New member - possible new owner

[Eljefe]

My neighbor is giving me first crack at buying his 2003 Vibe for a decent price. Only problem, most of the motor is off of it. He started re building it and I guess just gave up. Car has 127k on it. The rest of the body looks to be in great condition. Interior also appears clean. He's asking 1500 due to its current state.

Any thoughts?

Thx

[tpollauf]

Grab it !!! Asking $1500 means you could offer him a bit less. Seeing that this is a neighbor I'll assume you know his history of driving the car? Why did the motor need rebuilt? That's very low mileage for the engine needing rebuilt. Find out as much of the history of this Vibe as possible before taking the plunge. Transmission issues .. manual or automatic? If the engine is the only problem then I'd say grab it and put her back together & drive it. Good luck

[KITT222]

Welcome to GV! For that price, I'd take it in a heartbeat. You can find lightly used 1ZZ-FE engines for decent prices, and can get a good, reliable vehicle for cheap. The same engine is in the 03-08 Toyota Corolla, 00-05 Toyota Celica, MR2 of the same era, and even the 00-02 Corollas (though they don't have variable valve timing). Do you think you could pull off the engine swap yourself, or could you contract your neighbor to do it (offer more than the asking price if they will put in a new engine when you find it).

[Eljefe]

Its an automatic that had knocking noises coming from the engine. Guess he didn't want to spend the money to get it running. I had a friend look at it this am and seems to feel the transmission would also be in need of replacing to. He said bases on the smell and look of the oil it would be cheaper to do it now. I think it might still be a god buy. If I can get it running my daughter will be very happy. No more mom and dad taking her to school.

[Eljefe]

Thanks for the info on other model engines that will fit. I'd need someone else to put it in. I'm no mechanic by any means. Hopefully by my next post I'll be a full fledged Vibe owner.

[KITT222]

Thanks for the info on other model engines that will fit. I'd need someone else to put it in. I'm no mechanic by any means. Hopefully by my next post I'll be a full fledged Vibe owner.

No problem! If you need help searching out parts, Craigslist could have engine/transmission combos, or try car-part.com. Local salvage yards should have some engines in stock.

[jake75]

2003 needing both engine and transmission - lots of other potential unknown expensive issues like a/c, computer. Proverbial pig in a poke. Maybe worth $750 on a (very) good day?