Low maint. high mpg, easy to park

muffler rotted off twice, AC quit early on. cheap paint

We have two, a 91 and a 89. The 5 speed/3 cyl. got 71.6 mpg with two people at 55 mph on the interstate. We checked it carefully two times for reliability. The automatic tranny car gets 44 mpg on the open road on a good day.

This car is not a hot rod. if you want speed get a Corvette. This car was made for commuting. Both cars now have over 100K, nether has need brakes yet, or clutch. The tires are inexpensive and last much longer than they are suppossed to last. It is small so you have to take that into consideration when you buy one. It will get you from point A to point B cheaper than anything else on the road that has four wheels and a roof.

We have maintaned both of them like the book says. The knobs that control the light came off of the '89 and GM just ignored us about it. We have driven them on long distant trips. We can say they are more comfortable than riding on a motorcycle or in a Grayhound bus.

They were not made to be sports cars so don't expect that type of performance. If you want performance go pay three times as much money and twice for gas. You will still get from point A to point B.

The heaters work great and will roast us. When the ACs worked they were sufficient, but we advise you to shut it off if you want extra power to pass something else, like a man on a bicycle.

Just remember that when gas prices keep going up you will be able the get the last laugh. There are some newer cars that get better milage, but they COST a lot more which off sets their high mpg.

If you take good care of it it will last you a long time. We expect to get at least 200K out of ours before they die. We are looking for another newer one to keep as a spare for later on. You will not find very many of them in junk yards because they just keep right on running.

They are the same thing as the Suzuki Swift. Get all your new parts from Suzuki because they are the SAME parts. Chevy just puts their own package over the Suzuki package!

The four cylinder has more pep and is better for hot roding but the gas milage comes down of course. Buy the tallest tires you can get if you want the best milage. And shift in each gear as soon as you can for the best mpg.

We took the passenger seat out of the '89 and keep the rear seat folded down for maximizing the carrying capacity. It is red and needs a paint job.

So if you want BASIC transportation and want to use your hard earned dollars on other things besides image, find a Metro and take care of it.

Similar Products Used:

the older VW bug, Fiats, Morris Mini

Good gas mileage, fold down rear seats, fairly roomy, nearly indistructable.

Door handles, windsheild wipers, driver side window, rear windows that roll all the way down, child locks that stick, body rust

Bought the vehicle right off the assembly line in '92. recalled for a faulty trunk latch shortly after. Put 200k kilometers on it in the 10 years i owned it. Found that there were a lot of problems with matenince. Example: had the front bearings replaced about 3 years ago. The mechanic used the factory spec sheets for the make and model I had, yet when he ordered the parts...they didn't fit. He spent three days trying different makes before he found the parts that fit mine.
On the pus side...this car was damn near indestructable. I was rear ended by a minivan doing about 60 km and all i had where three scratches on my trunk. The minivan was totalled.
The door handles broke about 4 times...both inside and outside. The windsheild wipers stopped working properly and one flew off the car when i was doing 90 on the highway. The driver side window fell into the door and shattered. It was fixed but still will not roll up all the way at high speeds. The check engine light came on anytime i drove faster then 100 km/h
I found that for safety it was a pretty good car. Wrote it off this morning after having everything forward of the rad ripped off in an accident...no one injured.
I would reccomend this car only for people on a budget...students etc.
Or if you wanted a good car for a demolition derby.

Similar Products Used:

Much better than the ford Escort I previously had.

Fun to drive. Handles very well. Simple clean design.

Molding around base of seat is very fragile.

Keep an open mind, ignore all reviews and let the car grow on you. The car has a charm that can't be denied.
This is my 8th car and I've had more fun with it than with any of the others.


Hey do you love your Metro? Then send an email to callmetrek@hotmail.com and I will send you a link to the Metro Sport web page. From there you can find a link to a dicussion group about the metro. The group is a great place to share your thoughts and to get help with your metro.

