New Vibe Owner! 3rd GM Car

[BaseWhiteVibe]

Hi everyone! I just picked up a 2009 Vibe that happens to be white and a base model. My 10 year relationship with my Aztek ended with 205,000 miles and a very happy new owner (the guy was extremely excited to buy an Aztek that was in Mint condition!)

So overall I am new to the Vibe and am learning a lot, overall it has a lot in common with my cousins Corolla but is unique and in my opinion much nicer. I have also already had the pleasure of taking out the entire rear trim to clean out dust that was under my plastic trim panels. Come to find out that the drain plug in the rear was missing and all the dust from the Texas dirt road was finding its way into the car! None the less I cleaned it up and it is much better.

As a Mechanical Engineer I have loved cars since I was a little kid and living in the Metro Detroit Area I am in a perfect place! So I look forward to all the future projects!

So my project list is below, if anyone happens to have anything available let me know! I look forward to meeting everyone!

BaseWhiteVibe!

Now a few things on my list:
1) Ziebart Disinfectant Detailing
2) Ziebart Exterior Detailing
3) New Battery (will get a new used one from Earls Battery for $40)
4) Tune Knob (on order and on its way)
5) Owners Manual (on its way)
6) Glove Box Damper (missing for some reason)
7) Cup holder divider for center console (anyone have these available?)
8) Hitch (want the one that is least evident)
9) Trailer wiring - Want plug and play!

What I want to do but haven't built up a strong enough case for it
1) Weather Tech Digital Fit Floor Mats
2) Cargo area rubber mat - Weather Tech vs. GM long cover
3) Fog Lights - Is the time and effort worth it
4) Aluminum Wheels - Cost vs. Benefit?
5) Costar Bluetooth to replace the OnStar system - once again cost benefit analysis, can the onstar be used instead?
6) Tinted rear windows? I want it but is it worth it?
7) Cargo cover - If I get tints will not be needed
8) Cargo Nets - stuff just slides around right now
9) Seats need the covers repaired, the drive and passenger bottoms have little holes in them - bit expensive!

Rear trim all apart while I clean everything up and install a new body hole plug

all apart.JPG (75.64 KiB) Viewed 3315 times

[canadave]

Welcome, and don't forget to cast your vote in the "What Colour Is Your Vibe" poll It says a lot about your mechanical skills that your 200,000+ mile Aztek would be in mint condition!

Where'd you snag your Vibe?

[BaseWhiteVibe]

I was fortunate to pick up my car at a dealership that my dad got his car from a year ago http://www.m53autosales.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. He gave me a heck of a deal given that it needs some minor work (as listed)

As for my Aztek yes I loved her very much! I even got a video of her hitting 200,000. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqJAs7h2MmU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I will be sure to do the poll!

[thebarber]

Welcome to the club. The Vibe is the best GM Toyota ever built

[Vulcan05]

Fog light? Pass. Have used mine maybe 3 times in 4 years. They were on the car, but I would never take the time and money to install them.

[BaseWhiteVibe]

I looked into the Fog Lights, I do 100% agree with you! My Aztek had the fog lights and they were nice when we would go up north but the rest of the time they were a waste other than looking nice. In addition Blinglights has a set available that will pop into the OEM trim covers if you get them, the entire set is $70 or so but once again it is that cost-benefit analysis!

[09vGT]

Foglights, yes. Mine make quite a bit of difference. Though, I do have the oversized GT fogs.

Tint; definitely. My front windows are 35% and the rear 25%. I should've gone darker.

[BaseWhiteVibe]

I love the look of your car! I am a bit torn myself, I was thinking of keeping my car super bone stock BUUUUUTTTT I don't think that will last!

I have been chewing over how dark I want the rears, I don't want to mess with the fronts because I would rather avoid the tickets.

Now what is the typical tint on the rear of an SUV? I was told to go with 5% and then someone at work said and I quote "Deuce n 1/2 Bro" so I am assuming 2.5%?

[09vGT]

I love the look of your car! I am a bit torn myself, I was thinking of keeping my car super bone stock BUUUUUTTTT I don't think that will last!

I have been chewing over how dark I want the rears, I don't want to mess with the fronts because I would rather avoid the tickets.

Now what is the typical tint on the rear of an SUV? I was told to go with 5% and then someone at work said and I quote "Deuce n 1/2 Bro" so I am assuming 2.5%?

