Potential New Vibester!

[crimsongypsy]

Hello all, this is my first time on the forum. I have recently discovered the awesomesauce that is the Pontiac Vibe. I found one locally. It's a bright red 2009 Pontiac GT 2.4L. It has 67,452 miles on it. It is listed for 9,984 dollars. I guess my question is, is this a pretty good choice? Those of you who have this model at high mileage, how does it do? Does this seem like a fair price? What do you love most about your 2009 Vibe? Im just a little apprehensive as I have never bought a new(ish) car before. Ive been rocking out a 95 Olds Achieva (affectionately nick-named the "over-achieva") since high school.

Any advice you all could give me would be greatly appreciated-I will be test driving it first thing Saturday morning. I can't wait!

thanks!

A pic:

vibe.jpg (9.63 KiB) Viewed 3108 times

[Houston]

You made a great choice. Unfortunately, I can't answer your questions. Lots of members here have that car, though, so stay tuned.

[journeyforce]

Is that the Achiva with the 2.4l 4cyl Quad motor or the V6? I always liked the looks of those much better then the Buick version (Skylark)

As for the Vibe. That mileage is still very young(try adding a 3 in front of the 67,452 and then worry about high mileage ) It is a Toyota motor and I expect it to last for thousands of miles. it is used in the Matrix(the Vibe's twin), Camry, Scion XB and TC. I would expect you to not have any trouble with the Vibe. Just keep up on its services(listed in the manual)

The price is good but do your homework and look at the carfax to make sure it was not wrecked.

The Vibe will ride diffrent then your Olds as the Vibe has a bit more stiffer suspension then the Olds which would have a softer suspension

Good luck

[09vGT]

Sounds pretty fair to me! I rolled over 97,000 miles a few days ago. Bought it used in 2009 with around 26,000 miles. I've never had any mechanical problems! I can't say the same for some other annoyances, but they are completely unrelated to higher mileage! Even though the thing is small, it can haul A LOT. Especially with the rear seats folded flat. Its a pretty rough riding little car, much worse than my pervious car (2000 Ford Mustang).

[crimsongypsy]

Thanks for the reassurance

As for the Achieva it was the 2.4 quad engine. Over 200k miles and still going. I didn't know much about car maintenance when I was younger, so thats a miracle in itself.

The carfax reports that there was an accident to the right front side. I don't see any evidence of this in pictures but I havent seen it in person yet. Hopefully it wasn't too big of a deal.

Also carfax states that it has had 2 previous owners and appears as though it has been regularly maintained.

[DennisLee]

That's less than I paid a few months ago for my 2009 Base (auto, pw, pl, mags upgrades), and I thought I got a deal compared to what other dealers were asking for the car. It did have a clean CarFax.

Don't forget, the 2009's (and, I think, 2010's) came with a 5 year 100,000 mile powertrain warrantly so you still have General Motors support. I believe the OnStar road service support is also good for 5 years. I contacted Gm and there is no transfer forms required, the warranty is good for whoever owns the car. The 5 years is from original date of service, my 2009 must have been bought off of the first truck, its date of Service is Aug 2008! Still got almost a year of warranty left tho

[jake75]

Seems to me that the 5 year 100,000 mile powertrain warranty has been a GM standard even prior to 2009. My 2009 OnStar service only was good for 1 year - I have been paying $12.95 a month since that expired. Just a safety thing. I thought the road service was only for 3 years. I quit AAA many years ago - had to pay $70 for a tire change once (not on the Vibe) but I am still way ahead compared to paying AAA for several years. Triptik is obsolete as you can get mapquest routing for free. I use priceline for hotels - beats AAA prices. A minor risk of losing if you don't show but so far have not had that issue - if it happens I am still WAY ahead. I recently got 3 nights at the Marriott Vail Resort for $261 all taxes included. A Westin 4 star in Denver for $74 all taxes included. Four days Hertz rental car (full size) for $112 total.

[crimsongypsy]

Thanks for that info-I wasnt sure if the 100k mile warranty was something extra Id have to buy. Im starting to feel pretty confident about this. The week is going by so slowly-I want to test drive this baby!

