[Woodie83]

An automatic with 135K miles most likely is due for a rebuild. Automatics spin much faster than manuals, like 35%. Max mileage is more like 40 mpg, not 50.

The only thing that really matters, if you're willing to spend money fixing other things, is the frame rot that is very common on Metro/Swift cars. The "horns" that stick out from the firewall/floor junction where the front lower control arms mount rust away and condemn the car. It sometimes can be fixed, but never cheaply.

Metros and Swifts were pretty much the same car from 89-94, many many parts interchange. Some parts stayed the same on the newer cars from 95-01 too.