mrbravo2000's 2009 Red Hot Pontiac Vibe GT

[mrbravo2000]

Hi! I purchased a 2009 Red Hot Pontiac Vibe GT from a private owner just last week. I've been lurking on the site for about a month now and finally registered a short time back. I'd like to share my purchase story with y'all.

It had been a 4 month process as I was looking for all kinds of vehicles. I have a Ford F150 Suprcab w/ 436K on it which still runs but my commute was killing me on gas (AVG 17 if I drive like my grandma). I started researching and found I really liked the 2nd Gen Pontiac Vibe's styling, room, and the fact that although it's uncommon and no longer produced it shares all the major components that the Matrix has, thus ensuring repairs aren't expensive. I fix everything on my truck (I dropped the rear axle last month and swapped it out in my garage one night) so I expect the same self-service with this vehicle.

After 3 months, I found 2 Vibe's I liked through KBB, a 2009 Red Hot Pontiac Vibe GT (loaded) for $12,000 and a another 2010 Orange Pontiac Vibe Base. The Orange one was in PA and a Base model. For my birthday, my girlfriend and I took on part 2 of the http://www.pineywoodswinetrail.com/ we started in April. On the way we would stop by Sulphur Springs to check out the Red Vibe. I had been renting Cars at Advantage to test them out (plus at 5-6 dollars a day it was cheap). We rented a Nissan Versa which was OK. (We have a nice luxury car but don't like to put too many miles on it).

We stopped in Lufkin to eat some BBQ. As we got back on the road jamming out to Robin Thicke, I spotted a 2009 Red Hot Pontiac Vibe GT with a sunroof being sold next to 4 other cars at a church. It caught my attention. I drove a mile down and said we had to turn back. I scoped the car out and a gentleman walked out. He explained he sold cars on his lot for a 100 dollar commission. We test drove it, I checked everything. I mean, I got under the car, opened the rear compartments, checked the seats, the sunroof, the knobs on the stereo (per y'alls active discussion on it, and they are wonky). The car is in great shape; I asked for the price. The guy showed me the NADA (which I already knew) but the owners only wanted 8700 for it!!!!! It was a steal!!! It has 90K miles but the one in Sulphur Springs had more. I don’t normally do spontaneous buys like that (I like spontaneous activities but not purchases, I’m pretty meticulous) but being as it was my birthday I jumped on it.

I spoke with the owner and to make matters even sweeter he explained that he would be in Houston the following weekend anyways for a small comic’s meet up he attends every month. I said sweet, we can work out the deals with our credit unions during the week and deliver the car on Friday. I got my 'new' car last Friday. I'm pretty excited as I was able to finance for just 2 years since it was such a low amount I amped the payment with my CU. After I purchase it, I want to replace my truck.

Everything is OEM; no aftermarket stuff yet. It has the sunroof, Monsoon woofer, XM, etc. The owner had everything, even the original window sticker, service records, all that, even the extra key.

Vehicle: 2009 PONTIAC VIBE
Plant: FREMONT, CA
Engine: 2 LI I4
Style: GT WAGON 4DR FWD
Records: Found in our database

This vehicle has 47 installed options returned in the report. It was built February 19, 2008 as a 2009 model year.

Future Mods:

-Smoked Tail Lights
-Smoked Headlights
-GenVibe Decals on rear driver window
-Plasti Dipped Rims
-Plasti Dipped Grille Trim
-Plasti Dipped Lower Lip Strip
-K&N Cold Air Intake w/ AEM Filter
-Disable Fogs Lights / Headlights coupling (this is the one thing I hate. Our Cadillac has independant fogs and I love how it looks w/o DRLs).

Thanks to all the active posters on here, I really gotta say y'all sold me on even thinking about purchasing the car when I was doing my research. I looked at the Scion XD as well but it seemed really "tuney" , like the souped up friends Lightning McQueen has on Cars. (I have two boys who grew up watching Cars so please bear with my constant Disney/Pixar analogies and comparisons).

See y'all on the forums and I'll post more pics once I have time to upload via Photobucket.

[vibenvy]

Awesome story! It sounds like you got a great surprise deal on your "new" Vibe! I am really liking the sounds of your to-do list as well! You definitely can't go wrong with the K&N intake and disabling the AHLs and DRLs. It is so nice having full control over all the exterior lights! I look forward to seeing progress from you and your Vibe!

