Can't believe I'm buying another one....maybe!

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turbotoad
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Oct 28, 2005 10:24 am

Can't believe I'm buying another one....maybe!

Post by turbotoad »

I purchased a brand new Vibe that was among the first Vibes produced back in July of 2002. Loved the utility and practicality of the vehicle but had some issues. The first was a water leak from the roof rack mount at the rear drivers side that ran down inside of the rear quarter panel and into the rear compartment stowage cubby. Took the dealer 4 days to track the leak down and fix it. Then a constant "pull" to the left was never figured out, even after replacing all 4 tires and multiple alignments. After only having the car about a month a deer ran into the side and it took 3 weeks to get replacement parts because they were on back order from mexico. And finaly the passenger front speaker came loose and fell into the door.I kept that Vibe for just barely over a year before I dumped it for a 2003 Grand Am GT (which never gave me a problem).So fast forward to tonight and I find myself at a Pontiac dealer looking at a used 2006. With a reasonable 49,500 miles on the clock the vehicle is considered a "GM Certified" vehicle and therefore comes with a 12 month - 12,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty, and a 5 year 100,000 Powertrain warrenty...Hmmmmm. Car is very clean for a 4 year old vehicle (a few normal minor dings and scratches)........Hmmmmm. Car starts and runs fine and everything seems to work on it...Hmmmmmmmmmm. Well the tires are pretty shot (original?) but have what looks like some life left.......Hmmmm yeah. And the price seems very reasonable considering the milage and the certified GM warranty......Hmmmmmm yeah looks good!The salemans and I haggle a bit and the price goes down to what I feel is do-able. I then tell him I want to drive it before comitting. So he gets the keys and off I go for some highway and side street testing. And everything seams great....until I hit about 50 mph and there begins a weird sound. At 70mph it is very noticable and the steering wheel is shaking enough to also be quite notiable.The noise is hard to describe but is somewhat similar to a bad wheel bearing or axle shaft. But it does not differ any while turning the wheel at all and just sounds somehow different than either of those. A transmission problem had crossed my mind also. However there is no signs of shifting issues and/or grinding & such. But the tires were pretty well shot to hell (belt issues?) and are probably not perfectly balanced. I left the dealership (as they were closing) with my credit form being submitted to various banks for aproval. Tomorrow night I will most likely be buying the Vibe. Even though the noise issue has me concerned, I am hoping that it is mearly bad tire noise. I plan on getting new tires shortly anyway. If however it is something mechanical in the driveline I am fairly confident that the 100,000 mile powertrain warranty will cover it if something is wrong. But I'm going to gamble on the tires as I have read a few post here that seam to claim strange tire wear and noise problems as they wear down.Am I crazy?
lovemyraffe
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Re: Can't believe I'm buying another one....maybe! (turbotoad)

Post by lovemyraffe »

Why would you be crazy for buying a Vibe?
March 2011 MOTMFebruary 2010 MOTM My GenVibe garage
ou.grizzly
Posts: 2660
Joined: Sat Mar 01, 2008 5:26 pm

Post by ou.grizzly »

Golling Buick GMC has a few used 1st Generation Vibes in Stock. They are located in Lake Orion, off of Lapeer Road - not too far from you actually. If you have a chance tomorrow, go take a look at them!Also, they have 2 used 2009 Vibe GT's, but are asking I think almost $20,000 for both. Here is a link, not sure if they are priced high or not; it looks like both 2008's have less than 20,000 miles on them; One of them has factory leather - very rare!http://www.gollinggmcpontiac.c...earch
2009 Jet Black 2.4L Auto / Fogs / 17" Alum / Clear Bra / Camry Leather Shift Knob / GT Rear Spoiler
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808 Vibes
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Re: (ou.grizzly)

Post by 808 Vibes »

No....not crazy! Quite a number of us here are multiple Vibers, or had one and bought another! And it's not impossible that they could be the original tires (we still have our 8 original Goodyears on both 2006's, at almost 40,000 miles and 30,000 miles) Good luck!
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ou.grizzly
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Re: Can't believe I'm buying another one....maybe! (turbotoad)

Post by ou.grizzly »

Quote, originally posted by turbotoad »So fast forward to tonight and I find myself at a Pontiac dealer looking at a used 2006. With a reasonable 49,500 miles on the clock the vehicle is considered a "GM Certified" vehicle and therefore comes with a 12 month - 12,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty, and a 5 year 100,000 Powertrain warrenty...Hmmmmm. Car is very clean for a 4 year old vehicle (a few normal minor dings and scratches)........Hmmmmm. Car starts and runs fine and everything seems to work on it...Hmmmmmmmmmm. Well the tires are pretty shot (original?) but have what looks like some life left.......Hmmmm yeah. And the price seems very reasonable considering the milage and the certified GM warranty......Hmmmmmm yeah looks good!From my understanding, for the vehicle to be GM Certified and have that extra 12,000 mile/12 month warranty the tires need to have some fairly good amount of tread left.
2009 Jet Black 2.4L Auto / Fogs / 17" Alum / Clear Bra / Camry Leather Shift Knob / GT Rear Spoiler
2013 Polished Metallic Honda CR-V EX-L Navi
turbotoad
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Joined: Fri Oct 28, 2005 10:24 am

