New Vibe owner here

[freelancenoob]

I was given this 09 vibe by a family member. They just went and bought a new prius and didn't like the trade in value of it so I ended up with it. I'm not complaining. Free is always nice. Has some issues but nothing that can't be fixed. I almost lost it though when I went to get the title put into my name and they wanted over $400 to do so.

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[freelancenoob]

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[tpollauf]

Welcome to GenVibe Looks like this Vibe had an abusive life and was not well maintained at all. Glad you got your hands on it so you can restore it to a better condition. At just under 100K miles it's just broken in and you easily see another 200k miles if you take care of it. What state charges that much to transfer a title?

[trb]

Welcome! Can't beat a "free" Vibe, even one with a few issues! Too bad it cost you taxes on it though. I gave my 03 GT to my BIL and all he had to pay was the title fees and $10 gift tax here in Texas.

Good luck with it!

[freelancenoob]

Thanks for the welcome. I'm in Georgia and they charge whats called an ad valorum tax on titles. Basically everytime you title a vehicle no matter how much you paid they tax the blue book value of the car. I hate it but nothing I can do about it.

The guy that drove the car his eye sight was going and he hit a lot of things with it. That's why the hub caps are all busted up, paint rub on back fender, and the front bumper is starting to fall off. Most of the scratches on the car should/hope will buff out. The spot on the back is where a truck backed into it and he decided to use his touch up paint to fix it. The man is color blind as well...

When it was gifted to me I was told there was someting wrong with the starter. Sounded almost like the bendix (spelling?) spring wasnt releasing and the starter was staying engaged. So I drove it home 3 miles away. Something didn't sound right. To me it sounded like a valve tap. So I checked the oil..... Nothing on the stick at all. So I dumped in a partial quart I had (3/4 full) and still nothing registered on the stick. But the noise went away immediately. So I bought more oil to top it off and make it safe to drive. i'll get an oil change first thing once i get it on the road. If that is all that is wrong with it i'll be lucky.

[vibrologist]

Welcome!
Man, that car is lucky to have found you! Keep us posted on the progress you make.

With the ignition on, but engine not running does the oil pressure light show? If not the bulb has burnt out and the oil pressure warning is disabled.

[vibolista]

Can't beat free... even after paying the tax, you got a bargain. Car has some character... and can be fixed up. Make sure you get all fluids checked and especially get that oil and filter changed as soon as you can. Check tire pressures too. If the oil was neglected, tire pressure will probably be off from what is recommended. That'll save you money on gas and your Vibe will handle a lot better. Will also help extend the life of the tires.

[freelancenoob]

I'll check on that light when i get a chance. I stay busy most of the week and don't get much time for "my" projects. Since it's not on the road yet I have a little time.

I've got some big plans for this car. I'm pretty handy with electronics and i've come up with a project I would like to try with this car using an arduino. Keyless entray, remote start, push button start etc. But the one feature I came up with i really like. Keyless entry using rfid tags. Picture this scenerio. going to an event with someone or shopping or whatever. I can take a blank fob from my glovebox and using my main fog i can have the car program the new one on the go to allow it to unlock the doors. Give the spare fob to my passanger. It will only unlock the car but will not start it. That way if my passanger got bored or whatever they could go sit in the car. After a few hours the fob key will no longer work the doors. kinda on a timer. I don't know if that made any sense to anyone or not.

[petervivian]

Cool. Add romote controlled parking like the new BMWs. Oh, what about a internet connected vibe?

[vibenvy]

Welcome to GenVibe! Glad to see you have "rescued" this Vibe and are already working to get it up to par! You should consider starting a thread in the Garage Forum to document the resurrection and any future upgrades .

[freelancenoob]

Finally got it on the road. Car has started to whine a bit up front. Sounds like a ford power steering pump whine. But I tracked it down. Removed the belt and spun the water pump pulley and it grinds pretty bad. So looks like my next step before anything else will be a new water pump.