Vibe Vets...advise me plz.

[Shane1V]

Hello! I'm brand new to this fine forum because I am considering purchasing a GM Certifed AWD 2003 Vibe very soon.Here's a link- http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/...st=12I have some concern though..it seems the one I'm considering is about 2G's less than the other AWD 03's. AND the cheaper one has less milage & more options than the more expensive ones!The only thing I can see different is that this one does not have the cladding(I wish it did) & the cheap wheel covers(ugh)...could that be the reason? Please give me some advice here, or anything important I should know when buying a used AWD Vibe. 3 other things: is the power a real shortcoming?Can i put 17" alloys on the AWD? I heard you shouldn't- Why?What are the good & bad things about the GM Certified Warranty?Thank you very much!!

[joatmon]

hi and welcome to genvibe!I think that if you are going to get a black (abyss) vibe, the monotone looks a lot sharper thatn the two tone. However, that's just me, it's your money, so your preference is what matters.At one point they (the anonymous "they") were saying that the a Vibe with a sunroof shouldn't use 17" wheels, perhaps something to do with the smaller amount of rubber would make for a stiffer ride leading to increased possibility of sunroof glass breaking, but I think they've changed their collective minds and now say it's ok. I don't remember anything about problems with 17" wheels on an AWD, but there are lots of nice looking 16" wheels out there too.I can't figure out what is going on with that steering wheel though, like there is some additional ring attached How important is power? It depends so much on the individual, and what you want /expect. You should take a car for a realistic test drive before you buy it. of the three Vibe model types, the AWD has the lowest HP rating. Might be good to go to a dealer and test drive some new ones, a base, and AWD, and a GT and see what the differences are. There are some things you can do to get some more power, but if you power is a prime need, then maybe the AWD isn't a good match. I have a base, don't need the AWD where I live, and it has plenty of acceleration for me.I'm not sure what other ones you were seeing on autotrader that you compared this one to, hard to know why some would be more expensive than others. part of it could be different dealers/sellers mark ups and expectations, maybe the sellers of the higher priced ones are more willing to negotiate while this seller won't budge on the price. hard to know.After 16K miles, there's probably not much that will have gone wrong with the car, but the stock tires may be an issue, a lot of people have had bad wear on the original tires. If you drive in the snow a lot then you may want to get snow tires anyway, even with the AWD. I have no idea what the GM certified warranty covers, but the original factory warranty should transferr with the car, good for 3 years/36K miles. Also the free roadside assistance that comes with it. Since the VIN for that one you linked is 5Y2SM62803Z464683 that means that it was the 64683'rd vibe built in 03, so it was towards the end of the 2003 production run, which means that the original 3 year warranty may have started later than another Vibe that has a lower last 5 VIN digits. Depends on when it was first sold.

[Shane1V]

Thank you!!Keep the advice coming people!

[1badvibe]

well with the money you save you could invest in wheels, springs, CAI, there are alot of 16" out there, just look around, i got 2 of my wheels for $35, finding the other 2 was the trick, didn't get that lucky with the other 2, but if average it out about $60 a piece, good luck

[Kari]

It's some kind of a steering wheel cover, it looks like, but definitely nothing I've ever seen before. Looks sorta cool though! Differences in pricing don't really mean there's necessarily anything wrong with the car, especially if you're dealing with two different dealers. I've seen some used Vibes with very low mileage at the dealership mine came from. I seem to remember the price on a frosty 2-tone '03 auto with moon and tunes being about 13K, when the '04s were still on the lot.

[kostby]

Be sure to check kbb.com, cars.com and/or edmunds.com for current used car prices in your area (I believe they use zip code or city/state to account for regional differences.The wheel covers are the factory 16" wheel covers which came with the standard steel wheels. The steering wheel cover apparently has slipped (or was incorrectly installed) so that the white inside of the cover is showing behind the steering wheel.One factor which could account for a $2k difference in price is that the car was damaged in an accident and rebuilt without a 'salvage title' ever being issued. Another possibility is that it was repossessed. The final possibility that comes to mind is that you've just found a GREAT deal: Perhaps the dealer has had it sitting around for a while and wants to move it!

[Shane1V]

AHHHH!!! That scares me.... anyway to discover that??("Damged in accident and rebult minus a salvage title")?!? Probably not, considering there would be no salvage title to look up.I'm scared now. Someone slap me and then make me feel better.Why would repossessed mean lower price?(me duh)I'm praying it's as good a deals it looks, but you know the old sayings...

[kostby]

It's UNLIKELY, but not impossible, that the car would be GM Certified if it was severely damaged and then rebuilt. Same thing for a repossession. Generally repo's are worth less simply because they have been 'repo-ed'. If the owner knew the car was being repo-ed (wouldn't be hard to guess it was going to happen if you quit making your monthly payments!), there is the opportunity for sabotage to occur before the car is retrieved by the dealer/bank/finance company. Sometimes windows are broken, locks are punched, etc. in order to retrieve the car.1) Make the dealer show you the 'CarFax' or 'Autocheck' records for the vehicle. You can pay a fee and order them yourself (www.carfax.com, http://www.autocheck.com starting around $20-30), but many dealers will provide them to prospective buyers upon request. A clean report is still not a 100% GUARANTEE of a vehicle without prior any accident damage, but it's a good start. I believe CarFax and Autocheck also offer some form of 'insurance' against fraud for an additional fee.2) If there's STILL any doubt in your mind, get permission to take the car to someone YOU trust (e.g. auto mechanic, auto body shop) who can carefully examine it and tell you if it has signs of accident damage that has been repaired.Good luck!

[Psychobroker]

If you're really worried, Just run a http://www.carfax.com check on the VIN and that'll tell you everything you need to know.Oh, and you don't need to bold every other post. We read you loud and clear Good luck

[AKLGT]

i highly doubt the car would be a repo. the banks generally handle that, even if the car was bought at auction. no way is GM going to certify something they know nothing about either! i've purchased a repo car myself in the past. was a great deal! about half of what it'd have been new... but i didn't like the car itself and sold it 2 mos later for about $1500 more than i paid and still $1000 less than retail! it sold in 2 days! if the car is GM certified and has their "extended" used car warranty, it's less money with more options (and monotone is much better looking IMO), then sounds like a great find!