Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
This little sewing machine is my commuter car.150 km a day (Barrie Toronto)107000 km , 90% highway,so the running cold and short trip aren't applicable in my case,that just tell me that they put c..p material for the exaust system .Rad wasn't better 3 years and started to desintegrate, even if the coolant was changed after 2 years.
But I cannot complaint to much, this car have been reliable never left me stranded.
Btw how do you like the big Saturn ?
I'm still on my original radiator.
I love the big Saturn wagon (I don't like trunks, as you can tell). As you might imagine, it is much more comfortable than the Metro. The 25-35 minute trip to and from work is fine but 90 minute and longer trips in the Metro always left me feeling like I needed a massage and a couple of beers before I would feel OK while we do 5-6 hour trips (with stops of course) in the wagon no problem. The wagon with its nice firm seats, spacious interior, automatic tranny with cruise control, A/C, 8 speaker CD is quite a luxury vehicle after driving the Geo for so long. The Geo gets 1.5 to 1.75 times the mileage of course (though the wagon's 4-banger still gets decent mileage) but Monday morning is a bit sad after a weekend of driving the nice big wagon (my wife drives it during the week). Oh well, the little 5-speed is still lots of fun to drive and for the price it is and has been a great little car. I really couldn't justify driving such a big vehicle to work by myself -- I hate seeing all the one-passenger SUVs and minivans so when my Metro dies I'll get something else small.
I've got the service manual but the exhaust section doesn't specifically mention stuff about the heat shield, other than to say that if it isn't tightened it will be noisy (no kidding!). I'm going to get the 'official' answer from my dealer but I wonder if anyone here has run without a heat shield for a while and if so, what results they had?
I like road salt when it is icy out but when watching my car fall apart I don't like it so much!
Beleive it or not ,they came back telling me that GM will foot the bill,all the bill,I wont have to pay 1 cents,not a bolt a spring a gasket will be charged zip 0. Total cost of that job $1300.00 Canadian thats crazy...
They replaced the whole section from the exaust manifold to the flange located under the driver seat.The only thing not replaced was the oxygen sensor,they saved it.No need to say that I will use the money saved for Christmas !!
BTW merry Christmas to all of you
I just put new Michelin Rainforce MX4s on the car this summer and I think they're really good in dry and wet (too bad X Ones don't come in 155/80R13). I'll probably try them in the snow but if they aren't any good, I'll likely get a new set of rims and some Artic Alpins -- other suggestions are welcome!
It seems a bit silly to be buying new rims and snows at this point but I do hope to get at least 2-3 more winters out of the car (4-5 would be nice but might be pushing my luck) so I expect that I'll get decent use out of a set of snows if I need them.
Harry
I used winter tires on my other cars in the past,and yes its better to have winter tires in winter but there is no winter in southern Ontario ;-) ask a guy from Québec city he can talk about it ;-)
I will definitely give the Rainforce MX4s a chance in the snow before I buy any Arctic Alpins.
Thanks for the comments.
Convertibles of any sort, even Geo Metros, tend to be popular so that price looks too good to be true. Be sure to check the brakes, tires, exhaust, and maintenence records to make sure you won't be in for a surprise. 3-cyl or 4-cyl? 3-cyl with auto and A/C will be underpowered.
I still see a lot of the old Metros on the road so they can last a fair while but ask yourself how many years you expect from the car.
I am trying to (desperately) find a good used car with automatic and air to commute in (~100 miles a day, mostly highway) and was thinking about a Metro. From what I have heard, they last forever and are great on gas. That's enough reason for me to get one. It's just hard to find a good car, cheap, though.
It is starting to need repairs now but I hope this year's work means next year won't need much (fingers crossed).
Good luck in finding a good used Metro. A friend has been searching for over a year for the right deal to replace the old one he rolled. I think the gas he has wasted driving his huge old farm truck around looking would have made a decent down payment on some of the cars he has passed over by now...
