I bought my first Vibe two years ago, a 2008 with 183K, and have been thoroughly satisfied with it. For the past year, my wife has been griping about the Honda Accord that she drives, complaining about how hard it is to get into and out of. I was worried that when she retired, she would never leave the house. So, when I finally decided to replace the Honda, I began looking at Vibes and Matrixes. I was hoping for a 2010 and did look at one, but got, shall we say, bad vibes from it though the carfax did not indicate any problems.
Finally, I went after a 2005 that I had seen in a dealer's inventory for several months, probably because it was overpriced. I made him an offer at the low end of KBB's range -- $4,000 -- and he took it. Yes, I'm not the bargainer most folks are around here.
It's a one-owner central Mississippi car, all red with 169K. It's amazing how much cleaner it is inside. Came with two original keys and the manual. I put tires and a fan belt on it. The drain plug threads gave up the ghost, and a piggyback plug didn't fix things, so it has a new oil pan. It's not going to be driven a ton of miles, so I'm optimistic that it will be a good driver for a good while. It's about where my 2008 is in terms of expenditure, but more of it has been up front. My 2008 had a quirky problem with the cooling fan a couple of months in, and I replaced the tires this year.
I would post a pic, but I remember the process as being a pain. Suffice to say, it's a handsome vehicle, better looking than my 2008 frosty with the faded and stained gray plastic.