many were junked sooner.
“Despite these negatives, the Yugo was not the worst car in history. Even though it is not perceived as reliable, it has met the basic standards that are necessary to be sold in the United States. Since the vehicle was first introduced in Europe, the Yugo had to withstand emission changes, different injection equipment and new on-board diagnostics.
It seems that the Yugo has an extremely poor reputation. However, it simply suffered problems because it was a dated vehicle from the beginning. At the time, it was based on a 20-year-old Fiat. Every detail was extremely basic, and its primary purpose was only to be a functional means of transportation. It was the least expensive car of its time. It may have been wise to heed the old saying “You get what you pay for.” What made the Yugo a bad choice turns out to be the characteristics that made it a top seller in other parts of the world.”
I remember watching a video of these where it didn’t even have enough power to get itself going on flat ground. It kept stalling. I don’t exactly remember how the guy got it going, I think he somehow managed to limp it to a slight incline. It might have been a sky high rpms clutch dump or a combination of the two. I still think they’re interesting and wouldn’t mind owning one.
Looks like it’s already sold! Too bad. It’s only about 15 miles away. As much as I made fun of these new, I’ll bet it would be a blast to drive and tinker with.
Those high miles its ready for a timing belt
World record high mileage 😁
I speak as a former, short-time Yugo owner.
It was not inherently a bad car. It was underengineered, in that wear parts, corrosion issues, durability issues, were ignored.
It was a rejected orphan – a Fiat 127, discontinued by its maker. Tooling and design rights were sold to Zastava, which was a state-owned metal works, which had specialized in firearms. I’m not sure if they had made any motor vehicles before the Fiat deal.
In setting up, the 127 received a new outer skin. This matters, in that the sheet metal didn’t receive even Fiat’s engineering oversight. While many parts on the Yugo were exact copies (steering column, air box, I believe, engine was interchangeable) the body, including doors and parts, were not.
It was not intended to provide a great value to buyers. It was designed to show the outside world the success of Yugoslavian Communism – the same as all the other show pieces and displays in all other totalitarian command/control economies of that period.
So for that reason, deficiencies, of design and of durability, were ignored. Timing belts did not last long. The body had less rust resistance than a first-generation Honda Civic. One Youtube garage guy was dismantling a gifted Yugo, with the idea of stuffing a Toyota Echo driveline into it. He gave it up; the needed fabrication was beyond his skills; but in the process he had a LOT of removal of rusty metal, broken welds, bad bearings and brake issues.
And his wasn’t even that rusty. His back-story was, it was used as a summer car at an island resort village near Vancouver.
So…ya pays yer money, and take yer choice. I liked my Yugo. Its road manners were excellent – better than a lot of 1980s economy cars. I had no trouble with the sloppy shift linkage – it was about like a Beetle was, of ten years earlier. It was no powerhouse but it kept up with rural and city traffic. And I did opt to try to drive it cross-country to Las Vegas, and that was where it blew up (popped timing belt).
Interesting fact for me: When I bought my Yugo, I lived in Ohio. In a city ten miles from Tallmadge; and Tallmadge was where I bought mine, used.
It was red also. I wonder if there was a Yugo dealer offering deals on Yugos that couldn’t be passed up…buy another brand, get a free Yugo!
It means nothing, and it couldn’t be mine – mine died in Fruita, Colorado – but it’s a coincidence that caught my attention.
After reading a few sentences of your comment, I see you got it all totally wring. Not even worth replying, but what the heck, I started it, so I’ll finish, too.
You meant to say totally w-r-o-n-g. ;)
Maybe one of you would like to tell us how it’s wrong.
And what you base your assertion on.
Donut videos don’t count.
Zastava had actually been building Fiats under license since the late ’50s, starting with the Fiat 600. They’re now fully under the Stellantis umbrella as a Fiat assembly plant and in recent years built the Fiat 500L, including ones shipped to the US.
Except that it’s not Zastava.
Fiat bought the plant and operation, after the Yugoslavian civil war.
You’re right, it’s Stellantis’ property now.
