Hello there folks. I recently just bought my new to me 03 silver Vibe GT. For me it's a big upgrade considering I've been driving a 97 Mercury Villager minivan since 99. The minivan did its job and did it very well considering I never had any major problems with it. I told my husband that it had to go since our sons are 13 now and growing by leaps and bounds. They needed more leg room and something they consider "worthy" of being seen in. We looked around for quite a few months and I was stuck on the chevy malibu but once I set eyes on the Vibe I knew this was the car for me. I call it "my size" since my 5'1 frame fits in real nice without my chest pressed into the steering wheel. My husband on the other hand is kind of a tight fit in the shoulder area.
I got my vibe from a private sale on craigslist for $4000. The man was nice enough to give me an oil change, wash and detail the inside of the car before I bought it. I've had it for a whole 3 weeks and I'm loving it. My boys are really loving it since it has a sunroof and they consider it "worthy" for their friends to see them in it. It took me a while to get the hang of driving a stick shift again since its been about 14 years, 6 gears instead of 5 which gave me pause when I noticed. Having the reverse next to first gear was a little challenge at first for the husband but once he noticed the beeping noise when it was in reverse he seemed ok with it.
It takes about 40 dollars to fill up the tank from empty which I LOVE. It gets 24 miles to the gallon in the city, and 31 on the highway. I just have to becareful on the highway. When I first drove the car home I was driving down I-40 and I noticed I was passing a lot of cars and quickly. I normally drive 5 miles over the speed limit and thats it. I looked down and I was going about 88 in a 60. I just might end up with my first speeding ticket EVER with this vibe if I'm not careful.