My first ever vibe!

[hispida]

Back in April my boyfriend and I were rear-ended in our 2010 hyundai accent. The little car was totaled. We spent weeks and weeks researching what vehicle we should get next, what would most fit us and our lifestyle. It wasn't long before we both kept going back to the vibe, becoming more impressed and desirous each time. This is the car we need! So when the insurance company finally refunded us the cost of a rental, we set about finding one locally. Being on a tight budget, we were elated to talk a buyer down to a grand on this awesome little 03.
The car definitely needs some work. I've never been really interested in learning about cars until now. I'm in love, and i want to be able to fix this vibe up and keep it going for awhile. I even checked the filters and fluid levels already. (that nasty filter pictured is the cabin air filter). The windshield needs replaced, ac compressor clutch, flap motor, and some other small things. It really runs beautifully, though. And probably the most comfortable car I've ever been in. That being said, I'll probably be around asking a lot of dumb questions, so bear with me please!
First off, is there anything that can be done about the body work without consulting a body shop?

[trb]

Welcome! Glad you found us and you do have a nice project with that Vibe! The door handles are pretty easy to replace, and the front fender could possibly be worked on a bit from the back to have it not look as bad, but that rear quarter panel really needs a replacement panel to repair it correctly. It could be made presentable by pulling the metal out and using bondo. It won't look 100% correct, but might be good enough to get by. Probably the best option is to find a small independent shop to work on it, or maybe someone that can work on it after hours. But that could take some time if they did it as extra work. It looks like a good $2-3K + repair if done professionally, and that is probably most of what the car is worth, if not more. I personally would not spend more than a several hundred on repairing it. After all, it is almost a 13 yr old car.

As for the roof and hood, you can spray paint them yourselves (or even use a roller!) if you wanted to. I painted the roof on my 03 GT with matte black Rustoleum paint since it was peeling and starting to rust in spots. At least now it is one solid color on the roof. Several people on here have black painted hoods too, and it does not look bad if you do the hood and roof the same. I may end up painting a hood black too for mine if I can find one that does not have any dents or damage for cheap. Mine needs paint, and has lots of (hail?) dents on it.

Here are some pics of my roof:



Good luck with it!

[Nasmfell]

Welcome! Glad you found us and you do have a nice project with that Vibe! The door handles are pretty easy to replace, and the front fender could possibly be worked on a bit from the back to have it not look as bad, but that rear quarter panel really needs a replacement panel to repair it correctly. It could be made presentable by pulling the metal out and using bondo. It won't look 100% correct, but might be good enough to get by. Probably the best option is to find a small independent shop to work on it, or maybe someone that can work on it after hours. But that could take some time if they did it as extra work. It looks like a good $2-3K + repair if done professionally, and that is probably most of what the car is worth, if not more. I personally would not spend more than a several hundred on repairing it. After all, it is almost a 13 yr old car.

As for the roof and hood, you can spray paint them yourselves (or even use a roller!) if you wanted to. I painted the roof on my 03 GT with matte black Rustoleum paint since it was peeling and starting to rust in spots. At least now it is one solid color on the roof. Several people on here have black painted hoods too, and it does not look bad if you do the hood and roof the same. I may end up painting a hood black too for mine if I can find one that does not have any dents or damage for cheap. Mine needs paint, and has lots of (hail?) dents on it.

Here are some pics of my roof:



Good luck with it!

In other words, they're screwed? They paid $1000 and would probably invest another $1000 or 2 to get in good shape body wise? Nice Vibe, regardless,too bad they could not find one that did not have that damage.

[vibrologist]

No, they are not screwed. At this point I think they are shrewd. They got a Vibe that fits their lifestyle and it runs beautifully!

trb is correct about the rear quarter panel. To do it right you need a pro. But you can improve on it, get it much better than it is. You can take the plastic panels out in the trunk area. That should give you access to some of the skin from the inside. With a little improvisation, wood and a hammer you can push the dents out quite a bit. Watch some videos on paint-less dent removal to get some ideas. If you remove the wheel and the inner fender you may also be able to push out the wheel arch. Flat black from a rattle can would be a good color choice.
Same thing at the door: remove the door panel and push the door dent out from the inside as good as you can.

Keep in mind you bought it cheap, now drive it cheap. That means with wrinkles. Move a wheel cover over to the passenger side, have your adventures with it and take the pictures only from the passenger side. After all a car is only a tin can, what you do with it creates the worthwhile memories.

Keep the insurance low by going liability only. The windshield could be a cost factor unless you can convince the insurance to spring for it.

That cabin filter did its job, I suppose! . Mine was black too.

[vibenvy]

Welcome to GenVibe! You definitely got a good deal on that Vibe and as others have said, with a little ingenuity and some elbow grease, you should be able to make it look a little better and more importantly, drive it for a long time to come! Be sure to post pictures of any work, repair, etc. you do to it.

[tpollauf]

Welcome to GenVibe A smart "upgrade" there young lady going from one of those Korean cars to the Vibe and for $1000 you really can't go wrong. The first priority is safety. As long as the car operates safely and gets you from point A to point B, then you're in good shape. Then as time and money permits, fix up all the minor boo-boo's. Again Welcome