Newby GT owner

[firetech]

Just introducing myself as a new Vibe owner. I'm in Barrie, Ontario, Canada (just north of Toronto). Just purchased a 2003 VIBE GT, 6spd, silver, dark cloth interior. 140,000km/87,000mi. Overall the car is in exceptional shape, wont need anything for the safety however it will barely move under its own power because the clutch is so bad! (I'm a licenced tech so I will be doing it at home myself)). Done quite a bit of research on these, looks like it will be an ideal commuter car for me, going to replace my gas guzzler ranger pick up. I will miss the little truck but feel this car will make a good hauler for me. Never have been a GM fan, bought Impalas and Regals for my kids first cars, they were OK but rusted badly underneath. I had a Saturn 3 door coupe for 5 months but flipped it for the truck I currently have. The Saturn had phenomenal mileage but was too low for my old knees to get out of, was way too low when in hwy traffic and just felt flimsy with uncomfortable seats. Hated every minute of that car, except for fill ups. Hopefully this GM/Toyota experience will be better. I'm a Mopar guy at heart, have a Magnum R/T AWD and my son has a Magnum SXT. That's my story

[vibenvy]

Welcome to GenVibe! It sounds like you found yourself a very nice 1st gen (2003-2008) Vibe GT! We love pictures around here, so please post some when you get a chance !

[vibrologist]

Welcome, firetech!
Your Vibe won't beat the Saturn in fuel economy but it will feel solid. I am sure you will like it once you have the clutch replaced.

Yes, pictures would be great. I'd love to see those magnums too.

[firetech]

I will get pics in as soon as possible. It was a trade in at a Nissan dealer, got it as-is for $1800. No rust, new muffler shop resonator, all four disks and pads look to be 80% plus, tires at least 90%. Sub frame looks solid. Not sure what all of their normal issues would be but it looked great overall The only damage to the body is a couple of scratches and a small dent above the drivers door lock, and a coat hanger scratch on the top edge of the drivers door(it came from an area of the city where break-ins would be common). Interior is good no rips or burns, rear seat has evidence of where a car seat was so it is pretty dirty back there. If the dealer doesn't clean it up (don't think they will) I may send it for a quick detailing. Also noticed a loud click when the drivers window was put down half way. I am actually considering sending it out for the clutch work, Kills me to do that as a mechanic. I get nervous it wont get done the way I would do it. Unfortunately my wife is going through some health issues and my time is already at a premium. Just may send it out to get at least the clutch and clean up off my plate. Got it cheap enough I can afford to spend a few buck extra on some labour. Only thing I dislike is the silver colour, even with the dark grey lower panels the silver makes the car look boring. Love the look in pretty much any other colour.... except silver. May look into pin stripes or something.

[tpollauf]

Welcome to GenVibe Like with the others here ... awaiting pics of your VibeGT

[trb]

Welcome! Sounds like you got a good deal, even with a bum clutch. I bought my 03 GT for $2,900 with a clutch that was replaced a year and 9K miles before I bought it. The seller paid about $1,400 for the repair (clutch, pp, tob, master & slave cylinders too), but it was a cheap Korean Seco brand clutch and it blew out on me after only a few months more use. It was a bit of a project to change the clutch out as I'm used to the easy clutch jobs on my Mustang. I did a new flywheel this time too and it only ran me about $300 in parts, but best of all I know it was done properly with quality parts.

Good luck with it!

[firetech]

Heres a pic from the Dealers lot, hope it attaches ok. Pics of the magnum twins to follow

[vibenvy]

Thanks for posting a picture! It looks pretty darn good for a 12+ year old vehicle!

[firetech]

Picked the car up today, had a new LUK clutch installed and the fly wheel machined. I am a licenced tech, normally id do the clutch myself but time/health pressures at home necessitated having it done for me. $170 for a clutch kit and a friend at a tranny shop did the work for $500 cash. Now drives fantastic, even experienced the often talked about "LIFT", He checked it over for a safety, the only issue is the park brake doesn't hold and the drivers door stay hits the window when it operates. I adjusted the brake cable up at the handle but there was no improvement. Have to pull the wheels and have a look at the rear calipers. Anyone have any insight on the rear caliper/park brakes on these GT's, don't get into these to often, im more a heavy truck guy now. How do you get the fog lamps to come on (no owners manual)

[JerBear]

I am not super well versed on the older GT but assume you have four wheel disc brakes. The parking brake will probably be a small drum inside the center of the rotor and can be a PITA to work on (so I'm told) the fog lamps should be on the left hand (turn signal) stalk and you rotate one of the plastic drums towards the front it is below the light switch and they will only illuminate if the headlights are on. There is also an indicator on the dash the lights up when they are on.

[firetech]

So I put it on the hoist yesterday. very clean and rust free underneath. Pulled the rear brakes apart for a service. found the park brake shoes were new however weren't adjusted, got them all set up and now I have a park brake! Also found one of the calipers is missing an eye for the slide pin. Found a new caliper on a car at the scrap yard today, bought the caliper a piece of trim under the windshield a black gas filler door and gas cap for $30. Picked up a set of snows and a set of matrix alum rims f or the winter so now I'm all set. I think I'm gonna like this car, esp when I have such a solid car for right around $2600 certified and e-tested. Gonna pull the door panel tomorrow to fix the check strap witting the glass, when that's done I will have the windows tinted and she will be finished unless I can find a cheap used trailer hitch for it. Thank you to all that post on these forums, it is a great wealth of information. It confirmed my research that this would be a good choice when looking for a good commuter car.

[vibenvy]

Great to hear you're getting all the little issues taken care of ! Be sure to post some pictures when you get the windows tinted.