Newbie question

I've been looking at economy cars .. or at least cars that
get good gas milage, and I've about decided to try to find
a Geo Metro in good condition and maintain it. Seems they
sell for about any price from $400 to $5K. Is that a reasonable
thing to do? Are parts still available enough to keep it running?
Long time ago, I had two Ford Pintos, and I learned the trick
to keep them running and drove both without ever putting one
in the shop. Put over 100K miles on the station wagon until
my wife wrecked it so bad that I was embarassed to be seen
in it, and my boss kept asking me if I needed money or
something.

johns

johns wrote:
> I've been looking at economy cars .. or at least cars that
> get good gas milage, and I've about decided to try to find
> a Geo Metro in good condition and maintain it. Seems they
> sell for about any price from $400 to $5K. Is that a reasonable
> thing to do? Are parts still available enough to keep it running?
> Long time ago, I had two Ford Pintos, and I learned the trick
> to keep them running and drove both without ever putting one
> in the shop. Put over 100K miles on the station wagon until
> my wife wrecked it so bad that I was embarassed to be seen
> in it, and my boss kept asking me if I needed money or
> something.
>
> johns

They seem like cheap little cars to run. I could have gotten one for as
little as $250 a couple winters ago. What bothers me about them is the
number of posts I see looking for parts and the cost of some of those
stinking little parts cmpared to other vehicles. If it's an extra car
and you have time to play, this could work. If you had space, the thing
to do would be to purchase an extra parts car.

johns wrote:
> I've been looking at economy cars .. or at least cars that
> get good gas milage, and I've about decided to try to find
> a Geo Metro in good condition and maintain it. Seems they
> sell for about any price from $400 to $5K. Is that a reasonable
> thing to do? Are parts still available enough to keep it running?
> Long time ago, I had two Ford Pintos, and I learned the trick
> to keep them running and drove both without ever putting one
> in the shop. Put over 100K miles on the station wagon until
> my wife wrecked it so bad that I was embarassed to be seen
> in it, and my boss kept asking me if I needed money or
> something.
>
> johns
>

Get yourself a stick, whatever you buy. A Geo Metro is not a bad car.
I know a shop that hops them up for various things. The boss, a really
good mechanic, is quite high on them.

The reason I recommend stick is that you can short shift and use other
gas saving techniques that are not available with an auto.

Don Stauffer wrote:
> johns wrote:
> > I've been looking at economy cars .. or at least cars that
> > get good gas milage, and I've about decided to try to find
> > a Geo Metro in good condition and maintain it. Seems they
> > sell for about any price from $400 to $5K. Is that a reasonable
> > thing to do? Are parts still available enough to keep it running?
> > Long time ago, I had two Ford Pintos, and I learned the trick
> > to keep them running and drove both without ever putting one
> > in the shop. Put over 100K miles on the station wagon until
> > my wife wrecked it so bad that I was embarassed to be seen
> > in it, and my boss kept asking me if I needed money or
> > something.
> >
> > johns
> >
>
> Get yourself a stick, whatever you buy. A Geo Metro is not a bad car.
> I know a shop that hops them up for various things. The boss, a really
> good mechanic, is quite high on them.
>
> The reason I recommend stick is that you can short shift and use other
> gas saving techniques that are not available with an auto.

Already, the supply of Metros is dwindling and most of the ones I've
seen recently were automatics. The automatics must be fairly solid even
though the mileage suffers.

> Already, the supply of Metros is dwindling and most of the ones I've
> seen recently were automatics. The automatics must be fairly solid even
> though the mileage suffers.

One place for good Metros are the "Camper" lots. Seems
Granny discovered that hauling a Metro behind the big
Camper was a smart thing to do. I found one with only
15K miles on it ... last year :- ( It was the 3-cylinder
5-speed too. What happens is a couple retires .. hits
the road all decked out .. gets sick ... and dumps the
whole thing back to the Camper Sales lots. Tow car
nearly brand new condition. I tried to get them to let me
know when one comes in like that, but the salesman
said it was going to be "his car" first. I could pay $5k
for nearly new, and the car would pay for itself in gas
savings over its lifetime. On the other hand, a hybrid
would be a stupid investment. I would come out ahead
keeping my monster truck.

johns