New Vibe owner, introduction. (You may want cliff notes, lol)

[wireeater]

Hey, I just wanted to introduce myself.My name is Rich. My wife and I purchased an 09 Ebony White Pontiac Vibe this weekend (replacing my 2000 Honda Civic coupe). Prior to my research in finding a used car with sufficient features I was alienated from the Vibe. I had previously seen a few on the road in the past few years but never really took the time to actually look at them. It's probably due to (no offense) the earlier models not looking like the current body design.I happened to stumble over an 09 Vibe for sale on yahoo autos that came up with my search query. I was immediately pulled into the ad from thumbnail image. The car was very eye catching. This was not the GT model but it was steal appealing to the eye. Visually entertaining unlike the Civic/Elantra's I had my eye on. This car was 4 hours away from me but I was planning on making the venture with the family to check it out. Luckily I was smart enough to search strictly for Vibes and pulled up several that were closer to me (70 miles). 2 in particular caught my eyes. They both were Ebony White Vibe GT's with 17k and 16k miles, of course I opted for the 16k. So we made the trip to look at the car. My wife loved the looks of the car as well so she was not hesitant about it either. Car was ready for us to test drive at the dealer when we got there. The car looked great in person. It was also already tinted by the previous owner which made it even better. I love white cars that are tinted. We loaded it with the car seat and booster seat and took it for a spin. We both were satisfied with the drive and the peppiness of the 2.4L. The extra features such as moon-roof, nicely padded leather seats. Controls very accessible to the drive without much distraction and plenty of room. Gas millage was important for me too because I drive 180miles a day for work (4days/w) and 30MPG seemed reasonable. With disciplined driving I figured I might be able to pull 32mpg.Went back in and acted not too interested in the car because we knew they wanted to sell it to us. My wife, a very good negotiator told them to get us out the door with the car they need to take off $2,000 (They were trying to sell it for $14,995). Salesman came back with managed and he said he could only take it to $13,400, that was acceptable enough for us...we took it and that's how I became an owner, LOL! I enjoy the car and the styling. The previous owner debadged the rear which is fine by me, I like a clean look. I removed the dealer sticker yesterday so it looks much better in the rear now. I hope to get my money's worth from the car. I love that fact that it has Toyota drive train because we all know unfortunately Toyota has a better quality/reliability rep than Pontiac (aside from sticking gas pedals, lol).Please, if there is anything I should know about, let me know! I do all the maintenance work on my vehicles unless it's beyond DIY repair for the average car guy.Here are a few pictures

[Wolfman213]

Welcome to Genvibe!!!Great find and kudos to the wife's negotiating skills.

[ponta2147]

Great job getting a good price! That's a nice car, I was personally a big fan of the 2009 body style redesign too. Welcome to GenVibe!

[lovemyraffe]

Welcome and congrats!I'm originally from Dale City, not too far from you.

[Caretaker]

Yep, those pics look like the homes over behind Mark Twain Park. Nice Frosty Vibe at a great price. Congrats, and welcome to genvibe

[808 Vibes]

Welcome and congrats Nice and clean...

[TONY TAT2]

Hi !

[vibenvy]

Welcome to GenVibe! Great to see another '09 GT owner! Congratulations on getting it with some stuff already done (tint & de-badged hatch). Props on removing the dealer sticker and posting pictures right away !

[joatmon]

Quote, originally posted by wireeater »Toyota has a better quality/reliability rep than PontiacHasn't worked thatway for me, hope it does for you

[Kincaid]

Hi wireeater! Good looking car! Love the white (we have a white '97 Civic and a white '01 Accord).

[B14CK_H4WK]

looking nice!!!

[vibolista]

Good buy, and I guess the fact that it's one of those second generation jobs is Ok, too! Frost White and that tint does look good! Toyota quality, especially the robust drivetrain and Pontiac styling = Yeah, the second gen Vibe is starting to appeal to me as well. But, there wouldn't have been a gen II Vibe without that superbly penned gen I. Great price and good to see the big piles of snow melted away.

[wireeater]

Thanks for the welcome everyone!I actually work in Alexandria. I live further south (hence my 89mile one way commute). I live between Charlottesville & Richmond.

[star_deceiver]

Welcome to GenVibe!!!And many pics with the first post!!!!!

[bull77]

Welcome to genvibe!

[JetBlack09VibeGT]

Quote, originally posted by wireeater » I love that fact that it has Toyota drive train because we all know unfortunately Toyota has a better quality/reliability rep than PontiacThe better part about it being a Pontiac is the 5 Year, 100K mile warranty that you don't get from Toyota. As far as maintenance is concerned, you might want to go to your local GMC-Buick Dealer (who was once a Pontiac Dealer) and ask the service manager if your vehicle qualifies General Motors' 4 Free oil changes, Tire rotations, and 27 Point inspections that are good through the 2010 calendar year. Its something that went out to every Pontiac and Saturn owner and is VIN specific, so your car may qualify even though you aren't the first owner.

[wireeater]

Great information, thank you! I will check with my nearest GMC dealership.Yes, the warranty was the main reason I got the car. I drive at LEAST 30k in a year so I wanted something to last for the majority of the loan. That is the reason I stayed away from used Hondas.

[ponta2147]

Quote, originally posted by JetBlack09VibeGT »The better part about it being a Pontiac is the 5 Year, 100K mile warranty that you don't get from Toyota. As far as maintenance is concerned, you might want to go to your local GMC-Buick Dealer (who was once a Pontiac Dealer) and ask the service manager if your vehicle qualifies General Motors' 4 Free oil changes, Tire rotations, and 27 Point inspections that are good through the 2010 calendar year. Its something that went out to every Pontiac and Saturn owner and is VIN specific, so your car may qualify even though you aren't the first owner. Dang- my husband got one of those freebie certificates for his '08 G6, but I didn't get one for my Vibe. Luckily my first oil change was free at the dealer, but there's a good chance I'll have at least one more this year.

[jbski]

Do you by any chance know the percentage on the Tints? Love the way the White looks with that type of tint! Good Luck!

[jkm311]

Despite having an 2006 Abyss, I am a sucker for the white 2nd generation GTs with tinted windows. Excellent combo! And as many have pointed out, the slight modifications from the previous owner are tasteful. What a nice incentive, beyond the price!Welcome and have fun on here.

[vibolista]

Just go with the darkest that you can legally apply in NJ. Every state has different tint rules. Like Maine... only allows 50%... and that's total including the factory window tint.

[jbski]

Don't wanna go Dark or too light so I'm thinking 35% all around maybe

[Kincaid]

I think 35% all around is what J_To_Envy has and it looks great, IMO.

[vibenvy]

Quote, originally posted by Kincaid »I think 35% all around is what J_To_Envy has and it looks great, IMO.Sure is! It looks really dark for some reason in my sig, but it's really not that dark. It's a good % in my opinion. Dark enough to look good, but not too dark that is draws unwanted attention. I have a ton of pictures from all different angles on my Car Domain page.

[ArcsVibe]

Welcome and congrats!! Thank you for sharing your story and your pics