[j12piprius]

Originally Posted by Ryland

What makes the Metro/swift a throw away car is that it was $9,000 or so new and alot of people who bought them treated them poorly so judge the person who you are buying it from as much as you judge the car, they are not a bullet proof car but if taken care of they will last, maybe not much past 200,000 miles but up until that point you should be fine, if it's cared for.
I would go with the Honda or Toyota just because I like how they feel to drive more then the metro/swift, I don't know tho what special tools your mechanic is thinking you might need, I would stay away from VW's for the reason of needing special tools for! but the Metro/swift everything bolts together with a standard set of metric wrenches... other then the front suspension supports those rust out and are welded to the body, at that point the car is scrap unless you can weld and want a project and for that reason you want to look at the body and not so much the drive train, the drive train on a metro is a dime a dozen or more so $150 for an engine and $100 for the transmission and they are little engines with lots of space around them so you hoist the engine out with an engine hoist or a coat hanger and some baller twine if you have to and bolt the new one in if things really go south on you.

Ryland,
That's an awesome message, very helpful - thanks.