[09vGT]

Just make sure the title is CLEAN. If it has any type of a rebuilt title the warranty is voided. OnStar was only for a year. The 5 year 100,000 miles warranty started in '07. My grandmother has an '06 Cadillac CTS and it only had the 3 year 50,000 miles warranty; which she paid extra to bump it up to 100,000.

[crimsongypsy]

Ok thanks everyone for your prompt responses. The title is clean so there shouldn't be any problem with the warranty. Now to just focus on not being overly-excited in front of the salesman. I have to learn to keep it cool and haggle, apparently. Lol

[trb]

Looks like a good deal to me. I have a red 2010 GT that currently has just over 50,000 miles and it runs just great. I bought it with 36K miles last December for $12,400 and that was a good deal IMO. I would assume it has newer tires with those miles? Those 18" tires can be expensive to replace. I spent $800 on mine that I replaced after I bought the car, but they are 50,000 mile Bridgestone performance tires and that included road hazard and everything. Hopefully I will be set for 2-3 more years. And if the radio knob is broken - a very common problem, it can be fixed for about $10 or less if you do it yourself. I would just make sure all the wear items are in good shape or replaced recently like brakes, etc.

Good luck on test driving it and enjoy it when you buy it!

[zyzyix]

Vibe is a really nice car, but in this instance I would look for a Matrix instead

[vibenvy]

Welcome to GenVibe! My mom and I both have 2009 Vibe GTs that we bought brand new in 2009 and we absolutely love them! Both of them just recently turned over 33,000 miles. We have had no issues whatsoever and I don't expect any for a long time to come, if ever. I love the 2009-2010 GT because of its aggressive styling, sporty suspension, beautiful wheels, interior room, cargo capacity, decent gas mileage (My highest is 33.9 mpg with 100% highway driving. I average around 28 mpg with 50% city/50% highway.) and the list goes on and on. In my opinion and for my needs and wants in a vehicle, it's perfect.

That sounds like a good deal for the GT you're going to check out. Personally, I would be concerned about the accident it was in. I would try to find out where the repair work was done and as much other information as I could. An accident doesn't necessarily mean anything huge though. My mom hit a huge tomcat in her GT in March of 2011. It ripped out the driver's side fog light housing, fog light bulb and side grille and broke the fog light wiring harness. There was a small crack on the underside of the front bumper cover (you wouldn't even know it was there unless I told you it was there). Despite the very minor damage to the bumper cover, they ended up putting a brand new front bumper cover on it, along with a brand new fog light housing and side grille. The accident that the one you're going to check out was in could have been very minor as well. Just pay close attention to the area where the accident occurred. Make sure the paint matches, body panels are lined up properly, etc. Look under the hood, in the door jambs, etc. anywhere the accident may have affected the body of the vehicle. Also, check the underside of the vehicle over really well. At least it was reported to CarFax. I've heard of alot of people having someone fix a vehicle on the side and consequently it never gets reported to CarFax and the next owner has no clue. Good luck with the test drive and let us know whether you get it or not.

[glhboy]

Looks like you are in Indy. The dealer just lowered the price on that car, so don't expect a discount anymore. Especially from Penske.

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.js ... listType=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I can refer you to a salesman who sold me a car and my parents just bought a new Honda from him as well. His name is Chris Nelson, tell him Christian Brown sent you. He'll take care of you.

That's a great price on the Vibe and they have had it since July 4th according to Carfax.

http://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistory/p/ ... tner=CDM_0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's also been in an accident in April of this year.

Anyway, let me know if you need any assistance. I sold cars for over 8 years and know several people still around Indy.

[crimsongypsy]

Thanks again

Christian-thanks for the advice. This is my first time purchasing from a dealership so I appreciate the insight. My appt is with mike mazelin. Do you know him? Penske seemed to have great reviews online and also froma few people in my office. So hopefully I dont get screwed over.

[glhboy]

Thanks again

Christian-thanks for the advice. This is my first time purchasing from a dealership so I appreciate the insight. My appt is with mike mazelin. Do you know him? Penske seemed to have great reviews online and also froma few people in my office. So hopefully I dont get screwed over.

I've not heard of Mike, but Chris has been there for almost 10 years.

[trb]

Looks good in the pics and description. The fine print on the cars.com ad description says to print out the ad and present it for an additional $200 off the price, so there is a little bit of a discount!

