New Guy here.

[badcoffee]

Hey all, I'm the FNG.

Backstory: Drove a Matrix as a rental a while back when I was living in NYC. Loved it for a lot of reasons, mostly all the room it has to haul ****. Now I'm living in MI, and needed a car. Was looking at a Jetta TDI wagon, then I found a Vibe. Took it for a test drive, then wrote the check.

2005 1.8, 5 speed.100K miles. 1 owner. Clean Carfax. A few small dings/dents, but nothing unexpected for a 8 year old car. In and out are in surprisingly good shape.

All white, ABS/TC, Sunroof, tint, USB/BT cd player, new clutch. Missing one rear headrest (who cares, seats will be down a lot), and lower grill piece on the front passenger bumper. The big problem I have so far is a bad fuel gauge sending unit. From 1/8 of a tank to full only took 3 gallons. Debating pulling one from a junkyard or just keeping track of miles. I do have a 30 day warranty from the dealer, but it's 50% parts and labor. I have the 2 hours to put the pump in, if I can just convince the dealer to buy the part. I don't like the idea of spending $150 for them to fix it.

It came with winter tires and SHINY plastic hubcaps. Rims and Kumhos ($300 off CL!) go on tomorrow when the lug nuts get here, and I paint the nuts flat black (only found glossy online.)

List of projects:
New plugs/pcv valve/MAF cleaning tomorrow when the weather clears up.
New air filter and cabin filter when they get here from Ebay.
Brakes? (hopefully not) when I swap the wheels over
Tow hitch when it gets here this week
Find some cross bars for the roof rack. Haven't decided OEM or aftermarket. I like the longer Thule style, but like the OEM look better.

Hard cover for the cargo area. I'm designing brackets for 1/2" conduit to span the back, then the cover gets clipped to the conduit. The front brackets are mostly done, the rear brackets are next, then it's making a clip that screws to the cover and pivots around the conduit so you can get to the cargo without opening the whole gate. I've printed the front brackets in red, because that's what's in my 3d printer. Eventually I'll print them in grey to match the interior. Then it's finding a stock cover to trace a pattern for the wood top.

Carpet the whole cargo section with the same carpet that goes on the cargo cover.

Replace the 5 speed with a 6 speed when the original goes out - hopefully in a year or two.

I still haven't found a name for her yet. I thought it was Jessica, but then realized EVERY Jessica I know is bat-**** crazy.

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Pic from the dealer's ad. I'll take a few once the new stuff is on.

[Rayven01]

Welcome! Those hubcaps are epic (in a bad way), good call on the new rims!

[tpollauf]

Welcome to GenVibe What part of Michigan are you from? Anywhere near the Ohio border? Seeing how you have an '05 your original 5-speed may NOT have the infamous bearing failure in the transmission so don't rush it to it's grave. Glad you chose a Vibe as it truly is an all purpose vehicle. Have fun driving it

[Doug14]

Welcome, glad to hear those hubcaps wont be around too long lol

[vibenvy]

Welcome to GenVibe! Props on posting a picture right away! Also, as others have said, glad to hear the wheel covers will be getting replaced very soon .