Similar Products Used:

My 2 feet.

excellent gas milage, transmission is set up nicely, feels like your accelerating quickly (as long as your not next to a real car), non-interference engine (snapped a timing belt at 90 kph, no problem $150 Cdn)

CHEAP!! not inexpensive, cheap. It feels like parts are going to start flying off on the highway and over every little bump in the road, the windows get rattling, the whole dash shakes etc.. The thing is so light it's scary to drive in the rain or even on slightly wet roads, in the north-west this is extremely not cool. Cheaply made parts/gaskets break/leak often. Distributor can't seem to hold oil.

I'm a student so I bought this car because I thought it would be inexpensive. It turns out it's just cheap. Maybe I had a lemon 'cause I've talked to a lot of other Sprint owner who are satisfied. Thin, cheap gaskets/parts etc; doesn't take much to kill them and I wasn't even that hard on the thing. I've been continuously fixing things (timing belt, leaking brake lines, alternator, oil leaks (valve cover gasket, distributor)), and there's
still more to be done. Something in the cooling system isn't working 'cause it overheats if you don't drive around with the interior heat cranked, and the distributor is leaking oil again! Ahh! I've come to hate this car, spend a couple more bucks to get a car you'll love so when those repair bills come you won't be so pissed.

Similar Products Used:

'91 Toyota Tercel, bullet-proof, for the extra little bit of cash, get into one of these over the Sprint, your maintenance won't be that much more and you get a lot more car
'93 Nissan Sentra, Dad's car, nothing special but beats the Sprint
'89 VW Golf GTI, my second car, more $$ but WAY more fun. The Sprint cost me about $300 Cdn/month in repairs and maintenance; I loathed every dip into the bank account. At least with this car I have pleasuable driving to look forward to after the Visa bill.

great gas mileage and good simple looks

problems with retainer plate in transmission. Problem if you dont want to spend the lobour money. eadlight switch failure

A good overall car. great for everyday commuting and for finding those parking spots on the weekend. Some trouble areas with tranny and power train but may not present in all cars.

Similar Products Used:

Honda Civic 93-96

Gas mileage, maintainance costs, reliability and very dependable

The size -- it just got a bit old being lower-than-eye level with pickup trucks. Also had a linkage problem with 2nd gear (standard) after 100k miles (gee, big surprise)

I bought this car brand new in 92, as my first car out of college. Didn't have much saved and didn't have much to spend. So I stuck with something new at the time -- if you looked up "car" in the dictionary, this would describe my car. The only frill was an air conditioner -- no power windows, brakes or steering; no tinted windows or cassette. Just a little 3 cylinder, 1.0 liter 5 speed. I swear, it was the best car I have ever owned or had the privilege to drive. After about three years, it just fit like a glove. My wife has a 95 Saturn and its nice, but there are too many power frills on it and they break down too often (notice to self: less frills means less headaches). I also rented a 99 Metro last year -- 4 cylinder, automatic -- and could not BELIEVE the price they were asking for it. You may as well spend the money on something bigger. Plus, not having a 3 cylinder took some of the uniqueness out of it. The only problem I ever had with this car -- at about 20k miles, I had a recall for the hood latch, and at the same time the switch letting you know you left your lights on went out. Both under warranty -- both cost me zilch. You still see a ton of these early 90's hatchbacks on the road today, and I am not surprised -- they were built very well and lasted very long. The only thing I got tired of was just being so damn small in Houston, TX. Too many redneck idiots driving gargantuan pickups with one hand, while the other is up their nose or scratching their butt. So, in order to get something a bit bigger (and hopefully safer), I said goodbye to my old friend yesterday after 8+ years and 114k miles. It was just time. Although I firmly believe that if we had held on to the car, it could have reached 200k no problem. And still getting 40+ miles to the gallon. I firmly believe that. Good job, GMC/Chevy/Geo/whoever the hell makes them now.

