I’m not always the most observant person when I’m out running errands. Today, though, I happened to notice something that really caught my attention. It wasn’t anything spectacular, just a blue Geo Metro hatch-back (an early one from the look of the body style) driven by a guy in his forties. The thing that struck me was that there was a Dealer sticker in the back window that boldy announced that this car was meant to get 50 miles per gallon. This seemed, to me, a statement bolder and more pointed than any witty bumper sticker could ever make.
I’ve lived in places where driving an older car is nothing out of the ordinary. Around here, in this bedroom community for New York City, the SUV is king. The larger and more expensive the vehicle the better. Or at least that is how it used to be. To see this car, driven by a professional looking individual would have been a rare sight just a short time ago.
It’s no secret that people are beginning to make decisions in their lives based on the ever rising cost of gasoline. Fuel economy is clearly a hot topic at the moment. My own family is now making an effort to plan our trips around town to be more efficient. We have even restructured our work schedules to telecommute more and to reduce the number of commuting days.
So, back to the Geo Metro. The guy that displayed his original dealer sticker so proudly in his window was obviously making a point. This got me to thinking. What’s a used Geo Metro selling for on eBay these days? I did a quick search and was surprised to find the following:
- There are 37 Geo Metros currently listed for sale on eBay.
- The Highest bid for a Geo Metro is $4000 for a 1993 Convertible it has 38 bids with nearly 2 days left in the auction
- 85% of the listings have at least 1 bid
A search of recently ended auctions for the Geo Metro yielded these results:
- 83 total ended listings in the past 30 days
- 65 of these listings ended in a sale
- 14 listings were ended early by the seller
- 1 was re-listed and successfully sold the second time
- 3 did not sell
- 10% of the total listings sold for over $5000
- Highest selling car – a 1991 2 door hatchback for $6776
- Keley blue book value – $1200
- Original MSRP in 1991 – $6795
Back in my teenage years I wanted one of these cars desperately maybe I should have tried harder to get one. I’d say that’s a pretty good return on investment for an 18 year old car that, at least in my neighborhood, was referred to as a “disposable car.”
How much is the promise of 50 mpg worth to you?
About Daisy
I miss my Geo Metro. The thing had an engine like a sewing machine, but on a poor college student’s income I never had an empty tank of gas. LOL
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I’ve always had small cars…Mercury Tracer, Honda Civic, Honda Accord and now a Saturn SL1. There’s no way I could adjust to driving a vehicle that gets less than 30 mpg, gas crisis or not. I’m spoiled on my 30+mpg cars!
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WOW, that’s amazing, 50 mpg, and look at how much they are selling for,
really surprising isn’t it. Peak Oil is on it’s way.
check out your local peak oil conversation at
<a href=”http://www.relocalize.net/”ReLocalize.net
Ah, for the days f my powder blur Ford Escort. I miss her. But I traded her in for a pickup with decent mileage and then, in December 2005 right before my daughter was born (and before the outrageous gas prices we now are living with – thanks GB!) we succumbed and bought a gas-guzzling SUV for safety reasons. it is 4WD and high clearance and where we live, with a little one, that is important.
But how I long for my Escort. it wasn’t as awesome as your Geo Metro research would indicate that car is, but it got about 41. I bet someone is tooling around in her in Flagstaff, AZ right now…
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Heh…You might also look for Chev Sprint or Pontiac Firefly or Suzuki Swift (?). Back in the day, the early models had a 3 cylinder engine. My Sprint ran great, but my wife never felt safe in it…felt like a Coke can on wheels, she said.
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We live in the country in Alberta 60 miles S.W. of Edmonton and drive a 2 door Firefly (refurbished ) It is a great winter car considering its go-cart size .Plows snow beyond belief .Last week we went to Lethbridge -a 6 hour drive and got 52.22 miles per US gallon (62.73 imperial gallon).The car can be a little cold on start up as the engine is just too small to make enough heat for the heater .We have started it with a block heater in -30 F.The big three auto makers would do a lot of good for us all start making cars more like these wonderful cars .We have three in our family .One a convertible a 2door and a 4 door.We have barely noticed the increase in gas prices and here in Canada it costs more than in the US.
Dausy, could you tell if the dealer sticker was an original sticker from the time the car was originally bought, or do you think it was a more of a recent sticker , posted by a savvy dealer.
Jim
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