Faults:

When still under warranty, the passenger-side front door window kept coming out of its track. It took three visits to the dealer before it got fixed, and even then the window never really did roll down or up properly. I finally became so frustrated that I simply stopped complaining.

Another issue was the air conditioner. Every summer for the first three years I had to take it in for repair since it wouldn't blow cold. Luckily, this was all under warranty and each time they fixed it, and told me that there was a loose cable or wire. Since that last fix it's always worked fine, and I've never even charged the freon. Not bad for a nine year old car when you think about it.

Other than the window and the air conditioner, which was all under warranty and free, there haven't ever been any major issues. This is a reliable car and has always started and drove anywhere at any time.

One small complaint is that the various plastic parts on the interior are becoming discolored-- especially around the air vents and windshield defroster. I have no idea why this is happening, and since I like to keep my cars spotless it is frustrating.

General Comments:

This is the most reliable car that I have ever owned, and I've owned Lincolns, Pontiacs, and Fords. And even though I'm not religious about changing the oil and making sure the car has been properly maintained, it still runs great.

These are not "pretty" cars-- they weren't nice looking cars back when they were brand new. But they are very functional and dependable, and they get more than 30 miles to the gallon, and sometimes more than 40. When I bought this car brand new, the only options I bought were air conditioning and carpeted floor mats. I had my own radio/cassette installed.

Like many others have pointed out, these cars have small engines and aren't very fast. Still, once you get up to the speed you wish to go on the highway you are fine-- they'll easily cruise on the interstate at around 70 miles per hour without any problems.

My Geo is a 5-speed with a 1.3 liter engine. I suppose automatic transmission would rob this car of much needed power, though if you live in a large city a 5-speed can be somewhat awkward.

Faults:

I have had no major faults with my car. It has been very good to me.

The rear half of the exhaust fell off at 145,000 miles. That was a 30 dollar do-it-yourself fix.

The oil pan gasket leaks, but not enough to require adding oil between changes.

General Comments:

I am an 18 year-old male college student. My metro is a black hatchback 3-cylinder 5-speed. Myself and two other friends of the same age make the 120 mile-per-day commute to school, and this car suits us perfectly. It is quite roomy on the inside, (it fits four 6 foot males without any of us touching each other).

I am actually very surprised at the number of people that say they love my car. The home made exhaust (no muffler) actually sounds sporty, but not obnoxiously loud.

The car is zippy between stopsigns, however the 55 horsepower is not very competitive against the fast and the furious wannabees.

I am very pleased with the mileage of this car. It gets roughly 45 mpg, even with my average speed of 75 mph. I could not afford to drive to school if it wasn't for this car.