[trb]

Congrats! I saw that one on craigslist and thought it was a good deal too. I pass by that area sometimes since my mom lives by Nacogdoches, and thought I might stop if it was still there. I got my 2010 GT in Corsicana; it seems like the good cars are in the small towns in Texas!

What part of Houston are you in? I live NW by Jersey Village and work by downtown.

You may have seen it, but here is a pic of mine:


Good luck on it!

[NascarXprt]

Congrats and a Texas vibe!! wooot!!! welcome from good ol SA!

[mrbravo2000]

Awesome story! It sounds like you got a great surprise deal on your "new" Vibe! I am really liking the sounds of your to-do list as well! You definitely can't go wrong with the K&N intake and disabling the AHLs and DRLs. It is so nice having full control over all the exterior lights! I look forward to seeing progress from you and your Vibe!

Thanks, it was an awesome birthday gift! I'm really looking to get as many most as I can so any mods will be geared towards that. The DOEs are really annoying so I'm going to tackle that 1st. The only other thing that I don't like is lack of a aux power port in the console to serve rear occupants. I know it was possible in th 1st gen Vibes but I haven't seen it in gen 2s. I may just chunked the Instead box and place an inverter there.

[mrbravo2000]

Congrats! I saw that one on craigslist and thought it was a good deal too. I pass by that area sometimes since my mom lives by Nacogdoches, and thought I might stop if it was still there. I got my 2010 GT in Corsicana; it seems like the good cars are in the small towns in Texas!

What part of Houston are you in? I live NW by Jersey Village and work by downtown.

You may have seen it, but here is a pic of mine:
Good luck on it!

yea, I saw your Vibe and a couple other's and said I had to get a red one unless the price was right. Fortunately, I got both! I have always been a red or black vehicle kind of guy but the red really pops in the Vibes. I also contemplated the orange but there are so few it was hard to find one.

strangely enough, I never saw that post on Craigslist until afterwards. They just sold the one at Sulphur Springs. There is a Vibe on sale right now at Gillman Subaru that looks nice even though it's white.

I live in Katy and also work in Downtown. I take the bus in most of the time. Crazy, I notice Vibes all the time now. And Matrix. But I consider those 'almost' cars. Is that GVs stance as well? J/k ... Back on point though, a TX meet up would be cool, especially driving through the Piney Woods or in the Hill Country.

[mrbravo2000]

Congrats and a Texas vibe!! wooot!!! welcome from good ol SA!

thx, I breakup in SA, little town SW called Lytle... I went to UH and stuck around. I go to SA all the time. Lastly, and as you can see, I'm one of those crazy die hard Spurs fans... #GSG

[mrbravo2000]

Full service maintenance at home, just bought the car with 92K

- oil change
- filter change
- air filter change
- cabin air change not needed
- rear brakes, ceramics
- front brakes, ceramics
- painted all calipers red
- wiper blade change
- rain x
- fuel injection cleaner applied
- full detail (hate the trim on the windows; the low point is where water collects and when you close a door water drips)
- new battery (battery was ok but going through the service records from previous owner the battery was under warranty until 9/13 so I went to Walmart and got a brand new top of the line battery. sweet!)

[vibenvy]

Looks good !

Just curious... what brand fuel injector cleaner did you use? I picked up two bottles of Techron to put in our Vibes when they get their next fuel fillups.

[mrbravo2000]

Looks good !

Just curious... what brand fuel injector cleaner did you use? I picked up two bottles of Techron to put in our Vibes when they get their next fuel fillups.

Seafoam, I poured the entire amount. You're supposed to do 1/3 fuel tank, 1/3 direct to manifold, 1/3 to the lines. Not familiar with the engine just yet but will do complete service again at 102k. In intervals I use gumout every 5 tanks or so. My experiences have been that the most important thing you can do is buy gas at reputable locations. Not the most expensive but I fill up at Valero / Shell for 3 cents more than at Eddie s Shop Mart.

I swear by Seafoam, its been part if my regular maintenance for my vehicles. 436k on my f150, 256k on my Silverado until was stolen. I expect my Vibe to get to 250k. At least.

