potential new owner

Guitarheroal · Post by **Guitarheroal** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 4:02 am

Hello!I'm in the market to buy another car within the next month and the 03-04 vibe gt has been a very strong candidate! It has a lot of the preferences i like (6 speed, decent power, decent gas mileage, good trunk space with the seats down).I still have a couple questions about the overall reliability of the car. I plan on DD this car and taking it on roadtrips also. I've been researching a little bit and it seems the main problem with the car is the clutch, specifically on 03 models? I was wondering if there are any other small quirks this car has, as every car does have them. I plan on test driving an 04 vibe gt, with 75k miles on it this Friday. Is there anything speicifc i should look out for? Other than the regular things you look out for when buying a used car (funny noises, leaks, etc). thanks!-Alvin

ramenboy... · Post by **ramenboy...** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 4:21 am

hey welcomei think on the gt's you should keep an eye out for clutch wear

Guitarheroal · Post by **Guitarheroal** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 4:43 am

i def will make sure to row through the gears to see how the clutch is holding up and if it slips at all. From what i've read, it seems like the clutch can be a hit or miss. Some people had their clutch go out at 30,000 and some are still on their original clutch at 120,000+

jkm311 · Post by **jkm311** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 5:32 am

I've also heard that getting the Vibe to launch smoothly is a lesson in patience. The ONLY reason I'm happy to have an automatic... With 1,000 others that make me upset to HAVE an auto. Hope you find a Vibe that's been loved. There's nothing like the value of a well-maintained, pre-owned jewel.

kostby · Post by **kostby** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 5:48 am

Welcome to GenVibe!Important to know (for a test drive) is that the GT engine has to be completely warmed-up before LIFT engages. And you probably already know that LIFT doesn't kick in until about 6200 RPM (varies slightly with model year), so be sure you have lots of room on the road ahead, and no cops around!Happy hunting!

Guitarheroal · Post by **Guitarheroal** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 6:34 am

Quote, originally posted by jkm311 Â»I've also heard that getting the Vibe to launch smoothly is a lesson in patience. The ONLY reason I'm happy to have an automatic... With 1,000 others that make me upset to HAVE an auto. Hope you find a Vibe that's been loved. There's nothing like the value of a well-maintained, pre-owned jewel.When you say launch, are you referring to actually launchin the car, during a drag race? Or just taking off normally?

Guitarheroal · Post by **Guitarheroal** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 6:35 am

Quote, originally posted by kostby Â»Welcome to GenVibe!Important to know (for a test drive) is that the GT engine has to be completely warmed-up before LIFT engages. And you probably already know that LIFT doesn't kick in until about 6200 RPM (varies slightly with model year), so be sure you have lots of room on the road ahead, and no cops around!Happy hunting!haha i wont be going too crazy. WOT in first couple gears and hopefully taking it on the freeway. No tickets for me! I have another car that can get me in trouble

jkm311 · Post by **jkm311** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 6:54 am

Quote, originally posted by Guitarheroal Â»When you say launch, are you referring to actually launchin the car, during a drag race? Or just taking off normally?Taking off.For example:Quote, originally posted by ChuckstrPT Â»I don't know if I'd wait for the clutch mastery...I've been driving my '05 for not quite 2 years, something near 40k miles, and it's still tricky to launch. This is not an easy clutch to master. There's a sweet spot, just hard to find!

Guitarheroal · Post by **Guitarheroal** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 7:01 am

oh jeez. Hopefully i dont stall, that'll be embarassing, since i've been driving stick for the past 6 or 7 years

jkm311 · Post by **jkm311** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 7:07 am

Naw. No stall... just a little herky-jerk. Kidding. Have fun with the Vibe hunt.

keithvibe · Post by **keithvibe** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 7:23 am

