1989 Geo Spectrum from North America - Comments

The only thing I can think of that is wrong with the car, is that it needs a new carburetor. I needed to put a thermostat on the car and a whole new brake system, but the car sat for 6 months and some of the lines broke and busted. The car vapor locks a lot because I race it with a couple of friends. The car itself is a good little car, and it can seat five, so I can have a good time with my car, and friends.

It is a good little car.

Wow! is right!!! A 1989 Geo with only 40 miles on it!

Even after you drive around and race your friends, it still has only 40 miles on it! That's incredible! Unbelievable even!

Either the distance recorder is broken or you go nowhere.

I have a 1989 geo Spectrum with 53,000 original miles. Typical old lady car. It ran great when I bought it. Then one day at 55,000 miles the timing belt snapped and the mechanic said the engine is ruined. The valves are bent. I still have it parked on the street and don't know what to do with it. Any sugesstions? It's too nice just to junk out and I can't put a new engine in myself or afford to have one put in.

If you won't junk it out and you can't afford a replacement engine, it would appear that you only have one option: leave it on the street until either somebody gives you a replacement engine, including installation (not likely) or until whatever municipality you live in has it towed away (much more likely especially if it has dead or missing license plate).

You would think that you would be better off getting the $25-$50 a salvage dealer might give you for it.

I don't know where you live, but here in California the state will pay you a few hundred dollars (I think as much as $500) to take the car off your hands since it represents a polluting risk by their definition.

You could try donating it to charity and claim a tax deduction, but with the change in IRS rules that went into effect about a year ago, you can no longer claim book value as the deduction, rather you can only claim whatever the charity you donate it to is able to sell it for. I don't think an 89 Spectrum with a seized engine is going to bring much.

Too many people were donating worthless beaters to charity and then taking a tax deduction for the book value. The gummint don't like it when they can't get their grubby hands on as much of your money as possible so they can waste it in ways too numerous to mention!

Hmmm... I used to own a Geo Spectrum, bought it new of the showroom floor in January 21, 1990. It was a 1989 model year car, built in May/89, it was the last year that it was built. So getting parts for it got harder as the years went by. I broke three timing belts on the car, two times because the Idler pulley froze and stretched the timing belt, and the last time because the water pump leaked over the Idler pulley.

I finally quit repairing the car, but you can't really ruin the engine when the timing belt breaks, I had the Heads repaired by a Machine shop. Had them replaced the bent valves, had the heads resurfaced, and it ran like a champ. Cost $155 for machine shop work, $79 for Gasket set from AutoZone, and Miscellaneous expenses for reassembling the engine, which I did all the work myself.

The car is practically indestructible, it has it faults, but it got damn good mileage. I finally got rid of it, got $72.10 at a Scrap Metal yard for it. It got too much; to go out to the Salvage yard to look for used parts, especially with my bad back. Wish I had kept it now, but putting on a clutch plate, a new clutch, A/C compressor (which had bad seals), CV axles, and fixing the wiring in the dashboard, became too much for me.

Anyway, I though I would add my $.02 to the discussion.

PS: Be advised, that the Wiring Harness under the dashboard will develop problems after several years, due to the fact that the harness is very tight and taut, because of the way it is built at the factory. It will shrink after years and some wiring will become brittle, and break or short out.

FYI, Alfredo Alaniz.