What state are you in? I'm a legal Missouri resident and the legal tint for the front two windows is 35% so I'm good. The standard "privacy glass" on SUV's and vans, which is now available on cars, is 25%.

5% will be nearly impossible to see out of at night. My friend has her rear windows at 15% and I can't hardly see anything.

[BaseWhiteVibe]

I'm in Michigan and the law is as follows:

The law that covers window applications is MCL 257.709 . The use of tinting is limited to the rear side windows, the rear window if the vehicle has outside mirrors on both sides, and the top 4 inches of the front side windows. There is a limited exception for medical necessity with a doctor's prescription, which allows for tinting to be applied to the front side windows as well. Michigan does not have a specification for the darkness of the window application, but does prohibit applications with a solar reflectivity greater than 35%

I have seen the 4 inches on top tint on front windows and it looks horrible, so I will stick with getting the back windows tinted. Also I don't want to have issues in the winter at night.

[vibenvy]

Welcome to GenVibe! 205,000 miles out of an Aztek is impressive! Why'd you sell it if it was still running well, etc.? Post some pictures of it some time.

As far as your future plans for the Vibe go... we have the windows on both our 2009 Vibe GTs tinted 35% all around. IMO it's dark enough to look good, but is not dark enough to draw unwanted attention from cops or anyone else and is also not dark enough to inhibit your vision, especially when backing up at night. I personally would never have more than one tint % on a vehicle because I think it looks goofy with the rear windows being darker and the front ones being lighter. I also think having just the rear windows tinted looks goofy too. Obviously, it's your decision though. Keep us posted on whatever you decide to do .

As 09vGT said, the fog lights on our Vibes make a huge difference. It's not too hard or expensive to install the OEM stuff. Stay away from BlingLights.

[BaseWhiteVibe]

The Aztek did run well but odd things were starting to go wrong with it that I suspected had to do with the BCM, nothing that was crucial but it was a bit of a pain. I disclosed it all to the buyer, included about $500 worth of spare parts and got $100 less than I wanted. BUT to make up for the $100 that I didn't get for the car I made up by selling a Cat Converter I grabbed off the side of a freeway! WHICH WAS AWESOME!

As for the tint I went to a place that my Uncle has gone to in the past 20 years with all his cars. I settled on a Carbon 2 Ply Ultra with a Lifetime Warranty from Sun-Shade (located in Warren, Michigan). He charged me $170 for the rear 5 windows in 18%, I LOVE IT! It looks great! I would take a picture but the car badly needs a wash! I will post them once I clean it up some!

P.S. Here is a picture of the Aztek right after I hand washed it and posted it on Craigslist!

[vibenvy]

Ah... makes sense than I guess . I love that color! I definitely prefer the later years that had less of the grey cladding though. But definitely a nice looking Aztek none the less!

[BaseWhiteVibe]

You know how much it hurts that my car is not perfect inside and out? My Aztek was mint but the Vibe needs some cleaning! It came from Texas and still has dust all over! I think I will take my compressor tomorrow and try to blow out the entire interior between the seats and everywhere else to get that red dust out of there! I was thinking of taking the ground effects off to make sure there is no dust under there as well and power wash the daylight out of it! This is PROBABLY going to be my tomorrow after work project, I really want to clean it up nice BUT still want to take it to Ziebart to do the Interior Detail with anti-bacterial treatment, the Diamond Gloss Paint Protection with Exterior detail, call up Mr. Dent (that does work for the OEM's not only at their tech centers but also at the plants you can't tell that there was ever a dent there!) and get the headlight restored and then get the headlight 3M stick on protection for the headlight so that it will be less likely to get all yucky and scratched up again.

SOOOO Thinks I want to do
Interior Detail
Exterior Detail
Get the Center Console Cup Divider with the little mat paid on its way)
Find 03-07 Alloy 16" wheels
Get New Tires
Get 1 TPMS (or have mine rebuilt)
Get New Suspension (Person lived on Dirt Road)
Get New Front Brakes (Autozone Cmax Pads, Don't know which rotors I want yet. Maybe the Toyota or GM OEM ones?)
Get Owners Manual (paid on its way)
Replace Radio knob (paid on its way)
Install OEM Mud Flaps (paid on its way)
Get WeatherTechs or Other Rubber Floor Mats
Get Trunk Mat

Who knows what else haha

[Gandalf]

The Aztek did run well but odd things were starting to go wrong with it that I suspected had to do with the BCM, nothing that was crucial but it was a bit of a pain. I disclosed it all to the buyer, included about $500 worth of spare parts and got $100 less than I wanted. BUT to make up for the $100 that I didn't get for the car I made up by selling a Cat Converter I grabbed off the side of a freeway! WHICH WAS AWESOME!