I just purchased a 96' Metro with 106000 miles on it. I noticed that it didn't quite have the power that it should so I tested the compression and sure enough two of the cylinders were 175 psi and one was 130. I pulled the head off and one of the exhaust valves was burnt. I did a valve job and rings while I was at it. Now I have it back together and the compression is about 165 psi in all three cylinders. Thats better but still a little low. The shop manual says there all supposed to be about 200 psi. Will the compression go up after it breaks in? Why would have one of the exhaust valves burnt so early in the first place? Anyone else have problems with this?
I BOUGHT IT NEW,JUST PUT A NEW BATTERY,EXLAUST,TIRES"165-80S"ON IT,IT HAS 55000
MILES ON IT,EXCEPT FOR OIL CHANGES AND TRANS.OIL
CHANGES"MOBLE1 SYN."NO PROBLEMS AT ALL.52MPG.
BUT NOW I'M IN NEED OF A TRUCK AND HATE TO "GIVE"
IT TO A "DEALER"THEY WOULD JUST STICK IT ON A
USED LOT FOR 2995.00 NO RESPECT FOR IT AT ALL.
IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE IT IT'S YOURS FOR 1900.00
I PUT 185/70S ON IT FOR A WHILE BUT IT ACTUALLY
LOST POWER,THE 165/80S GAVE IT MORE POWER GO FIGURE?JUST A NOTE FOR OTHERS LOOKING FOR MORE POWER.
Revka
Host
Hatchbacks & Station Wagons Boards
Does this guy have all the service records to show that the vehicle is in excellent shape? Others may have more to add. Good luck, and please keep us posted on what you decide. ;-)
Revka
Host
Hatchbacks & Station Wagons Boards
Check the maintenance records against the schedule in the owner's manual too -- unless the '97 has a much different maintenance schedule than my '95, you shouldn't have to do much to do for the next 15K miles or so (aside from oil, tire rotations, etc.) when you'll have to check the timing belt, emission control valves, etc. Make sure it has up to date plugs, air filter, fuel filter, etc. These cars run really well when maintained but get sluggish if the small engine isn't breathing, drinking and sparking well.
If anyone would have any word of advice on this engine, please
contact me at my e-mail address: gogy_3@yahoo.ca
Thank you,
Goran
I don't know how much Metro engines go for these days, sorry. Try a wrecker I guess.
BTW, I believe the 49 HP 3-cyl was the one used in the super-mpg XFI. If I recall it had low-friction 2-ring pistons and a different cam profile, tuned for MPG rather than power. So unless you want that type, you might be better off with the 55 HP model. Personally I can't imagine driving one with even LESS horses!
The XFI was a Bare-Bones model and even came without a pssgr side mirror (I assume for less weight and drag)...........ed
Thanks and keep enjoying one of the toughest car on the market!
My e-mail is available through my profile.
I may be tempting fate but I'll tell you I haven't got much back from the extended warranty on my Metro which is up near the end of May. It was pretty cheap to extend it that far on my '95 (bought as last year's model in '96), and includes roadside assistance which means it wasn't much more than getting CAA coverage (the Canadian equivalent of AAA) for all that time but I only had one small repair that was covered (wiring to the headlight stalk broke) so as a warranty it didn't get much use. Good for peace of mind though.
I'm glad I got the car rust proofed too with our high winter salt usage, the car still looks fairly new. You won't need that if you're anywhere near Dallas.
I guess I'll have to get CAA soon... or maybe I'll just carry my car booster battery and a gas can in the trunk (like I need it on this car which can go at least 100km when a full needle width below the red on the gas gauge). A trunk full of stuff won't help me if I need a winch or tow though; I've never needed one before but passed enough other cars this past winter to know it happens.
Happy Metro'ing!
Do you drive it hard? EPA ratings are 44/49 for that car, but that assumes you take it easy. If you drive it hard you can easily drop that by 5-10 MPG. The newer Metro engines have throttle-body fuel injection, not multi-port fuel injection, which is better than a carburator but not as good as it could be.
