400-Mile 2000 Chevrolet Metro Fetches $18,200 on Bring a Trailer

UPDATE 11/4/2021: The winner, after 28 people bid and nearly 90,000 people viewed the listing on Bring a Trailer, gets to take home the Metro for $18,200.

We don’t know why the original owner of this 2000 Chevrolet Metro stopped driving it after less than 400 miles, but that portentous decision has led to this fortuitous moment for Metro collectors everywhere: an as-new Metro, up for auction right now on Bring a Trailer.

Truly, opportunities like this don’t come along every day.

This Metro is a second-generation example, which arrived for 1995. The 2000 model year was the last for the iconic two-door hatchback body style, as only the four-door sedan would be offered in the final model year of 2001. This also marked the last model year for the three-cylinder engine that was so emblematic of the Metro.

As a purist base model, this coupe is powered by the 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine making every bit of 55 horsepower and 58 pound-feet of torque (the Metro LSi got a 79-hp 1.3-liter four-cylinder). It’s paired with the preferred five-speed manual transmission, a combo that was lauded for its EPA fuel economy of 39 mpg city and 46 mpg highway.

The classic lines of the Metro are set off by the white over gray Sport cloth livery, and it is believed that the paint is factory, although no paint-depth readings are provided. Keen observers will note the 13-inch steel wheels with factory three-spoke wheel covers.

Importantly, this Metro still wears its original selling dealer license-plate frame from Martin Chevrolet Geo of Torrance, California, and it also comes with dealer-branded key fobs. Collectors will delight in the treasure trove of documentation that includes dealer brochures, service manuals, and the original sales paperwork. The factory window sticker is also included and shows an MSRP of $11,140 ($17,745 in today’s dollars). That Monroney indicates that this Metro is loaded with options including air conditioning, an AM/FM–cassette stereo, an electric rear-window defogger, and the Preferred Equipment Group 2 (easy-entry passenger seat, color-keyed carpet mats, and body-side molding).

Although Chevrolet has yet to establish a factory-refurbishment program for the Metro, this car benefits from a mechanical freshening carried out at a local dealer, which included a new fuel pump and a fuel-tank cleaning, to the tune of more than $1000.

With that recent service, this Metro is a modern classic that the new owner can drive every day—although doing so would run up the mileage and potentially dim this car’s value as a piece of history. That will present a difficult dilemma for the new owner, but it’s surely one to envy.

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