Newbie seeking advice

[ihatefastcars]

Hello all,
I am a graduate student looking for a car to get me to my part time job M-F (30 miles each way), and would really love that car to be a Vibe.
I am in the market for a new (to me) Vibe. I know that I want a pre-redesign (so, 2003-2008) Vibe. Can drive a manual transmission (my last car was a manual '82 VW Vanagon. I lived in San Francisco at the time, and got pretty good at hauling that thing up those famous hills/perilous parallel parking).
I am thinking that I will have a mechanic go over any Vibe I'm seriously considering buying. My big question is, what should I ask them to look out for? In other words, what specific things tend to need tending on older Vibes? I've been browsing this site for a couple weeks now, but have yet to see a consolidated "common mechanical problems" type thread; sorry if I missed it!
Nice to meet you, and hoping I'll be adding my Vibe's info to my sig in the not-too-distant future!

[joatmon]

Welcome to genvibe

The 03 and perhaps 04 manual 5-speed trannies had a higher than expected number of bearing failures. My first 03 had that, and I ended up replacing it with an 05 corolla tranny. Others have put in the 6-speed (from the Vibe GT/Matrix XRS/etc) While some have had problems with the automatic transmissions, in general the auto trannies have proven to be quite reliable.

Given your username here, I'd say avoid the 1st gen Vibe GTs. They take more than regular gas, and had above normal amounts of premature clutch failures in the early GTs The extra boost of power in the GTs only really kicks in at 6000+ rpms,

Some have had oil consumption problems. My first 03 did. Didn't seem to leak or smoke, but got to the point of having to add another quart every 1500 miles. I expect California emissions testing to be more thorough than what I have, so it may pick up on something like that. Also as the 1st gens get older some have developed oil leaks

Some of the 1st gen AWDs have had rear differential issues

Been a lot of catalytic converter failures, but I don't know if that is typical or if the incidence is higher in Vibes.

Worn/noisy serpentine belt tensioners get reported here periodically

There have been a lot of failures of a plastic gear in a motor that moves the HVAC flap between fresh air and recirculate. Not a disaster type thing, but be sure to switch between fresh and recirculate during your test drive, the problem is a regular slow tapping sound from behind the glove box.

There's been other issues, brakes, wheel bearings, CV joints, AC issues, water leaks, Pretty much anything that tends to go wrong with cars in general has happened, but not so much that I'd say it was an inherent problem area with Vibes. If I missed any Vibe specific reliability issues, some else will speak up.

I ended up trading in my 03 5 speed at 288K miles for an 03 automatic at 150K miles, gaining power windows/locks in the process, and it was a nice upgrade. I know how to drive manual, but I found the Vibe more challenging than other manuals I've had when taking off uphill. Most of my miles are on fairly open roads, but sometimes get caught up in DC traffic, and the automatic is really handy in stop&go backups. I was able to average 35.5 mpg over the 288K miles in the manual, and get 33-34 overall in the automatic, I think a big factor in getting those numbers was driving long stretches at about 60 mph with few stops. Still, while the manual did give me better gas mileage, even over 288K miles it wasn't enough to offset the cost of tranny and clutch replacements.

Good luck in the search.

[ihatefastcars]

Joatmon,
Thanks for the reply! Great tip about the GT, that's something I hadn't realized. (My username is more a declaration of affection for the buzzcocks than anything else, but it's true that fuel economy is important to me.)
I am currently considering buying an 04 Vibe (base). The seller is asking $4200. It currently has a little under 150k miles on it. I have a couple of concerns about it, and would appreciate hearing from genVibers.
First, the seller, who says he is first owner, hasn't replaced the serpentine belt since buying it new. How much does that replacement cost? What can go bad if it isn't replaced in a timely manner?
Secondly, seller recently replaced a catalytic converter, which he said was stolen in a park and ride parking lot. The replacement is not OEM, but was done at a decently reputable shop. It was welded in (see picture). Seller showed me the repair ticket, which had a warranty attached (50K miles or 5 years). The warranty, of course, is "conditional upon proper installment of" the cat converter. Does welding it in count as "proper installment"? Is the warranty only good for the person who paid for the repairs? (#8 in these guidelines sort of seems to imply that the answer is yes?: http://www.californialegalconverters.co ... t-Is-Legal" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ) I live in CA, so want to be sure about this.
Any thoughts? Thanks to all who take the time to help me out :>

Here is an image of the replacement catalytic converter:

[trb]

Welcome!

Regarding the serpentine belt, it is a very cheap belt, like $20 or less, but it can be a bit tricky to install it if you haven't done one before. I need to do mine on my 03 GT since the prior owner did it at about 100K, and it is close to 210K now. My pre purchase inspection report suggested replacing it, so I have one on hand already. Luckily these cars do not have a timing belt, so that is a big savings, not to mention one reason they have a good long life.

