Considering used Vibe

Didi · Post by **Didi** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 12:34 am

Hi, I just joined b/c I am considering buying a 2005 Vibe. Just wondering if anyone has any opinions on whether this is a good idea or not, d/t GM not making this car anymore? Will it be hard to get the car worked on or will most mechanics who work on Toyota Matrix's be able to do the job fine?Thanks!

BlueCrush · Post by **BlueCrush** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 12:45 am

You should have no problems finding someone who can work on an '05 vibe if it is needed at either GM, Toyota or any other service shops out there. But you should really check with this site first for any issues that may arise. We most likely will be able to help you figure out the problem and you might also save some $$ by doing some fixes yourself.How many miles are on it?Base, AWD or GT?Color?

Didi · Post by **Didi** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 1:01 am

Its a 2005 base, automatic, 60k miles. I live in the Seattle area and the KBB for the car is $8,930. The seller is asking $10099. I was going to take a look anyway, but am not really willing to pay over the KBB. I've been looking for this particular car for a little while, but want to make sure that I get one that's in good shape and will last me a while. Oh and it's grey.Thx!

jake75 · Post by **jake75** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 3:00 am

KBB has 3 values - Trade inPrivate SaleDealerValues of course vary a lot depending on how you rate the condition.Other sites include edmunds and nada. Most dealers use what they call a "Black Book" - I think that one represents recent auction pricing.If your seller needs a reality check tell him to go to CarMax and see how much they will pay him for it. You would probably be happy to pay him $2,000 above what CarMax offers.Of course after CarMax waves its magic wand over the car and adds a limited (very limited) warranty their no haggle price is suddenly $4,000 more than they paid you.

jake75 · Post by **jake75** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 3:14 am

A base 1.8L AT with a/c and power package would be about $16,500 IF you can find one. $1,000 less if you don't covet power windows, cruise and remote keyless entry.5 years newer, the best (first) 60,000 miles intact, new tires, new 4 wheel disc ABS brakes, multiple air bags, stability control, and no expenses or repair hassles except for LOF and tire rotations for the first 3 years. If financing, new car rates are lower than used car rates.Buy used - at end of three years you are likely to have to buy again. Buy new and after 3 years you have another 3 years of relatively trouble free use ahead.60,000 miles at 10 cents a mile is $6,000, and the rest of the benefits are icing on the cake.

Didi · Post by **Didi** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 6:35 am

Thanks! We are pretty set on paying <10k and not financing though, so we're only looking at used. I was looking at a 2007 with 41K on it and they were asking $10,800. When I looked at Consumer Reports used car reliability ratings, they were not as good as the 2004-06 and the 2008. Does anyone have any opinions on those reliability ratings as far as the 2007 Vibe goes?

ou.grizzly · Post by **ou.grizzly** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 9:53 am

Bought a pre-owned 2008 right before X-Mas with 26,000 miles on it and now have 43,xxx miles on it. Vehicle was around $13,000 without tax, title, and plates. Vehicle is good... Liking it...

jake75 · Post by **jake75** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 10:44 am

I take the CR data with 2 grains of salt. Don't know why the essentially identical 2005-2006-2207 and 2008 models would differ in reliability. I have always been of the religion that miles matter first, and age matters too but a distant second especially if you plan on keeping it a long time.. A 2007 with 41,000 miles is a better choice than a 2005 with 60,000 miles no matter what CR says in their reliability ratings. IMO a 2007 with 41,000 is probably reasonably priced at $10,800.

09vGT · Post by **09vGT** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 11:01 am

I bought a 2009 Pontiac Vibe Gt with sunroof, leather, premium sound, and all the safety stuff for only $15,000. It has 26,000 miles. We know the dealer so maybe that why it was cheaper... NADA value had it at like $17,500.

jake75 · Post by **jake75** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 11:48 am

Quote, originally posted by 09vGT Â»I bought a 2009 Pontiac Vibe Gt with sunroof, leather, premium sound, and all the safety stuff for only $15,000. It has 26,000 miles. We know the dealer so maybe that why it was cheaper... NADA value had it at like $17,500. NADA what? Dealer; Private Party; Trade-inMakes a huge difference.

jake75 · Post by **jake75** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 11:49 am

Forgot to say - seems to be certainly a good deal at $15.000.

