Original subtitles

Mate, I'll tell you, that was the best flight ever.

And the best baggage handling.

That was so quick.

It was good, yeah.

This has got all the makings of the best trip ever, this.

What's got into you today?

Yes, look at that.

That's the best control tower you've ever seen.

That's a ridiculous thing to say.

No-one ever says that.

Ha-ha!

There she is.

The best car of the 1980s.

And it's our hire car.

Well, I'm a little bit suspicious.

There's a lot of bests going on.

I kind of feel we might be on the way to see a worst.

Yes, we are here to go and see what was the worst car for sailing Europe at the time.

It's a Yugo, isn't it?

Of course it is.

You're going to love it!

Taxi!

Let's go buy some cars.

Let's go get some cars.

We've packed our suitcases... And our spanners...

...for another international adventure.

Look at that!

Ha-ha-ha!

We're buying dream machines.

I love this race and I love this car!

Building race cars.

Woo-hoo!

And rescuing some of the finest...

This is nuts!

Look at that!

It's on three wheels!

...fastest... ...and funniest motors...

That feels like something's going to fall off!

...with the help of local wheeler dealers.

Battery!

Battery out!

Good idea!

We'll restore these national treasures...

...making some yen and euros in the process.

We'll have it.

This is exactly why we come half way round the world.

This is epic!

I've got to say, I'm enjoying driving this thing...

...because this is a great little car... ...unlike the Yugo.

I know you think it's awful... ...but honestly, I think you'll grow to love it.

You really will.

I think that's going to be a tall order, mate.

I'm in love with the brand.

I used to sell them back in the day.

Yugos were a very popular car.

Quite possibly the cheapest car for sale in the UK.

Well, the reason it was so cheap... ...is because they were terrible.

Defend that!

It's true.

In the 1980s, when the VW Golf ruled the roads...

...the Zastava Yugo did have a few reliability issues.

But in the former Yugoslavia...

...the little car was a national hero.

Compared to the dated Zastava 750 it replaced...

...the Yugo's hatchback styling was modern... ...and almost golf-like.

It could fit a family of five.

It was easy to maintain... ...and most importantly...

...it was affordable to the average Yugoslav family.

But it wasn't just a domestic hit.

In 1985, a deal was struck... ...which saw almost 150,000 Yugos exported to the US.

While many Americans saw the car as a joke...

...this little hero brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars...

...helping a flagging Yugoslav economy.

Why the golf then?

What made it so special?

Well, what you're witnessing here...

...in this little journey, in this beautiful golf...

...is all the things wrong with the Yugo.

I mean it's refined, it's reliable...

...it's stylish, it looks good, it performs well.

So cruel, honestly.

Honestly.

I'm going to go and see a guy called Surgeon... ...who wants to sell it.

So he's seen the light... ...come to his own senses.

He's very keen to see this car live another life.

So he's keen to see the car leave.

I'm Mike.

I'm Surgeon.

Surgeon, nice to meet you.

This is Elvis.

He is not so happy today.

How, what?

Because we're buying a Yugo.

A Yugo is a great car.

It's not.

I told you.

I told you.

Here's the keys.

What, for the car?

Yes.

There's a screwdriver in the trunk.

Right.

So it's got a screwdriver to open.

Yes.

Hang on, hang on.

No disrespect.

This is the point we turn around and walk away.

In the 1970s in South London, that was the key for every car.

And this is the key to the finest automobile you're ever going to see.

Where is the car?

In the garage?

No.

The car is in the house.

Right, so he's hidden it round the back of the house.

So the neighbours couldn't see it.

All right, we'll go and have a good look.

Go and break into it then.

You're going to love it.

Oh!

There it is!

Welcome to the Yugo 55.

Not 45.

This is the 55, the upgraded model.

Yeah, you know what that stands for, right?

55, yeah.

55 horsepower.

I'd rather not say it, but yes.

This one is finished in an authentic shade of several reds.

It's got black bumpers on it, which really emphasise the sporty lines on the vehicle.

And as you can see, it's been really badly kept.

You are such a car salesman.

It's great, isn't it?

I just absolutely love it.

Do you know how long it took us to get here?

To see this.

It's worth it.

Look at it.

Is it?

This is our national car.

Oh mate, look at that.

Yeah.

Go on, have a seat in.

Go on.

Go on.

Go on, have a seat in.

Use to sit in Lewis Hamilton's car and rev it up for him.

Now!

Look at you.

Feel similar.

Feel similar.

