The appeal of the original Geo Metro convertible to small car collectors is one of the more interesting phenomena of the early 90s hobby car era. The Metro is the definition of a car that has a cult-like following and it seems to not only be among small car fans but also weird outliers, like retirees who want a compact convertible to park at their compact second home in Florida (or tow behind the RV). This one here on craigslist is said to have been found as part of an estate sale following the owner’s death and has just 58,000 miles on the clock and the preferred manual gearbox.
The Geo Metro was one of those cars that often got laughed at in the high school parking lot. The hatchback was a pretty homely affair, and even with its incredible miles per gallon numbers, it still wasn’t respected compared to the conventional Camaros and GTIs. The Metro convertible, however, seems to have created a totally different image for itself, much like its hot-hatch sibling that wears the GTI letters on the rear hatch. The drop-top was certainly more stylish and somehow shook off the bookworm-ish impression that the hardtop wore with pride. Of course, any time a fuel crisis hits, the three-door Metro hatch suddenly becomes a hot commodity on craigslist.
The convertible was certainly a tidy package, with attractive bucket seats wearing a sporty red pinstripe; clean instrumentation in the dash; thin A-pillars to make outward visibility a breeze (sort of important when you’re the smallest thing on the road); and door panels that at least tried to look of a higher quality than the car’s bargain-basement underpinnings would suggest. This Metro had been sitting since 2012 before the seller got his hands on it, and fortunately, it appears to have been carefully stored as the cabin doesn’t show any of the typical signs of being parked outside with a leaky top for 10 years. In fact, the interior doesn’t show much in the way of sun damage at all.
The seller reports that he proactively had his mechanic perform a timing belt service which also included a new tensioner along with a new drive belt, fuel filter, and fuel pump. While three-cylinders is awfully tiny, the pairing of that free-revving engine with a five-speed manual should make for a fun driver. Combine sub-60,000 miles with the impressive cosmetic condition and recent maintenance addressed by the seller, and you have a turnkey car in the emerging arena of collector cars from the early 90s. For less than $5,000, it’s pretty hard to go wrong with this cheerful drop-top.
Who would’ve thought we’d ever be at the point where a Metro would be considered collectible?
That said, I’d buy it and swap the 3-banger for either an LNF or, if I wanted to stay period-correct, maybe an LG0 from a Beretta GTZ/Calais Quad 442.
I don’t trust any seller who can’t be bothered to replace a window crank.
Low dollar economical fun. When I worked in Denver a customer declined repairs on their Geo Metro. Had a blown engine. I purchased the car and replaced the engine and went through it to make it a dependable freeway flyer. Great car for those needing to commute on a budget. Sold it the same day I listed it for sale. About 5 years later a got a call from a unknown number. It was from the person who bought the Geo from me. They were hoping a had another one to sell them. They said they drove it over 100K and it was the best car they ever had. Even unassuming cars can be great cars to someone.
looking at other metros for sale, this seems to be a great deal. I cant believe I’m saying this, but if it wasn’t on the other side of the country I’d consider it just for the summer. I’d imagine shipping would be half the price of the car…
As for the styling, this was a product of GM Design at about the same time as the “whale” Caprices, and there’s a certain family resemblance, especially between the Metro hatchbacks and the Caprice wagon (the Swift sedan variant was drawn in-house by Suzuki, if not by Maruti in India). IMO it works better on the smaller car but isn’t a strong point for the convertible which looks a bit homemade.
I had a ’92 hatchback in the late ’90s/early ’00s. With a manual they’re fun to drive in the slow-car-fast, flat out all the time way.
I don’t think Geo made any cars, just bought existing cars from other companies with at most a little face lift to partially hide their real identity. Geo Prizms were rebadged Toyota Corollas. Toyota quality at a Geo/Chevy price, we had 2 of them in our family until the Toyota contract expired in 2002. Geo Trackers were rebadged Suzuki Sidekicks. Who made this car? Was it sold also under its actual manufacturers name in other countries?
