Equipment
1.1-liter inline-four paired with a four-speed manual transaxle. Equipment includes 13? wheels, front disc brakes, a rear wiper, a heater, and an AM/FM cassette stereo.
Condition
At 67,000 miles it ain’t perfect, but if we’re going to grade on a curve condition-wise for any car, it’s this one. A mid-range GVL model, it reportedly stayed with the original California owner’s family until 2021, and service this year included a rebuilt carb, a refresh of the brake and cooling systems and a timing belt replacement as well as new water pump, tires, fuel pump/filter, front wheel bearings, spark plugs, radiator, and thermostat. World’s best? Maybe.
Market commentary
Although nine grand is absolutely in “cheap car” territory these days, as far as we can tell this is the most someone has ever paid for one. Most Yugos were crushed years ago, and people who buy one now often do so as an expression of automotive irony for shows like Radwood or Concours d’Lemons. That’s why we were surprised to see this one popping up on Bring a Trailer, the usual haunt of perfect Porsches and JDM royalty. At less than $9500 it was nearly the cheapest thing on BaT all week and brought less than its inflation-adjusted original price. But it’s still top dollar, and when we got in touch with the seller she told us “I was surprised at not only the price but the amount of people bidding at the last minute…I was seeing bids from about a dozen people in the last few minutes!” $9K for a bit of automotive irony is a lot of money, but people have spent more to achieve the same goal. Few, however, will get as much attention or start as many conversations as this one, wherever yu-go.