Since I'm not in CA, I don't know for sure about the cat, but if it was installed by a certified shop it should be OK. As for the warranty, I've never had anyone ask me for ID when going in for warranty work on anything. I've bought a few things second hand and had warranty work done, and even sold a couple of cars and the buyer used my warranty on the tires, battery and alignment.

Good luck in your search, and hopefully you too can find a good Vibe!

[joatmon]

As trb said, these cars have timing chains instead of the timing belts a lot of other cars have, and a broken timing belt is trouble. The serpentine belt, which is a different thing altogether, drives all of the pulleys on the stuff bolted on to the engine, so if the serpentine belt were to break, you'd lose air conditioning, water pump, power steering, and alternator function, the most critical of these is the water pump, without water circulation the engine will overheat. But also as trb said, the serpentine belt is a low cost thing.

I don't read into that #8 that the warranty would not transfer to a new owner. Welding that unit in would be the preferred method of installation, so no worries there. If it passes emissions test, then you could consider it an advantage for this particular 04, another vehicle with those miles and not having the cat replaced yet could be due for a cat failure, this one already has that taken carer of.

[Nasmfell]

Welcome to genvibe

The 03 and perhaps 04 manual 5-speed trannies had a higher than expected number of bearing failures. My first 03 had that, and I ended up replacing it with an 05 corolla tranny. Others have put in the 6-speed (from the Vibe GT/Matrix XRS/etc) While some have had problems with the automatic transmissions, in general the auto trannies have proven to be quite reliable.

Given your username here, I'd say avoid the 1st gen Vibe GTs. They take more than regular gas, and had above normal amounts of premature clutch failures in the early GTs The extra boost of power in the GTs only really kicks in at 6000+ rpms,

Some have had oil consumption problems. My first 03 did. Didn't seem to leak or smoke, but got to the point of having to add another quart every 1500 miles. I expect California emissions testing to be more thorough than what I have, so it may pick up on something like that. Also as the 1st gens get older some have developed oil leaks

Some of the 1st gen AWDs have had rear differential issues

Been a lot of catalytic converter failures, but I don't know if that is typical or if the incidence is higher in Vibes.

Worn/noisy serpentine belt tensioners get reported here periodically

There have been a lot of failures of a plastic gear in a motor that moves the HVAC flap between fresh air and recirculate. Not a disaster type thing, but be sure to switch between fresh and recirculate during your test drive, the problem is a regular slow tapping sound from behind the glove box.

There's been other issues, brakes, wheel bearings, CV joints, AC issues, water leaks, Pretty much anything that tends to go wrong with cars in general has happened, but not so much that I'd say it was an inherent problem area with Vibes. If I missed any Vibe specific reliability issues, some else will speak up.

I ended up trading in my 03 5 speed at 288K miles for an 03 automatic at 150K miles, gaining power windows/locks in the process, and it was a nice upgrade. I know how to drive manual, but I found the Vibe more challenging than other manuals I've had when taking off uphill. Most of my miles are on fairly open roads, but sometimes get caught up in DC traffic, and the automatic is really handy in stop&go backups. I was able to average 35.5 mpg over the 288K miles in the manual, and get 33-34 overall in the automatic, I think a big factor in getting those numbers was driving long stretches at about 60 mph with few stops. Still, while the manual did give me better gas mileage, even over 288K miles it wasn't enough to offset the cost of tranny and clutch replacements.

Good luck in the search.

The instrument cluster in some 2003-2005 models may be dimmer compared to late models.

[Nasmfell]

[quote="ihatefastcars"]Hello all,
I am a graduate student looking for a car to get me to my part time job M-F (30 miles each way), and would really love that car to be a Vibe.
I am in the market for a new (to me) Vibe. I know that I want a pre-redesign (so, 2003-2008) Vibe. Can drive a manual transmission (my last car was a manual '82 VW Vanagon. I lived in San Francisco at the time, and got pretty good at hauling that thing up those famous hills/perilous parallel parking).
I am thinking that I will have a mechanic go over any Vibe I'm seriously considering buying. My big question is, what should I ask them to look out for? In other words, what specific things tend to need tending on older Vibes? I've been browsing this site for a couple weeks now, but have yet to see a consolidated "common mechanical problems" type thread; sorry if I missed it!
Nice to meet you, and hoping I'll be adding my Vibe's info to my sig in the not-too-distant future![/quote



Hi: Welcome. If you can afford it, i'd suggest looking for a 2008. Reason being it is not as old, most if not all "bugs" should have been worked out, and one model (*no GT,AWD), there is also standard tire pressure monitoring. One other thing in its favor, with the demise of both the Vibe and Pontiac, you could get a good deal on one probably with under 100K miles.

[tpollauf]

Here is an image of the replacement catalytic converter:

Welcome to GenVibe. You may have posted an image of the cat BUT what I see instead is one immaculately clean underside 10 year old Vibe This baby certainly hasn't seen any nasty winter "salt- ridden" winters like we get over here in the MidWest. Looking forward to more pics when you get a chance and hopefully this Vibe becomes yours real soon