The Metro turned out to be nothing very special despite a huge amount of fuss in the UK media in the early 1980's about how 'wonderful' it was.There was nothing terribly revolutionary about the Metro! But people were fond of them for sure despite poor build quality,electrical and rust problems. You'd have probably been better off buying a 1980's Mini -it was a lot more fun to drive!
very expensive when you think about it. now, almost 30 years later, a new kia picanto is £6295, and is far superior in every way, factor in inflation, and the kia is dramatically cheaper. Given an average of 3% inflation over 25 years, the metro would cost about £8400 today. considering a basic metro had absolutely NOTHING (not even a radio) that makes it very expensive.
@poldsmobile By 1990 the basic Metro was five and a half grand, so a similarly specced Asian city box would actually be cheaper nowadays. Mad or what??
@poldsmobile Very true.. It is good to see some youtube users do have a brain.
BUT The problem is everyone THINKS everyone else is making Millions of £££££'s
Austin/Rover clearly were not making ££££££'s because they went bankrupt.
The only person getting rich was the banks... Did you see the 26.9% APR
BTW The build quality on these Austin Metro's was shocking. My dad bought a brand spanking new one in November 1980 and it had rust on it when it was just 18 MONTHS old.
BL dealers had been crying out for a small refined supermini as the the likes of the 127, Renault 5 & Fiesta etc had been hemoraging mini sales, all though the metro was no advancement over other supermini's it was competative, disgruntled but patriotic ex BL owners came back in droves however this car like so many from BL suffered from Poor quality and reliability issues so much so that many owners after switching back to BL never came back again and kept the ford and vauxhall salesmen busy
@rickerbycourt Today we have loan companies charging the poor over 3000%, the current government are looking into capping rates, something Labour didn't do.
Go looking for a classic 80s car on Ebay. There are far more Maestros/Metros left out there than Mk 2 Fiestas/Mk3 Ezzies. I go everywhere in my 1275 Metro, it's great!
@dimgwalltameiben Probably because the ford equivalents were arse raped by idiots who thought that modifying them made them better and as a result killed them.
Either that or the classic 80's phrases Fix Or Repair Daily and Found On Roadside Dead
@dimgwalltameiben good point, and people think that austin rover cars from the 1980's were awful! Well it seems theres more nolstagia in british cars than american cars.
There have been harsh things said about the Metro but in 1980 compared to a Datsun or Renault it was more than a match . It was at the time a modern body design but with dated mechanicals. the Italian Innocenti hatchback could have been released in the UK and taken more sales why BL never did this and had a modern hatch in the seventies we will never know.
The idea behind the Metro was good, but in the eyes of many owners, the car didn't live up to its expectations. The 1.0 liter engine was underpowered, rust was a problem and in general, the mechanics were awful. Head gaskets lasted 50 000 miles if lucky and crankshafts have been known to fail as little as 30 000 miles. Also, Metros were easy to thieve and the general driving experience was at most, terrible. Peugeot 205s, VW Polos and Jap rivals were far better to say the least.
We in Italy had the Fiat Uno, which was equally bad built (we know, we had one) and equally sold by the millions. Not to speak with other similar models of other Italian makes.
The only difference between Fiat and BL is that the British Govt ceased to cover its losses and sold the whole lot, while the Italian State always paid off Fiat's debts to prevent its collapse and thousands of lay-offs.
Truly dreadful awful cars. And yet considering the politics and decision making at BL, the design section did well to get anything. Compared to the Uno, it was like going back 25 years. And the build quality.....only 1% still exist today out of millions sold here - and yet there are a few 205`s and stuff like that still knocking about.
They must have been doing something right, these sold by the shipload through the '80's.
They were actually reliable cars for the most part, there's bugger all to go wrong with an A series engine. Body rot was what killed them off early. The 1000cc ones were too underpowered though.
You have to remember the amount of cars they sold and to fair you always going to get some bad ones and good.
I owned many with not issues and they wear no better or worse then an equivilant from Ford or Vauxhall. I also think it's unfair to compear it against your Micra which is no doubt alot newer.