135 psi is a bit low, not critical but low, valve job maybe ? Poor a little bit of oil in the cyl next time you take the compression, if the number increase you may want to look at the ring...
I wonder with the discussions I am seeing here if the "XFI" version of the 3 cylinder engine is encapsulated in the camshaft, head, or the entire long block? That is, if I have to do a valve job on this head, might as well replace it with one that is tuned for high MPG? Not sure the car computer will tolerate the change?
I finally got another chance to check the compression on my 1997 Geo Metro LSI 3cyl/5spd. It was roughly 125psi across all three cylinders, and when I added some gear oil to the top of the cylinders....it was about 160psi across all three.
What is the recommended pain medicine here? I live in Southern California where $250 Japanese long block G10-L's are readily available. I assume based on some previous discussion above that the engine I will get will be slightly different from the post-1995 55Hp engine I have. As long as the computer is happy it can be done??
My Dad's '76 Volvo I drove a long time ago had this same problem; he never bothered to get it fixed. Never got worse. I learned to drive on that car so it might have been partly my fault but it had 210000 miles on it when we bought it too...
Thanks for the advice. When I do pull the engine, which it looks like I will, I'll have the transaxle evaluated. In the mean time I will just have to put up with the goofy shifting and the poor mileage.
I bought this car thinking I wouldn't have to work on it. The previous owner didn't take care of it, and failed to disclose any of these major deficiencies.
This is the 4th. Metro I have owned...never buy one new...cause too many of them can be had used with few miles on them. In the snow, I am the fist one out of the neighborhood, and end up taking everyone to the grocery store when snowed in....I love driving a basic, disposible car, but just can't seem to want to dispose of it...hmmmm..
My 2000 LSi hatchback is still humming along.
I love the looks I get at the gas station,
when I fill up for $12, and tell everyone,
"Well, that will do me for another two weeks."
*ROTFL*
If you folks want to see a good Metro site,
check out http://www.merl.com/ . It's the
"Metro Endurance Racing League". I hope the
site is still up. I haven't been there in a
while, but it was excellent, the last time I
was there.
Keep 'em running!
The MetroGnome
taken over that domain name.
Lo siento...
The MetroGnome
I saw on another Metro message board that the type of gear oil might impact how the synchros function. I'm going to put the right oil in this weekend and see if my problem goes away. It is an easier solution than open-heart on the tranny.
The rest of you,
For those of you who did not understand the first time, the original text was this:
My 1997 Metro LSI/5spd/3cyl has an annoying trait of not letting me shift into first gear when I am rolling to a stop. I almost have to come to a complete stop before I can get it into first. Is this a design feature of the post-1995 Metro, or do I have a damaged transaxle?
In this scenario, the clutch pedal is to the floor prior to braking to a stop. I'm not downshifting into first, nor am I letting off the clutch until I am completely stopped, ready to accelerate.
Your two cents are worth less if you don't own a post 1995 Metro.
Has anyone made the conversion (on a post-1995 Metro) from inset sealed beam headlights with cheap plastic bezels to wrap-around glass lens with rear-entry replacement bulbs? Is it painless?
My Metro makes a rattling noise sometimes while in gear but I think it is just my cat'verter (still) falling apart. Heatshield fell off last year. Something else fell off it last week. Don't want to put more money into my darned exhaust right now... ugh.
Overall the car is pretty noisy these days, getting a bit annoying which is too bad as it still drives really well, no loss of oil, etc. Not worth it to me to put a whole new set of shocks, springs and exhaust into it though.
Also, anyone know which 13" rims will fit my 91 Metro? Can't help but think the bigger tires would help my lousy 32 mpg in my daily 100 plus mile commute. Gods, how I miss my 5-speed!
No cruise here, sorry.
Revka
Host
Hatchbacks & Station Wagons Boards