Shopping for a Vibe-few questions

[Spooner]

Well I tried to get it for $7500 but they are firm at $7900. I am just waiting to see if it still comes with the 6 month warranty, if so I think I am going to get it.

[Spooner]

Well looks like I'm picking it up hopefully tomorrow. They put new tires on it and are going to fix the seat so it worked out pretty good. Wish the paint was a little nicer but honestly I'm going to rack up over 30k miles a year on this so having something perfect would just (removed) me off when it gets a scratch haha! Got to get the harness for the stereo so I can swap in my double din nav system, otherwise should be good to go. I'm sure I will be wearing out the forum as I figure out how to give this thing a full service.

[Kincaid]

congrats, Spooner! Post some pics when you can.

[vibenvy]

Quote, originally posted by Kincaid »congrats, Spooner! Post some pics when you can.x2 !

[98se5speed]

Congrats on the purchase! The high resale value of these cars blows me away. We bought our 2003 in 2009 for $4500 with 135k on it, and it was an absolute steal. We looked at all sorts of $7k+ Vibes before buying ours, none of them really any better. Maybe some with lower miles, but ours with 135k ran as good as any of the others we saw. Ran like new until it was totaled at 181k. Most reliable car we ever owned. In 2 years, the total maintenance cost was a front set of brake pads and a set of spark plugs. Otherwise we just changed the oil and put gas in it. You made a great choice for a sales car to put a ton of miles on. I too had some thoughts of "this car feels cheap" when we got ours, but it grew on me. Best thing was that the car never developed one rattle and felt as tight as new. Enjoy the new ride, can't wait to see some pics.

[Spooner]

Thanks everyone. I am heading in a bit to go pick it up. I will test it out pretty quick as I have two long driving days tomorrow and might take it to St Louis this weekend for Supercross which is another 4 hours each way. I just hope I have time to install the navigation system before then so I can listen to my ipod haha!

[Spooner]

Got her home yesterday morning finally and I think I like this thing. I will burn through a tank of gas today so it will be interesting to see where I'm at MPG wise. A couple things I've noticed is that the doors don't have a pronounced 'catch' at different positions. You can feel a stop as you open the door but it's too weak to hold the door with any wind-is that normal? Also the blower motor seems a bit loud at even the lowest setting. It works great, just kinda noisy. There is an annoying wine with the radio on but I'm swapping it out for my nav unit tonight so hopefully that fixes that, plus I never listen to the radio anyways. Guess I should dig out a CD and see if it's just the antenna. Over all I like it though, I like all the little cubbies and storage places in it.Do they still make the carpet mats for the storage area? When I have all my boxes in the back they just slide around which is annoying. I have extra some foam squares that I have on the floor around my motorcycle lift for my feet that I thought about using until I find a nicer solution. Thanks for all the help!

[sideshowalan]

The blower motor shouldn't make more than a low humming sound. Maybe see if there is a cabin air filter installed.You'll have to take out the glove box (one screw on the right sie, pinch the sides and pull it towards you). Then behind that they'll be a door you swing open to get to the cabin filter.If it's missing or full, debris can get down to the blower and cause a whining noise. There are some good write ups on how to remove/clean it out.The stereo wining sound is probably just a bad ground.

[trb]

You can get the Vibe rear mats on ebay and from a few parts places that sell the GM parts online. They run about $50-60 I've seen.Found a Monsoon mat. I know they have regular ones too, but their search website is down: http://www.gmpartsdirect.com/r...00790and a regular one:https://www.1stpontiacparts.co...d=146They also make a rubber one that you can look for. It is about the same price.

[zaxellord]

Quote, originally posted by Spooner »Got her home yesterday morning finally and I think I like this thing. I will burn through a tank of gas today so it will be interesting to see where I'm at MPG wise. A couple things I've noticed is that the doors don't have a pronounced 'catch' at different positions. You can feel a stop as you open the door but it's too weak to hold the door with any wind-is that normal? Also the blower motor seems a bit loud at even the lowest setting. It works great, just kinda noisy. There is an annoying wine with the radio on but I'm swapping it out for my nav unit tonight so hopefully that fixes that, plus I never listen to the radio anyways. Guess I should dig out a CD and see if it's just the antenna. Over all I like it though, I like all the little cubbies and storage places in it.Do they still make the carpet mats for the storage area? When I have all my boxes in the back they just slide around which is annoying. I have extra some foam squares that I have on the floor around my motorcycle lift for my feet that I thought about using until I find a nicer solution. Thanks for all the help!Congratulations:} Is this the same one that was on Autotrader?

[Spooner]

Thanks guys, yes it's the silver one from autotrader. Got the nav unit installed and the whine is still there so I am actually pulling it out right now to run a new ground for the deck itself. Hopefully that fixes it. Thanks for the links for the rear mat, and haven't had a chance to mess with the blower motor for now. I am leaving at 6am to head to St Louis so I don't have a lot of extra time before I leave. I plan on getting it tinted on monday if they can get me in, gonna go with 35% all around.

[Spooner]

So I ran a new ground for the head unit but it's still there. Anyone know where the factory amp is ground to?

[vibenvy]

Quote, originally posted by Spooner »I plan on getting it tinted on monday if they can get me in, gonna go with 35% all around.35% all around will look great ! Be sure to post pictures !

