1989 Geo Spectrum review from North America
"A good beater of a car"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
For a while this car ran great and was great for commuting. Recently, however, we've needed a new distributor. At the same time it was diagnosed that we need a new axle, transmission, and radiator.
The transmission has a terrible leak and you must refill it quite often. If you forget to fill it up, you sure feel it with terrible shifting and in bad cases stalling in the middle of a four lane highway. The leak was found in the radiator, in the part that cools the transmission fluid.
We've also been having really weird problems in which everything in the car would just shut down. All power would flicker off and the engine would stutter to a stop.
General comments?
This car was given to me as a hand-me-down car. It was my older sister's, but she got a new one since the Geo could no longer take her far distance. I still have the bus I mentioned.
Currently the car is underneath a tarp next to the bus waiting to be used when I get a job. I hope that it won't blow up on me the first day I take it somewhere, but from these reviews it appears that won't happen.
The car has proved itself for my sister, however. The acceleration is terrible, but it has great fuel mileage and gets you from point A to point B with little cost.
Sorry that I couldn't list the mileage, I never memorized the odometer.
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Don't Know |
| First year of ownership | 2001 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2003 |
| Engine and transmission | 4 Cylinder Automatic |
| Performance marks | 7/10 |
| Reliability marks | 5/10 |
| Comfort marks | 7/10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 3/10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 10/10 |
| Distance when acquired | 90000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 90003 miles |
| Previous car | 1985 Thomas Bus Ford Conventional |
| Date of Entry | 16th January, 2003 |