A Surviving 1980s Yugo GV Emerges in Ohio With a $2,200 Asking Price

Few cars from the 1980s have aged into full-blown curiosity status quite like the Yugo GV. Built by Zastava Automobiles in the former Yugoslavia and sold in America from 1985 through 1992, the little hatchback earned the dubious title of the cheapest new car on U.S. dealer lots, carrying a sticker below $4,000. Around 141,000 examples found American buyers during that run, and the vast majority have long since rusted away or been scrapped.

That rarity is what makes a recent Facebook Marketplace listing worth a second look. A seller in Newton Falls, Ohio, is offering a surviving Yugo GV for $2,200, with the listing posted by a friend of the owner. The model year is not stated. Underneath, the car uses an engine design inherited from Fiat, displacing 1.1 liters and producing a modest 53 horsepower, shifted through a four-speed manual gearbox. Worldwide production of the Yugo eventually reached 794,000 units, well beyond the number that ever crossed the Atlantic.

The car’s reputation was forged early and stuck hard. Imported by entrepreneur Malcolm Bricklin, the Yugo became a running punchline for thin build quality and questionable reliability, a vehicle that buyers often treated as disposable simply because it was so cheap. Forty years later, most of those jokes still circulate, and they tend to color how enthusiasts view any surviving example.

This particular car is said to be rust-free, a notable claim for a machine of this vintage in the Midwest, and the seller reports it runs well, though the photographs suggest it has been parked for some time. A batch of new parts is mentioned without specifics, and the body, paint, and interior are described as holding up reasonably well. The asking price sits firmly in budget-transport territory, so the real question for a buyer is whether nostalgia and scarcity outweigh the car’s history. Finding replacement components can be a challenge, and for many collectors a tidy used compact from a mainstream brand would be the safer route to dependable daily driving.