You Paid What For A Yugo? The Priciest Examples Of Some Of The Worst Cars Ever

The classic car market has been on a tear for several years now. Some cars that you would never imagine breaking the five grand barrier have done so, often handily, with the best examples of some of the worst cars ever regularly breaking the bank on eBay. Here are some of our favorites:

1. 1990 Yugo GV ($9,100): Nobody restores a Yugo, right? Ummmm … wrong. This one was restored to better-than-new condition with great paint and interior. When new, these communist-made transportation appliances with funny-smelling plastic interiors and negative numbers in every relevant safety measure sold for about three grand. This one brought almost three times that on eBay in August 2012.

2. 1985 Trabant convertible ($18,900): Yet another product of European communism, the smoky, two-stroke Trabant was made from a resin-impregnated, cloth-based composite material that was rumored to be based on discarded East German military uniforms. A sign of the backwardness of the former Soviet bloc, the juxtaposition of Trabants against 7-series BMWs after the wall came down was particularly comical. While it was an unusual “beach car” convertible variant, this was huge money for a terrible car. Sold on eBay in October 2012.

3. 1979 AMC Pacer ($12,433): Pacers had a brief moment in the collector car sun after the movie “Wayne’s World,” along with other “nerd cars” like the AMC Gremlin.  This incredibly clean example with just 38,083 miles sold on eBay Motors in March 2014 for the huge sum of $12,433.

4. 1979 Ford Pinto ($4161): Saying that Pintos are “da bomb” is a terrible joke that we seem to have repeated. Known mainly today for their fuel tank positioning, which gave them explosive characteristics in rear-end collisions, they really weren’t bad to drive. But the attending bad publicity ensured that, along with Chevy’s ill-fated Vega, American compacts failed to stem the tide of Japanese imports. This disco-era Pinto wagon, complete with a factory porthole window, was just the thing for someone with a case of “Boogie Nights” nostalgia. Sold in November 2012 on eBay Motors.