I mean, honestly, I don't think I've ever sat in a more basic car.

Five-speed gearbox.

What are you going on about?

Okay, I'll give you that one little tick for it.

I mean, apart from that, I don't think there's much else though, is there?

I mean, it is tatty, it's ropey in pretty much every sense of the word.

Which is the reason why we've come to rescue it.

By the time production ended, in 2008, almost 800,000 Yugos had been built.

But only a tiny fraction of those cars survive today.

Don't tell me it's going to be... It is a... Are you kidding me?

It's a screw driver.

It's got... Signs of previous towing.

Maybe some obvious signs of, you know, some of the liquid that it loses.

Which is really good.

Granted, there aren't a few red flags here.

More than a few.

But, bear with me a moment.

Wait for it to start up.

It's going to sound like a Rolls-Royce.

Ready?

Go on.

I'm not even going to look yet.

Oh, come on!

What do I say?

I'm impressed it starts.

Sounds amazing.

It does sound like it's ticking over nicely, but...

What are we doing?

Odd ride.

You ready?

Handbrake off.

It's quite a challenging bit of terrain we've got to drive over here.

I'm worried about that.

You reckon 55 horsepower an hour?

It's been... Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Wait, can you hear that suspension?

What is that noise?

Don't... Honestly, that feels like something's going to fall off.

That's the bit that I love about this car.

It's not trying to hide its faults.

It really is just rubbish from the outset.

And the reason why that was such a success, they were just bucket cheap.

So, you've got people wanting to go and buy a second and full Fiesta for five grand.

You could buy one of these brand new for three and a half grand.

But we didn't cherish our Yugos.

Believe it or not, today only two survive on UK roads.

While here in Serbia, 60,000 remain in daily use.

It actually don't drive too badly.

The engine's all right.

I mean, it's not going to break any land speed records.

Enough noisy, innit?

You're making that engine sound fast.

Can you hear the road noise and everything coming in?

You can hear absolutely everything.

I don't think when they built this car, soundproofing was at the top of the list.

They just needed the car to get from A to B.

We have to think about where we could... Oh, no brakes.

Literally, there was no brakes then.

That was a bit nerving.

Right, you have to think about where we could take it, right?

But I think we could make this car quite the same as the Golf, as good as the Golf.

Oh, come off it.

Do you think we could make this as good as one of the,

literally, the best cars of that category ever made?

We can do that.

I know.

I mean, you can do that.

All we've got to do is improve it.

Before we go too far, how much does he want for this car?

Take a breath.

Go on.

Right, take a breath.

What does he want for it?

€650.

Right, it's the cheapest car.

It'd be the cheapest car we've ever bought on wheeler dealers, ever.

All right, so then what we're going to do, we've got to fix

all these problems, and then sell it again for how much?

Listen, because these cars are so popular

here, I think we should be able to double €650.

I reckon we could actually make some money.

All right.

Let's say we've paid full price, which obviously we're not going to do,

and even imagine we could double our money.

That gives us about €600 to fix all of these problems.

All these bits, yeah.

That doesn't make any sense.

How are we going to do that?

I don't know.

Do you want me to go back to surgeon and try and negotiate a bit of a deal?

Of course.

How much do you reckon we should bid on the car?

I reckon he should be paying us to take it off his hands.

I absolutely love it.

He's not very happy.

I'm sorry, surgeon.

There are so many problems with this car.

It's noisy.

The suspension rattles.

The steering's got so much play in it.

I don't think the brakes are that good, are they?

Yes.

This is like...

They were like that Elvis when you bought them.

Yeah, okay.

All right.

So surgeon, when we spoke, you said you wanted €650.

Yes.

You still need that money for it?

Yeah.

Going half?

Half?

Half of 650.

That still feels fair to me.

Um, €650 you want.

Yes.

We'll have it.

Lovely.

Thank you.

What happened to them?

Come on, mate.

Your trainers cost more than that.

Give us some money.

Get some money out of your pocket.

We'll just take it now.

Are you serious?

Yeah, no.

We'll just take it now.

€650 is the lowest price we've ever paid for a wheeler dealer's car.

Yeah.

And it's pretty obvious why.

Thank you, surgeon.

Really appreciate it.

Say goodbye to your car.

It's ours now.

Come on.

Look, we only spent €650.

That's like 600 quid.

It's nothing.

I need the screwdriver.

Oh, right.

Let me get the key for you.

Hold on.

Mate, I can't believe...

I can't believe you paid full price.

I was never not going to pay full price.

It's a running, driving car for like 500 quid.