Similar Products Used:

1995 Saturn, 1999 Geo Metro

Fun to drive, cheap on gas. Not too bad for a 3 banger.

Transmission was mass produced with a poorly designed input seal that can begin leaking transmission oil onto the clutch which in turn causes it to slip.

Cheap transportation. I will drive this car into the ground because love the mileage it gets. I drive 70 mile per day to & from work. Gas is not cheap so it pays for itself. I'm handy so I have done most of the maintenance. Cost has been reasonable. I have spent about 1500.oo on it. 1 tune up, 2 sets of tires, 1 alignment, 1 timing belt, 2 AC recharges, 2 clutches, which were not worn at all. They were soaked with transmission oil. this time I split the transmission case to replace the faulty seal.
The replacement seemed to be an improved style. 25,000 miles will prove if it holds the fluid inside the transmission where it belongs. This car would prove to be a lemon for someone who had to cough up the labor I have spent on it. It's paid for & still running. It's now paying me back for the work I have done to keep it running. Besides, how much could I sell it for. 500.oo to 800.oo is my guess. I'm sure GEO/GM is aware of this leaky trans.
problem & a correction has probably been made since 1995. I posted this to help others with this problem. It's worth fixing if the car is still in good shape otherwise.

Similar Products Used:

Smallest car I have ever owned so I have no comparison to offer in it's class.

Cheap price. Great mileage (most I ever got was 51mpg. usually I average 40-44mpg). Has more room than you would think. Hatchback even has room for my humungous 3.5 cubic foot 18" speaker enclosure :). no major problems with it for over 5 years. Has good power for it's size. I can easily get up to 65mph by the time I get to the end of the onramp.

Brakes are not even strong enough to lock the tires up, I've tried. 2nd gear was hard to shift into on the first one i drove. Mine occasionally has trouble going into third gear. Because of it's light weight (mines 1700 I think), the car really gets battered by high winds, especially on the freeway.

I've been very very happy with my metro for the past 5 years. Just see the strengths above. For the price it was definitely worth it.

Similar Products Used:

never owned anything else newer than '77 :)...

great gas mileage...thats it!

window comes off track,timing belt slips regulary,makes a weird smell when driven for a while.PARTS TOO EXPENSIVE for a throw away car!

1st week i had bought it for my wife it started lagging on the highway,had to replace a $15 fuel filter...about 6 months later she parked it as always and it wouldnt start the next day!...found out the teeth on the timing belt were worn off,i have heard this is a COMMON problem on Metros nearing 100,000 miles!the car looks great ran great(when it did run)and saved a lotta gas money!!as for parts,overpriced and mechanics hate to work on them!

Similar Products Used:

Porsche 944..same size as Metro but better performance and looks!

Gas Getter a plus
Cheap on insurance, tires(if wheels are from factory),and parts.
Comfortable ride, better than my Grand Am and S-10.
Doesn't take much paint to paint it especially when paint is $500 a quart.

Doesn't appear safe, small car/no top. But you could probably survive a crash in that as oppose to the motorcycle I WANTED to get.
No tilt steering,in my car anyway.

Very fun car to drive especially with the top down. No real mechanical or electrical problems with it at all. With racing components installed it runs low 10s in the 8th mile, power is good. I have gone wild with everthing like color changing paint and window tint, the oversized wheels with low profile tires it is a real attention getter.
If you need a cheap car to practice customizing and have something that looks cool and is fun to drive in return, this is the car.Easy to customize and find parts to customize with. For 1400 bucks to get a car with 30000 miles it is worth pulling the dents. If you feel unsafe in truely compact cars better find something else. I can't decribe the feeling I get while cruising around the Indiana crooked tree shaded backroads with the top down, wind in my face, the smell of wild flowers and knowing while taking all this in I don't have to worry aboutlosing my bike in a patch of gravel or flying off after an animal rolls under the tires. Besides you can drive it in the rain and not get soaked.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha Street bike, it is like a motorcycle with a cabover.