Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Mondo Metro Madness!

Wow, this gas price thing is really starting to get crazy. Now people are buying GEO Metros as a way to alleviate the pain at the pump!
These humble gas-sippers are becoming much sought-after vehicles due to the extreme mileage they get. Of today's cars, only the Prius gets better mileage. So what do you do if you can't swing the 20-plus grand for a Prius? You go on Ebay and bid on an old GEO Metro, that's what.
I was a proud Metro owner for seven years. Mine was purchased in 1995 while I was still living on Maui. I had started a sales job and needed a car with air conditioning so I wouldn't have a meltdown on my way to appointments and the GEO was the cheapest car with AC.

Here's my GEO, prepped for sale..all detailed and looking good. I paid $10,400 for it new. 44MPG city-49MPG highway. Wow, I could really use that now!
I brought it with me when I moved back to the mainland. My new commute was about 60 miles RT, so I was really happy with the mileage I was getting. I would fill up every 7-8 days or so.
Sure, some people made fun...like, "what do you feed the squirrels in there?" and stuff like that, but this was a GREAT little car! I never had a bit of trouble with it and contrary to what people think, it was pretty peppy. Well, maybe not like a Porsche or something, but I could do 65 on the freeway no problemo. AND parking was a breeze. Even after 130,000 miles, I was still on the original brakes.
I only got rid of it because Dale gave me his old SC2 when he got his new VUE, but it still had a lot more life left. I sold it in 2006 for $1700. Dang, I should have held onto it...they're going for 3 times Blue Book now!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

YAH, YAH. So soon oldt und so late schmard. I too should have kept the VW Rabbit that you took to HI ! The problem we all run into is that we're too rich ? By that I mean we tire of the "same old thing " day after day after day. The new one smells better, costs more (To buy ) and really doesn't get you anywhere faster 'cause it's the same old traffic ! Shoulda, coulda, woulda!

MaryRuth said...

Dad--The thing about the Rabbit was the tires and upkeep were really expensive. Mileage was good though. You're right on the part that you can't change the traffic!