repair manual recommendations?

[mainemetro]

Hi everyone. (My first posting) I finally got myself a metro a couple weeks ago and am loving the car ('96, 1.0, 5spd, 2dr hatch, 65k miles). I just checked my fuel mileage and I got 51.2 MPG on the highway - amazing!

I am a relatively capable DIY mechanic - can anyone recommend a shop manual for this vehicle?

Thanks,

Ren

[stamar]

what do you mean? as far as the basic manual you can buy at the auto parts store?

Haynes is better. It is less recycled. I dont like the chiltons because they recycle the same pictures and words they use from other cars too often.

Also, theres 2 pages of troubleshooting in a haynes manual thats not in a chiltons manual.
I look at a haynes manual from my pos aerostar I got rid of about 8 years ago more often that i look at my chiltons manuals for my 3 cars
( yes I bought the chiltons manuals because I get them for half off. Im speaking out of both sides of my mouth.)

my record fuel mileage in perfect conditions on a hot day was around 55 mpg. not a regular thing but it definitely is possible.

[hot_sd]

I would highly recommend the factory service manual if you can afford it. I do not have the Haynes so cannot comment but I have both the FSM as well as the Chilton's and the Chilton's does not come even close in terms of all the details, wiring diagrams, troubleshooting charts, details of operation etc as the FSM. The FSM comes as two books - the first is about 1500 pages and the second one is about 800 - 1000 pages. Also if you can afford it for about $50 you can buy the transmission manual from GM - also comes as two books of similar sizes but they may be less useful as it has all the GM trannies for the given year (auto as well as manual) and may only be useful if you plan on taking apart the tranny for repairs.

[mainemetro]

thanks, guys, for the advice. I'll probably go with the Hayes Manual whereas the factory manual is likely more involved than I want to get with this car.

Cheers,
Ren

[RossT]

If it were my car, I would get the factory manual. There is no substitute for the factory manual. Watch e-bay. They normally go for $20 to $40 but are well worth the investment.