There's no way we can make a profit out of this.

I am determined to make a tiny profit out of it if we can.

And I've got a great bunch of people for you to work with.

Like almost every mechanic in Serbia, Nash Babic and

colleague Staša Timotijević cut their teeth on Zastavas.

Like our Yugo.

Since setting up his business, Resto Rad, Nash has

progressed to working on more exotic sports cars.

Or at least he thought he had.

Right.

This is your new home, Elvis.

Hello, guys.

For the next few days.

Hi.

Hey.

How are you doing?

Good to see you, Nash.

Hi, guys.

Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you.

Very nice to meet you.

Staša, congratulations.

Oh, thank you very much.

Yeah, wow.

Yes.

I'm trying to keep up with the work because I enjoy it.

You like working on Yugo's, the Perrabee, yes?

Yes.

Yes, very much.

He's lying.

You are a liar.

I can tell already.

He does not like working on these things.

Come on, what don't you like about them?

A lot of things, but it's an interesting project.

No, you don't have faith, okay?

It's not that good, but it has soul.

It has a background.

It has a story.

That's true.

There you go.

There you go.

That's exactly why we flew halfway around the world, to come and buy one.

Because they've got soul, they've got a story, and they're actually rubbish.

But they're really good rubbish.

I totally agree, they are rubbish.

But that is how I learned mechanic.

There you go.

And that's how I fell in love with it, so I cannot not love it.

It's got a long list of problems.

I'll talk you through a bunch of them as we go.

But maybe we can get it spun around, get it on the ramp and up in the air,

because we haven't even seen underneath it yet.

Yeah, let's do it.

Right.

Oh, we can do it.

Look what they did with the brake system.

They bypassed the, like, proportioning valve.

What does that do then?

Okay, so that little valve is about balancing how much of the brake pedal

effort goes to the front and how much goes to the rear.

Yeah.

Is that why, when I was driving the car, sometimes I had, like, front brakes,

and sometimes I had no brakes, and they just locked up on the rear?

Yeah, exactly.

Oh, what a great safety feature.

Well done, guys.

Well, do you know, probably what's happened is that's failed, and rather than

replace it, he's just decided to bypass it.

Yes.

It was probably cheaper and easier to do.

Exactly.

And unfortunately, we're going to have to replace it.

What about that noise when I was driving the car?

Do you remember that nasty noise?

Where do you reckon that's coming from?

Well, I did think it might be suspension bushes, but... There it is.

Hang on, do that again.

Oh.

It's a steering rack.

It is a steering rack.

Yeah.

You can see it's got loads of movement playing it.

So, it's not too bad, is it?

When you think about the list of problems so far, it's just the braking system,

suspension system, steering system, the paintwork on the

outside of the car needs addressing, loads of trim pieces.

So, it's about €300 worth, that's all.

I mean, that's like half the budget gone, and we

haven't even got a spanner out the toolbox yet.

Yes.

I'm Sir Elvis, his toughest mission yet makes Europe's least popular 80s hatchback.

The Yugo.

..

Hold its own against Europe's most popular 80s hatchback... The Golf.

Look, mate, I can tell you, I reckon the Yugo, with today's modern technology,

in terms of what we can do with it, I reckon

we could get that car as good as this car.

I do.

Are you kidding me?

No, I'm not kidding you.

I hope you've got a modern magic wand to go with that.

Yes.

No way.

Yes, I have.

No way.

Yes, I have.

And he's sitting right next to me.

You are my magic wand.

Much as I admire Mike's ambition for our Yugo, right

now my biggest priority is to make it safe to drive.

Nice.

Hey.

How are you, man?

Good.

Good morning.

Have you found any problems yet?

Nothing new, but if you look at here, there is no bushing in the steering rack.

It's disintegrated.

The little plastic bush is gone?

It's gone.

This was why our Yugo sounded like it was going to self-destruct on the test drive.

So I'm just popping the ball joints out of

these steering arms to get them off the upright.

That disconnects the steering rack at either end.

So once that's done, you should be able to slide the whole

thing out, get it onto the bench and see how bad it is.

The nice thing about these is, of course, they're so simple.

There's no power steering.

There's no pipe work, no oil to drain.

It's just mechanical, nuts and bolts.

And out it comes.

Right, come on in, mate.

Nope.

More bits falling off this cart.

There we go.

It's a tiny little thing, isn't it?

Right.

Let's have a look.

See what we got.

There you go.

That is the bush.

That should be a fully circular bush, right?

