Anyone ever buy a GEO?

That would be the Chevy compact car, one that was made up to 1997.

I'm wondering about people's experiences with this, it seems like a decent way to get around...

"Over hill, over dale, Korean Carb shall never fail."

Didn't matter how cold it got. That 1L always started. Might not be able to drive away for a while as it didn't want to run cold. But would it ever start and idle. The oil rings failed at 60k which wasn't too bad as I repaired that myself. You feel every crack in the pavement and the heater doesn't work too well. And of course on the highway she would push 50 mpg. (1986 Chevy Sprint, model was relabeled the GEO Metro in 87)

Seven years, and about 170,000 miles, later I bought a Volvo - got wife and kids in the interim. That Geo still had the original clutch on it. The Geo and a used Toyota Corolla were the most dependable cars I ever owned.

It was a very basic car, no airbags, manual transmission, no power steering, no AC. And I took it from DC to LA to Alaska and back as well as several trips through Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. And I used it every day on the DC Beltway, really working the clutch a lot through the daily traffic jams.

This was an excellent car, 4 wheel drive - manually engaged - and the least expensive I ever bought. And a clutch that lasted me 170K miles........

the only drawback - it was exceptionally easy to break into.......

He loves them, economical, easy to maintain. He's checking out one right now.

A 1995 Geo Metro LSI. When I got married, I made the mistake of giving the car away. The new owner skidded on ice and rear-ended an SUV, totaling the Geo.

I still miss that car!

You are killing me!!!

:rofl:

it was my husband who started calling it that! :rofl:

in 88 or 89 we bought it.

It was a nice small car made on the chevy nova frame. I bought a red one just cause I'd never had a red car and always wanted one.

It wasn't the fastest thing in the world, but it was very reliable. It always started.

produced by the GM/Toyota joint-venture NUMMI (New United Motor Manufacturing Inc.) in Fremont, Calif. Toyota engine, with all the bulletproofness that goes along with that. NUMMI now produces the Pontiac Vibe, sister to the Toyota Matrix. Best cars GM ever offered. Most if not all of the switches in those cars are/were made in Battle Creek, MI at the supplier factory at which I used to toil.

Todd in Cheesecurdistan

It's a great little car.

Thing went fast after that too - zoom!

Problem is he needed a charger at work, since he could only carry enough battery power for the 30 mile commute TO work.

But I drove it, and as an electric car the thing screamed. Not sure how it would drive as a gasoline car though...

and I do have to say that it gets the job done. Bought it back in Feb of 2002 and got the jeers. I would tell people that it gets 38 MPG and they'd say "and gas is $1.50 a gallon, big deal."

Big Deal indeed.

I didn't normally own a car, but for times when I wanted one (for holidays) I used to rent them because they were so cheap (£199/week in London). They were nice little cars: great mileage, fairly decent pickup for having a tiny engine, and easy to maneuver. Not a bad set of wheels.

:hippie:

A bird flew into the passenger door and caused $1200.00 damage to it.

I imagine that's because it caused a rollover.

Metal was so thin it crushed in and they couldn't even get the door open.

I sold it to a friend this summer. It had 207,000 miles on it and was still getting 42 mpg on the road. It's the best car I've ever owned. I cried when I sold it. Never had any expensive maintenance issues either.

I rented a GEO once.

If you want to feel what re-entry into Earth's atmosphere is like while driving on a Phoenix boulevard at 35mph --this is the car for you!

on edit: this is the first car I've felt "speed wobbles" in. I felt this at 60mph, which is apparently the top speed.

on further edit: the steering was as heavy as an 18-wheeler without power (for some reason that escapes me).

please note: top speed as measured descending I-17 from Flagstaff to Phoenix. YMMV.

Yugo = 2 door model
Wego = 4 door model

x(

i am afraid we will have to stop dating if you buy one

That's why we don't have any car nookie.

that thing is still running...it sucks in the snow and it feels like your riding in tupperware, but it is a damn reliable car

If you went faster than 45 mph (like on the interstate) the pathetic little heater was practically worthless. You couldn't run the AC and climb a gentle hill at the same time, because the car would hesitate and struggle with the climb. It felt like you were riding around in a very shaky Pepsi can, and long-distance trips were terrifying--especially when one of those big trucks passed you, and it felt like you were about to get blown off of the road. We went through 3 alternators, 2 batteries, and 5 alternator belts before the water pump blew and we gave up and junked the damned thing. And this was after buying it practically new, from the original owner, less than 4 years old.

Shittiest car I've ever owned, and I wouldn't drive another if someone was giving them away.

did get blown off the road by an 18 wheeler. He escaped unhurt, parked it and bought a Buick.

If you're going for a lightweight utilitarian car with great gas mileage, I'd go for an early CRX (if you don't need a four seater).

I thought long and hard about experimenting and getting a Geo Metro when the gas prices started going up. I think they had a tiny 3 cylinder engine that was problematic. Unless you're handy with a wrench and wouldn't mind a lot of heavy-dury work including rebuilding the engine yourself if needs be, I'd go for something small but a bit more reliable, like the 4 cylinder Honda.

There was a guy with a website in which he had tinkered around with a Geo Metro and had made it super gas efficient. He'd replaced the metal hood with one he molded himself out of platic. He bought a new light-weight gas tank, he put in a super light weight battery of a kind they're making now. He put lexan plastic in all the windows instead of the heavy glass and really made it lighter. He put in lighter seats and took out the back seat. In other words, he made it much lighter and got good gas mileage. But there are special kits for making the Honda CRX super lightweight too, to get better performance and gas mileage. I've heard that those early Hondas with the 1.3 liter engine can get amazing mileage and they're not hybrids. And after experimenting a bit, you might get some amazing results, if fuel efficiency is your goal. There might even be ways of converting a car like that to a hybrid. What a hybrid essentially does it save on gas while you're idling at a stop light by cutting the engine and using stored energy.