Yes, you will! I had a Mk 1 for 3 years and 4months, broke down every two months (2,000 miles). I have a Nissan Micra, had it 9 years and 6 months, broken down twice and it is 16 years old, a lot older than the Metro when I had it.
The Metro turned out to be nothing very special despite a huge amount of fuss in the UK media in the early 1980's about how 'wonderful' it was.There was nothing terribly revolutionary about the Metro! But people were fond of them for sure despite poor build quality,electrical and rust problems. You'd have probably been better off buying a 1980's Mini -it was a lot more fun to drive!
frglee 2 months ago
OTR Price - 3997.11
Total payable - 5509.09
You're get free pay - 1511.98
streesmut70 10 months ago
do a video unboxing it lol!
Lightwader3338 11 months ago
i wish i got all that with my classic mini. all i got was some rust and a bunch of engine problems. what would i do without my mini :D
jewses 1 year ago
something to think about, here:
the price tag at the time, 30 years ago, was £3000
the exchange rate was around 2.50 per quid (US about 7500-8000)
the money was worth 3 or 4 times as much then than it was now in US dollars
in todays money, that 24-32000 dollars equivelant...for what's considered a royal peice of crap!
with a nearly 30% APR on the loan??!
anonymuswere 1 year ago
@anonymuswere dangit. I misread the price tag it's 4 grand
anonymuswere 1 year ago
the first lease
haarp35117 1 year ago
where do I sign?
marshalllucky 1 year ago
I have a metro the same as this only mine is a cityx but it is the same colour
ajjsn77 1 year ago
My Dad had a Metro like this one , E143 AVU , same colour and spec as well! Bloody little go cart it was.
Duncan038 1 year ago
£3992 for a brand new car!!!
FATSLATER1 1 year ago
@FATSLATER1
very expensive when you think about it. now, almost 30 years later, a new kia picanto is £6295, and is far superior in every way, factor in inflation, and the kia is dramatically cheaper. Given an average of 3% inflation over 25 years, the metro would cost about £8400 today. considering a basic metro had absolutely NOTHING (not even a radio) that makes it very expensive.
poldsmobile 1 year ago
@poldsmobile By 1990 the basic Metro was five and a half grand, so a similarly specced Asian city box would actually be cheaper nowadays. Mad or what??
dimgwalltameiben 1 year ago
@poldsmobile Very true.. It is good to see some youtube users do have a brain.
BUT The problem is everyone THINKS everyone else is making Millions of £££££'s
Austin/Rover clearly were not making ££££££'s because they went bankrupt.
The only person getting rich was the banks... Did you see the 26.9% APR
BTW The build quality on these Austin Metro's was shocking. My dad bought a brand spanking new one in November 1980 and it had rust on it when it was just 18 MONTHS old.
matsui2001 1 year ago
my aunt is very sick.
marshalllucky 2 years ago
Cool Commercial!
psykotanks 2 years ago
BL dealers had been crying out for a small refined supermini as the the likes of the 127, Renault 5 & Fiesta etc had been hemoraging mini sales, all though the metro was no advancement over other supermini's it was competative, disgruntled but patriotic ex BL owners came back in droves however this car like so many from BL suffered from Poor quality and reliability issues so much so that many owners after switching back to BL never came back again and kept the ford and vauxhall salesmen busy
volkswin 2 years ago
nice compact pity the makers gone now
hamster700 2 years ago 3
I own a Austin Metro Sport
JohnandAnnick1 2 years ago 2
Ah yes, good old days of Tory Economics when a car loan carried an APR of 26.9%! And people want to return to this!
rickerbycourt 2 years ago 15
@rickerbycourt ..Yes I can remember when a car loan was 26.9% APR
I would just save up the money and pay cash... BEAT THEM AT THERE OWN GAME!
matsui2001 1 year ago
@rickerbycourt Today we have loan companies charging the poor over 3000%, the current government are looking into capping rates, something Labour didn't do.
oblivionuk 1 year ago
Go looking for a classic 80s car on Ebay. There are far more Maestros/Metros left out there than Mk 2 Fiestas/Mk3 Ezzies. I go everywhere in my 1275 Metro, it's great!
dimgwalltameiben 2 years ago 6
@dimgwalltameiben Probably because the ford equivalents were arse raped by idiots who thought that modifying them made them better and as a result killed them.
