Yugos still tend to draw a laugh from the car hobby, but it’s hard to deny there’s been a more memorable car (for better or for worst) made in the last thirty years. Even non-car people born in the early 80s tend to associate the word Yugo with one of the biggest automotive flops in history, or at least anything of poor quality. This 1987 model is surviving despite poor storage conditions and is just $495 here on craigslist. If you’re hunting for an icon, this is likely the cheapest way to go. Be sure to go here if the ad disappears .
I wonder who George Gauthier was, or what he did that he put his name on the driver’s door along with his contact info (which, blessedly, back then was just a phone number). The Yugo certainly would provide excellent fuel economy for a traveling salesman, but would you get very far? The body is holding up better than I’d expect, and the grill remains uncracked. Even the plastic bumpers look decent, so perhaps this Yugo didn’t travel too far from home.
Thankfully, the Yugo is not an automatic as it is described in the listing. It also supposedly only has 32,000 miles, which is not uncommon on a vehicle prone to not running particularly well. I have to say, the interior is holding up far better than it has any right to, and it may even respond well to just a basic cleaning. There’s certainly plenty of cosmetic evidence that the low mileage claims are true. The seat vinyl looks very decent and the dash plastics still look fairly vibrant.
Under the hood, the paint matches the exterior so I doubt it’s been repainted. Heck, even the plastic intake tubing and air cleaner show no sign of color deterioration and the benefits of a good detailing will be felt here as well. The seller says the car must be towed (no surprise there) but will it be cheap to fix not knowing what its mechanical issues are? Only one way to find out, and that’s by waving $300 (and no a penny more) under the seller’s nose.
Lot of money even by the pound. Instead of an airbag it came with a barf bag. ……
Yugo’s never ran. They were towed
Yugo for a little ways, then Yugo get it fixed.
Perfect for that Southern 4×4 conversion, like you know, mount the body on a full size 90’s Bronco or Blazer!
The faster you pedal the faster Yugo!
You push Yugo
Great by not running it means it’s got five mikes prior to falling apart as these we’re “POS” cars !
If your into frustration and failing to start
or drive this is your car!
Do us a favor have it crushed and recycled !
Another automotive gift from Malcolm Bricklin!
You took the words out of my mouth, CanuckCarGuy – LOL!
Last I heard, Mr Bricklin was planning to bring ‘Chery’ cars into the USA, and was subsequently being sued by the Chinese manufacturer over contractual issues.
Hello
I laughed too buddy bought one new and drove it for 185k. Ran well sold it still running.
I bought mine in dec ‘85 while I was in college and drove the wheels off of it. Other than the worst-ever shift linkage and numb steering; it wasn’t bad, for what it was. I removed the rear seat for My wall-O-Sparkomatic speakers, hacked off the exhaust and ran a straight pipe out the back and sawed the (transverse) rear spring to drop the rear a couple inches. About as badass as 54hp could be in 1985…
If I was closer, I would snatch this up. Bought one new as well and as Pete mentions above, some racked up some high miles.
It’s interesting that a lot of owners racked up some huge mileages with their US-model Yugos. Most have reported that regular maintenance was the reason for their cars’ longevity.
We had ’em in NZ, where they just kind of quietly rusted themselves into oblivion, along with FSO Polonez and Fiat 126P ‘Niki’ cars from the same era (the latter known as ‘Maluch’, or ‘Baby’, in their land of manufacture, Poland).
When I met the woman that became my 2nd wife she asked for advice on what car to get her daughter. She asked me if the Yugo was any good. I told her it might be OK if her daughter did not plan on going anywhere in it.
Hope it has a rear window defroster….would keep my hands warm when I’m pushing it
We had one in our area that was run in SCCA races…forget which class though..just remember all the Abarth goodies fit this rebadged Fiat 128.
The Yugo always got a bad rap. So much so, a movie was made, “Drowning Mona”. A corny film where the whole town drives Yugos. We AMC fans loved them, because, finally, there was a new underdog to pick on. I don’t have any experience with them, but I don’t think they were bad cars. It gave thousands of Europeans jobs ( in an otherwise bleak economy) and did what it was designed to do, little inter-city econo-box, not desert crossings at 80 mph.
Apparently, a quick search shows a lot of parts around. Of the 141,651 Yugos imported to the US,( so they did sell) as of 2013, only 7,500 remain, and only 2,500 of those are still on the road. Be a bigger hit than a Gremlin at a car show.
Where do you get the number 7500? Do you know how many GVX remain?
oops, 7,300 remain,
http://www.okaauto.com/yugoparts.htm
please someone get this for the 24 hours of Lemons !! As terrible as these cars are/were they are getting very rare. Went to barrett-jackson where one of these was in a tent I have to admit my eyes couldnt stop looking. So out of place and yet dominated the tent (yellow convertable).
Have memories of 8 teens in one of these- I was one of the dumb ones with the legs hanging out the hatchback.
The convertible is super rare. 80 units imported.
I remember the company sold an economical car kit. It was called the Yugo screw yourself.
