Since we finaly got some good weather this week-end, I decided it was time to detail my Vibe. I bought the car in March of 2009 and it now has 24800 km on the clock and 0 trouble with it so far. I like it, though I wish it would be better on gaz... I get about the same gaz millage as my mom with her 08 G6 GT 3,5L.I already have the GT wing and I might get the GT side skirts and the GT exhaust tip. Would post pictures later if I do.I do detailing on the side for several customers during the summer, though it hasn't begin yet. That's why I took advantage of the nice day to detail my car first.Here is the process:This AM :1) wash the rims, tires, wheel weels and doors jambs with a mix of NXT car wash and APC2) wash the body with NXT soap3) dry the car using an Absorber and a Meguiar's Water Magnet4) clay with Meg's blue clay and a 50/50 mix of Meg's Last Touch and water as a lube. (There's was a lot of crap on the hatch and rear bumper, I'd say as much as on the rest of the whole car.)This PM :5) Polish the paint with my PC using Meg's Paint Reconditioning Cream6) Meg's #7 Show Car Glaze by hand7) Meg's Gold Class Carnauba Plus wax via PC (because it's easier on my arms...)8) Another coat of Gold Class9) Meg's Hot Shine Tire Spray on the tires10) Meg's All Season Dressing in the wheel wells, flaps and lower side mouldings11) Stare at the car in the sun12) Take pictures.Total time : 4,5 hours.I wanted to debadge the hatch as well, but I was sore when I was done waxing the car, so it will wait for now...Here are the pictures :With my mom's G6 GTthanks for looking.
Just wanted to comment about the gas mileage... my '09 2.4L gets the same gas mileage as my husband's '08 G6 GT 3.5L too! Around 25-27mpg usually unless it's all cruise-control highway. I just thought it was funny that you made the same comparison (oh and your Vibe looks good )
2009 2.4L Automatic with Preferred Package and Sun and Sound package May 2010 MOTM March 2011 VOTM
Quote, originally posted by 1SC »That's about the same gaz millage as I get with mine.For the size of the car, it should be better IMO.No kidding... or we should have just gotten the G6 GT engine if it's going to act the same! 6 cylinders in the Vibe...
2009 2.4L Automatic with Preferred Package and Sun and Sound package May 2010 MOTM March 2011 VOTM
Quote, originally posted by 1SC »I wanted to debadge the hatch as well, but I was sore when I was done waxing the car, so it will wait for now....Nice ride After you "debadge" you'll then have to "ADD a badge" as in the Genvibe.com decal And when you order them you'll be patronizing a fellow Canadian of yours They get mailed out of Toronto! Go for it and send MORE pics
Notchy, my Vibe came with the fogs from factory (the canadian 1SC package came with power windows and locks, 17" alloys and fogs).The spoiler is the spoiler of the Vibe GT, I bought it at my dealer and I had my brother paint it and install it for me. You only have to remove the small spoiler of your base and install the GT one at it's place. The holes for the screws are at the same place.
Damn, we were supposed to have sun all week long... but now they are calling for snow tonight and tomorrow AM. My car will be dirty all over again. I see my car by the window in my office and I can't stop looking at it. The paint looks so slik !It's like having a brand new car again.
Quote, originally posted by 1SC »I'd be more than happy to do it for you Water boy. Problem is that you are at 23 hours from me... ..OK, maybe a 2 day trip with a little to spare.Oh wait, you can't drink while you are driving or sleeping.Hummmm getting cheaper already.
2008
47,891 Added new horns
47,900 Yokohama Avid 205/55-16 $492.40 drive out w/TPMS rebuild kits
69,036 Added sound deadening
70,395 Battery
106,019 Yokohama YK580 205/55-16 $589.19 drive out
Looks great Patrick ! I need to get mine and my mom's fully detailed one of these days, but unfortunately my schedule and the weather have been cooperating lately.I am looking forward to de-badged pictures and hopefully GT muffler tip and side skirt pictures ! Let me know if you have any other questions.
