A lot of us have memories of car dealerships giving away a Yugo when a person bought a high-end car. In the case of my memory, it was Emerson Oldsmobile in Duluth, MN, and when you bought a new Toronado, you got a free Yugo. I don’t know how many were given away or even sold on their own, because they were a Yugo dealer as well. This 1988 Yugo GV is listed here on eBay in Orlando, Florida, and the current bid price is just $205.50, but the reserve hasn’t been met.
Clearly suffering from a repaint and a quick one at that, this Yugo looks pretty nice overall. I wish we could see some before photos because Hollywood plastic surgeons have worked with less facial orange peel than is shown on this car. It’s such a cute little thing, too. Maybe it can be color-sanded, but there’s a ding still on the driver’s door that doesn’t appear to have been fixed before it was painted.
We’ve seen a yoat-load of Yugos here on Barn Finds over the years, and they’re always interesting, both in their history and in how they turned out in real life. As in, after being manufactured between 1980 and 2008. What? Wow. As with the Trabant, some stories are out there as to the quality of the finished product. I’ve never driven one or, better yet, owned one, so I can’t say with certainty, but I know some of you have owned a Yugo.
There were a dizzying number of models and sub-models made over the decades, but here in the U.S., we received this model, the GV, or Great Value. Just think if Walmart had sold Yugos, instant success! Or not. As mentioned, please click on the eBay link and check out the photos to see the visual condition of this car. The paint is fairly disappointing at best, and not having any underside photos, I… yeah, I hope it’s nice underneath. Florida isn’t exactly the desert southwest, as I’ve said more times than I should.
This soft, cushy engine (no engine photos from a dealer?!) is a Fiat-sourced 1.1-liter SOHC inline-four with 60 horsepower and 68 lb-ft of torque when new. It’s backed by a four-speed manual sending power to the front wheels, and, sadly, the seller doesn’t really give any information about this car at all, just general info on the Yugo, unfortunately. I have to wonder what their reserve is. Any guesses?
Good Grief Scotty!!! Great Value???? Walmart??? That, sir, was a good one. This would be something you’d find in their automotive dept. Probably near the tires and batteries. I can picture them on one of those bicycle racks they have to display their bikes. OOHH!! I’ll take the red one…… Right up to register 2!!!! Sorry no self service on these, you need a cashier, and also we need to take off the anti theft thingamabob too while we’re at it. ( Wow, what an imagination I’ve got!!! How long have I been thinking about this???) Anyways, enjoyed your write up Scotty!!! Thanks for the laugh kind Sir. I’ve always been curious what these are like to drive. I’m not saying this is on my bucket or anything like that. Just curious.
If you’ve ever driven a nearly clapped out (3 yr old) 1958 Renault Dauphine, the New Yugo experience is similar, but it smells like boiled beets instead of fresh croissants. Hope that helps.
I won’t be surprised if it sells for double the current bid.
It’s listed on the dealers website for $49,999.
Steve R
There’s one born every minute.
Just when i thought i had seen everything now i see a Yugo for $49,995 you really have to have a set to ask that kind of money.
That sounds like almost a placeholder where they have to list it there (for insurance reasons?) but absolutely intend to only sell it at auction so they put a go-away price on the site.
Surprised it has a radio 📻
What a chick magnet!!
Dig those rocker switches!
Elegant as a backhoe Joe ✨️
These retailed for $3,990 when first introduced to the US market in August of 1985. Coincidently, the Hyundai also first appeared on the scene with a retail price of $4,995. I suppose there is no right price for the wrong car.
Odd it’s easier to find a Yugo than a 1st gen Excel.
I noticed it does not have a rear wiper blade. It does have heated rear window which was important for keeping your hands warm when pushing it!
I knew we would get this obligatory comment.
Fun write-up Scotty.
You can only dig the seat belt tensioners and bellow the bumper back up lights. They might have done a quicky repaint but the black bimper paint was clearly painted over the imperfections. It’s still cute though. The only.thing can yoy actually still get parts for that.without calling over to the iron curtain and learning to speak Yugoslavian. ??
The under-the-bumper reverse lights were probably due to the fact that this car was actually a FIAT from the 1960s so the reverse lights probably were not available on the original cars.
”Great Value?” AHAHAHAHA!
The Temu Fiat…
Maybe $ 205.61 fer sher. A lot of people I worked with bought one for a car to drive to and from work only. Noone had one after a year. I never rode in one but everyone said it rode like a buckboard.