[vibenvy]

Thanks for the info! We get gas from the same station (Citgo) we've gotten gas at for as long as I can remember. We had a 1994 Pontiac Sunbird LE Sedan that my parents bought new. We sold it to a junkyard back in January because it was so badly rusted, but it still ran great with 268,010 miles on it. My dad's 2001 s10 (bought new) is almost at 300,000 miles and still running strong. We shouldn't have any problems getting many more years and miles out of our Vibes. Oh, and we use regular Penzoil in the Vibes, which is also the same oil we've used for as long as I can remember.

[NascarXprt]

Congrats and a Texas vibe!! wooot!!! welcome from good ol SA!

thx, I breakup in SA, little town SW called Lytle... I went to UH and stuck around. I go to SA all the time. Lastly, and as you can see, I'm one of those crazy die hard Spurs fans... #GSG

Cool, I myself jus picked up an 09 Red Hot Metallic GT 2 weeks ago. I got it from north Austin, ill be building a garage for it later.

I am originally from Houston (the Clear Lake area). Big Astros and Texans fan myself and have some family there as well in Houston.

[mrbravo2000]

Congrats and a Texas vibe!! wooot!!! welcome from good ol SA!

thx, I breakup in SA, little town SW called Lytle... I went to UH and stuck around. I go to SA all the time. Lastly, and as you can see, I'm one of those crazy die hard Spurs fans... #GSG

Cool, I myself jus picked up an 09 Red Hot Metallic GT 2 weeks ago. I got it from north Austin, ill be building a garage for it later.

I am originally from Houston (the Clear Lake area). Big Astros and Texans fan myself and have some family there as well in Houston.

thats quite a few TX Vibes out there... idea?

[mrbravo2000]

I changed out the antenna for the radio this weekend after receiving it from an Ebay distro. Works well, inexpensive. The old antenna looked really bad, rubber was cracked.

[NascarXprt]

Lookin good so far! I need to paint my calipers now....

[mrbravo2000]

I painted the raised lettering in the engine bay and waxed the car for the time since I bought exactly a month ago...



tools







1st coat of plasti-dip



I was gonna try it with one coat but the coating wasnt firm and ripped easily. Had to do 3 coats




I cut out the lettering along the base. It went well but I went deep with a couple cuts but nothing bad.



I painted it, let it dry, then did a 2nd coat



end result. happy, I give it a 8 out of 10, you can see some stray paint that seeped but for the most part I'm happy.





Afterwards I waxed it. real nice but it also brought out all the nicks and scratches. although very well maintained, I can tell that the previous owner drove it roughly. I also know that the last coat of wax was applied to everything including trim and thus the trim has been 'flamed'. I think the next project will be painting all my trim. My girlfriend will be flying to VA for a business trip so I will have plenty of time to mess with that.

[vibenvy]

The Vibe looks great! I love your idea for painting the letters and numbers on the engine cover! I may have to try this. We have the Grafx Werks overlays on ours, but whenever I wipe the engine covers down, the corners of some of the decals tend to peel up no matter how careful I am and it drives me nuts !

I'm curious to see how painting the trim, etc. goes for you as this is something I want to do to our Vibes soon as well.

Looking forward to more updates from you !

[tpollauf]

Your Vibe looks VERY familiar But you gotta get rid of that front license plate somehow Looking REAL good Keep up the good work !

[trb]

Your Vibe looks VERY familiar But you gotta get rid of that front license plate somehow Looking REAL good Keep up the good work !

Sure, we can replace the front plates with a $200 ticket every time a cop decides to pull us over!

[vibenvy]

Your Vibe looks VERY familiar But you gotta get rid of that front license plate somehow Looking REAL good Keep up the good work !

Sure, we can replace the front plates with a $200 ticket every time a cop decides to pull us over!

Eh, a front license plate is required here in Illinois too, but neither of our Vibes has had one since July of 2010. As long as you don't drive like an idiot, cops shouldn't bother you about it. Cops don't even look twice at us .

[NascarXprt]

yea i have my p;ate in the top portion of the windshield with suction cups holding it there. i too enjoy the look without the front plates on.

engine cover letters look good! need to do that to mine, sucks how the paint flaked off so easily.

[NascarXprt]

Mods, we need some assistance here please. some post need deleting. im pretty sure you can see which ones.