The Yugo may be one of the most unfairly-persecuted cars of all time. I say this as a former Yugo owner myself, one very aware of the car’s failings, but also its considerable, if humble, good qualities. I’ve defended the Yugo from hack writers’ inclusions on stupid “worst car lists” before, and I will continue to do until they pry this Radio Shack TRS-80 Model 100 from my cold, dead hands. The Yugo was cheap, sure, but it was also cheap. Here’s how I’ve defended this little workhorse before:
“Sure, the build quality wasn’t great, but remember, these things were dirt cheap. Under $4,000 for a new one when they came out! They made Hyundai Excels look like the kind of lavish expenditure you’d expect from a sultan. Nobody paid any money to fix or maintain these things because why would they? You could buy distressed designer jeans for more than a new Yugo, even back in the day, so who would put money into them?”
The point is, these were decent cars. They were designed much like most European city cars of the time, and fundamentally, there was nothing really wrong with them. Sure, the build quality wasn’t great, but it wasn’t horrific, and these were used all over Eastern Europe just fine. Anyway, I bring all this up because I feel like Yugos have just had a significant confidence bump just now, since a Yugo was sold on Bring a Trailer for the staggering price of $27,257.
Now, I know most of you think that price is about $27,000 and a half a hoagie too high, but this is not just any old non-running Yugo. Did I mention it wasn’t running? It’s not, at least not at the moment. But still, this Yugo is special, because it may be the best-preserved Yugo left on Earth. It only has 25 miles on the clock! We wrote about it the other day, even.
This Yugo is very likely one-of-a-kind, as far as condition goes, at least. And while 27 bigger ones still may seem absurd, there is a sort of explanation about what happened when you peek at the bidding history: there was a bidding war between a user named ILoveMyYugos, who I think did about all anyone could ask when it comes to living up to his name, and, of all other things, the Petersen Automotive Musuem.
While ILoveMyYugos motivations are pretty much answered right there in the name, some of you may find the Petersen’s motives puzzling. But, really, they’re not. The Petersen, as a museum, understands something important: mundane, cheap, “disposable” cars like these are far harder to find and preserve than expensive cars or cars with devoted followings. A Yugo in this condition is as rare as a lawnmower on the moon, and the curators at the Petersen clearly know an opportunity when they see one.
While I really appreciate the David vs Goliath nature of this bidding war and was excited to see a single dedicated Yugo fanatic eventually outbid one of the most notable car museums in the World, I can’t help but think that maybe a museum really would be the best home for this car.
That’s partially because I genuinely do believe that it’s worth preserving pristine examples of the humblest cars, especially one like a Yugo, which was both widely disparaged and has also become a significant part of automotive culture. It’s also because I think that owning an extremely low-mileage car is something of a prison.
I mean, if there’s so much significance and value tied up in those ultra-low miles, then you really can’t actually drive the car (unless you don’t care), and as such, a pristine, essentially undrivable car is really probably living its best life in a museum. I think owning a car you have to refrain from driving would be deeply frustrating.
So, what is ILoveMyYougos going to do with this thing? I don’t know, save for, perhaps, loving it, which I certainly hope he does. As far as the Petersen goes, I hope they don’t give up on their quest to find a good, pristine Yugo, because it really is a car worth preserving. Some may say even better than driving them.
Not me, of course, but some.
Top graphic image: Bring A Trailer
A Yugo is different because driving was never it’s strong suit.
Hold up. What was its strong suit? Quality? no. Pricing? maybe. Uh… quantity of jokes?
Somebody at the Peterson is gonna be fired… soon !
Or bumped up the food-chain to mid-management. ????
“You bid HOW MUCH on a Yugo? Thank God you didn’t win it.”
“But just in case I’m taking you off the BaT account so you don’t do anything REALLY stupid.”
How much does a hoagie cost in NC?
Definitely less than $257 – last time I was there, an excellent one ran me about $13.
Just remember – in NC, it’s almost always a sub, sometimes a hoagie or hero, and never, ever a grinder
I don’t think that’s so unreasonable a price.
Comparing it to cars you actually are going to drive is silly, probably this isn’t going to get driven. It’s a cultural artifact. It’s about $15 million less than Action Comics #1.