Suzuki built this one..
And sold them as the Suzuki Swift, aka the Cultus outside America.
Suzuki built the 87/88 Chevy Sprint too……I had a Turbo one.
What would it cost to ship to Michigan
You might want to check with UPS or FedEx:)
Driving 130 miles round trip to work each week I bought my only new car. 92 Metro, 1 Lt., 5 speed, radio delete, no AC. No power. But up to 50 mpg at the time. 3 years and 95,000 miles I traded it in for a repo 94 Sunbird LE 2.0, 5 speed with 16,000 miles in 95. New wife’s new car for a year until the divorce.Still have it. 34 mpg. Could use the extra mileage now. Driving a 2003 Aztek at 22 mpg to same job now. 43 years. I’m the guy that drives an Aztek and wears Crocks, with socks, if anyone remembers that thread. Mom got into a used 94 Metro XFE. A special model that got over 50 mpg. Replace a cracked tranny gear once but otherwise no problems. What a life.
Edit—– The new wife was not mine. Couple married, got her a new car financed thru dealer, Big D. Repo. My wife waited for 34 years before I came home from work the day before our anniversary to find an empty house. Hope I don’t get something started here. I need a beer.
This is one of those cars you could buy for cheap, spiff up while driving it for a few years, go to local car events and a cars and coffee, then sell it what you bought it for. Just keep it indoors to save the top, but it wouldn’t take much room.
I have 4 old muscle cars, 2 are converts. and 2 daily drivers. For some bizarre unknown reason I strangely am attracted to this thing! I’m not a fan of red, but replace the plastic hubcaps with some non-bling design aluminum wheels, and this looks like a fun car to run errands in. Good thing this is 2500 miles away, or I likely would buy it. I can’t believe I am writing this…
Great little cars. Bought one from Copart four years ago for 600 dollars. Red convertible 5 speed and AC. 42000 miles. My son commuted to college and put 32000 miles on it in two years. He sold it to another kid two years ago for 800. Great legroom we’re both over six feet tall. Now I wish he hadn’t sold it.
Needs a passerger door window crank
Flanders had one. I had a Sprint with a Suzuki three cylinder and it was a little rocket.
doin a fresh motor on a tracker right now (some internal prts can not B found). Gota turbo kit for the customer (crank repair was 1st). Pistons in = sent me the wrong C rods. Now more waitin~
Every truck guy round here looks for one of these 3 cyl’s when oil/gas price is as is now. Funny, dont keep 1 around all the time, I like small ones & do so anyway…
Where is it? Florida? Maybe, maybe not.
I had an 86 Chevy Sprint (basically the same as a Metro) and got over 50mpg!
My brother was so impressed he bought one for his teenage daughters. His even had A/C. Dependable little cars. I wish they were still around as I would drive it in the summertime. Don’t think of using it for winter driving. That is a unique experience with the wheelbase narrower than other vehicles.
Hard for people to believe but the Metro has been a collectable car for years. I have 4 Geo Metro’s in my car collection. There are Metro meets all around the country. Glad I bought my cars years ago.
I’ve had my ’93 convertible for 21 years and drive it all over the country to attend meets. You’re right about the cult following. They were surprisingly well-engineered cars that last a long time if you take care of them. They are also easy to work on for the most part. It’s a win/win situation when you are getting 30 mpg or more driving around town with the top down, and up to 49.5 on the highway if you don’t go too fast. That’s my record so far, but I’ll admit there was a bit of a tailwind. LOL But she’ll cruise at 75 mph all day on the interstate and keep passing the gas stations.
Funny but when I graduated high school in 1993 one of my classmates got a Geo Metro convertible as a graduation present from her parents. We thought that was pretty lucky, as most of us were rolling 70’s or (if you were lucky early 80’s) clunkers and gas hogs.
With gas heading to $5.00/gal, practical and fun.