Any advice on where to go for the fluid services. My 09 GT just rolled over 60,000. I don't particularly know much about mechanics and I'm sure I could tell the guy hey treat this like a Toyota and never know if they actually do or not.Caretaker wrote:Matt, that is a ton of miles for that year. In contrast, I have only 82,000 miles on my '09. Obvious the car you are looking at has wracked up a lot of easy highway miles; as such, I'm not concerned about the 144k. Just make sure the transmission has been flushed out twice at that mileage with World Standard fluid (if it is an auto), radiator fluid flushed out at least twice with NON Dexcool fluid, and that the brake fluid has been replace multiple times. If any of these are not the case, I'd walk away. At 144k, this could be a case of the last owner thinking: "its a Toyota; I can run it until it breaks." Neglect will kill any car. Just make sure you are not being handed a neglected car that may have only 30,000 miles left on it. If all the fluids were swapped out at reasonable intervals, then the car will be good for another 160,000 miles. Check the price on any of your favorite internet car websites to ensure those numbers you posted are not a bit too high. Good luck.
If you can't do it yourself, I would either check with a Toyota dealer or an independent shop that works on Toyotas to see their prices. I would just drain and refill the transmission at this point, about 4 quarts of fluid. It must use WS trans fluid and Toyota compatible antifreeze. If I had another place do it, I would probably supply the WS fluid and Toyota antifreeze myself so you know they most likely used the correct stuff.Adam24303 wrote:Any advice on where to go for the fluid services. My 09 GT just rolled over 60,000. I don't particularly know much about mechanics and I'm sure I could tell the guy hey treat this like a Toyota and never know if they actually do or not.
Well, congrats officially! It does look to be a nice car, especially for the price. Heck, there are 05-08 models with similar miles selling for that price.mynameismatt wrote:Well the Vibe found it's way home with me. Talk about a fun car to drive! Holy smokes! I used to own a '02 Jetta 1.8T and while the vibe isn't quite as zippy, it still puts a smile on my face like the jetta did. The seller was asking $7500 (over priced IMO) but I brought it home for $6600. Previous owner said that he did not change the AT fluid or filter, but that the original had said he did. In any fashion, I took a look and while it wasn't clean fluid, it wasn't DARK or metallic . I plan on dropping the pan as soon as it warms up (its freakin' cold here in michigan) and changing out the fluid and filter. Other than some paint chipping on the hood - its in great shape and i love the styling of the GT. Did these come with such dark window tinting from the factory, or is this aftermarket? Looks nice either way.
Also - already thinking about next winter - would plastidip be a good solution for protecting the alloy wheels from salt and winter junk?
Your best solution would be dedicated winter wheels with snow tires. You have all summer to find a good deal on Craigslist. I found mine in the month of June. It would be a good idea to go -1 size. That way you have more sidewall height which is helpful when the roads are really rough.already thinking about next winter - would plastidip be a good solution for protecting the alloy wheels from salt and winter junk
The GM Vibe logo rubber cargo mat is well worth the price for just that purpose. You can order it from several of the online GM parts sites.mynameismatt wrote:Thinking about researching some sort of rubber mat back there?
Agreed! We actually have two of the GM premium all weather cargo mats in each of our Vibes so when we put the rear seats down, the backs of the rear seats are covered by the second mat. When the rear seats are up, the two mats are stacked nicely on top of each other covering the cargo area. Check out my Garage thread for pictures. The part number for the GM premium all weather cargo mat is: #19170827. I highly recommend GMPartsCenter.net. They have great prices, free shipping (though they do charge an $8.95 handling fee) and great customer service.mynameismatt wrote:Also, love the cargo space in the rear, but man EVERYTHING slides around. Thinking about researching some sort of rubber mat back there?Rayven01 wrote:The GM Vibe logo rubber cargo mat is well worth the price for just that purpose. You can order it from several of the online GM parts sites.