Even if you are going to drive it, what cars with only 25 miles on the clock can you get for $27,257?
If you are going to park a rare car in your living room, at least it’s small.
One human’s trash is another man’s treasure. A 1931 Bugatti Type 41 Royale chassis number 41121, was bought out of a NYC junkyard in 1943 for less than $400 after spending 5 years in the junkyard.
Can you imagine how much it would cost to restore a Yugo? It’s harder to restore mass produced stuff than hand made stuff. And it still wouldn’t be original.
Keeping it looking this good is going to cost more than the purchase price.
Sounds like a great reason for a follow up(date?) story. Please don’t leave us hanging.
Giorgetto Guigiaro did a nice job on the Yugo. As for it being a terrible car, compared to what?
Odd that he also designed the Excel.
Compared to every other new car available at the time along with most used cars.
Shouldn’t Yugo always be spelled with a question mark following it (Yugo?)?
That’s the interrogative version “You Went?” I don’t think that was sold here.
We got the Imperative version.
I want to think the motive behind such a high number is someone from the former Yugoslavia or simular who has done well for themselves and wants a token from a memory of their past.
But it’s probably just a crazy person.
I’ve heard tell that petrified dinosaur shit is rare, collectable, and expensive. I’m not buying any. And while worth preserving a good example, because there weren’t any great ones even new spending that kind of coin on one that doesn’t run if financial suicide.
It’s none of those things! You can buy it cheap and it’s readily available, I just confirmed that’s still the case.
Now, hear me out. The Petersen should just find the bidder and ask if they can put it on display. They get what they want, at least for a little while, and they save 27k. Just offer to pay shipping; even if it’s in like Maine, they’ll still save like twenty grand.
Ooooor, the new owner should see if they can put it in a fancy concours in a preservation class and rack up the most fantastic win in automotive beauty pageant history!
That’s what I was gonna say. If I had outbid Petersen for a car I would damn well expect them to exhibit it for a month or two. They could pay me $257 for it.
Wow. A Yugo that made it to 25 miles! Holy Grail indeed!
They were good until you get blown off the Mackinac Bridge!
That was debunked, per Mackinac Bridge Authority
“No vehicle has ever “blown off” the Mackinac Bridge. Despite the rumors and legends, it’s never happened.
More than 200 million vehicles have crossed the bridge since it opened in November 1957. Only two vehicles have ever gone over the railing of the bridge:
Both incidents were terrible tragedies but were not the result of wind blowing vehicles off the bridge. The hazards of high winds, however, are why we issue advisories and close the bridge during extreme wind events.”
What their official explanation doesn’t mention, is that the original design of the guardrail was shaped in a way as to create a ramp effect, if a car hit it at the right speed and angle, and there had been a few close call incidents prior to 1989 where a vehicle got hung up on something just before going over the edge, and the railings were modified after the Yugo incident
The theory of the Yugo was fine, as was the Fiat it was based on. The reality of them was four-wheeled excrement. I test drove a new one when they first came out. There was notable RUST on the interior bits. The hood would not stay closed. The handbrake lever came off in my hand. This was a new car with like 10 miles on it. My freshman year of college a female dormmate had one that I had to help her coax to life on numerous occasions, and once had to drive to the Yugo dealership for her because it was running so poorly she was afraid to make the 100 mile trek. She followed in my car. Her parents bought it for here because “new car under warranty”. Which sucks when the thing spends more time at the distant dealership than the dorm parking lot…
As with today, the problem is that $4K would buy you a several year old decent car that would seem like a Rolls-Royce in comparison (in my case, a 3yo Jetta with 17K on it). There is no real market for hairshirt new cars – it takes too many compromises to make them cheap enough to bother with. Even more so today.
I guess if you want the best Yugo GV in the world, this is what it takes. But ultimately, it’s not “worth” that amount, so you might as well drive it if that is what floats your boat. There is a happy medium between the daily driver grind and sitting in a museum somewhere.
I bought a used Fiat Spider from an ex-Fiat dealer in the late 1980’s that did a very good parts business selling Fiat parts to the local Chevrolet dealer who had the Yugo franchise when they couldn’t get parts for customers cars from Yugo.
Probably better parts too!