09vGT · Post by **09vGT** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 1:43 pm

NADA consumer. I guess it good to be good friends with a dealer

jake75 · Post by **jake75** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 10:03 pm

As you can tell, I prefer to buy new. A friend of mine always buys late model low mileage used cars. He has a dealer that will buy what you want at auction for $500 over what he pays. Obviously you have to be flexible on color but this method saves probably $2,000 over prices on dealer lots. The auction provides a lot of good info on the cars and of course the dealer has more expertise than a layman in judging condition. My friend has done this many times and never got a lemon.

Didi · Post by **Didi** » Sun Aug 30, 2009 6:28 am

How important are ABS? I haven't been seriously considering Vibes that don't have ABS, but was wondering if I should give myself more options to choose from.

star_deceiver · Post by **star_deceiver** » Sun Aug 30, 2009 9:41 am

Some people say the world revolves around ABS and TC, stabilitrak, etc... The Vibe is the first vehicle I've ever owned with these systems. If you drive responsibly, within your ability, and to what conditions permit, you'll never need these systems. Emergency avoidence manouvers can be accomplished without abs, Taking off from a stoplight on black ice can be accomplished without TC. Bringing your car out of a skid can be done without stabilitrak. IMO these systems bring about complacency and you end up taking stupid risks and driving like a moron when you know better hoping that if the worst does happen that the car will save you. Take the car to an empty mall parking lot, turn all or as many control systems as you can off, and drive the car to it's limits. Lock up the brakes, put the car into a skid, see what the car will do! Even better to do it on a rainy/snowy day. (Yes, I realise that it snows maybe twice a year in Seattle)And get a set of good winter tires... AWD on summers + Ice = ditch... And I see way too many 4x4 vehicles on all seasons in the ditch up here every winter, without fail!

Didi · Post by **Didi** » Sun Aug 30, 2009 11:21 am

Thanks. I already started looking at more Vibes that seem ok on paper that don't have ABS. It opens up my options a little bit more. I am going to test drive a 2007 tomorrow with 41K mi. It's listed for 10,800. I spoke with the owner and she dropped the price to 10k without any prodding from me. The current owners are the second owners and have put ~10k miles on it in the past year. I just ran the carfax report and it states that the original owner was a "rental." Other than that, the carfax checks out good. I've been looking online for opinions re: buying used rental vehicles, but was wondering if anyone here had some advice as to whether that would be an unwise risk? My sister in law told me that buying a lease vehicle was usually a good bet b/c those are maintained by the dealer pretty well. I'm just not sure what the story on a rental is. I'm still wondering why the 2007 didn't get as good a reliability ratings as the 2004-06 and the 08. If anyone has insight on that it would be much appreciated. Thx!

star_deceiver · Post by **star_deceiver** » Sun Aug 30, 2009 12:36 pm

Quote, originally posted by Didi Â» I'm just not sure what the story on a rental is.If it was driven normally by normal people and had scheduled mantenance then it would be fine. But we've all seen the vids of idiots driving the crap out of rental cars. Get a good look at it and drive a hard bargain!

jake75 · Post by **jake75** » Sun Aug 30, 2009 12:41 pm

Quote, originally posted by Didi Â»How important are ABS? I haven't been seriously considering Vibes that don't have ABS, but was wondering if I should give myself more options to choose from.The positive side of no ABS on a used car - they are complicated and expensive to fix.

jake75 · Post by **jake75** » Sun Aug 30, 2009 12:50 pm

Quote, originally posted by star_deceiver Â»If it was driven normally by normal people and had scheduled mantenance then it would be fine. But we've all seen the vids of idiots driving the crap out of rental cars. Get a good look at it and drive a hard bargain!Rental car agencies probably pay more attention to scheduled maintenance than do people who lease cars. I think it would be difficult to "drive the crap" out of a 1.8L Vibe.

star_deceiver · Post by **star_deceiver** » Sun Aug 30, 2009 1:05 pm

Quote, originally posted by jake75 Â»I think it would be difficult to "drive the crap" out of a 1.8L Vibe. Turn off the traction control, push the right pedal to the floor, pull up on the E-brake... how long of a patch can you leave before the front tires explode???Take the car to a forest service road or farmers field and see how fast you can go before you break the suspension...Use your imagination on how you would "drive the crap" out of any car... Stuff you'd never dream of doing with your own car.

