Another Vibe lost

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Dragonsm
Posts: 89
Joined: Fri Oct 13, 2006 1:03 am

Another Vibe lost

Post by Dragonsm »

It was a fun run while it lasted. Last Sunday night around 8:45 coming back from Kansas City for a soccer tourney, my wife hit a deer on the interstate (speed limit in SD is 80).

Thankfully, both my wife and daughter, came away with zero injuries, just a little shook up. She did what she was suppose to do.....try and slow down and drive right through and not swerve. The unfortunate part (but fortunate) was she made the trip all the way down to KC....and was in the home stretch coming home (less than 10 miles from home) so I was able to easily assist her with it.

Bittersweet for me as it was the first car my wife and I "bought" together for her when we got married. I still remember that day and we test drove so many cars, however she did NOT want anything "red/flashy" or a hatchback. I had to pull teeth just to get her to even sit in it and test drive it. Once inside, it was love at first "drive" for her and she was the proud owner of it.

It's been a great car and the AWD got her around in the winter better than most. The plan was to find my wife a different car sometime in the next six months to a year....I was going to drive the Vibe (keep some miles off the truck) and then have that be my daughter's first car (drive at the age of 14 here in SD). Received the #'s on it from the insurance company and they quit writing up the repair estimate when it got over $7,000. (The deer wrapped around and hit the passenger side also denting up the doors good)

Our 2005 Vibe had somewhere around 157K miles on it, engine ran perfect and zero issues.....I wanted it to hit 300,000K.

Early on in my days I was a more active on this forum trying to figure out the car and what to do, and have popped back to read/research issues, just not active. Thanks to all the "old" members for all their help and wisdom.

With a family of 4, it is time we look for something a little bit bigger with AWD that we can use for family trips but isn't so large my wife hate's driving it. With no idea of what she wants, this Saturday we will be spending time hitting all of the car dealerships here in Sioux Falls and trying to figure it out. (I'm a bit intrigued by the Subaru Outback)

Steve
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SeattleJeremy
Posts: 1169
Joined: Mon Jun 05, 2006 4:02 pm
Location: Tacoma, WA

Re: Another Vibe lost

Post by SeattleJeremy »

Glad everyone was okay!
I like the Celica wheels on a red Vibe, sorry for your loss.

The Outback is a great car, but it's gotten pretty large recently.
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Caretaker

Re: Another Vibe lost

Post by Caretaker »

Check out the 2019 Forester. Great vehicle; and if you happen to try and like the last model, there should be discount pricing on them now. I think the Outback is harder to see out of and to parallel park. I'm now waiting for the "mystery" Prius V still undergoing testing on the track in Germany. Sorry for your loss of your car. People think I'm crazy for always trying out new cars but like what has happened to you, I always want to know what my next car will be when my next major deer strike happens (2 and counting :x ). Though in the very near future, I don't think Key Deer will carry the same wollup as the ones in the West Virginia mountains. :P
Dragonsm
Posts: 89
Joined: Fri Oct 13, 2006 1:03 am

Re: Another Vibe lost

Post by Dragonsm »

I would have to agree with you SeattleJeremy on the Celica rims on the red vibe. Original reason for the changeover was the original 16" rims took a beating back when we lived in MN from the salt and the finish had flaked pretty bad and corrosion had gotten up around the lip of the rims and one tire had developed a slow leak......I stumbled across those rims locally for a song and a dance about the same time I was replacing the tires on it, and made the TPMS switch. It gave it a "clean" but sportier look and I traded the old rims in for scrap value. Honestly, I am going to really miss those rims and that car. I never did like the OEM Vibe 16" style.

As for the forester, I also have that car on my radar Caretaker (along with VW, GMC, Hyundai, Kia....etc....we have every brand in Sioux Falls to look at) I am the type to always be looking at vehicles and have a pretty good idea of what I'd want to get. My wife on the other hand is opposite of me and doesn't enjoy "browsing cars" until it is necessary. Needless to say, we have a date planned for all day Saturday. :) Plenty of the dealers offer snack bars, pop, cookies, popcorn...etc, so I may even get her something for lunch. :lol:

If she wanted a direct replacement, no doubt I'd be taking her to test drive a crosstrek, however with the increase in size....it's a whole new ball game. May god be on my side this weekend!

