hopeless?

sorry for posting this and it being my first post, but i really need opinions from metro owners.
last night my boyfriend's car died. it is a 97 geo metro. the mechanic he had it towed to says that it needs a new engine.

is it worth getting a new engine? he only paid about $800 for the car a couple of years ago. how much would a new/used engine for this car cost? this car meant a lot to him and i really want to help because he has been the driver in the relationship. :(

i feel like this is probably a hopeless situation and his car is just going to rot at some junk yard. that car was so cool..we called it the geo metroid.

:(
thanks in advance for any advice you can give.

Well, there are two of us who voted and we are 100% sure you should change the engine =P No the engine for a metro doesn't cost much and it's pretty easy to find in a not so bad shape. I think he would need to go for a 96 up because there's a part that changed this year... (but I'm not sure, someone could confirm that?)

Also, would he swap for a 3 or a 4 cyl.?

By the way, if he decides to change the motor, it would be a great time to play in it and add some performance parts =P

Use a 97-99 metro engine. Also, use the ignition coil packs that are currently on the engine. The resistance in them changed between different years. If you use non-matching coils, you'll blow the ECU(done it before). But yes, replace the engine. I'd be well worth it.

thanks everyone but the car is gone.
it would have been nice to fix it and all, but the mechanic guy is already going to sell it to someone else after he fixes it (he bought it and wouldnt un-do it).

oh well. :(

but thanks.