Behold, the lowly econo-box, glorified by no one but both necessary and useful in a cheap kind of way. Collector car? Not hardly. Fan club? Yes, just like lawn mower racing and extreme ironing. Here on craigslist is your ticket to this venerable category of car-ownership, where a 1991 Geo Metro convertible awaits your scrutiny. Defying its Kelly Blue Book value of $1298, the seller wants $2500 for this survivor plus extra parts. Drive it away from Olympia, Washington. I know what you’re thinking! It’s cute, red, and a convertible… Do I dare? Can I hide it somewhere, like the garden shed? Will my golf clubs/saddle (ok that’s me)/tennis racquet fit? Thanks to Curvette for the tip, prompting all these crucial questions.
The Geo Metro was the progeny of a romance between General Motors and Suzuki. Launched in 1989, the model was first sold under the Geo nameplate, then as a Chevy. Its badge-engineered siblings included the Firefly, Sprint and Swift. Production ended in 2001 – a surprisingly long time frame for a Japanese/American manufacturing joint venture. Until 1995, the Metro received a 1.0 liter three-cylinder engine, good for about 55 hp. Mated up with the standard five-speed manual, a driver could reach 60 mph in about 12.6 seconds – with a tailwind and sans passenger. No complaints about this engine bay – its condition defies the car’s 134k odometer reading. The seller notes his Metro has been very reliable, including satisfying daily-driver duty for a while.
Today, true economy cars barely exist, but when the Metro was made, you knew exactly what “economy” meant: roll up windows, a choice of grey or gray interior colors, no standard AC (a big detriment to performance and mpg anyway!), virtually no power anything. The convertible came trimmed as an LSi, the “luxury” option, with color-keyed bumpers and seat piping (red, in this case). The furry steering wheel is atrocious, but each to his own….
The trailer hitch is astonishing – I mean, what’s he towing? A garden cart? The rear bumper is damaged – the whole panel looks a little drunk. On the other hand, don’t fret about that cloudy rear window – the car comes with a brand new ragtop, along with a few other parts including a new carpet kit, new exterior door handles, and the pièce de résistance – an extra five-speed transmission. I agree with the seller – the paint might improve with careful buffing and a coat of wax. Unlike this “late model” Chevy variant, which sold for $19k including buyer’s premium, today’s Geo Metro is priced appropriately – that is, barely above scrap value.
Enjoyed the article Michelle. 👍 😃
Oops, I have one, but with an automatic. I should pull it out sometime. Lol
Oops, I have one, but with an automatic. I should pull it out sometime. Lol
The rims have gotta be worth at least $200…no?
These little triples were fine engines, had one (’97) for 17 years, also mated to a 5-speed. Get comfortable with being passed, refrain from revving the snot out of them every time you pull away from a stop, and they will serve you for a long time. Also, pause, ever so briefly, briefly between shifts 1-2 & 2-3, the synchro needs a moment in neutral, to mesh with the next gear. I’ve seen quite a few with the first two synchromesh gears pooched, probably because those shifts are hammered.
Great write up Michelle, this is about as cheap as drop top motoring gets.
Ok, I’m going to make some off subject remarks about the title’s assertion that this might be the perfect first car. No criticism of Ms. Rand whose articles are consistently well researched, well written, and thoroughly enjoyable, but I don’t think this is a good first car for anyone. We see so often small cars, Corolla, Sentras and cars like this advertised as first cars, mainly because they are plentiful (ok, not this one), cheap and get good mileage, but a small car, esp this one, needs to be driven by an experienced driver who knows how to navigate the big SUVs and P/Ups on the road, how to stay visible, how to merge and yield and handle a small under powered car, something new drivers typically haven’t learned yet. They don’t all need a huge boat, or a GMC 1500 pickup like my new driver granddaughter drives (she loves it…kind of a status symbol in her crowd) but something big enough that would protect them during a newbie error in judgment or panic moment. This little car might be fun for a seasoned driver but could prove very harmful to a new one. Better to spend more on gas and size.
Just my thoughts….I’ve seen too many kids at the local high school driving small cars poorly. And again, off subject….apologies for that.
I’d never let my kids go out in today’s traffic, as a new driver, in this tin can. And a convertible, no less. Maybe a Grand Marquis..
How are they supposed to learn, then? Shifting gears (might) keep them off their phones, and the fear (might) keep them attentive. We all drove poorly at first, maybe we didn’t crash, but we all had close calls and learned from them. We also remember those that didn’t learn (tragic) and learn from them.
My dad showed me how to drive a stick shift, at 10 years old, in his Cortina GT. The problem is, the dad’s of today probably don’t know how to drive a stick shift.
I learned to drive in a cornfield, in a ’58 Chevy Apache three-on-the-tree … when it came time to teach my oldest daughter to drive I chose the car with the standard trans … she wanted to drive the auto but I told her everyone can drive an auto but she needed to know how to drive a stick … her first three cars were stick – she loved to shift …
These are great to tow behind an RV.
Lovely write up. I had to look up extreme ironing and now I want to press my trousers in a canoe to annoy my wife.
Ha! Thanks for the compliment… I’ve definitely started thinking about weird places to iron. Of course attempting to iron anything made of linen right in my own basement is hard enough, but maybe a simple cotton T-shirt ironed on the valve cover of a slant six? Is that possible? Could we combine cars and ironing? A contest for the neatest shirt-pressing while in the engine bay of an F250? There’s space in there, I bet I could do it.
why?
A old lady here in the retirement community drives a 2 – door coupe Geo XFI. One day i spoke to her,she bought it new and has it serviced on regular basis.She says its getting hard to find tires for it,but still has folks asking her if its for sale
one of my first cars was a three-cylinder, five speed manual 1989 Geo Metro (hatchback). I loved that car — except for the bumper sticker the previous owner had applied that said “0-to-60 in 15 minutes.” It was my first stickshift growing up in the hilly, hilly suburbs of Pittsburgh — a true trial by fire.
I was 16 and it got me 45 mpg delivering pizza. It got me, a teammate, and both our hockey bags to practice and games. You could fold down the seats and fit seven teens in before it bottomed out. If you hit a large hill going 60 (looking at you, Large Hill in West Mifflin) you’d be in second gear, accelerator to the floor, going maybe 30 by the top of the hill as traffic honked and middle-fingered its way by on the left side.
We look at things like Larks and old VWs and really any old car whose displacement is measured in CCs versus CID as charming little econoboxes form a bygone era, good for flitting about town where the limits are 25, as well as a good laugh at Cars & Coffee. So I say, WHY NOT A GEO?! If it was not so far away, I’d snatch this up in a second.
I guess this is the exception to the rule that if the top goes down the price goes up.
I can’t “edit” a comment, so I’ll add one … my step-daughter bought this as her first car … she loved driving it around Kansas City … she was 4’10” tall and her license plate read O2B 5FT … :)