That sits in here, keeps this steering rack running true and stops that up and

down knocking that we heard when we were driving the car.

Yeah.

Great thing is, they're cheap.

Like, fully rebuilt one is like 50 euros maybe.

I mean, that's crazy cheap.

Yeah.

But it is still 50 euros.

Oh, man.

I guess we can get a rebuild kit and do it ourselves.

How much is that?

How much is the rebuild kit?

Maybe 10 euros.

That's the one.

That's what we need to do.

I'll call the guy.

Thanks, mate.

That is the sort of thing we're after.

Nice.

40 euros might not sound like much, but with a budget as tight as ours,

every penny counts.

I want to get a taste of Serbia's passion for their national car.

So, Staša is taking me to a local meet-up for Yugo enthusiasts.

There's going to be a lot to learn from today, isn't there?

Not only meeting the people who are potentially

going to be the customers for our car.

Yes.

But also getting some ideas for styling that we can do on our car.

Yes, definitely.

People love different styles from stock to, like, very, very modified.

Right.

So, there are many different tastes and things to see today.

The meet is taking place in the grounds of the Avila Tower.

Rising 205 metres above Belgrade, it's one of Serbia's most recognisable landmarks.

And down below are dozens of other national treasures.

The Yugo occupies the same place in Serbian's

heart as the original Mini does to the UK.

An ordinary little car that's become part of the national furniture.

You guys really do love your Yugos, don't you?

Right, I'm looking for inspiration here.

Look at this.

This is a late one, isn't it?

With a body kit on it.

Yes, it's newer.

Is this yours?

Hello, sir.

I'm going to take pictures, but I just want to say what a great-looking paint job.

And I see you've lowered it and got wheels on it and everything.

You don't understand a word I say, do you?

No, but I'm joking.

Who am I smiling at?

Which one?

This guy?

Last of us!

Look at the crowd of people, look.

Everyone's staring at me.

It's kind of weird, isn't it?

The path that Yugo owners take with their cars is simple.

The pristine, original cars are kept pristine and original.

Even, like, the rabbit.

The tires.

I don't know if I would be driving around in tires from 1984.

Yeah.

And for everything else, the sky is the limit.

With your car, you've lowered the suspension.

Yes.

Alloy wheels, which are really nice.

And I see you've even put Recaro seats and changed the interior.

Probably from some Opel or Lancia.

Lancia.

People here are crazy about them.

I mean, what are some of the weirdest things that you've ever done with your Yugos?

Oh, that is very crazy.

Go on.

Like, I've been driving my Yugo for many years and I had a

crash and it was so rusty that it was worthless to repair.

And after many years of thinking, I just buried it.

What?

Sorry?

Say that again.

At, like, a complete funeral.

No, shut up.

Shut up.

It's in my backyard.

Shut up.

No way.

So you love this?

Shut up.

That's not... It's always with me.

I couldn't sell it.

It's worthless.

It's worthless but it is so, so close to my heart.

Is there a tombstone?

No, no.

We just know it's there.

Thankfully, there's plenty of life left in our old car.

And as it's far from original, I'm planning to make a few modifications,

starting with a suspension drop.

All right, well, look, leave it with me.

I'll have a look into it.

You go and enjoy yourself.

I'll crack on.

Thanks, Mike.

That's another job to add to the list, then.

Well, it will look cooler.

If it's possible.

Lowering the centre of gravity will also give it more golf-like handling.

But how are we going to do it on a budget?

Well, at the front end, it's obviously springs.

So, I mean, I guess you could just go and buy a shorter set of springs.

Well, we could, but that's not cheap.

We can modify them.

And I know a guy who can do it for us, cheap.

Okay.

All right, well, I like the sound of that.

What about the rear end?

Because it's leaf springs here.

If it had three leaves, we could remove one,

reducing the tension and lowering the car.

But our Yugo rear suspension only has two leaves.

Thankfully, Nash has a solution.

We can just basically build spacers that we can put here.

And that will bring the suspension up.

Oh, okay.

And lower the body.

All right, yeah, I love it.

All right, let's get on with that.

Nice.

See if we can make this look a little bit cooler.

Yeah.

Nash and I set to work by cutting two widths of box-section steel.

These slot inside each other and are welded together to create a much stronger spacer.

All right, Nash, come down a little bit.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Looks good.

It's taking the tension off.

The spacers then bolted in position between the suspension arm and the rear hub.

Effectively, what it's doing is pushing the suspension up and therefore closing

the gap between the top of the wheel and the wheel

arch, lowering the car and making it sit nicer.