Quote, originally posted by Guitarheroal Â»oh jeez. Hopefully i dont stall, that'll be embarassing, since i've been driving stick for the past 6 or 7 yearsthen it shouldn't be a problem for ya.I usually don't drive a standard, but when I test drove a GT. I had a tendency to over rev it before the clutch engaged, *the clutch was shot*.I usually will start the car, and slowly let out the clutch to see where it grabs and then actually let it stall so I know where it's grabbing. I did have a ball hitting lift, and scaring the pants off the salesman.Things to check or have checked, clutch, brakes, ask if the Cat has been replaced, some have had issues with their cat going bad, that can get very expensive, cabin air filter(checking this will give you a good idea how well someone has been with the maintance) if it was replaced great, if not, you know you will need to go over the car with a fine tooth comb.

rAERRK · Post by **rAERRK** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 7:27 am

my 05 GT is going on 70k miles, 90% being city driving, and only the battery and clutch have been replaced/repaired.i can tell you its not a comfortable car for road trips.

Guitarheroal · Post by **Guitarheroal** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 7:30 am

Quote, originally posted by rAERRK Â»my 05 GT is going on 70k miles, 90% being city driving, and only the battery and clutch have been replaced/repaired.i can tell you its not a comfortable car for road trips. care to elaborate why? thanks

rAERRK · Post by **rAERRK** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 7:33 am

Quote, originally posted by Guitarheroal Â»care to elaborate why? thanksits probably the seats and position. then theres the stiff suspension. if you use aim or msn i'd be happy to tell you everything you want to know about the car

star_deceiver · Post by **star_deceiver** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 8:56 am

Welcome to GenVibe!!! With the sensitive clutch of the GT you should wear some very soft soled shoes. Much easier to get the feel for the pedals!!! Good luck on the hunt for your new (to you) car!!!

tpollauf · Post by **tpollauf** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 9:30 am

Go for it. If you want to shift gears then you won't let the stiffer ride or other minor potential issues stop you from getting this Vibe. It usually boils down to personal preference with us all. All of my personal cars have been manual trannys and always will be as long as I'm physically able to drive them.

ou.grizzly · Post by **ou.grizzly** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 10:36 am

Quote, originally posted by rAERRK Â»my 05 GT is going on 70k miles, 90% being city driving, and only the battery and clutch have been replaced/repaired.i can tell you its not a comfortable car for road trips. That is odd, I found the 2003-2008 Vibe seats very comfortable + supportive, more-so than my 2009. I think many others feel the same way.

Salsa Guy · Post by **Salsa Guy** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 10:58 am

Quote, originally posted by rAERRK Â»its probably the seats and position. then theres the stiff suspension. Well I disagree with that, but I have an 05 Matrix XR. I found it very comfortable to drive long distances. I think it rides almost as good as my T&C minivan. The seats are more comfortable than my minivan (which makes my back hurt). Perhaps the Vibe GT is stiffer but I don't know. IMHO

ou.grizzly · Post by **ou.grizzly** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 11:31 am

Quote, originally posted by rmckinjr Â»Well I disagree with that, but I have an 05 Matrix XR. I found it very comfortable to drive long distances. I think it rides almost as good as my T&C minivan. The seats are more comfortable than my minivan (which makes my back hurt). Perhaps the Vibe GT is stiffer but I don't know. IMHOSame seats

Guitarheroal · Post by **Guitarheroal** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 2:12 am

Quote, originally posted by star_deceiver Â»Welcome to GenVibe!!! With the sensitive clutch of the GT you should wear some very soft soled shoes. Much easier to get the feel for the pedals!!! Good luck on the hunt for your new (to you) car!!! thanks!

Guitarheroal · Post by **Guitarheroal** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 2:14 am

Quote, originally posted by tpollauf Â»Go for it. If you want to shift gears then you won't let the stiffer ride or other minor potential issues stop you from getting this Vibe. It usually boils down to personal preference with us all. All of my personal cars have been manual trannys and always will be as long as I'm physically able to drive them.i feel the same way, unless its a minivan or suv, i plan on shifting my own gears

Guitarheroal · Post by **Guitarheroal** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 2:15 am

Quote, originally posted by rmckinjr Â»Well I disagree with that, but I have an 05 Matrix XR. I found it very comfortable to drive long distances. I think it rides almost as good as my T&C minivan. The seats are more comfortable than my minivan (which makes my back hurt). Perhaps the Vibe GT is stiffer but I don't know. IMHOI will see for myself soon. I planned on taking the test drive on Friday, but i am getting antsy and might just head on over tomorrow after work.

rAERRK · Post by **rAERRK** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 2:30 am

Quote, originally posted by ou.grizzly Â»That is odd, I found the 2003-2008 Vibe seats very comfortable + supportive, more-so than my 2009. I think many others feel the same way. i dont know what to tell you. for a period of time i was switching between the vibe and another car, and the vibe was noticeably less comfortable than even the cheap mitsubishi i was driving.even to this day its a bit of relief when i get to ride in/drive another car, but im used to the vibe by now.