Steve
Caretaker

Re: Another Vibe lost

Post by Caretaker »

My esteemed mechanic is begging me not to buy another Hyundai product. I also read a recent article in a business journal highlighting "why Hyundai has fallen so far, so fast" recently. Good luck with your search.
treesleavedents
Posts: 200
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2015 12:50 pm
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Re: Another Vibe lost

Post by treesleavedents »

Sad to see a vibe go but happy you're looking at a subie. The outback is an amazing car and even though it's huge, my dad's still gets better gas mileage than my 03 Vibt GT.

PS if you wanna part anything out...
2003 Vibe GT. PPE exhaust. Injen CAI. Mfactory LSD. Eibach springs. Corbeau GTS2 seats. Custom stereo, lighting, sound deadening, and upholstery. http://forums.genvibe.com/phpBB3/viewto ... 30&t=44330
tpollauf
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Re: Another Vibe lost

Post by tpollauf »

Steve. This recent unfortunate accident is yet another testimony to how safe these Vibe's are and how they protect their occupants. Did airbags deploy? Couldn't tell from the photos. Although a real mess, It looks fixable for someone who has a shop and some spare time! Hate to see more Vibes leave the road. Let us know what you end up getting to replace it!
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Mark
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Re: Another Vibe lost

Post by Mark »

If the airbags didn't go off and the salvage is low enough, that's a keeper. Some junk yard parts and a little paint, the rest will buff right out.
'08 Base Stealth, '05 Base Satellite
ehoff121
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Joined: Mon Feb 26, 2007 12:19 am
Location: Conn.

Re: Another Vibe lost

Post by ehoff121 »

Oh no!

Glad everyone walked away, but sad to lose an AWD.

Best of luck with the next ride!
2005 Pontiac Vibe AWD - Platinum
Dragonsm
Posts: 89
Joined: Fri Oct 13, 2006 1:03 am

Re: Another Vibe lost

Post by Dragonsm »

Well, Saturday was a long and cold (highs in the teens and windy) day for my wife and I. We had someone lined up to watch the kids and we sat in a lot of vehicles and we have it narrowed down to 3 models - Subaru Outback, Subaru Forester and the VW Tiguan. Of the three, the Tiguan seemed to be the most tech-savy inside, the Forester is a great outdoors vehicle that just works, and the Outback has an excellent feel for longer trips with the family and all-around great. There are items about each of them that we liked, so later this week and this coming weekend we will give each of them another look. The nice thing about both the brands is both dealerships are independent (Unlike the majority of the models in Sioux Falls either owned by Billion or Vern Eide) and there was zero pressure to buy and we weren't a number. If my wife had to make a decision "right now", it'd probably be the Outback. (But the panoramic sunroof on the other two are sweet!) I did not drive any of them as I wanted to get my wife's initial thoughts since it will be predominately driven by her. She said the Outback felt most like driving the vibe, however she loved the look of the crosstrek, the fact that she was comfortable with the size and the orange color, however for a family of 4 and traveling, it'd be tight. I had never sat in any of those vehicles before, so it was fun to experience new things.

As for the Vibe, the airbags did not go off as she took majority of the impact just above the sensors and in the engine compartment and the passenger side doors. Salvage buyout for the Vibe was $350.....yep, it was cheap, however internal storage and time would be the issue.

The car did it's job during impact. My wife and daughter were both safe. My wife said she didn't feel anything when the impact happened (no sudden jolts or whiplash), and my daughter didn't even know it had happened (she was probably on her ipad with headphones). I'll be keeping my eyes peeled in the next couple of years for a newer model vibe possibly for my daughter as a potential first car. She'd love a red one again.