2009 Liquid Platinum Metallic Vibe GT - 5-Speed Auto – Garage
2009 Steel Blue Metallic Vibe GT - 5-Speed Auto – Garage
I went ahead and ordered the exhaust tip from the GT. Should receive and install it in the next few days.I am also saving for the GT side skirts. I hope to be able to get them before July.Some other pictures to come.
Quote, originally posted by 1SC »I went ahead and ordered the exhaust time from the GT. Should receive and install it in the next few days.I am also saving for the GT side skirts. I hope to be able to get them before July.Some other pictures to come.Yay! Glad to hear you got the tip ordered Patrick !I can't wait to see updated pictures!
2009 Liquid Platinum Metallic Vibe GT - 5-Speed Auto – Garage
2009 Steel Blue Metallic Vibe GT - 5-Speed Auto – Garage
Quote, originally posted by J_TO_ENVY »Yay! Glad to hear you got the tip ordered Patrick !I can't wait to see updated pictures!I got the tip installed this week-end. We didn't take any chance and welded it in place. I haven't wash the car since I posted those pictures, that's why I don't already have anything to show. If I get the time, I'll do it tonight and upload the pics.
Looks good.Im gona do mine over the Memorial day weekend ,change the oil /rotate the tires etc. The pollen should be gone by then. btw, ours is the same color,but I just have a base Vibe.
09 VIBE08 G694 GRAND AM93 GRAND AM85 VETTE78 VETTE
Quote, originally posted by 1SC »I got the tip installed this week-end. We didn't take any chance and welded it in place. I haven't wash the car since I posted those pictures, that's why I don't already have anything to show. If I get the time, I'll do it tonight and upload the pics.Looks great just like I knew it would Patrick ! Glad to hear you took the extra time to weld it on too. I'd hate to hear that you ended up losing it somewhere . Looking forward to more updates in the future .
2009 Liquid Platinum Metallic Vibe GT - 5-Speed Auto – Garage
2009 Steel Blue Metallic Vibe GT - 5-Speed Auto – Garage
In re gas mileage - we get about 23-24 mpg on mostly local driving with the 1.8L. A lot of short trips. But that is not critical as we only drive about 5,000 miles/year. It is about 32 mpg on trips driving 65-75.
2009 Vibe 1.8L Carbon Gray AT Power Pkg 1/12/092003 Vibe 1.8L Neptune AT Mono Power Pkg 1/27/03 [sold 2/2/09]2007 T&C SWB 7/31/07 "Broke people stay broke by living like they're rich. Rich people stay rich by living like they're broke."
2 news pictures from today.Nothing new on the car, but I detailed it again yesterday night.Wash with Meguiars Gold Class soap, a coat of Meg's #7 Show Car Glaze then a coat of Meg's #26 Yellow Wax. The paint looks so wet and deep.
very nice! i wanted that color for my '10, but in the 2 days it took for me to decide to make my piurchase and to line up the $$, all the dark blues in the area had sole out. settled for black which is ok i guess. wish i had the gt spoiler and fancy rims too...whose bolt on exhaust tip are you using? i have a 3A racing tip that was the shape i liked (similar to yours) but in time, grew to dislike the rusted/tarnished color...
Quote, originally posted by Zimm »whose bolt on exhaust tip are you using? i have a 3A racing tip that was the shape i liked (similar to yours) but in time, grew to dislike the rusted/tarnished color...It's the exhaust tip that came stock on the 09+ Vibe GT.You have to weld it there because it's a little loose. It's very pricey, but I wasn't able to find an aftermarket tip that I liked.
crap, i had a hunch it was an expensive tip. mine stayed rust free for about 3 weeks in February...now it's sitting on my kitchen table until i can determine whether it's worth the time and effort to clean and de-rust it or just go without.did buy some spiffy McGuire's protectant for the dash the other day that i will try out when it stops being so danged hot around here. smells like sun tan lotion! and yeah, i should probably take some pics...