And as Nash said, I'm not sure I believe him, make this look a little bit cooler.

We've done as much as we can today and I've been summoned to the other side of town.

Take it in, Elvis, look at that view.

It is fantastic.

I have walked around with Staša and I think we need to do a few more modifications.

And I know you're going to say about the money and the budget and I get it.

I think we need to go for brakes, like a brake upgrade.

That doesn't sound that cheap, but yeah.

I think everything here is quite a reasonable price, right?

A set of wheels and I know you're going to say,

we're going to get money for a set of wheels.

And the other little thing, if we can get a little bit more, squeeze a little bit

more out the engine, if we can without spending too much money.

So what you're saying is, I need to make it look better, sound less noisy,

go faster, all for no money, basically.

You've got it.

Oh, I'm excited about it today.

You got your tail in the air, fella?

Well, I mean... Come on, think about it, right?

Definitely not my favourite car, you know.

Mike's under the illusion that we can restore one of the worst cars in Europe

and rival one of the best, for around €600.

Listen, I know you're a bit concerned, I've brought you all the way here to work

on a car that you're not falling in love with yet,

so I'll add the cheek of buying you a little present.

Have you bought me, like, a Yugo keyring or something?

No.

I've got your nice little present, look at that, comes in a little presentation box.

Is it chocolate?

It looks like chocolate, doesn't it?

It does.

But I think it's better than chocolate.

What is it?

Is that cheese?

That is cheese, and guess what?

That is the most expensive, genuinely, it's the most expensive cheese in the world.

It smells good.

I do love cheese, you're right.

What's it like?

Um, it's expensive, so it better be good.

Cost a fortune, that.

I mean, actually, it's alright.

Is it?

It is alright, yeah.

Yeah.

I mean, what sort of cheese is it?

It's donkey cheese.

What?

It's donkey cheese.

Donkey cheese, known locally as Pjol, is a Serbian delicacy.

I told you.

Donkey, it is actually donkey cheese.

It is real donkey cheese.

Well, it's alright though, thank you, I'll take it.

How much is that then?

That was...

60 euros.

That better not come out of our car budget.

60 euros.

60 euros.

That's like caviar prices.

I'm swapping things around today.

You have a good day.

Well... Enjoy yourself and let you go.

Can't see that happening.

Nash, come on in son, jump in.

See you later on.

See you later, mate.

Shut up.

While Mike goes parts hunting with Nash, I'm going to tackle the brakes with

Staša, who, it turns out, is an even bigger Yugo fanatic than I realised.

I thought I saw that.

That is a Yugo.

Yes, that is a Yugo 128.

I have it on me forever.

That's my first love, my first car love.

I might not share Staša's passion for the Yugo, but I'll admit components like this

brake bias valve are a work of engineering genius.

Now, I'm not the greatest artist in the world,

but this is more or less what it looks like.

As there's usually less weight over the rear wheels,

they're prone to locking up under heavy braking.

So the brake bias valve changes the level of braking force

depending on the amount of weight over the rear axle.

If you've got lots of weight on the rear axle, that valve opens, allowing loads

more pressure to the rear brakes, allowing you to brake more heavily without

locking the rear wheels because they're heavily laden.

When the car is empty, the suspension rises back up and closes the valve,

which then reduces the braking pressure to the rear wheels.

Staša has managed to get me a brand new one.

Unbelievably, they make this for €10.

I don't even know how that's possible.

This is brilliant.

It's simple.

It's ingenious.

And best of all, it's cheap.

Oh, that looks like somebody's front garden that's been turned into a scrub yard.

That's exactly what it is, isn't it?

We will find everything we need here.

Nash has brought me to a breaker's yard that specialises in Yugo's.

Mishko.

Mike.

Mishko.

Mishko.

Oh, get a hug.

Nice to meet you, Mishko.

Elvis has asked for upgraded brake lines and calipers.

So while Mishko hunts for those, Nash and I can start

thinking about how we can improve our Yugo's looks.

You know, second-hand wheels, this is what we're after, isn't it?

Yeah.

That's promising.

There's two.

What?

About the same?

They need tidying up, don't they?

But they're a bit more interesting than what's on the card.

Question is, can we find the other two?

They use everything here.

Seats, dashboards.

Here's a wheel.

Look at that, right at my feet.

Three down, one to go.

Look, that car's sitting on that.

Steel, steel, steel, steel wheels.

Nash!

You found anything?

Where are you?

Mike!

Yo!