Either that or the classic 80's phrases Fix Or Repair Daily and Found On Roadside Dead
ITW84 9 months ago
@dimgwalltameiben good point, and people think that austin rover cars from the 1980's were awful! Well it seems theres more nolstagia in british cars than american cars.
Mr220393 7 months ago
i have had 3 Metros the most fun was the MG one (not the Turbo) great little cars the others were later 1.1 models but still great cars
gaz11h 2 years ago
There have been harsh things said about the Metro but in 1980 compared to a Datsun or Renault it was more than a match . It was at the time a modern body design but with dated mechanicals. the Italian Innocenti hatchback could have been released in the UK and taken more sales why BL never did this and had a modern hatch in the seventies we will never know.
vidpop 2 years ago
The idea behind the Metro was good, but in the eyes of many owners, the car didn't live up to its expectations. The 1.0 liter engine was underpowered, rust was a problem and in general, the mechanics were awful. Head gaskets lasted 50 000 miles if lucky and crankshafts have been known to fail as little as 30 000 miles. Also, Metros were easy to thieve and the general driving experience was at most, terrible. Peugeot 205s, VW Polos and Jap rivals were far better to say the least.
HondaH100A 2 years ago
26.9% APR ROFL
ducatinova 2 years ago 2
I WANT ONE!
paulhunter123 2 years ago
hey man why did the metro have so many different grill and headlamp variations?
paulhunter123 2 years ago
Oh well, England cannot grumble too much.
We in Italy had the Fiat Uno, which was equally bad built (we know, we had one) and equally sold by the millions. Not to speak with other similar models of other Italian makes.
The only difference between Fiat and BL is that the British Govt ceased to cover its losses and sold the whole lot, while the Italian State always paid off Fiat's debts to prevent its collapse and thousands of lay-offs.
That's why Fiat still exixts and Rover's over.
Gavichap 3 years ago 4
Truly dreadful awful cars. And yet considering the politics and decision making at BL, the design section did well to get anything. Compared to the Uno, it was like going back 25 years. And the build quality.....only 1% still exist today out of millions sold here - and yet there are a few 205`s and stuff like that still knocking about.
SimonDolan 3 years ago
26.9 APR i do know. paying near enough double the purchase price of near enough 3 grand. be mad to pay that a week. walk away!!!!!
dannystanley 3 years ago
the MG turbo racecars were proper quick.
cuprarosa 3 years ago
£27 per week for a rust bucket.
ruberyb45 3 years ago
They must have been doing something right, these sold by the shipload through the '80's.
They were actually reliable cars for the most part, there's bugger all to go wrong with an A series engine. Body rot was what killed them off early. The 1000cc ones were too underpowered though.
mrspivvy 3 years ago
Comment removed
callmewilson 3 years ago
Yes there is that LOL
mrspivvy 3 years ago
26.9% APR!!
rickerbycourt 3 years ago
my next door neighbour has got a metro i wonder why he cant fit it into a carboard box lol.
3140CHEVY 3 years ago
Not all wear bad.
You have to remember the amount of cars they sold and to fair you always going to get some bad ones and good.
I owned many with not issues and they wear no better or worse then an equivilant from Ford or Vauxhall. I also think it's unfair to compear it against your Micra which is no doubt alot newer.
sejin26 3 years ago
Yes, you will! I had a Mk 1 for 3 years and 4months, broke down every two months (2,000 miles). I have a Nissan Micra, had it 9 years and 6 months, broken down twice and it is 16 years old, a lot older than the Metro when I had it.
iainmclaughlan1975 3 years ago
'Full AA membership'
You'd need that alright!
kazimann 4 years ago 2