The doors have got to be the thinnest of any car in history. A tin can would provide more crash protection. The sad thing was, that when sold new, just a little more cash would provide you with an actual car. Too many unsuspecting people (many of them women, new to the workforce at the time) got steered into these. After all, they looked nice, promised good MPG, and the sales pitch was clever. Sad to think, in 1988, a quarter of the sales price for one of these would have gotten you a low mile slant six Duster or equivalent Nova, or Maverick-that would have been everything this was not.
Y’all seem to miss the point, the price point, both original and current.
My wife and I owned and fully enjoyed two of them for more than a 100K trouble-free miles each. A third suffered the ultimate insult when 40 feet of ice-laden pine tree fell across the car at a mere 4,500 miles. Doors and hatch still worked perfectly although there wasn’t a body panel that wasn’t damaged. I wasn’t surprised as many years of FIAT ownership taught me that FIATs can’t be busted!
I know, I know, there are all sorts of horror stories out there but if a Yugo was treated reasonably and maintained according to the book, they just ran and ran and ran. They were capable of Interstate speeds for hours on end, were fun to drive, had good and predictable roadability and, above all, were ergonomically well designed. Fit and finish weren’t bad and perfectly in line with what one would expect from a mostly hand-built car built to a price under Communism.
All in all, great cars and, although I’m in the Orlando area, at ninety years I’m downsizing, not acquiring more toys.
why?????????????
FROM DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE
Bruce Willis/A.K.A. ‘John McClain’ “What Kind of Engine Does This Piece of S**T have?”
Samuel L.Jackson/A.K.A. ‘Zeus’ “It’s Hugo, It’s Built For Economy, Not For Speed.”. :
I can’t believe I made a ‘TYPO’ and misspelled the name when I called it a “HUGO”. So the Samuel L. Jackson/A.K.A. Zeus line from the movie should have read ”IT’S A YUGO, IT’S BUILT FOR ECONOMY, NOT FOR SPEED”
Went to $2,350 reserve not met. 49 bids.
This was the 6th time the dealer has listed this car. They alternate between an auction and set price ($49,999), which is the same price as they have on their website. They have already relisted it for their set price after the auction ended.
The market is thoroughly rejecting this car, it would be interesting to know what they paid.
Steve R
Thanks, Howie!
True story: in the early 1990’s, I worked in a brake and muffler shop. A woman brought her Yugo in for a noisy exhaust, and I took a look. It needed the entire exhaust system from the converter back. I wrote up the estimate, and it was more than the value of the car. Before talking to the woman, I told my manager “It needs cat back exhaust. It’s totalled.” For the record, the woman LOVED her Yugo, and was thrilled that I was able to get her new exhaust installed that day for her.
The only interesting thing about this is the pictures at the end of ad that show what other cars are in this museum.
A lot of strange stuff there.
Ended at $2,350.
Reserve Not Met.
Whether the dealer thinks its worth 50K, it’s still only worth what was bid and they should have grabbed it.
Laugh of the day.
Go to YouTube & look up “In a Yugo”.
At one time couldn’t you get two new ones for 5k? I believe it was something like that.
I bought a Jugo new in 1985. It came with a warranty and was cheap. I traded in my 1980 Ford Fiesta. Wish I had kept the Fiesta. At 10k miles the cam flattened.. @ 15k miles the Cam flattened.. @ 18k miles the transmission input shaft broke.. @ 20k miles the cam flattened. The dealer in Tulsa lost his arse repairing this car so he recommended I file a lemon law case. I got my money back.. The dealer dropped Yugo after his contract ran out and I bought a 1986 Nissan Stanza wagon. that was the best family car I could afford at the time. I got 300k miles from that little gem.
Yugo: the Marla Hooch of the automotive world.
Yeah these Yugos get all the hate in the world this side of the cyber truck. However I would love to take one to a car show and park it next to a McLaren, Ferrari, Porsche or Lamborghini and see what gets more attention. I for one would like to own a yugo if just for its notorious history. I do love underdog cars.
Friend of mine took advantage of a “buy 2 Yugos for $5,000.00” in high school. He gave one to his girlfriend and he kept the other. Hers had about 15,000 miles on it and the cat converter melted. We cut the exhaust out of it and straight piped it. It sounded like a nest of angry bumblebees.
I bought a 1985 Yugo GV from a co-worker for $150.00 in 1994. In his words “it starts too hard and I need a clutch for my Citation…”
That GV did indeed start hard, but would do 60 in 2nd gear, would top out at 100 and made 28mpg.
Then I replaced the sunk float in the carb.
Sure, it started easier but would then only go 25 in 2nd and struggled to get to 70, yet maintained 28mpg. It died 6 years later at 220,000mi when the rear suspension center mount underneath the car rusted off from the body (MN winters).
Stupidly fun car after I reinstalled the bad float…as fun as my 1980 Fiesta.