Found the other one.

Yeah!

Our Scrappy Challenge has finally uncovered four fabulous alloy wheels.

Job done, right?

I mean, they are different.

How are they different?

I don't understand.

They're silver.

They're silver.

These are white.

Aren't they the same wheels?

Oh, no, yes, it's got the hub.

Since it's not a set, maybe it can be even cheaper.

Hey, up, here he comes.

Look at that.

You've done well.

Yeah.

You want to found all the bits?

That's great.

So, can you let Mishko know, if we were to have

a deal with all of this, how much would it be?

All of this costs 130 euros.

130 euros for everything.

I mean, that's very reasonable.

But we've got to keep the budget down, you know that.

Is there any chance we can get a bit cheaper?

There's a possibility, but only to call us Elvis.

I had the name.

I'm pretty sure I had the word Elvis mentioned then.

He really likes the guy.

If you can get Elvis here, he would lower the price.

With Mike out of the way, I've asked Staša to

pick up an upgrade that's not on the shopping list.

I mean, the car is just simply too slow.

And whilst we're never going to transform it into a race car, a new carburetor,

an upgraded one, will get more fuel in, we can get more

bang for our buck and make it maybe a tiny bit faster.

So far, I've only spent 30 euros on the car.

But a new carb could be the thing that blows the budget.

Hey Elvis, look what I found.

Look at that.

Double choke carburetor.

Nice.

And the right manifold for it.

That's amazing.

Expensive?

No, it's not that expensive.

Really?

It's not really.

And the good part is that this guy will take the old carburetor and the manifold,

and that would reduce the price to 200 euros.

200 euros for both of those?

Yes, it is a bit expensive compared to the budget, but it will be worth it.

This carburetor comes with an upgraded intake manifold,

which will improve the flow of the air-fuel mixture.

Right, the manifold is on, which means it's now time for the carburetor.

It's been fully reconditioned.

I've got this, a new gasket, and an insulator block, which just separates this

from the heat of the manifold, to stop the fuel boiling, which would be a bad thing.

With the new manifold already in place, and Staša lending a hand, the new

carburetor is soon in, ready to be set up and tuned.

Right.

Hiya.

Oh!

Whoa, whoa, whoa, paintwork!

Don't worry about the paintwork, we've got to do something with the paintwork anyway.

Well, listen, we did manage to get some good bits.

We got some calipers.

Nice.

Upgraded one, so we got a pair of those.

Paintwork!

I've got you the brake lines, so I've got that.

Yes.

And we even managed to find a boot lock.

Oh, so we can ditch the screwdriver.

We can ditch the screwdriver, but we've saved the

best till last, because we found a set of wheels.

I don't think it's a set.

It's not a set.

They're different to each other.

You know what it is.

Honestly, Elvis, what do you expect for the price we paid?

What did you pay?

Ah, yes, about that.

Er, Mishko, mate, I'm so sorry that I couldn't

be there, to shake your hand and to say hello.

Thank you so much for the discount.

Really, really appreciate that.

And if we do come back with a little bit more time

to Serbia, I'd love to come and meet you in person.

So thanks again, mate.

See you soon.

There you go, Mishko, from Elvis.

Perfect, mate.

Well done.

Thing is, Mike, anything you can do, I can do better.

I've got a fix for our worn steering rack that's going to make

your scrapyard hall look like a shopping spree at Selfridges.

I've just got the bushes that we need.

And do you know what?

50 cents each, one euro for the pair.

We are not going to do better than that.

I've had a good look through the rest of the rack.

Everything's in good order.

The ball joints are fine.

The rubber boot I've just cleaned up, and that's good to go again.

So all I've got to do is pop a little bit of grease

on, get these in, get the whole rack back on the car.

A spot of grease and a little push with a screwdriver

allows me to squeeze it into the steering rack.

So this little ball joint goes in the end.

Last thing to fit is the protective rubber boot, which will

stop water and grime getting into the joint and causing damage.

Right, back on the car.

Okay, Elvis, I see your budget steering rack

repair and raise you a DIY wheel makeover.

A quick blowover of silver spray and we've got a matching set.

Back in the day, the VW Golf stood out for its refinements.

In particular, how quiet it was at speed.

Not something we could say about our Yugo, so

I'm going to fit some modern soundproofing.

This material has a couple of different impacts.

One is that it literally insulates the material, stopping

the sound from penetrating, getting inside the car.

But the other is a really important one because the skin of that door is very thin

and driving down the road, it kind of does that.

