468 Genuine Miles! 1988 Yugo GV
Somewhere out there is a person who aspired to own a new Yugo GV back in 1988, but circumstances meant that they missed their chance. Well, fear not, because a second chance is now at hand. Barn Finder Roger located this 1988 Yugo GV for us, so thank you for that Roger. The Yugo is located in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and is listed for sale here on Craigslist. The owner has set the sale price of the Yugo at $9,000. He does point out that this is a “buy one, get one free” deal. He also has a parts car, and the person who buys this one is expected to take the second car as part of the sale.
So, what makes this Yugo special? The original owner purchased the car, drove it until it had 468 miles showing on the odometer, and then parked it in a dry garage with a cover over it. The Yugo hasn’t moved since. It really is spotless, with not a sign of rust or body problems. We’ve seen some magnificent cars here at Barn Finds that have been bought and stored away as a potential future collectible, but this is the first time that I’ve seen this approach with a Yugo. The mind simply boggles on that one.
With less than 500 miles on the clock, the Yugo has now been sitting for 31-years. The battery was removed when it went into storage, so I would assume that the car hasn’t been started since that day. This means that there is probably going to be some work required to get the car up and mobile again. The engine bay looks about as clean as you would expect from any car with this sort of mileage on it. My one concern is what looks like some form of corrosion near the radiator cap. I hope that this is nothing, but I would definitely be giving the cooling system a good check in case this is a sign of some sort of problem. The other thing to check for would be potential rodent damage. There are a lot of odds and ends in the garage, and given the fact that it is also warm and dry, this would make it a great environment for mice and rats. Hopefully, there haven’t been any that have gotten in and had a nibble on the wiring or hoses.
The interior of this Yugo is in “as new” condition and still has the factory plastic on the door trims and seatbelts. It is as clean as you would expect from a car of such low mileage, but a glance around the interior really gives you an insight as to why the Yugo was the cheapest new car on sale in the US in 1988. The fit and finish of the plastic trim is not great, while the color matching is also pretty ordinary. Take a look at the steering wheel. The rim is actually a different color to the center and spokes. Even the factory radio/cassette player looks like an after-thought, which it actually is. Sadly, the Yugo was not only cheap, but it also looked it.
There are people out there who love the Yugo GV, and who are we to judge them? Like so many quirky cars, it is a car that has a small but dedicated following. This particular Yugo is probably the nicest and cleanest original example in existence today, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the owner actually gets their asking price for it. If they do, then for all the jokes that could be made, it would prove that buying the car and storing it away might have been a canny investment. When this one was new, it would have sold for around $4,000. If the owner achieves his asking price, then he has more than doubled his money. Allowing for inflation, that isn’t a great return, but it also isn’t a bad one either.
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Comments
Did someone actually stow this car away when practically new as an “investment “? Hard to think anyone was thinking about that. It’s got to be the best around, so maybe it will work out.
I wonder if they stored a Trabant too?
We had a saying at the shop: What makes a Yugo go faster and more reliable? A tow truck.
Or a steep hill…
This would be useful if you popped the windows, filled it with dirt, and used it as a plant pot.
Finally one that didn’t break down (even though non driven was the reason)
I wouldn’t be so sure that breakdown wasn’t the reason it was parked…. doesn’t matter though, belongs in the “Museum of Really Bad Automobiles”, Cleveland OH, right next to the Edsel and Vega, so patrons can walk by and stare in wonder at the biggest automotive mistake of the 2000’s.
The EDSEL was no better, no worse than any other car in the late 50s. Keep in mind 58,000 were sold in the first model year, a start. Those numbers would be considered a success today. It “failed” because of a funny name (although in the late 50s who would have bought a car named Subaru or Toyota?). And it was introduced in a recession. All makes except Ford and Chevy experienced steep sales declines. It might have survived if Robert McNamara hadn’t killed it. The first Comet was supposed to have been an EDSEL and that might have saved the marque. Irony is that the Comet, having been turned over to Mercury, very likely saved Mercury.
I wonder if Fred W ever; Owned a Yugo, or even drove one?
I’m on Yugo #6 for me, an 1987 GV, and even tho not perfect, $5500.00 is what I might refuse to sell it tomorrow. 4 wheel disc brakes, better front sway bar, added a rear bar, rear spring stiffened 10%, Koni front shocks and coil-over springs, front air dam with new fog lamps, rear window outside Slats, rear deck spoiler. Hood and Hatch replaced with like-new used parts. 3 gauge instrument pack which is enclosed, mounted angeled to the driver from dash cubby, Grant steering wheel. All new 185/60/13 tires on CMS alloy wheel. Twin 40mm Webers and large-diameter exhaust with twin tailpipes. Springtime with my new 1500cc engine, and 5-speed trans, price goes up another $2500. I love the damn money pit,but it’s like a piece of canvas for the best painting I can make.
Had one. Put 76K trouble-free miles on it from ’87-’95. Drove it from Ga. to Santa Barbara, CA and back. Had working AC and a stereo. Served me well! When I sold it for $1200, it still ran good.
I would hide the license plate also!
My brother had one years ago ( hard to believe) and he closed the hatch door and the door came completely off and fell to his feet. He shoved the door in the back of the car and drive it to a dealer and traded it.
This would a good show car with low miles.
I suggest a good trailer snd wench to pull up and lower to haul this to car shows and never drive .
Yes, not a bad idea to keep a good wench handy . . .
Keep the car, I’ll take the wench, especially if she’s hot and a bar wench.
And even a winch–I’d take that over this car.
