After being on this board for almost seven years...

[IMakeVibes]

... I finally got one. Scored it at an auction for 2k. Its an '03 base, body is clean, just needs a good detailing, interior is clean. One previous owner, he donated it to charity and thats how it ended up at auction. Everything is original, no modifications or accidents, owner had all maintenance done by dealer. Its got 167k miles on it, but all freeway miles, no leaks, squeaks, rattles. For me, its a third car (other two are a 4Runner and a Grand Prix), so its basically a beater. But with my new found free time thanks to NUMMI (I am going to school full time), I do plan to do some more driving and road trips, and with as good as these are in mileage, it will save me some $$$ there. Heck, its already saved me $. I added it to my insurance policy, and because of how their multi-car discounts work, my insurance went down by about $100/yr affer adding it. It was kind of funny when I was talking to the insurance rep on the phone, after she added the Vibe to my policy, she saw that I then had a credit and was due a refund. She was like "wait a minute, something's not right here, I have to do this again." She did it again, and came back with the same thing. So yea, first day, and Vibes saving me $$$, what it saves in insurance should cover registration, so I'm just about breaking even so far.A little minor maintenance - fluid and filter changes, possibly a new battery, good cleaning inside and out, tint on the back windows, and a headunit and I think I'm about done with it for now...can't let the mod bug bite, no $$$ in the budget for that. =

[BlueCrush]

'bout time!!! Congrats, IMV!!! Nice insurance savings. Just think the Vibe will pay for itself in 20 years. I think your first mod should be to clean off the bird poop on the hatch. BTW, You should have gotten one for free for making them...

[tpollauf]

Nice Vibe for the price And to think, you most likely had some part of this car in your hands during assembly seven years ago. If not, you at least must have played some role in the production of these cars. Hope you're not out of work too long. Good luck

[lovemyraffe]

Nice find! It's about time you joined the club.

[kostby]

Congratulations on your purchase, and at a great price!I still love my '03, built in May of '02! We '03 owners have the 'blackout' instrument cluster, the 1st generation daytime headlight sensor, and many still have the original engine management firmware that gives that sulfur dioxide smell.

[Blanco_Diablo]

Very cool, congrats!

[808 Vibes]

Congrats!! Though there must be some awful big birds in California

[waveresponder]

congratulations!

[Zer0VIBE03]

congrats on the 03... they're kind of cool Not to thread high-jack, are you apart of gp-owners.com? The guys over there are a little rougher around the edges, but some of them over there know that car inside and out.

[06pvibe]

Quote, originally posted by IMakeVibes » =Nice!! And Congrats for finally driving what you used to help build!!Now, if you want to save even more money, sell me your rear bumper, hatch and side body cladding. Think of the weight you'll save and the fuel mileage increase. I know where you can get splashguards for that car!

[keithvibe]

bout time you own something you wrenched on

[beemerphile1]

Congrats on the purchase. I hope schooling for your new career goes well.I would be very suspicious about that insurance. Make certain the agent added the third car rather than replacing one of the existing cars. I had a similar thing happen when I bought a house and they replaced a current house. Went for a full year not knowing one of my houses wasn't insured.

[cptnsolo77]

Congrats!

[bodhi_tree777]

Quote, originally posted by beemerphile1 »Congrats on the purchase. I hope schooling for your new career goes well.I would be very suspicious about that insurance. Make certain the agent added the third car rather than replacing one of the existing cars. I had a similar thing happen when I bought a house and they replaced a current house. Went for a full year not knowing one of my houses wasn't insured.It's probably legit, some policies are just structured that way. When I added my 86 Golf to my existing policy I ended up getting a $60 refund check in the mail due to the multi-car safe driver old car old driver factors. Congrats on the purchase! Time clean the condor poop off, Californian.

[455SD]

Good to see you finally got one You got a heck of a deal, and if it's been maintained as well as you think, should last another 150,000 miles at least!