[Spooner]

Already have put about 1000 miles on it already. Really starting to like the little thing haha. I did have a CEL come on but everything is running fine and fluid levels are good so I just need to stop and get it scanned I guess. Probably just a loose gas cap or something. I had to leave town today so I dont know when I will get the tint done but I need to do that ASAP as I'm frying when I am driving. Funny how you get so used to things like that.

[journeyforce]

Check eBay for the mat. I snagged one for a 2003-2008 for $25. It was new from a dealer overstock. So they are out there for a good price. If you cannot find one for the Vibe then look for one for the Toyota Matrix. They are the same car. The whine of the radio might be a sign that it needs a noise supresser or the amp for the Monsoon system is having issues.For the blower noise, you may have leaves stuck in the blower motor housing.Enjoy your car. The Vibe is a great car for all sorts of things

[Spooner]

Good call on Ebay, I will check there too. The wine has to be in the amp, I will pull the passenger seat this week and see if I can tell where the ground is for it. I noticed that I can see a wire harness a little exposed under the passenger seat so maybe it got wet or something and there is some corrosion there. Still trying to figure out the CEL. I think its the gas cap as it never feels like it gets tight.

[rAERRK]

Quote, originally posted by Spooner »Got her home yesterday morning finally and I think I like this thing. I will burn through a tank of gas today so it will be interesting to see where I'm at MPG wise. A couple things I've noticed is that the doors don't have a pronounced 'catch' at different positions. You can feel a stop as you open the door but it's too weak to hold the door with any wind-is that normal? Also the blower motor seems a bit loud at even the lowest setting. It works great, just kinda noisy. There is an annoying wine with the radio on but I'm swapping it out for my nav unit tonight so hopefully that fixes that, plus I never listen to the radio anyways. Guess I should dig out a CD and see if it's just the antenna. Over all I like it though, I like all the little cubbies and storage places in it.Do they still make the carpet mats for the storage area? When I have all my boxes in the back they just slide around which is annoying. I have extra some foam squares that I have on the floor around my motorcycle lift for my feet that I thought about using until I find a nicer solution. Thanks for all the help!first things first - give it a sea foam treatment and make sure the headlights are adjusted properly as for the cargo mat, i saw that pep boys sells a generic mat but no idea how it fits our cars.

[Spooner]

Getting the tint in the morning. Cleaned the MAF which was pretty dirty and reset the CEL and so far it's not coming back on so I hope that cured that. Also I noticed that the noise in the stereo seems to be coming from just one speaker so tomorrow night I will tear into that.

[98se5speed]

Good luck on the CEL. Our 03 always had P0420, needed a catalytic converter. We don't have emissions testing where we live, so we never bothered to have it replaced. I bought a cheap OBD-2 bluetooth dongle on ebay, that way I could reset the light via my Android phone at any time. Also handy on our Forester, as it also has a constant P0420. Seller told me my new 03 always has a constant CEL too, he said it needed either a cat or O2 sensor. Probably a cat, and I'll probably just deal with resetting the light from time to time. Thinking I am going to do 5% on all my back windows (maximum sun protection for my kid), and do 50% on the front 2 doors, since it's illegal in IL to have any tint on the front doors. I figure at least the difference should minimize my chances of a ticket, while still giving me some relief from the sun. I did 5% on the back windows in our Forester, and 35% on the front doors, not as much of a difference as I was hoping for. Amazed we haven't gotten pulled over in that car yet.

[Spooner]

Got it back from tint an it looks great. I have had darker tint before but it's a pain to see out at night. I did have 28% once on my old Titan that I loved but I can't seem to find anyone that carries it anymore. 35% is the darkest you can go on the front side windows but the 28 was so close that nobody noticed. Also been driving all day and no CEL so I hope that took care of all that. Now I just need to fix the front right speaker because I have found that all the noise is coming from there.

[vibenvy]

Quote, originally posted by 98se5speed »do 50% on the front 2 doors, since it's illegal in IL to have any tint on the front doors.FYI as of October 30, 2009, tint is now legal on the front doors in Illinois, but only in certain combinations...Legal combinations are as follows:1. Up to 35% in the rear/up to 35% in the front2. 35%-30% in the rear/up to 50% in the front3. If you have below 30% tint in the rear, you cannot have front tint4. If you have an MPV, which includes but is not limited to, SUVs, Station Wagons, Minivans, and said MPV has installed privacy glass (smoked), you are allowed to have up to 50% in the front.I have had 35% all around on my Vibe since April of 2009 and haven't been stopped once. As a matter of fact, cops don't even look twice at the Vibe .

[98se5speed]

Wow, thanks for the info, J. If I were still a younger man, I would have probably kept up on this. I guess that explains why my wife hasn't been bothered in her Forester. Last I heard, you had to apply to the state with a bunch of medical forms and then get a special license plate that had "WT" on it ("Window Tint", although I swear they did it like that to seem like "White Trash"). Good to know they finally just wised up and allowed it. I'll likely still plan to install 5% rear, 50% front, but now I'm considering 35% front instead, due to the law and since I've been unable to find 50% film anywhere. I got all of the Subaru film at Walmart. Total tint job price, $40. It's got a couple of tiny flaws if you look reaaaaaally close, but for a ~$150 savings over a shop doing it, I'm happy.