New Member - My First Car!

[mersea]

Hello,

I just bought a 2003 Vibe, my first car! Its a manual transmission, has 275,000 km (170,000 miles for you US folk) on it already, but hoping for a few more years out of it. Sunroof, roof-racks and hitch. Manual windows and locks. It has been relatively well taken car of, but lots of dings and scratches - a family car. Hoping to be able to fix some minor things myself (radio display, a few burnt out bulbs, etc) with help from this board.


About me - located in Ontario, Canada. Carpentry student working for a local carpenter, looking forward to using the huge cargo potential for lots of wood transportation

[vibrologist]

Welcome, mersea!
That's a great vehicle for a first car. Post some pictures with scratches and all, and loaded up too!
Is it a 5 speed or 6 speed?

[vibenvy]

Welcome to GenVibe! Definitely post some pictures of your "new" Vibe when you get a chance . We love pictures around here (dings and scratches and all!)!

[Nasmfell]

Hi mersea, Welcome.

[trb]

Welcome! As was said, great first car! My older two kids drove the 06 Vibe as their first car in high school, and my twins will likely follow in the 03 GT when their time comes. Take care of it and it should last you for a good while.

Good luck!

[tpollauf]

Welcome Mersea! A skilled craftsman to boot! My hat's off to you and hope you prosper and succeed in that rewarding career. That's where I started out some 40+ years ago. You definitely have chosen one of the most affordable and reliable cars to get as your first car. Also the cargo space is second to none and you'll be amazed at what this little car can haul around. Glad you found us and joined!

[mersea]

Thanks guys!

Its a 5-speed manual transmission. Drove to my parents place and back this weekend (approx 200km one way) with no issues/weird noises and its been doing fine around town. I'm still learning to drive stick so there have been a few moments of panic but I'm getting better fast! Have an appointment to get the winter tires off next week and they will do an oil change and do a check out of the front end at the same time, a friend recommended the garage and they seem like really great folks.

Stuff that I hope to tackle myself: the LEDS in the radio display are burnt out, so I'm hoping to replace those (I found a great how-to here on the site). Also the dash-mounted cigarette lighter doesn't seem to be working (I checked the fuses).

Pics!

front-small.jpg (217.05 KiB) Viewed 1078 times

inside-small.jpg (158.16 KiB) Viewed 1078 times

back-small.jpg (245.81 KiB) Viewed 1078 times

Edit: I wanted to add that I listened to this podcast about the NUMMI factory before buying my car and found it very informative / it made me feel good about the factory in which it was "born".

[vibenvy]

Thanks for posting pictures! I love the color!