Greetings from Grand Rapids, MI

Greetings from Grand Rapids, MI


Just purchased a used 2010 Aveo 5 Hatchback with about 14300 miles on it.
Manual transmission, no air. Photos in “the garage”, just an ordinary Aveo.

Replacing a 1995 Jeep Wrangler, 4 cy, Manual. I got a lot of use out of the Jeep, and mechanically it still runs good, but the body is about shot. It was a fun vehicle, I did a Jeep Jamboree with it and organized trail rides with a local four wheeler group. Sold the Jeep to a young fellow learning about automotive body work.

Before the Jeep, I owned a 1987 Plymouth Horizon Hatchback. I thought it was a great car, great gas mileage, on the highway I could get over 40 MPG with it.
But, in Chrysler's wisdom, they dropped production of the Horizon and Dodge Omni and never replaced it, at least in a hatchback configuration.

When I decided it was time to replace the Jeep, I started looking for something similar to the Horizon. The Aveo was the only Hatchback compact vehicle with decent MPG I could come up with. To be honest, I didn't know much about the Aveo before. I did read up this forum, which I joined after purchase. I read the good and the bad, as every vehicle has good and bad.

Doing the Craigslist / Auto Trader search, it became apparent I was going to have to travel to the Detroit area to find what I wanted. There were a number of Aveo 5 automatics near me, but finding a basic manual without a lot of frills was not in my area. I found a manual with air about 5 miles away, but I could care less about air and the $3500 difference from what dealers on the east side of the state were asking would make the travel well worth it. It turned out I found what I wanted at what I thought was a great price in the Flint area, about 90 miles. It seems manual transmission Aveos are not popular in the used market and depress the used prices. Good for me since I prefer manual! Since I tend to drive a vehicle for a decade +, resale / trade-in value is not a major concern. Maintaining a vehicle is.

I'm happy with it. I'll be installing a 2 Meter VHF Ham Radio transceiver and a CB come spring, just too cold out now. I believe I've found locations that won't interfere with the air bags, something I've never had to be concerned with before. When I get the radios installed, I'll post pictures. And yes, there will be holes where the antennas will be mounted.
I ordered a trailer hitch receiver and wiring adapter. I have a small clam shell type trailer I've owned since the Horizon days. It's handy for major shopping or garage sale hunts.

My other vehicle is a 1988 Jeep Comanche Pick-up 6cy 4WD Automatic. It's the "hauler" as well as the backup when the snow falls and the driveway hasn't been cleared. I'm nearly 1/2 mile, All gravel, back from the main road.

As for me, I recently retired from Electronics Maintenance, having worked at a TV station and for the past 25 years at a school district in Audio/Visual and computer maintenance, as well as "other" incidentals. My favorite job description I give is, if something breaks has a plug on it, I'd get the call.

Jack