Sure, no problem. As 1st, Fiat did not reject 127, and it was still produced years after Yugo was introduced. Corrosion? Well, in those times (and now, too, almost), whoever bought any new car, had to take care of future rust himself. My choice was always Dinitrol. That is why my cars were always rust free after many years of use, incl. winter condition salty roads. It also helped tremendously only if you bought a set of aftermarket inner fender liners. About Zastava: Zastava firearms was a separate company for over 70 years now, so they had nothing to do with the automotive company under the same name. Zastava assembled cars even before WWII, and was assembling Fiat cars under Fiat license 30 years before Yugo had been introduced.
If timing belts and all other factory recommended services were carried out as planned, Yugo lasted for a couple of 100.000miles easily. Since rarely anybody was doing it as recommended, the most common result was to blame it on the factory. 100 engine and it’s derivations, and especially 128 engine and it’s derivations, were brilliantly designed, small and cheap to maintain. If all done properly, they lasted a long, long time. Even 100’s of thousands miles.
Thank you for the reply. I was unaware that Zastava had made the Fiat 600 earlier.
You say Zastava firearms was a separate company. Since, after Tito’s revolution, industry was nationalized…whether the firearms business was made separate from the Fiats-under-license business, is really irrelevant. All government owned.
Rust protection: Self-evident. We have seen Fiats, Yugos, and Fords and some GM models, against better-protected cars.
Timing belts: Sure, a timing belt won’t be an issue with a ridiculously-short replacement interval.
Finally: The durability of the Zastava/Yugo was demonstrated. It’s self-evident. I once believed; I once thought it was the overpriced established makers who were smearing the car, based on politics.
I thought when I bought my two-year-old Yugo for $900, I got a steal.
Then, I learned.
Were you checking out the “Mike the Headless Chicken” festival?
(Only thing I know Fruita for).
Had a co-worker from Yugolslavia that could not believe that these were selling in the US. He found out that there were over 100 quality-control changes required before US export, including that all of the interior panels & seats had to be the same color & design (apparently, not an issue for the local market)
I recall terrible parts quality with the Yugo. Window cranks, seat tracks broke frequently .
Wherever you go, there you are.
This car would be a hit at our annual car show here in the retirement community, over the years I had the only Buick Reatta and Focus SVT Euro.
Hey, I remember the Subaru 360. And Dick Lane, of LA’s Channel 5, hawking them (“su-BAH-ru”). And after Yugos disappeared from dealers, I knew a guy who bought up all the old Yugo parts available locally. He’s probably still got them.
Looks pretty good actually
“YUGO – BETTER THAN A TRABANT!”
I remember reading a magazine article about a
journalist who went to Yugoslavia & bought a “nice” YUGO.
He drove it around,& thought that he’d sell it for a profit.
Turned out that nobody wanted it.
Anyone who calls the Yugo the worst car ever made never owned anything with the Oldsmobile 350 Diesel
I had many 350 Diesels, great cars’
Before I met my wife, she had a new red 87 Yugo. She wasn’t making much money then and rather than be the average stupid American, who puts themself into terrible debt and end up with a 200 credit score, she bought one. She now tells me it was a total pile of junk. It didn’t last too long. The only reason these are now popular is due to loudmouth Richard Rawlings. The comment here that it would get more attention at a car show than a Corvette is 100 percent true. I have a Corvette. Nobody looks at it.
A lot of Vettes are pure junk , too. But you probably know that, right?
Put it in “H”!
Looking at the photo, the seat looks pretty comfortable.
If you’re referring to the Yugo seats, yes, you’re right- they are comfortable. I drove mine CT to the OSH Fly-in twice with only an overnight in Youngstown, OH. ‘Bout 500 miles each leg. Arrived bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready for AIRPLANES+ and miles of walking and drooling at them.
When I switched from large domestics to tiny FIATs my persistent back problems went away. Must have been the plain pipe racks (shades of ROBERT HALL!) that turned out to be correctly anatomically designed, not overstuffed living room furniture.