Midwest Bayless in Columbus OH specializes in Fiat, Alfa and Yugo stuff. I had a 500 Abarth awhile back and they had an open house for any owners, so I figured it was worth the 80mile or so drive to hang out.
I went to leave and I took a photo with a caption that I would not have expected after 1990: “Trying to leave the event & I’m blocked in by 4 Yugos!”
They ranged the full spectrum from fairly clean to one that was covered in moss and everything else you’d expect to find in an actual barn find.
I’d love to have that car myself… but for $27k?!? That’s brand new Corolla money there.
But a brand new corrola will run and drive. Who needs that hassle?
Nothing quite beats the feel of using the rear window defroster to keep your hands warm while you push your Yugo to a shop in a rough, Buffalo New York winter.
Did the Yugo have a rear window defroster? Seems pretty lux to me. Push it backwards and switch hands in the wing window from time to time.
Now that is funny
With gas prices these days?! Who can afford a car that runs?
This needs to be a COTD.
There are some people who wear their crazy on their sleeves, and you can see it from two blocks away. The healthy response is to recognize this, and avoid starting an interaction which will provoke the crazy and get you embroiled in it. For instance, if someone is wildly dancing and mumbling and gesticulating towards something clearly not there, I probably wouldn’t walk up to him and say “hey, tell me all about what you’re seeing there”
Someone called “ILoveMyYugos” kind of fits in that description. I guess the museum isn’t out anything other than some wasted bidding time, though.
See? This is why I just use my name.
I should note that the buyer’s comment of “I’m sure that went much higher than either of us expected” was pretty damn funny. He’s crazy. But also lucid and quick witted.
It has to be some weird crypto play… like a stablecoin tied to the values of used Yugos….
Money laundering, you but it with $27k of dirty money, then you turn it over and get several clean rolls of quarters.
Most people I know who collect multiples of the same car generally have 1 working one, 1 occasionally working one, and a pile of shit for rusty parts.
I stupidly did exactly as you warn on the BART this morning. Even I knew as my mouth opened to speak to just shut the fuck up, but didn’t. All was fine.
Break.out the Indiana Jones meme.
“It belongs in a museum!”
It belongs in a museum!
Compared to some BaT bidding wars, a nearly new Yugo for $27k seems downright reasonable. It is disappointing this isn’t going to a museum.
I unironically want a Yugo. I wouldn’t pay $27k to get a perfect one with almost no miles (running or not), but I would pay more than I should be willing to admit for a drivable 20-footer. Yeah, $27k is a lot for a Yugo, but it isn’t that much for the nicest example of a maligned but rare/interesting/historically significant vehicle.
I’d love to find a running $500 version and make it look like an old European rally car & rallycross until it breaks. Possibly the first run of the first event.
There’s a guy in the Yugo Facebook group who does that.
The owner of Jason’s old Yugo is around, and they could probably get it drivable (up to) 20 feet. I’m sure they’d sell it to you.
That poor car. Someday someone will give it some love and get it going right again.
For $27k I would expect Yugoslavia, yes the country, not a car.
As the person here at the Petersen who recommended we try and buy that car, I would like to announce that yes, we would still love to find a pristine Yugo. It’s an important car! Both its American story and its place in world car history is unique and vital as well as amusing. We got to the point where it became obvious that ILoveMyYugos really does love their Yugos and was willing to pay whatever it took. Kudos to them. I’m sure they will be a excellent caretaker and maybe one day they’ll want to see it in a museum and reach out to us. Thank you Jason for documenting what was probably the most unlikely and unexpected auction experience we’ve ever been a part of.
If you really want something pristine, important and even amusing, I hear there’s a Murano Cross Cab in MD 20/20 purple rocking 3-spoke Mustang wheels that’s (probably) available for the right price…
That’s just the laugh I needed on a Monday. Thank you; I’m never going to unsee that now!
I just got a headache reading “MD 20/20” and I have not even sniffed the stuff in decades!
Yeah, but ILoveMyMuranoCrossCabs will probably outbid us…
Or Mercedes…
No one has ever seen those two users at the same time.
It would be cool if he loaned it to you for a bit.
To sell a car at auction and make bank you need two or more crazy people. We have heard from the Peterson crazy person.