New 2003 Vibe GT Owner

[davedyer]

Hi everyone

My first car was a BMW 2002 tii purchased new. Owned many different vehicles over the years. I needed something capable of carrying large items while still being a drivers car. Love the 6 spd, handling, comfort and great braking.
Car has only 55K on the clock. One owner!
Going to slowly do some upgrades like charcoal Prius wheels, Primacy tires and more down the line.

[vibrologist]

Welcome tot he Vibe family, Dave.

You caught a nice looking one.

A 2002 tii was your starter vehicle? Not to shabby either!

[trb]

Welcome, and that's a nice looking GT! Great score with low miles for sure, about 1/4 of what mine has. I know what you mean about a driver's car, especially having a manual transmission again.

Good luck with your mods and enjoy it!

[davedyer]

Thanks folks for you kind replies. There are a few issues with the car but minor. The drivers door window run needs to be replaced. The radio LED panel is scratched so much that you can't read it. The dash/console pieces are scratched as well so I will eventually replace those pieces. I will post some pictures soon.
What do you think about these wheels from the Prius?

[KITT222]

Welcome to GenVibe!

The Prius rims are nice and lightweight, but if they aren't 16's then I'd pass. 15's on our cars look a little ridiculous, and would need new tires anyway, which wouldn't be as sprightly as the 16s.

[tpollauf]

Welcome to GenVibe .. Dave! Update profile please so we know your geographic proximity! You'll love shifting through the gears on this Vibe. Mine only has FIVE but still love shifting through them. Visit often and get involved.

[davedyer]

Welcome, and that's a nice looking GT! Great score with low miles for sure, about 1/4 of what mine has. I know what you mean about a driver's car, especially having a manual transmission again.

Good luck with your mods and enjoy it!

I see you had a 5.0 LX. I bought one in 88 with a 5 spd. Came from the factory with a defective clutch. Hard to drive that car straight on wet roads.

[trb]

Welcome, and that's a nice looking GT! Great score with low miles for sure, about 1/4 of what mine has. I know what you mean about a driver's car, especially having a manual transmission again.

Good luck with your mods and enjoy it!

I see you had a 5.0 LX. I bought one in 88 with a 5 spd. Came from the factory with a defective clutch. Hard to drive that car straight on wet roads.

Yes, those defective clutches just had a habit of wearing out every 50,000 miles or so. And you can gather how many I've replaced with the miles I have on it! But seriously, I attribute it to mostly driving in Houston city traffic every day. And the occasional power shift. The LX is currently sitting in my garage awaiting a replacement short block. Broke the crank about 3 years ago on it. And it needs another pesky defective clutch! But I really enjoy the manual transmission much better than anything I can afford with an automatic.

[vibrologist]

Dave, those Prius wheels look mighty fine to me. your Vibe is grey, so the wheels will give it a stealthy look. Sublime!

Grey is a great base color for neon accent colors. So if you feel like adding a dash of color....it can make your car stand out.

neongreen.jpg (5.73 KiB) Viewed 5636 times

Dave, is that a blue heron flying about?

[davedyer]

Dave, those Prius wheels look mighty fine to me. your Vibe is grey, so the wheels will give it a stealthy look. Sublime!

Grey is a great base color for neon accent colors. So if you feel like adding a dash of color....it can make your car stand out.

neongreen.jpg

Dave, is that a blue heron flying about?

That blue Heron was shot in my backyard (The Chesapeake). I agree with the wheels as far as look and color. They are only 16's though. Perhaps I will stay with that size for a softer ride for now. I've always went with lower profile tires in the past. Anyone know what 17 inch OEM wheels are available in gunmetal?

[vibrologist]

I have a base Vibe with 16" wheels. Any changes will aim towards a more comfortable ride. That could be an age thing. I am getting too old for penalty boxes. I just had a look at my front struts as I replaced the busted fog lights. One of them is leaking a little bit. There is an excuse to go to Monroe Sensa-Trac struts in the not too distant future.

In 07, I think, we had a boy scout adventure canoeing the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior, we camped on a different island every night and had some time for exploration. One night we happened to disturb a Blue Heron he or she was only about 20ft away. What a majestic bird! On the way back we saw the same bird again.
Just two days ago a Crane or Heron was flying over the building where I work. It seems large birds make a come back in these parts.

[zythr]

Welcome

[cptnsolo77]

OOOoooooo.....Fox body with bullit wheels....

[vibenvy]

Welcome to GenVibe! That's a gorgeous 1st gen GT you've got there! I really like those Prius wheels! Definitely keep us updated on modifications you do to your "new" Vibe !

[Salsa Guy]

Have you hit LIFT yet! Congrats on your car!

[davedyer]

Found a set of those Prius wheels from 07 Touring.I like the way the color looks with the charcoal color GT. They're 16 X 6" offset +45. Next will be Pirelli P7 Cinturato All Season Plus Tires. The Pontiac caps are too big (the inner diameter). Going to look for an alternative from Pontiac or just use the Toyota caps.

[kaflex]

They do look pretty sharp there, might have to find a set for my GT

[Flip-Side]

Thanks folks for you kind replies. There are a few issues with the car but minor. The drivers door window run needs to be replaced.

There was a recall for bad rivets on the drivers side door. It caused the window to tilt and jam, which did sometimes damage the guides. To be blunt, go to a gm dealer and have them take care of all the recalls. This obviously includes the airbag system recall. Thats a nice GT in great shape, congrats!

[vibenvy]

or just use the Toyota caps.

Well, it is basically a Toyota afterall !

[SirLinux]

Thanks folks for you kind replies. There are a few issues with the car but minor. The drivers door window run needs to be replaced.

There was a recall for bad rivets on the drivers side door. It caused the window to tilt and jam, which did sometimes damage the guides. To be blunt, go to a gm dealer and have them take care of all the recalls. This obviously includes the airbag system recall. Thats a nice GT in great shape, congrats!

When I lower or raise the driver side window there is a clunk like it is hitting something in there. Does that sound like what that rivets issue is about? If I would take off the door panel would I be able to resolve that myself? If it is just something loose then it doesn't seem like it would be difficult to fix.
BTW - I took my Vibe in to a GM dealer today for them to determine whether or not the passenger side airbag is of the type covered by the last recall. It was, so they need to order the replacement and was told it would be a couple of weeks to get it in. I suppose I could ask the service dept. to look at the window but if it is an easy fix I'd rather not pay to have them do it.

Regards.

[kaflex]

best thing to do is just have the dealer check to see if there's any open recalls that still need to be done, and do them all at once. I had my gt for a year and had 2 done, need to make an appt. for another one still.

[doublesharp]

There are several Wheel visualizer sites where you can compare a wheel style's appearance to that of your present wheels. Cheaper than buying new wheels and trying them on. I actually like the factory 17" wheels better than any I have seen (Toyota has an almost identical wheel). I really wanted to go down to a 16" hoping for a softer ride but can't get a sidewall that is distinguishably different/taller than the 215/55/17s I have on the car now. Still too harsh of a ride.