[crimsongypsy]

Ok-if I see Chris I'll name-drop

Do you have any tips for first time buyers? My credit is not horrible, but not too crazy. I guess Im worried about getting bamboozled in ridiculously high apr. i plan to put at least 10% down. What are some good questions I should be asking during the test drive? I know Im going to think that everything is amazing and perfect compared to my old car. I'll have to keep myself in check. Also maybe a dumb qtn, but Is sales tax configured into the final price or do I have to pay that when I plate the car?

[trb]

Most car dealers will collect sales tax and also get your new plates for you, and it is rolled into the sales price. There might be some states that don't do it, but I'm sure that most do, if not all.

Is there a Vibe with fewer miles near to you? You might drive it first so you know how a newer one drives as a comparison. Generally you just need to look at everything and see how it all looks and works. Make sure everything works on it. It would not hurt to take someone else along for the inspection too if you can. They could see or hear things on the outside as you drive it around a parking lot. As for financing, you should be OK with something in the middle single digits, but it might go higher if you don't have previous credit. I have my 3 cars financed with my credit union and they gave me a better rate than I got from GM and HSBC bank that I was originally financed with when I bought the 06 Vibe and 07 Explorer. So that is a possibility you can look into also. With that price vs book value, you should have no problem financing it at a good rate IMO if your credit is in the higher 600s or more.

[DennisLee]

I would highly recommend you visit your bank and/or local Credit Unions to get an idea what their interest rates would be, so you know what kind of deal the dealer may present you with. They can also give you what they consider the Loan value of the vehicle. BUT don't have them all submit loan requests cause a bunch of new credit checks could make your fico rating worse. My past experience has been to join a Credit Union (used to only take $5 to open an savings account) so I could get the member rate, it's normally the best deal. Shop around some, they usually have varying interest rates and maximum number of years for the loans based on what year the vehicle is, but the age was where then number of years or rate changes will be different from Credit Union to Credit Union.

The idea is to go into the dealer knowing that you already have a loan approved. That way you can assure the dealer you can definitely buy the car if you can come to an agreement on price. If after you agree on price, they can give you a better deal on the loan, that's cool, you can take their loan, but in any case you get the car.

Couple of other tips, whatever you do, don't let them know you're in love with the car. Ideally you should have another vehicle (Maybe a Subaru wagon?) you're thinking of looking at that day (whether it actually exists or not is immaterial ) but if the deal was good enough you could skip looking at that one. If you're thinking of a lower offer, you may want to wait until say, the 25th or something. Tell them you're definitely want to buy a car by the end of the month but you do have some others in mind to look at. If sales are slow they may take an additional discount just to get the car off the lot, especially since it had an accident on the CarFax and it's already been sitting there for two months. If they say no you can leave your phone number and tell them to call you if they change their mind while your looking at other vehicles. Of course, the risk is that with the recent discount someone else may grab the car, it kind of depends on how much you really want this one. I don't know what prices are around your area, but especially with an accident on the record I don't think the car is under priced where it is at. That Pontiac badge that's going to reduce the interest from a lot of general shoppers who aren't clued in on the fact it's a Toyota under the skin. My Vibe was the only Pontiac model I would have considered.

[crimsongypsy]

Great tips!

Unfortunately I do not have the luxury of waiting until the end of the month. My job is contingent upon me having a vehicle, so I really need to get a car this weekend. The pressure is definitely on! I thought the vibe was really nice and then I learned about Toyota's hand in making it. That sold me on the reliability factor and put my mind at ease. The only other vehicles I'm considering right now are A Toyota camry and a honda civic. One of which is a hybrid, but I'm leery of that in the event that the hybrid battery goes out and ends up costing a few thousand bucks to repair.

I'll definitely keep you guys updated-I'd appreciate any good vibes (ha) you could throw out into the universe for me. Tomorrow is going to be a big day

[crimsongypsy]

oh and trb thanks so much for noticing that discount! I printed that baby off at work!

[tpollauf]

Go for it man !!! That is a good price and I now can see why. No Sunroof (almost all GT's came with one), higher mileage, and probably still original tires which will set you back $700 or so when you replace them. Oh and this is the BEST color Keep us posted here as to what you end up doing. Good luck