Salsa Guy · Post by **Salsa Guy** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 4:39 am

It's really like buying shoes. Some fit well and are very comfortable. but to someone else they may hurt their feet.

jake75 · Post by **jake75** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 5:12 am

Quote, originally posted by rmckinjr Â»Well I disagree with that, but I have an 05 Matrix XR. I found it very comfortable to drive long distances. I think it rides almost as good as my T&C minivan. The seats are more comfortable than my minivan (which makes my back hurt). Perhaps the Vibe GT is stiffer but I don't know. IMHOI have a 2007 SWB T&C. I do think the T&C is more comfortable on a long drive than the Vibe, except for the stops at the gas station. For our 1,250 mi RT to NC the Vibe is about 39 gal, the T&C 52 gal.

Guitarheroal · Post by **Guitarheroal** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 11:03 am

Well I went on the test drive. Again, it was a 2004 Vibe GT with 75k miles on it. The first thing I noticed was that the battery was dying/dead, because the windows didnâ€™t work and then the sunroof stopped working after it opened halfway. It should have just been because the car has been sitting there for awhile. I didnâ€™t notice any corrosion or damage on the battery terminal. But it started right up with a jump. I left the car on while I inspected the whole vehicle. The interior was decently clean, with a couple of flaws. The radio knobs and text on the radio was a little faded from wear and tear, but that is normal and not a big deal. I was wondering if this was a common interior problem for Vibes; the driver's window switch panel was coming off. All the buttons still worked though. It seems like a simple fix overall, either with glue or screws. Also, the passenger air bag panel on the dashboard was popped up a little bit. The salesman claimed that it was from sun damage, as it gets pretty sunny here in phoenix. He said that the car has a clean carfax and has had no accidents before.Other than those interior flaws, everything else seemed pretty clean. The car idled smoothly the whole time while I was inspecting the vehicle. I let the car get to operating temp before going onto the test drive:First thing I noticed was how high the seat positioning was. I tried lowering it, but I donâ€™t think you can, or I wasnâ€™t able to figure it out. After a few minutes into the test drive, I forgot all about it though. The seats werenâ€™t uncomfortable at all to me, as this was a debated topic on this thread. The engine was smooth, and pulled smoothly. I only hit lift once, in first gear, as the roads were pretty small and the speed limit was pretty low. The clutch grabbed and had no sign of slipping at all. So mechanically, the car was almost perfect. The only bad thing I noticed was when coasting to a stop, there was a grumbling noise coming from the front, passenger side. It sounded like the sound a flat tire would make, but the tire wasnâ€™t flat. I addressed it to the salesman, and he said he will try to replicate the sound tomorrow on his own, because I went on the test drive by myself, so he wasnâ€™t there to hear it. He said if he replicates it, he'll take it to a mechanic and fix it. However, past 15 mph, the sound was gone. The engine had a really nice growl to it. The car seemed completely stock, with maybe the exception of a drop in air filter maybe. I'm not too sure how these cars sound stock, but it had a nice snarl to it. So everything seemed good up until this point. I kept in mind that the car was 7 years old already, so it wasnâ€™t going to be perfect and everything so far is a pretty easy fix. I finished my test drive and parked the car. Then noticed something alarming.....The front bumper wasn't lined up with the fenders and the majority of the screws that held the bumper to the fender were gone. Then I went to inspect the front passenger side of the wheel, because of the grumbling noises and noticed that the wheel well cover was missing the screws that screwed into the bumper, on both sides. This tells me that the bumper was taken off, but supposedly the car hasnâ€™t been in an accident beforeâ€¦.. Overall, I liked the car. Just not too sure if this particular car would be a good buy, so the hunt isn't over yet. Most of the flaws arenâ€™t a big deal, because they should be easy fixes. Considering that this car is already 7 years old, it seemed like it was in pretty good shape. Also, the car didnâ€™t leak a drop. I popped the hood, and checked underneath the car a few minutes after the test drive and didnâ€™t see anything. The only thing that worries me is the screws missing from the front bumper, and the air bag cover on the passenger side that is popped up a little. I will probably still go in to look at the car again this weekend sometime. I still want to take it on the highway, and Iâ€™ll def ask for a carfax report. Sorry for the long post, and thanks for your time if you read it all. Be sure to leave your comments, as that was the main purpose of this post.

