anyone familiar with GEO METRO autos??

[eshort]

ok--stop your laughter for just 60 seconds----i need advice from my cyberbuddies!!!!---

am considering this car for local commuter hopping in Bosdton's horrific traffic-----1996 Geo Metro 2 dr-5 speed manual-3 cyl(!) 55 hp engine-air conditioning (!!)-new brakes-tires and exhaust--56K miles--drove for about 15 minutes on parkway and seems to run fine, except a.c. doesnt blow cold...

looking for feedback esp frm current/past owners of this type auto-- ---seller asking $2500 or bo..body is good (no rust-dings or scratches..)--is this a "good price" (Edmunds says $2.3K= good private buyer price).

can anyone suggest links/forums to pose this question?


OK you can resume laughing--..but it shld get 45 mpg, regular gas --i fear a coming gas crisis...

[audiyoda]

My step-sister had one -- wouldn't take in on the highway for any extended period, but it was a decent car for bangin around town. Looks like the AC's going to need a charge though. If Edmonds says 2.3K I'd offer 2K and show the seller the Edmonds printout. I'd low ball because: 1)the AC needs a recharge, and 2) you can go up a little if you really want the bugger.

-Craig

[audiyoda]

Oh yeah -- insist on taking it to your mechanic to have it looked over. If the seller waivers -- walk.

-Craig

[glc]

The Metro was a reliable little car - and gets incredible gas mileage. Plan on big bucks getting the A/C working again if it's an old R-12 system. If it's already R-134 it shouldn't be too bad. Think twice about buying a stick shift with that kind of traffic and plan on frequent suspension work the way your roads are tore up.

[LawyerRon]

I seem to remember the Geo was made by Suzuki.

[mbossman2]

Originally posted by LawyerRon I seem to remember the Geo was made by Suzuki.

yes it was and was a fairly reliable car (sold quite a few at repo auctions i ran a previous life)...they were the hyundai's of the time when hyundai had quality issues.

Watch out on the a/c...with a car that old, and in the salt encrusted winters of the north east, you may be looking at more than a recharge, you could be looking at new compressor, condenser, or worst of all new piping, all of which can run into the mid hundreds (or higher) for a repair.

[eshort]

TX Guys---I think Ill pas on this car---the seller is asking $2500 but says he'll "go lower'--id offer at most $1800 with the AC as it is--most likely he'll get insulted at this offer so i think ill just pass---also--the power seemed low..i suspect it would have trouble merging into traffic entering a hiway----i do drive interstates at leaqst 3X weekly which often call for rapid entering into lane action......too bad as the case seemed to drive great on local city streets -(

Does anyone know of any good auto repair/technical forums?

TX again to all----

[HAL9000]

Go ahead and offer him the $1800 if you truely believe that to be an acceptable value, comment why. Worst he can say is no that he won't go any lower than $XXXX.XX. Best case, he sells it to you, then you have the cash to fix the AC and some awesome milage to go with it. You'll develop a driving style to go with the lower power, I did when I had my Festiva.

Go for the offer, when I had my '88 Mustang (4 banger), the guy was asking $5500, I offered him $3000! We bounced back and forth a bit until I got to $3600 when he finally confessed he was behind on his mortgage payments and needed $3800 to get the bank off his back... over 30% down from his original asking price!

Even the 1999 Sunfire I picked up, tagged on the lot for $16995, drove it away for $14000, almost 18% down from the original price.

I haven't seen the car, but I would start low and haggle, you can always say no as well.

[eshort]

Yeah--ill try that----speaking of "slow" cars,, IU once drove a Datsun 1200 with an automatic transmission--i could beat it on my 10 speed bike to 25 mph !--I drove that car all over New England (mountaines/snow/winter/summer/rain etc) for 3 years!

[glc]

I put 170,000 miles on a Festiva - both commuting and highway, and the power was adequate. The A/C compressor cuts out when you floor it so you get all the power when you need it. The Metro will have similar power to that Datsun 1200 but be a lot quicker off the line and will merge OK if you use the right gear and are not afraid to wind the sucker up. If it doesn't have one, get a tach.

If you want a commuter car with an automatic that will get out of its own way, be reliable, and get good gas mileage, look at things like Saturns and Escorts, or any of the "modern" Japanese entry level 4 bangers (Sentra, Tercel, Civic, etc.).

[Colonel Sanders]

I thought the Geo symbol was a globe with a bowtie in the center?

Anyways a freind owns one. I don't know what year, but he says he can get it up to 90MPH during the 15min. drive to school, he isn't impreseed with the acceleration considering his sister owns a nice Camaro.

Logan

[glc]

Compare a Metro to a Camaro? The ONLY similarities are they both have 4 wheels and were sold at Chevy dealers