Hope new owner gets a lot of pics if the current owner hasn’t – this is one heck of a reference car !
I don’t remember the color mismatching to be that bad when they were new, I wonder if the color changes just from age alone. I’m sure the materials were not quality but I dont think they mismatched as seen here.
Buy two of these, with enough left over to take the Mrs. out to dinner.
Buy two of these, and you’d better take the Mrs. out to dinner! And lunch, and breakfast….
And either Uber or drive your truck! Why tick her off even more by making her ride in it?
I remember in the early 90s Vidmar Buick here in Joliet, Il was also a Yugo dealer and when Yugo went out of business Vidmar ran a promotion that if you bought a new Buick you got a new Yugo for free 🤣
Yu Go Girl!
I no a bad joke.
The fit and finish can’t be any worse than a GN with the same mileage.
I’m a fiat person so the Yugo looks interesting. But its time to stop the idea that any car is worth so much money just because its old even if its in great condition. I don’t believe that the price of this car should be higher than the original price and probably less. I want people to consider what the true value of any vehicle not just how much they can get
What’s the difference between ‘true value’ and what one can get? Seems to me that the value is the amount a willing and able buyer will actually pay.
No bids yet? Yu go first…..
Jeffery,
All vehicle values are 100% subjective..theres no value except what you can sell it for, so finding its true value is not possible unless you have a magic 8 ball ( not the drug type either..lol)
500 Yugo miles = 300,000 miles on any other car.
broke down @ 468 miles and never ran again.
Oh goodie, another Yugo.
Lol probably as far as it went before breaking down.
One of these days there’ll be one of these here on the Left Coast, and I will have a raging debate with myself (and probably another with Mrs. O) … because I still love my long-departed Fiat 128, of which this is the short version, and thus the only person I know who actually WANTED one of these when they were more or less current, and have not really changed my mind. And this time I know a really good shop that will work on it. But as long as they pop up only in places like Maryland I’m safe. Mostly.
Does anybody really care to read about any Yugo? I don’t mean to offend anyone.
I read that there were several modifications that were required even before these were allowed to be sold at dealerships, primarily fuel system issues. I am stupefied at the American automobile buyers that they just put quality in the back seat, and just go for cheap. Tata was going to export their little PO’S, until so many of them caught on fire, then they pulled the plug to save face.A turd with extremely low miles is still a turd. I sold cars at a C/P dealership in 1981. You could get a brand new Plymouth Champ, base, (really base), for $4,308, delivered. Very reliable cars.
And for that $4300 in 1981 you could get a very nice Mercedes too. It might be ten years old, but look at how much better it was. I never understood the mentality of someone who bought a P.O.S. simply because it was new when a real car could have been bought with the same dollars. It’s depreciation, not mileage, maintenance or insurance that is the biggest cost in owning and driving any car. And the suckers who pay interest to finance a depreciating auto . . . well don’t get me started!
I agree in principle with your comment. You make a great point. People who just go from new car to new car to new car,……. I just don’t think it’s necessary. You can find a really nice used car these days without getting something that is all that old and the reliability will be very solid. If you want to buy a new car once just to experience that feeling of having a brand new car, go for it. I think it’s worth it. But I wouldn’t have bought this car new; not in a million years.
W9BAG. Yugo’s were sold on price alone to poorer people who didn’t know how to take care of it, and drove it like a cast iron Detroit sled with no maintenance. Most salespeople knew nothing about the car, and if they heard it would blow up if the cambelt wasn’t replaced at 30K, like many other import cars also needed, they didn’t share that with the buyers. I bought my first Yugo out of a wrecking yard with much of the engine in the trunk and several bent valves. Cam belt broke. The oil filter weighed 2 times normal, after 36,000K, all or most of those miles and the filter hadn’t been changed. This is where it all went wrong. People with not enough money COULD afford $3995, but not the maintenance.
Under 500 miles, with a parts car and extra parts. What happens when you buy a Yug? yugo screw yourself
…driven 468 miles – at which time it was parked because it didn’t run anymore lol.
These things have to have the lowest build quality of any car I’ve even seen in my life – total piles a junk. ….HOWEVER that basically brand-new Fiat engine would go nicely in a restored Fiat X1/9 (same engine).
Same BASIC DESIGN engine as an X1/9 engine, never used in anything but the early Fiat 128 sedans. The Fiat 1.1 litre engine ran better being less crippled by emission controls, but the Yugo had to have smog equipment to meet then current USA standards. The X1/9 was a 1.3 litre engine, and the Yugo engine could fit, but with a loss of 10 horsepower, a large amount, even tho the X1/9 was small. X1/9’s came with a 1.5 litre engine after 1978, and a favorite of Yugo owners to increase performance,
I just came to make sure someone made the genuine vs disingenuous mileage comment…
Boy am I disappointed!
I know a girl who bought one new in 1986 and I loved it! The paint was rich and deep and shiny, the color keyed interior had cloth that looked like a nice thick towel on the door panels and seats. I loved Yugos. Of course I also love the new Fiat 500, especially the Abarth.
My sister in law bought my brother one cost 3.990. Ran the car till around 50.000 miles and brought it to me with a blown head gasket. I thought where am I going to get parts for this then I realized it was a fiat motor. Once that was replaced no more problems. Put another 30.000 miles on it before he sold it. I was pretty impressed with it for a cheap commuter car.
I own this car I bought it from the original owner it is in pristine condition cooling system has been flushed no problem car runs as good as it looks there is and was no road and damage at all cars and mint condition I do not drive it it still has the same mileage I just have started it up a few times