Pontiac or Toyota Dealership?

[Imonaride82]

Hey. I am sure this has been covered, but I purchased a used 2003 Pontiac Vibe, and I have been taking it to my GM dealer. But I am not sure if it would be smarter to take it to the Toyota mechanic? I heard that when the Vibe came out, GM mechanics were trained to take care of this engine. Anyways, your opinions are greatly appreciated!

[BlueCrush]

For non-warranty engine work I would go to Toyota. They are probably cheaper anyway. Well, at least their parts are cheaper. Toyota will know their way around our engine better since it is in their Matrix, Corolla, Celica & MR-S.

[zionzr2]

It would depend on what the issue may be as to which would be better.Warrenty work will not be covered by Toyota if you have a vibe. But for DIY stuff parts are almost always cheaper at the Toyota places vs the Pontiac places.

[mathteacher'04vibe]

I found out that the pass. seat board assy is cheaper at Pontiac. Other than that, everything I have bought so far is less expensive at Toyota.Examples:Rear wiper (rubber piece only)Pontiac: $14; Toyota: $2.50Rear wiper (blade frame included)Pontiac: $29; Toyota: $10.50

[Mavrik]

keep in mind some matrix parts will not fit... ie the compartment air filter.At this point and time I would say however the Pontiac dealerships are very familer with the Vibe since they have been around now for about 4 years. Plus if you have a warranty issue and they see pontiac has been servicing your car... it all looks and goes much better.

[Mavrik]

Plus GM would have trained their techs on the car to. At least they did at the GM dealership I worked at back back in 03.

[DopeVibeGT]

Quote, originally posted by mathteacher’04vibe »I found out that the pass. seat board assy is cheaper at Pontiac. Other than that, everything I have bought so far is less expensive at Toyota.Examples:Rear wiper (rubber piece only)Pontiac: $14; Toyota: $2.50Rear wiper (blade frame included)Pontiac: $29; Toyota: $10.50Which brings me to this question. Why cant you get these at Pep boys or some other place? Why just the dealer? Is it that vehicle specific?

[Mavrik]

because the rear wiper on the Vibe is all one piece... its not a traditional blade. The arm and blade are pieces that are clipped together and not built or sold by aftermarket sources.

[ToolGuy]

The GM dealers have the proper tools too. I know, we sent them.

[ColonelPanic]

GM's the better choice since Toyota never wants to admit that thier engineering went into a Pontiac. At least that was my experience.

[kevera]

Well I just got the cold shoulder from a toyota dealership.I needed to get a tranny fluid change and a coolant flush.They said they will not service anything but a vehicle with toyota badging,and the vibe does not fall into this catagory.They were rude with me and I felt kind of stupid.But the toyota dealer wanted $89 for the tranny fluid change and $90 for the coolant flush,but pontiac wanted $266 for the tranny fluid change and $120 for the coolant flush,talk about over inflated pricing.The toyota dealer was Ken Shaw toyota in Toronto,so stay away from them,for dissin on a genvibe member.

[BlueCrush]

I took my Vibe to a Goodyear Service shop for my tranny fluid change. Pontiac wanted 3 times more for the same thing. I still get my motor oil changed at the dealer though. I got 10 changes for $10 each when I bought the car. Even though now I have them put in Mobil 1 Synthetic, it is still only $10 bucks. I couldn't pass up that deal. That and I get to go and sit in a Solstice once every 3 months/3,000 miles. lol.

[zionzr2]

Quote, originally posted by BlueCrush »I took my Vibe to a Goodyear Service shop for my tranny fluid change. Pontiac wanted 3 times more for the same thing. I still get my motor oil changed at the dealer though. I got 10 changes for $10 each when I bought the car. Even though now I have them put in Mobil 1 Synthetic, it is still only $10 bucks. I couldn't pass up that deal. That and I get to go and sit in a Solstice once every 3 months/3,000 miles. lol.AAAHHHHH, The price we pay to sit in our dream cars.

[ragingfish]

I personally wouldn't even take a toyota to a toyota dealer (if i owned one, which frankly isn't likely to happen either!) seeing how the toyota dealers treat their customers...around here anyway...