The Yugo GV has spent the majority of its life being the butt of innumerable jokes, so I’ve decided to avoid them here. This Yugo was found in a storage locker, and the owner has done a fair amount of work in a bid to return it to the road in a reliable state. It is located in Loomis, California, and is listed for sale here on eBay. The owner has set the opening bid for the Yugo at $200.
The first thing to note about the Yugo is that this is a solid little car. It carries its share of minor marks and dings, but there is no rust to speak of. The owner provides a good selection of pictures of the underside of the car, and it’s as clean as a whistle. Even the paint has managed to maintain a pretty respectable shine over the years.
Under the hood looks clean and fresh, and this is for good reason. When he purchased the car, the owner wasn’t sure of its mechanical state, as it had been sitting in a storage locker for an unknown period of time. The cylinder head was removed, and the bores were found to be in good condition. The engine was then reassembled with fresh gaskets, a new timing belt, a rebuilt carburetor and fuel pump, and most of the hoses and rubber items under the hood were replaced. The fuel tank was also given a clean, and after determining that the radiator was beyond salvage, this was replaced with a Mazda Miata unit. This apparently fitted without any modifications, and a high-flow electric cooling fan was added as well. The car is said to run and drive well now, but it will need new tires.
If you place a Yugo interior alongside its competition of the era, then the Yugo really was motoring at its most basic. There were few optional items available, and no real luxury features. The Yugo was also known for the rate of deterioration of its internal trim items, but this one has survived quite well. The front seats are showing a bit of wear on the edges, but I think that a good clean might make a substantial difference. The rest of the interior is in good condition. The owner thinks that the car may have been fitted with an aftermarket radio at some point, but there is now a hole in the dash where this used to be. Still, a basic aftermarket CD player is a cheap purchase, and that should fill the hole quite nicely.
The internet is awash with sites which dub the Yugo as the worst car in history, and the reputation of the little car definitely precedes it. However, just as every iconic car model can have the occasional lemon, it is also true that every lemon model can occasionally produce one good car. Maybe this is that car. It isn’t going to be the fastest car on the planet, it isn’t going to be the nicest to drive, and it isn’t going to be one of the most comfortable to drive. But here’s the thing. If you truly believe that a Yugo is a bad car and that they are all destined for the crusher, then maybe you should buy this one. Then store it away somewhere safe, so that when that last one does turn up its toes, you will have the only Yugo GV in existence. Maybe it will then be worth more than the price that you’d pay for it today. After all, it wasn’t that many years ago that no-one wanted an Edsel and look at them now.
I still don’t want an Edsel.
Don’t know what you’re missing!!!!!
Maybe an Edsel wagon?
My father drive a 59 Edsel Villager wagon until he bought a new 67 F100. The wagon was retired to the back yard where it became a storage unit and wasp nest!
not many left!!!!
a real “cruiser”…and found in a barn!!!!
Maybe. And that’s a stretch.
If it had 10 miles and was black, or maybe pace car decals. I have more useful things to put in the place that would sit. Like a lawnmower.
great EV car The worlds first useful yugo as a car !!
250 ft lbs of tourque corvette eater and under 5 k ! I know its possible!!! Now slam it cool rims wide tires and 4 wheel discs
J-
Or a big mail box! ?? J-
Wonder where he found the parts to get it
running again. Here in Florida, folks around here (Polk County) were searching the junkyards just to get spark
plugs to keep their cars running after the
original plugs had worn out and local parts stores (Discount Auto Parts) refused to carry any sort of parts for them. Even though the car was based on
the Fiat 128, you still had to make that 2
hour drive to Tampa or Orlando to get what you needed if you were lucky enough to find what you needed to keep
it going. Here in the South, if it didn’t say
Ford, Chevy, or Chrysler, you couldn’t get
parts or service for something like this.
Shoot, even the Ford dealer who sold ’em
in Lakeland wouldn’t even service ’em.
BTW, any of you ever saw a Yugo sedan
delivery? Ran across one on YouTube
tonight just before dinner. The car was
located in the UK and was said to have
14,000 miles on it from new and was in
like-new condition. As far as Yugos go,
The only good Yugo might be a Yugo EV!
It needs new tires. They will cost more than the “car” will be worth with new tires.
Odd i see TONS of spark plugs to choose from here!!–>
http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/yugo,1987,gv,1.1l+l4,1289291,ignition,spark+plug,7212
Maybe the brick & mortar auto parts store did not bother to have any listings for Yugos? lol
Also wire sets, distrib, cap, etc are avail!
I have a theory why non domestic car makers put in that annoying phony unopenable “vent” window in the doors. I think that results in less/lighter glass to roll up & down & therefore, cheaper parts can be used in the window regulator.
I seen 2 yugos(1 with a/c! oh no!) won on Classic Concentration “so far” as of early 1988. Those “winners” & even more so, those who won early Vegas on Let’s Make a Deal, would have been better off not to win ANYTHING, than pay the sales tax on those things – especially the Vega. I bet they are all still mad as hell. lol
Thank you, Malcolm Bricklin, for bringing the Yugo to America… (Yeah, Right) ;-)
I’ve mentioned in previous posts that the brand was also introduced into New Zealand and remains as unloved today as it was back in the 1980s.
I’ll bet there’ll be somebody out there who will want this poor car.
Ummmm nope ! Id rather be forced to drive a chevette ….. again … thx
J-
I’d take this over an edsel. If it were local and I could score it for $1500 or less I;d buy it as a cheap quirky winter beater. Parts are a lot easier to source now with the internet.
No jokes? Come on, it’s why the Yugo was created, besides, it took a lot of pressure off us AMC guys!!!
Rebuilt motor and no air cleaner,,,nice.
I could use another shed though!
Hmmmm. J-
Oh noooooo! I had a Fiat 128 mabox car 4 dr and i loved it oh noo dont tell anyone it would ruin me ! !!! 2nd real car i owned and drove to hs had a pacesetter exhaust and no brakes ….. some times!!! Surprise!!!!’n agggggjhhhh !!!!!! I graduated in Alaska I think it was a 1978? Idk. j-
Turning a GOing Fiat 128 into a NoGo, is a gift.
No one can even say “Yugo” without laughing.
I remember when I worked in a junkyard in 1987 and we already had a few in the yard -not wrecked, just dead ! We didn’t even have to buy them , the owners just called us and we hauled them out . Those odd looking turkey baster shifters were real classy -LOL
I recall up here in Wisconsin seeing the same thing. Must have been 88 or 89, one yard had like a dozen in a row, most looked great, a few had shiny paint. Of course, parts were hard to get when the civil war started in Sarajevo. That is the real tragedy of this story.
Great, another Yugo! When will it end, please make it end.
Strike One – it is a Yugo
Strike Two – It is no longer in the California DMV system
Strike Three – There is no title, so the car is a ghost.
Unless you have a way to do lien sale, you won’t get a title on this one.
Edsel’s RULE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I dont have transportation at the moment, so i would gladly drive a yugo. Hell, i would be overjoyed to have an east german trabant right now.
No Byron, you really wouldn’t.
Yes he would… maybe. The Yugo as long as you can get parts are okay but the have almost no power and there usual top speed is 70mph. If you like weird quirky cars then go right ahead.