Re: (ou.grizzly)

Post by turbotoad »

Hey thanks for the tip. But those are all a little more than I want to afford right now. The one with leather is damn sweet though.And the tires on the one I'm looking at are almost to the wear bars on the rear and the fronts are not too much better. They could probably last about another 6,000 - 8,000 miles.
ou.grizzly
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Re: (turbotoad)

Post by ou.grizzly »

Quote, originally posted by turbotoad »Hey thanks for the tip. But those are all a little more than I want to afford right now. The one with leather is damn sweet though.And the tires on the one I'm looking at are almost to the wear bars on the rear and the fronts are not too much better. They could probably last about another 6,000 - 8,000 miles.No problem! Figure I would post the link. The Mrs. and I were over that way last night and were checking their selection. They do seem to be priced high, but there may be room for negotiation. As for the tires on the Vibe you are looking at, with winter approaching get them changed the same day if it is feasible. Especially considering your location with the roads (twist-n-turns + hills). Just from experience as I found out the hard way heading into Rochester one day.
2009 Jet Black 2.4L Auto / Fogs / 17" Alum / Clear Bra / Camry Leather Shift Knob / GT Rear Spoiler
2013 Polished Metallic Honda CR-V EX-L Navi
jake75
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Re: (ou.grizzly)

Post by jake75 »

They should put on 4 new tires if they claim it is GM Certified. Then see how it drives.I can remember the days when 50,000 miles was definitely trade-in time.
2009 Vibe 1.8L Carbon Gray AT Power Pkg 1/12/092003 Vibe 1.8L Neptune AT Mono Power Pkg 1/27/03 [sold 2/2/09]2007 T&C SWB 7/31/07 "Broke people stay broke by living like they're rich. Rich people stay rich by living like they're broke."
ou.grizzly
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Re: (jake75)

Post by ou.grizzly »

Quote, originally posted by jake75 »I can remember the days when 50,000 miles was definitely trade-in time.Some of the dealers still think it is!!! They will scream, do no go over 50,000 miles or the value of the vehicle will plummet!And agreed on the tires; I think for it to be qualified as GM Cert it may need 4 new tires
2009 Jet Black 2.4L Auto / Fogs / 17" Alum / Clear Bra / Camry Leather Shift Knob / GT Rear Spoiler
2013 Polished Metallic Honda CR-V EX-L Navi
Esteban
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Post by Esteban »

The dealer would have to remedy the shimmy-shaky - noise situation,, before I would buy it.
vintagegz
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Joined: Thu Mar 16, 2006 1:15 am

Post by vintagegz »

Agree fully, do not take the vehicle until problem is fixed, why should you pay to fix it? Even a used vehicle should not perform like that, and it is your hard earned dollars you are spending. Make it part of the deal.
turbotoad
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Oct 28, 2005 10:24 am

Re: (vintagegz)

Post by turbotoad »

Decided not to get the Vibe. Kinda bummed but hopefully a better deal will come around. It sounded like the dealer was already cutting too much into their profit margin and were expecting that I would bring the car in for warranty work AFTER I bought new tires and found that the noise/vibration problem was elswhere.
ou.grizzly
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Re: (turbotoad)

Post by ou.grizzly »

Quote, originally posted by turbotoad »Decided not to get the Vibe. Kinda bummed but hopefully a better deal will come around. It sounded like the dealer was already cutting too much into their profit margin and were expecting that I would bring the car in for warranty work AFTER I bought new tires and found that the noise/vibration problem was elswhere. I know of a few good Vibes available in the Metro Detroit area... Send me a PM and let me know what your budget is if you can.
2009 Jet Black 2.4L Auto / Fogs / 17" Alum / Clear Bra / Camry Leather Shift Knob / GT Rear Spoiler
2013 Polished Metallic Honda CR-V EX-L Navi
tnpartsguy
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Re: Can't believe I'm buying another one....maybe! (turbotoad)

Post by tnpartsguy »

GM Certified Rules state the car must have (4) matched tires with significant tread, and no unusual wear. This one I know WELL- I have to fight the used car manager all the time about what the rules state.
Current Ride 2015 GMC Terrain SLT
2nd Vibe 2006 Vibe AWD Stealth Monotone "Recon" December 2005 MOTM
Original Vibe: 2003 AWD Abyss Monotone "Darth"
GM/ASE Certified Parts Manager.
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