Quote, originally posted by Zimm »crap, i had a hunch it was an expensive tip. mine stayed rust free for about 3 weeks in February...now it's sitting on my kitchen table until i can determine whether it's worth the time and effort to clean and de-rust it or just go without.IMO it's worth it. Without a tip the muffler outlet looks like crap. The stock tip on both mine and my mom's '09 GTs have no rust on them whatsoever, even after driving them both all winter long. I simply wash them whenever I wash the rest of the exterior and put some wax on them whenever I wax the rest of the exterior. Nothing special really. If you do get the GT tip, be sure to put a little weld on the underside of the tip to make sure it stays in place like 1SC said. My mom almost lost the tip on her GT because it was loose. If I wouldn't have noticed it, it would have for sure fell off. A local exhaust shop put a little weld on the underside of both tips and only charged me $10 per Vibe. It only took the guy a few minutes to weld them enough to make sure they never come off.
2009 Liquid Platinum Metallic Vibe GT - 5-Speed Auto – Garage
2009 Steel Blue Metallic Vibe GT - 5-Speed Auto – Garage
Quote, originally posted by mando7744 »keep it clean my friend. boy do i wish my car looked somewhat close to new again. Yours is still looking awesome you know.I plan on keeping this car for a long time so I'll keep in clean.
I am a bit in late with the pictures, but I was waiting to have the car cleaned to post.With fall and road construction on my way to work, the car hasn't been cleaned in about 2 months...The Vibe now has 36850 km and still goes well. Almost traded it for a 2011 GMC Terrain SLE recently, but decided to keep the Vibe finaly. I had a good deal, but since I don't have any problem with it, why not keep it ! I do have some rattles in the front doors while listening to music though.Some pictures of the "before".I installed the winter tires about one month ago. They are 16'' Firestone Winterforce. The 17'' rims are stored until spring.Now for the clean pics. I washed and waxed the Vibe with Meguiar's #21 Synthetic Sealant yesterday to help protecting the paint from all the salt this winter.No more mud in the wells... until the next time I drive to work...Hard to see, but this is a metallic black overlay from Grafxwerks that I installed in August.
Looking good as always Patrick !I was going to do full details on our Vibes this weekend, but it ended up raining, so I am hoping the next weekend or two I will be able to get them washed, clayed, waxed and ready to go for winter.
2009 Liquid Platinum Metallic Vibe GT - 5-Speed Auto – Garage
2009 Steel Blue Metallic Vibe GT - 5-Speed Auto – Garage
Carry, it was cloudy and not very warm yesterday. Thankfully I have access to warm water outside the house. Thanks to my dad. So I only washed and waxed. I skipped the clay and polish. This will wait till spring. Thanks for you comment.
A little update on my Vibe. Sorry I've been very busy this winter with work. The car is now at close to 44500 km. Still drives like new and no problem so far as well.But... I haven't had a chance to clean it since the last pictures... in NOVEMBER !!! Here is how it looks right now. I can't wait for all the snow to melt and warmer temperatures to arrive. I can't wait to wash my car and restart my summer week-end detailing business.You can see that I now had a hidden hitch installed.This is why I installed the hitch... to be able to haul my snowmobile, a 2010 Ski-Doo GSX LE 600 ETEC. This is a picture of the day I was leaving for my one full week ride. It was a lot of fun !And this is a picture of the last day of the trip when I got back to the car, under the rain unfortunatly.
No updates in a little more than a year, but the car is still looking the same. As reliable as usual, now at 60500 km and looking as good as new inside and out. Looks like it will never get the GT skirts I wanted to have installed when I got the car though.
The Vibe won't see much upgrades in the future as I just bought a new summer toy last week-end. I will post pictures when it looks "up to my standards". It is a 2005 Mini Cooper convertible. Not the car I was looking for at all, but I fell in love when I saw it. I didn't know it was the toy I wanted until I saw it and bought it.
1SC wrote:No updates in a little more than a year, but the car is still looking the same. As reliable as usual, now at 60500 km and looking as good as new inside and out. Looks like it will never get the GT skirts I wanted to have installed when I got the car though.
The Vibe won't see much upgrades in the future as I just bought a new summer toy last week-end. I will post pictures when it looks "up to my standards". It is a 2005 Mini Cooper convertible. Not the car I was looking for at all, but I fell in love when I saw it. I didn't know it was the toy I wanted until I saw it and bought it.
hell.. you are half way behind me. I am at 112k miles on my 06.