I'll report back once the final decision has been made.

Steve
Caretaker

Re: Another Vibe lost

Post by Caretaker »

Sorry you have to go through all of this. Sounds like your wife is in to colors. Make sure she tries to parallel park the Outback. Good luck with that ;) . The Crosstrek will be WAY too small for a full sized family. Be very careful of being sucked into the style of a eurocar. VWs generally have very poor quality records. They tend to be the venus fly trap equivalent of our Chryslers.
Dragonsm
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Joined: Fri Oct 13, 2006 1:03 am

Re: Another Vibe lost

Post by Dragonsm »

Well, we have finally found a replacement for the Vibe. After analyzing, reanalyzing, analyzing some more.....debating left, right, wrong...etc on color, a decision was finally made by my wife. They should have our Abyss Blue Pearl Subaru Outback 2.5i ready to take home tomorrow. To my wife, this vehicle felt the most like her Vibe, just longer. I had an appreciation for the Forester, however she liked the smoother ride of the outback. Regardless, we are a family that keeps our cars for a LONG time, and the fact she maybe puts on at most 10,000 miles a year (including family trips), it should be a car that hopefully gives us a LOT of trouble free years.

I appreciate all the feedback, other than the Vibe which had a tie to Toyota, I've never owned a car initially based out of the asia-pacific. I'm most intrigued by the 2.5i boxer engine and will be reading more in-depth on it.

Well, gotta run for church.....they are planning to induct me into "sainthood" today for having patience throughout this entire process! :lol: :lol: :lol:

I'll pop back with a picture of it, and initial thoughts.

Steve
Transylvania
Posts: 67
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2018 3:21 pm
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Re: Another Vibe lost

Post by Transylvania »

Great choice on the Subaru. Volkswagens have poor quality and reliability history after the initial wow factor wears off. Yes, the Boxer engine is somewhat of a challenge to work on (spark plug replacement, etc.), but all in all, Subaru is a quality car.

Congrats and post a few pics.
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vibenvy
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Re: Another Vibe lost

Post by vibenvy »

Ouch, poor Vibe :(! Glad to hear your wife and daughter were not seriously injured though, as that is obviously the priority.

Best of luck with the Subie!
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Dragonsm
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Re: Another Vibe lost

Post by Dragonsm »

I guess better late than never for photos of the subbie.

The weather has been warming up and I finally had a chance to get my wife's car out for a wash.....also decided to have the front two window's tinted (30% is legal in South Dakota) to cut down on some of the side glare while driving.

Turned out great......We are now about 4 months into having the car and it's been a great replacement to the Vibe so far. The AWD system is pretty sweet to boot! My body is slowly adjusting to the daily consumption of granola, non-dairy milk and tree-huggin' that goes along with the vehicle. Yoga is still a chore for this old man!! :lol: :mrgreen: :lol: :mrgreen:

Steve
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tpollauf
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Re: Another Vibe lost

Post by tpollauf »

Nice. Any word on if you might purchase the olde Vibe back?

Edit ..... got my answer from the other post ! :D
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zbyers
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Re: Another Vibe lost

Post by zbyers »

Dragonsm wrote: Mon Mar 25, 2019 12:36 pmMy body is slowly adjusting to the daily consumption of granola, non-dairy milk and tree-huggin' that goes along with the vehicle. Yoga is still a chore for this old man!!
:lol: Next thing you know, you're doing pilates on the roof in the forest!
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Bookworm
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Re: Another Vibe lost

Post by Bookworm »

zbyers wrote: Tue Mar 26, 2019 3:40 am
Dragonsm wrote: Mon Mar 25, 2019 12:36 pmMy body is slowly adjusting to the daily consumption of granola, non-dairy milk and tree-huggin' that goes along with the vehicle. Yoga is still a chore for this old man!!
:lol: Next thing you know, you're doing pilates on the roof in the forest!
Wouldn't you tend to be bounced off as the driver runs the trail?
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