As for the tint I went to a place that my Uncle has gone to in the past 20 years with all his cars. I settled on a Carbon 2 Ply Ultra with a Lifetime Warranty from Sun-Shade (located in Warren, Michigan). He charged me $170 for the rear 5 windows in 18%, I LOVE IT! It looks great! I would take a picture but the car badly needs a wash! I will post them once I clean it up some!

P.S. Here is a picture of the Aztek right after I hand washed it and posted it on Craigslist!

The Aztek got a really bad rep, right from the start. GM basically never advertized it, driving DOWN the demand, and the value of used ones. They are tremendously practical vehicles, and have the best side and rear visibility of any SUV type vehicle ever made, IMHO.

Some people didn't like the way they look. I never understood that.

the biggest complaint I have about my '05 Vibe is the poor visibility when backing up. And the huge blind spots. I wish the rear windows were considerably larger. Like an Aztek would be really nice.

My '05 Vibe is white. I really LIKE white cars; I've purchased 2 new cars in white. They show dirt much less than dark cars, and scratches and nicks are far less visible on them, as well. If you touch up a nick or other small spot, it's really hard to see.

[BaseWhiteVibe]

Alright folks! Got the rear windows tinted AND washed the car! So as promised here it is!

[vibenvy]

Tint looks great against the white exterior! I also love that you're parked next to another Vibe! You should post that picture in the "Vibe Love" thread !

[BaseWhiteVibe]

That poor Vibe next to mine is so worn down! It is a reminder for me never to let BWV become anything remotely close to that!

[vibenvy]

Poor Vibe . I have only seen maybe a couple of "worn down" Vibes in person and boy did they make me sad .

[BaseWhiteVibe]

You should see the alloys. They are the 16 inch alloys that have horrible pitting and look like junk!

P.S checking out some awesome wild card wheels tomorrow! Might surprise everyone tomorrow!

[vibenvy]

I'll be looking forward to a possible surprise from you tomorrow!

[ParknVibe]

At the time the only thing I was interested in about the Aztek was that you can fit a Four foot wide board/plywood in the back (flat.

[BaseWhiteVibe]

That Aztek could also TOW ANYTHING!! Great car! I enjoyed it while I had it

I ALSO GOT WHEELS FOR THE VIBE! Celica wheels to be exact! Guy had them on Ebay, I went to see them and had to have them! They were bored out to fit his Fiero so I had to get a hub spacer ring but that isn't a big deal. 1 is missing the center cap, but they came with lug nuts!

So for now I will wear the heck out of my existing tires and put these on once I get to that level!

[vibenvy]

I like them! Can't beat a nice, simple 5-spoke wheel! What size are they? 16"?

[BaseWhiteVibe]

Yes they are 16" Wheels that came off of a Toyota Celica.

One thing is that they were bored out to 57.1 from the original 54.1 to fit a Pontiac Fiero, so I need to get a set of Hub Rings to make it a 54.1 again
(REF: http://www.ebay.com/itm/281124784142?ss ... 1436.l2649" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

The other thing is that I am missing 1 center cap but I want to put on a Pontiac one. So I might buy a set and hope that it works!

[Kincaid]

Looks nice! I like the wheels a lot. Because you were from Michigan I was thinking you might want to keep the steelies and get snow tires on those for the winter months (to avoid that awful pitting from salt/chemical/gravel on the roads).

[BaseWhiteVibe]

Alright! Mud Flaps and New Wheels are on! I posted it in the Wheel forum

[jcaplan]

Hey,

You mentioned you have the base model. Does it have cruise? I just installed it on my base Matrix. Easy and cheap. (everything is already in the base level car except the switch).

[BaseWhiteVibe]

It was on the car when I bought it. Works nicely!

[tpollauf]

Hmmmm ... another post I missed a few weeks back Welcome to GenVibe and a neighbor just to the north of me! I like what you've done so far and your potential plans into the future. Also .. I'm a mechanical engineer to boot! Welcome!

[BaseWhiteVibe]

Thanks! Stop in by any time! The more Engineers the merrier

[KITT222]

Thanks! Stop in by any time! The more Engineers the merrier

I'll be going for mechanical engineering at college through these next four years. Woo!

[BaseWhiteVibe]

Get a masters right away! You will thank me later!