It vibrates, it rattles and a lot of the sound

that we see inside the car comes from that.

So, by sticking some of this sound deadening material on, we no longer get

the same vibrations that cause the sound inside the car.

Look at that.

Way quieter.

There you go.

It's kind of as simple as that.

Self-adhesive.

And it is very, very sticky.

Come in.

Let's see if it makes any difference.

By my reckoning, Elvis has improved their Yugo's ride.

Brakes, engine and noise levels.

And now it's time to tackle the paintwork.

Right then, fellas.

I'm not expecting any miracles.

I think we know that.

Because it's already had about 18 different shades of red spray can all over it.

He has got some red paint in there.

It's actually original Zustava paint, right?

Yeah.

From 1987.

From 1987.

You could give it a light dusting, could you, for us?

Yeah.

Yeah.

All right.

Well, let's get it clean first and we can see what we can do with it.

Lovely.

All right.

On our budget, we can't afford a full respray.

But Nash's make-do-amend approach will freshen the car up no end.

Cheers, buddy.

And while we wait for the paint to dry...

How far have we actually got with a car now?

Because our mission was to get the car more towards

the best-selling car in Europe at the time, the Golf.

I'll tell you what we have done, and I think you'll

agree with this, we've definitely improved it.

But I tell you what I have discovered on this little journey is that there is a

whole nation that has fallen in love with it, and I sort of get that.

I'm never going to be one of those people, but I do understand it.

Good.

Right.

Cheers, Nash.

Here we go.

To Yugo.

Our time in Serbia is almost done.

Just a few finishing touches and our U-Golf is good to go.

It's brushed up well, hasn't it?

It's such a nice little car.

I told you.

It's a wicked little car.

But before we go head-to-head with Volkswagen's all-conquering hatchback,

let's take a moment to appreciate our cracking little Yugo on its own merits.

Look at the paintwork.

It's scrubbed up all right, hasn't it?

I mean, out of a rattle can, but it looks loads better than it did.

It just looks fantastic.

And the way it sits now, though it starts sitting on those alloy wheels.

Albeit odd, front to rear.

Yeah, but nobody knows that.

It sort of fits with the car.

Right, so let's have a look what you've done under it.

Oh, look at that soundproofing.

That car looks like it's just come off a Volkswagen

Golf, and it's going to perform like a Golf.

Now that is absolutely fantastic.

Well, let's see if all the fruits of your hard work in the workshop are paid off,

and simply keep that smile on your face, you're going to have to drive.

All right, mate.

You're confused, aren't you?

I know, I know.

You are confused.

And your little face, you're so confused, because you think that should be a

Volkswagen badge now, because that's how this car now feels.

You have utterly lost your mind, but I will say

every single thing we have done, we have improved it.

And that's all we can ever do, we've taken every one of those things,

we have improved the steering, it feels great, and you can even hear the

intake from that carburettor, so all of that's better.

Just be quiet, just for one second.

Shut up!

The windows are open, it's as noisy as ever.

It's not, it's like being in a cathedral in here.

In fact, it's the soundproofing.

It will have done something, but it's just still nowhere near a gold plan.

I mean, that is a ridiculous thing to say.

Honestly, Elvis, I think you're wrong.

What you've turned out here is a cracking, little car.

Mate, the other thing that I'll tell you, I'm utterly

convinced we're going to make a profit out of this car.

Right, we bought it for next to nothing, we barely spent a penny on it,

and we're going to sell it for a profit.

But before we sell it, we just need to put my theory to the test.

Which is why we've come here.

The NAVAC centre is where supercars like the Rimac Navara were developed,

and Bugatti engineers come here to hone their skills.

Today, though, it's our venue for a twin test I thought I'd never see.

My plan is to put the cars through a series of

challenges to see how golf-like a Yugo has become.

The first challenge will test our car's handling, as they'll have to slalom

between the cones in as quick a time as possible.

First up will be Elvis in the VW Golf.

Here we go in three, two, one, go!

And he's always a slow start, but he's off and running.

Oh, look at that turning!

That's really good, it's not bad at all.

This thing happens really well, but these cones are very tight together.

And... stop!

Actually, that's really impressive.

Oh, I'm happy with that.

That was okay, you know.

There is absolutely no way a Yugo can do that.

Mate, I think you're going to be happy with this.

Let's have a minute.

10.8 seconds.

Seems respectable.

It's time to unleash the Yugo.

I mean, honestly, there's absolutely no way that car can beat this.

I mean, this is a golf and that's a Yugo.