I daily drive a 1988 GVX I rescued from a junkyard. It’s actually a very reliable car, you just have to actually treat it like it’s a car. Oil changes, basic maintenance, and timing belts at the recommended interval are how you keep these running. 30,000 is the timing belt interval on these, so if someone here grabs it, do change the timing belt and idler. I am willing to say this car is a carb kit, a battery, and maybe an electric fuel pump away from running. I could probably have it running in about a day. Sadly, Ohio is a far jump for me. As many people as are confused about the difference between Idaho and Ohio, I assure you they are different places.
Also, I know where to buy parts.
I heard they had a small production run on a 4 door version. They called it the WEGO. LOL
4 door version would mean more people that could help push. Lol
Saw the Yugo display at the LA Auto Show when they came out. Some little punk was there opening and slamming the door shut like he was trying to prove something.
The idea of an inexpensive basic car is still appealing to me.
My little bro bought a loaded [almost all available options, except for auto, which I don’t know if it was offered the year the bought it] one brand new.
Meticulously maintained by the dealer and when the engine blew within warranty the dealer had no out to refuse replacement.
He and his second wife did an entire tour from AZ to the OR coast and back with other side stops along the way. Ran beautifully, no problems.
She got it in the divorce settlement and I don’t know how long it lasted after that, new engine or not.
Shame. Never had a bad word to say about her. Looked like Dorothy Lamour.
In all the years since these were new I have NEVER heard of anyone “detailing” a Yugo. I’m not sure how that would be done, or how one would tell IF it had been done. At $495 it is $500 over-priced. You can find these in barns, usually under the southern end of a northbound horse.
We were told, back then that we were ripping off the Yugoslavian workers because they were only making $25/day vs the US workers who STARTED at $25/hr. Fair enough..I met a fellow who had worked in the Yugo factory and asked him about that. He laughed. Seems his “subsidized” apartment was $35/month. OK..brick walls and a light bulb, but heat and electric included. Milk, for 4 liters was about $0.20. He said he ate a lot of steak and when I asked if he had OWNED a Yugo, he laughed and said, that no, he’d driven a Benz..He LOVED being “ripped off” for $25/day…I so want/don’t need this car. Oops! SAVED! No battery or spare! I’m out! WHEW….
Your Cuban neighbours would doubtless love to have this little car….They would keep her running far into the future; is there a car-ferry between Florida & Cuba ?
Lol..I want to see a yugo and Mazda glc and ford fiesta race 3 wide..on a 1 lane road
Yugo means no go,and l mean no go,total flip flops when knew,and is now,so do yourself a favor and put that $500.00,on a new Chevy Truck, and or some other good means of transportation.
My 1988 GVX has run all year with less failures than any Chevy truck at work, and I irrigate with mine just like the company rigs.
Went to a junk yard around 1989-90 and they had 8 or 9 yugos and all had less than 40k on the odo. None ran, all had blown engines.
Oh – “You Go”. I just got it!!
How do u double the investment of a yugo? Fill up the tank.
I currently own a red ‘87 i found here on barnfinds. I got the brakes working and bought a new carb…all seemed well until i fired her up and 30 seconds later a rod began hammering……
Do you have a source for parts? Are you on Zastava Forum? Do you have the 1100? Do you need anything?
Did you use a stock carb, or did you switch to the DMTR?
There is a pkace in san angelo, tx i been getting parts. That is where i bought the rebuilt carb. I think it is stock. Apparently ford used the same one on the festiva. What is the dmtr? Pm me at jydresto@yahoo.com
I emailed you.
If it was running when Parked, I would have let it run, on down the road. I knew a guy that would buy these and run the crap out of them and doors off of them, and go get another one. I think he finally ran out of places here in the Midwest to find them. LOL
If he still exists, I need another GVX. Need the engine and trans.
I was at the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum many years ago, and a flatbed with 7 or 8 well used Yugos on it was sitting in the parking lot. A study in contrast…
I prefer the 4 door version, the “Wego”
Most likely you can count the number of Yugo lovers on one hand. Count me among them. True, they were terrible, barely a step above the Trabant, but it’s an oddball, and rare [yeah, I know, there’s a good reason]. I’d love to give this one a good home. If it were a GV droptop … I’d be on it like white on rice.
Loved mine, owned three.Only got 38 mpg, unless I ran the A/C, then 36 mpg.
I also had to Yugo.. but it was the fuel injected version in 1990.. Dave Benton from New Jersey was the inventor until Desert Storm bombed both factories in Yugoslavia. the Bank of New York still has 122 shipping containers full of parts and cars.. you never have problems if you pay attention to what goes on under the hood. remember they went bankrupt because of us bombing their factories..
Tom, you got your wars mixed up. Desert Storm was the bombing of Iraq by coalition forces. Yugoslavia was bombed by NATO forces during the Kosovo war. Where are these 122 shipping containers you wrote of?
Bombing factories during desert storm? Didn’t know there was a desert in the former Yugoslavia. I thought that bombing took place in the middle east. Learn something new everyday.
We were a part of a NATO task force which bombed the Zastava factory in Kragujevac. It just happened the same factory was making AKs. We should not have intervened in the Balkans. It wasn’t our fight. Do you know they shot down one of our stealth aircraft? Their response was “sorry, we didn’t know it was invisible”.
Tom northwest Jerzy – Did you work for yugo America?