New Prospective Vibe Owner -- Advice?

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canderson206
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New Prospective Vibe Owner -- Advice?

Post by canderson206 »

Hi everyone,

Nice to meet you all! I'm new to the forums and to the concept of Vibe ownership. The more I've learned about Vibes, the more I've become interested in owning one. I'm an outdoorsy person with an active lifestyle, and I love the practicality of these cars. So I'm thinking I've come to the right place. ;)

I'm looking to get a first-gen Vibe sometime in the next year to replace my tired 2001 Camry. I've found a few Vibes on the used market in my general area, but most of them are older (03-04). Before I pull the trigger on a purchase, I'd love some advice from you Vibe enthusiasts! Can you help me out?

(1) I'm aware of the cosmetic differences between 03-04 and 05+ Vibes (I read the big thread about that). However, aside from the looks, are there any well-known reliability reasons to purchase a 2005-2008 Vibe, as opposed to an 03 or 04? For example, I saw here (https://www.carcomplaints.com/Pontiac/Vibe/) that the later 1st-gen Vibes have a lower rate of reported problems than the earlier ones. Can any of you confirm that?

I'm asking because I recently found a 2004 Vibe with just under 100K miles on it. Two previous owners, super-clean Carfax, and detailed maintenance records. 4K asking price. Would you folks recommend I get this vehicle, or wait a while or so and try to find a similarly-nice 2007-08 Vibe?

(2) Maybe this is just because of my geographic area, but I've found that there are much fewer 07-08 Vibes on the used market than the earlier models. Were much fewer Vibes sold in those years than in 03-04?

Thanks in advance for your help! I'm hoping the advice I receive can steer me towards a great Vibe purchase. :)
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vibrologist
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Re: New Prospective Vibe Owner -- Advice?

Post by vibrologist »

Welcome to the forum, canderson206!
Yes, you came to the right place!
I'm asking because I recently found a 2004 Vibe with just under 100K miles on it. Two previous owners, super-clean Carfax, and detailed maintenance records. 4K asking price. Would you folks recommend I get this vehicle, or wait a while or so and try to find a similarly-nice 2007-08 Vibe?
Try looking up the price for your prospective car at Edmund's and at Kelly Blue Book. In my opinion Edmund's is a little low and KBB is a little high.

Do not think that Carfax and all the other report cards know "everything". They only can list what has been reported. You still need to investigate if any body repair has been done. I don't ask if the car is accident free. I ask if there was any repair done. That said: a nice report card by Carfax is very promising. Also, you will be hard pressed to find another Vibe of that vintage with less than 100K on the clock. I'd go for it.

In general a brand new model has some bugs to be worked out. That means the last year of a model is usually the best. In this case an '08 is likely the best - statistically speaking. But that is the trick with the statistics: the individual car you get could be an outlier and big disappointment. But your odds of getting a good one with this '04 are damn good. I'd say spend the $100 or so to have it inspected prior to purchase by an independent mechanic. That would be particularly important if you live in the rust belt.
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Mark
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Re: New Prospective Vibe Owner -- Advice?

Post by Mark »

Hello canderson206, welcome.

I have owned a 2004 Base Vibe since Feb 2006, it's up to 182k now and I might sell it for 4k, but it's worth more to me than that. I also own a 2008 Base that I bought in 2013 with 75k on it, it's up to 112k now and has been totaled and rebuilt three times now. It's not for sale either.

I recently paid $4500 for a 2005 single owner with 101k on it, a very clean carfax and good maintenance records. I'm happy with that one too.

I would pay $4k for the 2004 you describe without thinking twice.
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tpollauf
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Re: New Prospective Vibe Owner -- Advice?

Post by tpollauf »

canderson206 wrote: I've found that there are much fewer 07-08 Vibes on the used market than the earlier models. Were much fewer Vibes sold in those years than in 03-04?
Yes fewer were manufactured for a couple reasons. The premier 2003 models were introduced early in 2002 thus giving that model year a jump on production numbers. On the flip side was the short production run of 2008 models due to the redesigned 2009 hitting the market in the spring of 2008.
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joatmon
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Re: New Prospective Vibe Owner -- Advice?

Post by joatmon »

Different folks have different preferences. I like the look of the 03-04, I use my roof rack cross bars, and 05+ went to electronic throttle, and the 04 had better gauge color than the 03, so I think the 04 would be the best year. But that's me, and you're not buying the car for me (unless there's something you didn't mention ;) )

When shopping for a car for my son, I found a nice looking Vibe for a good price, the seller made a big deal out of showing me the clean carfax. Checking the car out, I found that the hatch wouldn't open, when he then confessed to the shop must not have hooked it up right after the repaired the damage caused when he car was rear-ended. I didn't buy it. For me, a clean carfax isn't a guarantee of no issues.

I'm driving an 03 I bought used with 150K miles on it, I've put another 75K on it since then. There's no reason to expect a 100K 04 to have any significant issues. However, all first gen Vibes are now old enough that individual issues might pop up, but that's pretty much the nature of buying any used car.

Only exception I know of is 03's and perhaps 04's have had higher than expected bearing problems in the 5 speed manual tranny. If the 04 you found is an automatic tranny, then no worries. If its a manual, then I would recommend looking for a different car
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canderson206
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Re: New Prospective Vibe Owner -- Advice?

Post by canderson206 »

Thanks for the responses everyone! I appreciate the input. It looks like 2004-2008 are all good years of Vibe to get, although I do prefer the look of the facelifted 05-08 Vibes.
When shopping for a car for my son, I found a nice looking Vibe for a good price, the seller made a big deal out of showing me the clean carfax. Checking the car out, I found that the hatch wouldn't open, when he then confessed to the shop must not have hooked it up right after the repaired the damage caused when he car was rear-ended. I didn't buy it. For me, a clean carfax isn't a guarantee of no issues.
Do not think that Carfax and all the other report cards know "everything". They only can list what has been reported. You still need to investigate if any body repair has been done. I don't ask if the car is accident free. I ask if there was any repair done.
You both were right about this. I had my mechanic take a look at the 04 Vibe that I was thinking about buying. It turns out that the car must have suffered a rear impact at some point in its life which was severe enough to permanently throw the rear suspension out of alignment. Something to do with a slight bend in the axle. Apparently the impact was never reported to Carfax. It's not a safety issue, but my mechanic said that I will have to deal with alignment problems throughout the car's lifetime. I decided to pass on the vehicle.

I'll keep looking! Thanks again for your advice.
vibolista
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Re: New Prospective Vibe Owner -- Advice?

Post by vibolista »

It's getting harder and harder to find a low mileage Vibe/Matrix, but I would look for one that has lived south of where it snows. Road salt is tough on everything under the car. I'd rather have a higher miles example from the southern States than one with lower miles that has been Wintered on salted roads. Our Vibe just became our "Winter" car 3 year ago, and it's amazing how much rust has bloomed around the suspension bits already. And we can choose not to drive right after snow storm, which is what we do, when most of the salt goes down on our roads here in Maine. It tends to save the car some.

There's a red Automatic FWD 2004 for sale on GenVibe Facebook (post was made July 29th) that looks pretty good and has never been driven in snow. I would check that Vibe out.
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vibenvy
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Re: New Prospective Vibe Owner -- Advice?

Post by vibenvy »

Welcome to GenVibe! You've certainly come to the right place for everything Vibe-related! Be sure to keep us posted on your search and hopefully, your eventual purchase.
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