[AKLGT]

nice find!

[northvibe]

sweet! but we need more pics

[star_deceiver]

Congrats on the new ride!!!

[vibenvy]

Congratulations on becoming part of the Vibe family in a different way !

[NascarXprt]

congrats IMV! welcome to the Vibe owning club!

[03vibedriver]

Congrats on a very nice 03 monotone vibe!

[IMakeVibes]

Been gone for a couple of days...been dealing with a good friend in the hospital. I see I've got some catching up to do here, I'll do my best:Thanks for the congrats everyone. I honestly never planned to get a Vibe. Honestly, I didn't like them in the beginning, but they did grow on me over the years - I guess when you spend 60 or more hours a week making them, you form an attachment. I could use a little beater car, but I really don't need a third vehicle. Its more for fun and something to play with as well. But the Vibes are gone, Pontiac is gone, NUMMI is gone - at least as I know it, not sure whats in store for its future. I figured, if I want a little beater car, I might as well get something I can say I helped make a little part of. And I wouldn't want a Corolla, they're too boring, so I got the next best thing. I don't know that I actually worked on this one, theres probably a 50/50 chance depending on the shift it was built on. But yea, sure, why not, I worked on this one. I had my hands on millions of vehicles during the years I was there, so whos to know??? I would have preferred a silver one with a sunroof, this is the first vehicle I've ever owned without a sunroof. But for the price, I can't complain. So far, I'm having fun with it. I did get the bird poop cleaned off. I actually didn't want to post any pics because of that, but I knew I'd have it in for me if I didn't. The insurance thing is correct, I did verify it. Its just the way their multi-vehicle discounts work. The discount for three versus two cars is higher than the cost to insure the Vibe, so I end up saving $$$ by having a third vehicle. I don't know about me getting another 150,000 miles out of it. Heck, on my '95 4Runner (original owner) I've only got 148,000. Don't know that I'll have it long enough to rack up that many miles. But I don't doubt that it could, sure I'm partial, but they're great little cars. And I plan to do more driving now that I'm not working, so anything is possible.I have noticed the sulpher smell, as well at the cigarette lighter that gets stuck in. I had to get the channel locks out to get that thing out. I don't smoke so I don't need it...its not going back in that hole.I am not a part of gp-owners. I visit on occasion, but sometimes get an odd, um...vibe in that place. I do belong to clupgp.com and westcoastpontiacs.com.As far as school and work and whatever else goes, I actually got a good deal there. Federal government program (TAA) is paying for my school for the next couple of years, extending my unemployment benefits for the duration while I'm in school, and paying for 80% of my COBRA (medical insurance) for that time as well. All that because Toyota decided to take a majority of the work out of the country, at least temporarily (Japan, Mexico, and Canada). We got a good opportunity, but I honestly wish that was available to more people and not just us because some of our jobs went out of the country.Couple more pics. Went to play and relax a bit in Santa Cruz yesterday, but had some stuff to accomplish while I was there, so not too many pics.Think I've found a new favorite beach. Its a bit of a drive to Capitola, but well worth it.

[LavaIlliniVibe]

The Circle of Life! Congratulations on your excellent purchase!!!!!!

[olliesshop]

Wow ... that's a great deal. The car looks great !!! I should start looking at auctions for one too, since I don't have one yet. I'm going to get one in about March, when my lease is up.Congratulations as well !!!

[ClunkClunk]

I'll wave if I see you around town

[Blueridge9]

Quote, originally posted by BlueCrush »'bout time!!! Congrats, IMV!!! Nice insurance savings. Just think the Vibe will pay for itself in 20 years. I think your first mod should be to clean off the bird poop on the hatch. BTW, You should have gotten one for free for making them...x2 But STOP calling it a beater car and give it some respect.

[vibolista]

That's quite a beater!!! Great purchase. Glad you're getting some help with school and all, too. Everyone that has lost a job in this downturn should have the same type of opportunity.