Advice about GeoMetro 4SALE
 

Hey all, I'm pondering about possibly making a purchase of a 2nd vehicle which can save me some bucks on fuel costs over the next couple years. I have found this ad about a vehicle that I see many of you own and modify. Could you give me some feedback on this car and what you would pay for such a vehicle. The seller is asking $2500CAD or BestOffer and the car is being sold as is, not certified.
Here is the ad.

Buy the best well preserved 1994 Geo Metro in the hole Canada 100% original even with side distintive decals from dealer, very low milage, ideal for commuting, winter car or daily driving it would take you anywere and it would last forever; 4 liter/100 km , everything works including heater and defroster, upholstery in the original gray fabric in perfect shape, Radio with CD. $2500 OBO.
Here is the pic of the car.

http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/6073/0257ffb19.jpg


ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting

ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting

ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting

Hope the links work, 1st time trying this.

Thanks in advance.

They are good cars if properly cared for. $2500 is about the top of the market right now and you would do well to properly vet the car before deciding to buy it. (Hopefully the car is better than the seller's command of the English language!) Take a screwdriver with you and poke at the frame where the front lower control arms mount. This is a common rot out point and can be expensive or time consuming to fix-depending on your skill level and comfort with a welder. Next up is a compression test. It's easy to do if you have the gauge. According to GM, it should be performed on a warm engine with all 3 plugs out and the throttle held open. Make sure to remove the coil wire from the coil so that it doesn't shock you and the wires don't end up shorting to ground. The acceptable range is 157-199 PSI, with a 5-10 psi ( I forget exactly off the top of my head) variance from highest to lowest. You also want to check how easy it is to engage second gear. If it is crunchy you may need to deal with the second gear synchro soon. Other than that, everything else is cheap and simple to fix provided you are not one of those people who wastes their money on a mechanic. If you are, you are best served not buying a Metro. After all, you will want to do basic services once you get the car to bring it up to perfection and paying for these services will change what should be $50-100 in materials into about $600 worth of work.

If the underbody rust situation (front floors, control arm mounts, brake/fuel lines), compression, and transmission synchros are OK, I'd buy it.

Jim-Bob's right though: expect to have to do work to the car. It may only have 99k kms on it (61k mi), but it's old!

PS: the ad says "all original", but it looks to me like the rear fender has probably had body work/repaint. I believe those decals on the doors would have extended back there originally.

So, any news? Did you look at the car?

No I held back, the timing is off for me right now.

Bummer. This should help:

http://s7.sears.com/is/image/Sears/00921027000-1

:P

While the price wasn't exactly a screaming deal, it would have been worth picking up if it was mechanically sound & not rusty underneath.

If it was around here, I probably would have considered it just to add to my stockpile.

The price of these cars keeps going up. I would of grabbed it if it was rust free.