Whelan · Post by **Whelan** » Sun Aug 30, 2009 11:13 pm

I have a 2005, but mine is a Matrix. Here are some details:2005 Toyota Matrix XR AWDBought with 29k miles, currently at 102,000Ordinary Maintenance - oil, tires - alingment - tranny flush - wipers - serpentine belt - spark plugs - brakes.Still runs incredibly and gets a good 28mpg on average (50 mile roundtrip commute)Pwr. everything, sunroof, fog lamps, 16" alloys, side skirts, front/rear valence (all OEM), 6 disc in dash changer.The car has been phenomenal and very cheap to maintain. It runs so good you would never tell it's got over 100k. I purchased it for 18k almost 3 years ago. The Matrix's are a little different in what is offered (packages A and B). And they had 3 trim levels. The Vibe has Base and GT and the Base can get things like the moon&tune. They ahve Base, XR, XRS. I went for the XR AWD as I needed the AWD.If you are looking for AWD or need it, the car cannot get stuck. I have tried and even with 8+ inches it refuses to stop, it just keeps going.

cptnsolo77 · Post by **cptnsolo77** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 3:13 am

You have a point! My brother in law bought a used crown victoria ex-police car. The county has contracts with local ford dealerships & the cars are very well maintained despite of what you may think lol. he bought the car with over 100K and gets 25 MPG city/highway & AC blows COLD! I was pretty impressed.

ou.grizzly · Post by **ou.grizzly** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 3:21 am

Matrix/Vibe's rear differentials tend to go out between the 100,000-150,000 mark even when the fluids are changed religiously.

Whelan · Post by **Whelan** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 5:30 am

A differential is at least easy to repair. Raise the back, unbolt, drop it out and put the new one in. My jack is handy for that purpose. Besides you can get them used at good deals.I'm not too worried about it because the rear differential wearing would be linked to how much the AWD is used. Being that it is mechanical and not electronic or able to be put on full-time. It only works for those few seconds here and there when the front wheels slip, thus engaging the rear wheels. Allows for less use of the system and less wear & tear.

Didi · Post by **Didi** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 2:54 pm

I looked at a 2007 with 41K mi this evening. It seemed pretty good to me. Doesn't have a ton of options, but it does have power windows, locks, cruise control and a few others. No ABS. I tried to check it out pretty thoroughly. I noticed a small amt of rust on the bracket that was holding the muffler. The person who was checking the car out with me seemed to think that it wasn't such a big deal. The current owners agreed to sell it for 10k, which I think seems to be a decent deal. I'm going to get it checked by the mechanic on Friday, and if it all checks out then I'm just going to go for this one. I was surprised that they weren't planning on showing it over the next few days, but they agreed to drive it over on the ferry so my mechanic can check it out and I've noticed that they took there ad down. Hopefully I'll have new car this weekend!

Whelan · Post by **Whelan** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 3:32 pm

I assume your talking about the bracket that is held up by a big rubber bushing. I would be more concerned with the bushing than the bracket. A little bit of rust is fine and not a very big deal. But bushings over time can get hard and cause excessive vibrations. Not that you have this issue, just talking in general.I lucked out in a way. Was rear-ended on the highway at about 40mph, the car dove so hard he went under and only worked the bumper, muffler, exhaust piping and heat shield. So I got a new shield, bumper, and full exhaust from the cat back. Whoop can't complain on that note.

ou.grizzly · Post by **ou.grizzly** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 7:41 pm

Quote, originally posted by Whelan Â»A differential is at least easy to repair. Raise the back, unbolt, drop it out and put the new one in. My jack is handy for that purpose. Besides you can get them used at good deals.I'm not too worried about it because the rear differential wearing would be linked to how much the AWD is used. Being that it is mechanical and not electronic or able to be put on full-time. It only works for those few seconds here and there when the front wheels slip, thus engaging the rear wheels. Allows for less use of the system and less wear & tear.More to it than that one would think. Have to reinstall the rear propeller shafts. It is an expensive venture from what I hear especially considering if your build date is before 11/02 as 3 different housings are available.

Whelan · Post by **Whelan** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 10:46 pm

Could be complicated if one has no experience with repairs. I've thankfully broken down, replaced, and put in engines as well as transmissions. I redid the whole clutch assembly, slave cylinder and all on my old Saturn when I had it.Mine was manufactured late in 2005.

jake75 · Post by **jake75** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 10:58 pm

As a point of reference do a national search on carmax.com for 2006-2007-2208 Vibes 1.8L with AT and about 41,000 miles. I think you will see a bell curve of "no haggle" prices around $12,500 (if not higher).

Didi · Post by **Didi** » Tue Sep 01, 2009 4:11 am

Thanks for the info jake75. I'm thinking that if the car is in as good a condition as it seems that 10K sounds reasonable to me.

Considering used Vibe

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