rAERRK · Post by **rAERRK** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 11:10 am

i'd definitely get an actual look at the carfax report rather than taking the salesmans word for it, it sounds a little suspect. and i'm willing to bet it is stock

tpollauf · Post by **tpollauf** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 11:31 am

Quote, originally posted by Guitarheroal Â» He said that the car has a clean carfax and has had no accidents before. Your salesman COULD be actually telling you the truth (although I rarely trust any of them ) Lets say I owned this Vibe prior to trading it in and one night while having a "few too many" I ran into a parking light pole. I then somehow got the Vibe home to where nobody knew what happened. Was then able to fix it in my garage at home without anybody knowing of the accident. Continued driving it till I traded it in an a different vehicle. Conclusion .... the Vibe WAS WRECKED, BUT no carfax report This happens a lot more than any of us would care to know about. If your eye is not trained to look for signs of body damage and/or body work, then have a trusted shop examine it for you and get their observation in writing. Then use it as leverage to negotiate a better price for you. Good luck

rAERRK · Post by **rAERRK** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 11:43 am

the price on it is already very low, maybe this is why

Guitarheroal · Post by **Guitarheroal** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 11:55 am

yeah, as long as its only cosmetic damage, i really dont care. Hopefully it wasnt anything serious. What about the window switch panel? Is it held on by a screw? Or can u just glue it back on.

rAERRK · Post by **rAERRK** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 12:18 pm

is this what youre talking about?http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=43395

Guitarheroal · Post by **Guitarheroal** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 12:23 pm

Quote, originally posted by rAERRK Â»is this what youre talking about?http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=43395haha exactly what i am talkin about! thanks for the link!

rAERRK · Post by **rAERRK** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 12:24 pm

looks like a common problem, hasnt happened in mine though

Guitarheroal · Post by **Guitarheroal** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 12:30 pm

yeah and doesnt seem like an easy fix either, unless you use super glue

Guitarheroal · Post by **Guitarheroal** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 8:40 am

Well I went to check out the car again. I went to take it on the highway and to check out the carfax. The car had a clean carfax, but history only up til 2008. Another thing i noticed, the a/c blows cold and works, however, it only blows on low or high. If you select any of the in-between, like medium, it still only blows with low pressure. I wanted to upload a couple pictures to see what your guys' opinion is. This is the main thing that worries me. As you can see, the airbag cover isnt on all the way. Is this because the airbag has been deployed before? Also, the bumper isnt attached to the fender on one side and the clips/bolts for the wheel well cover is missing.

rAERRK · Post by **rAERRK** » Sun Jan 30, 2011 2:22 am

the whole thing is really suspect man. only thing i can say is to have a professional inspect it before even thinking of buying.

cptnsolo77 · Post by **cptnsolo77** » Sun Jan 30, 2011 7:14 am

I wouldnt buy it with that passenger airbag in that condition. There are plenty of Vibes out there, just keep looking.

Guitarheroal · Post by **Guitarheroal** » Sun Jan 30, 2011 11:01 pm

yeah i would def have a mechanic inspect before ever buying it. Might pass on this one though. There actually arent too many vibe gts around my area. This is the only when that comes up that is a 6-speed on craigslist and autotrader.

star_deceiver · Post by **star_deceiver** » Mon Jan 31, 2011 1:49 pm

These are excellent points to haggle down the price!!!

potential new owner

potential new owner

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test drive number 2

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