It doesn't matter what you do to it.

We've done some good work.

There's still absolutely no way that thing's going to win.

Absolutely no chance.

Okay then, mate.

Three...

Two... One... Go!

He's got wheel spin off the line.

See what?

Actually looks pretty decent.

Yeah!

Ha ha ha!

What?

Hang on, did I?

No way.

That's a mistake.

Oh!

I've never felt so fast in my life.

I think I must have missed pressed the button because look at this.

Obviously that's not real.

Seven... Ha ha ha!

No way.

No.

It can't be right.

That's Yugo one.

Golf nil.

The next challenge is a straight sprint from A to B.

Okay then, mate.

Three...

Two... One... Go!

Ha ha ha!

It's got a decent start.

Here we go!

Yeah!

Woohoo!

Mike's Yugo raced across the line in a time of...

Wow!

6.3!

Yeah, I mean, you say wow, it's about to get blown out of the water.

With an extra 20 horses under the bonnet, in a straight race my golf will walk this.

Who said anything about playing it straight?

He'll never know.

He'll never know.

You will go...

In!

Three...

Two... One... Go!

Oh!

He's got away from the line really quick this time.

Here he comes!

He's got time to beat and it's...

Hang on.

That can't be right.

That can't be right.

There's no way.

You better believe it Elvis.

Wilder Yugo covered the course in 6.3 seconds.

The golf did it in 6.51.

I do not... There's no way.

I am... 6.51.

I kid you not.

There's no way.

Absolutely no way.

It's not possible.

But the clock doesn't lie Elvis.

My final challenge is to see whether the Yugo's new sound

proofing can match the golf's famously low noise levels.

So I've even taken the liberty of bringing along a decibel meter.

So what you've got to do is you've just got to drive up to the end of the track,

measure your decibels, come back and tell me what they are.

So driving at the agreed 40 miles an hour, the

golf's whisper quiet cabin recorded a level of...

73.7 decibels.

I've never seen him so quiet.

Time for the Yugo.

How am I going to keep this?

I don't need to do 40.

Just coast now.

Just coast.

Look at him, look.

While the golf registered 73.7 decibels, my run in the Yugo clocked... 89.

It's 89.

It... Ah.

Mate, I'm sorry, I just turned it off as I...

Honestly, it just turned off as I got here.

Of course it did.

But don't tell me.

72.

Oh, was she in the car?

Shut up.

It was a 72.

Hold on.

What is that doing in there?

What, a couple of cones?

There's a couple of cones, spare.

Hang on a minute.

What?

This has been a proper stitch up, hasn't it?

The battery didn't run out on that.

Did you even move... Did you move the cones when I did the sprint?

And you've taken a couple out of the slalom?

It looks so easy through the slalom.

That is a joke.

You absolute scammer.

Mate, I'm still going to stand on the fact that this car compares to gold.

It might not be better, but it definitely compares to great day.

You absolute prankster.

Go on, get out of here.

And there might be yet another win for our Yugo today.

Here they are.

So, Elvis.

Hi, mate.

This small gentleman here, this is Milan.

This is Elvis.

Milan.

Hi, nice to meet you.

I put the word out at the owners meet that we were selling our car.

And Milan here got in touch because his son, Vasily, is a massive Yugo fan.

You're impressed, aren't you, Milan?

Yes.

Yeah, I can tell.

It's nice.

Yes.

The good news is, a car like this doesn't break the bank.

So, what we're looking for is 1,600 euros.

I would like, I think that 1,400 is some better price, if you agree.

I'd take a tenner for it, but, you know.

I think... I think 1,400... I think 1,400.

It's a little bit tight.

We could meet in the middle, say, 1,500 euros.

What do you think, Vasily?

Hold out your hand.

Hold out your hand.

That's my line.

Hold out your hand.

Well done.

Milan, well done.

Thank you.

Well done.

Thank you.

Got yourself a lovely car.

Enjoy it.

Thank you.

It was a monumental challenge, but we did it.

We took a humble Yugo 55 and made it stand,

shoulder to shoulder, with a Volkswagen Golf.

I didn't think it was possible, Mike, but this little car even won me over.

And more importantly, we made a profit.

Not a huge one, but a profit all the same.

It has been a lot of fun.

We've met some great people, and we have turned

out a car that's way better than what we found.

So, yeah, that's what we do.

And every single inch of Serbia has been absolutely fantastic.

So, yeah, I loved it here.

Right then, mate, let's get to the airport and on to our next adventure.

Let's go.

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