A good deal? Metro (with no 2nd gear)

[gofalls]

I came across a Metro 3cyl 5sp that has a non functioning 2nd gear. The owner drives without 2nd gear. For the metro owner out there, how important is your 2nd gear for you? Could you drive fine without it? I live in a flat state so I wouldn't be climbing any hills.

[MetroMPG]

The price would have to be reaaaaaly low for me to even consider buying a car without 2nd gear.

It would probably drive you nuts pretty quickly unless you mostly drive highway... and live near the on/off ramp!

[gofalls]

99 metro 3 cyl, 5 speed, with 60k miles on it for 2k. Great condition (except 2nd gear)

[MetroMPG]

The low miles are a big plus.

You could swap the transmission for a few hundred bucks and an afternoon's work, if you're handy.

$2000 is a lot for a 14 year old car with a bad transmission, but if that's the asking price, you can always make an offer. Budget for a swap or an "aggravation discount" if you're going to try living with it the way it is.

[Cobb]

You can do 55 in 3rd gear. I use to shift 1,3,5, but used 2nd engine braking.

Yeah, thats too much. 400 bucks maybe.

[sarguy01]

I'd offer $1,000, if it was in really great shape other than 2nd. It needs a transmission. That will cost at least $150 without labor, if you can find a cheap working transmission. I'd expect to pay $150-400 for a good used transmission, from a private seller or Pick and Pull. Some junk yards want $500-750+ for a manual.

You don't know if it needs a simple rebuild either, so don't let him use that against you in haggling. It may need new parts other than the Synchros.

The payout is a car that gets incredible gas mileage. I am now into the 40's with a 4 cyl Metro and I don't have any mods or do anything special driving. The 3 cyl's are much higher.

[Saskwatchian]

wow $2000? The guy is dreaming, I would have thought a Metro with no 2nd gear would fetch $300-$500.


If the transmission of partially wrecked, what else could be wrong with the car?


Perhaps make a lowball offer and when he wakes up he might call you back.

[War_Wagon]

I think there is a typo in the ad, there's one too many zeros on that price.

[Frank Lee]

^Yup.

[Xist]

Car-part.com does not show any 3- or four-cylinder Metro transmissions in South Dakota, although they have an automatic transmission for a four-cylinder in Rapid City. $350 with 128,162 miles. Searching for transmissions for three-cylinder engines nationwide, the best that I found was a 1995 transmission with 137,096 miles for $225. That is through Karcz Auto Salvage. 920-822-5508 / 800-335-5508

Assuming that everything else in good shape, I think that the car qualifies as "Fair" according to Kelley Blue Book, having put "needs repair" for transmission.

kbb.com: $1,610
edmunds.com: $1,233 "average."

If my car did not have second gear, I would not put many miles on it, either.

I would have it inspected and if the transmission is the only thing wrong, offer a thousand dollars--it might help to actually have it on hand. Maybe you can find a transmission nearby, but the one at Karcz is $225, plus shipping.

How much does it cost to ship a transmission?

How long does it take to swap a transmission?

gofalls, do you have you ever replaced a transmission?

Under what conditions would any of you pay two thousand for a Metro? Maybe, just maybe, if it had recently-rebuilt engine and transmission, everything else was perfect, and it had lightweight wheels.