Hello! I used to have a 2004 vibe. I sold it in 2014 to get something bigger. I am in Germany now and am looking to buy a second car and it is a 2005 AWD vibe. It has 140,000 miles. He is asking $3500, but thinking about offering $3000. It drives nice and besides some scratches on the paint it appears in good condition. I do not have maintenance records though. The current owner has had it for 5 years and put about 30,000 miles on it.
The guy who is selling took it in for maintenance and they had to add 2 liters of oil and 2 liters of coolant as they were both low. Should I be worried about this? I really don't want a car that burns oil...but I loved my Vibe and wouldn't mind having another one even with tons of miles if it will take care of me!!!!
Thanks for the advice.
mia
To buy or not to buy
Re: To buy or not to buy
You could lowball the seller if he is military and is moving soon. i saw that lots from people when we were stationed in Mannheim.
That aside, it is a little concerning that the coolant and oil were both 2 liters low...Do you see any visible oil leaks under the car? If the coolant is leaking, you should be able to see some "crusty stuff" near the leak where the coolant would have dried.
With the AWD I would also have them check the rear differential fluid level and ensure it is topped off. Those are known for leaking.
In general, as long as these cars are maintained halfway decently they should last a long time. I'd also check the little shelf in the front side of the rear wheel wells (where the rocker panels start at the back). These are known for rusting pretty badly there. I'd also check the rear subframe for rust.
The benefit of the car is it is essentially a Corolla hatchback so even in Europe parts should be decently accessible.
That aside, it is a little concerning that the coolant and oil were both 2 liters low...Do you see any visible oil leaks under the car? If the coolant is leaking, you should be able to see some "crusty stuff" near the leak where the coolant would have dried.
With the AWD I would also have them check the rear differential fluid level and ensure it is topped off. Those are known for leaking.
In general, as long as these cars are maintained halfway decently they should last a long time. I'd also check the little shelf in the front side of the rear wheel wells (where the rocker panels start at the back). These are known for rusting pretty badly there. I'd also check the rear subframe for rust.
The benefit of the car is it is essentially a Corolla hatchback so even in Europe parts should be decently accessible.
'74 Thing, '83 VW DoKa, '03 AWD, '05 Element
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'12 Highlander Limited, '17 Frontier CCLB, '19 Outback (x2)
Byerscrew Garage, GenVibe Facebook, How-To Index
Everything You Need To Know About the Pontiac Vibe
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TechMaxWare
- Posts: 12
- Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2019 6:46 pm
Re: To buy or not to buy
For a 2004 AWD that sounds like a decent price(referring to the 3500) but you might be able to get him down to 3000.
I took my Vibe in about a year and half ago and they had told me my coolant was a little low. But after they topped it off, I haven't had that happen since, so it might just be an age thing. My Vibe has usually held just about everything I've put in it(I change my oil ever 5000 miles as per recommendation), however recently with all the winter weather driving I have done trying to navigate through mounds of snow, it read about a quart low, but I was pretty hard on it.
I generally think if he's just trying to get rid of it(knowing he's only put about 30,000 on it in 5 years) he might not have kept up on all of the required maintenance. But honestly I wouldn't find that too big of a deal. Generally parts for Vibes aren't too expensive as well as them being known to be very reliable, so I would say 3500 isn't a bad price. If he has also taken it in and had filters/fluids added and/or changed, I wouldn't worry too much myself. The only thing that sort of worries me is the coolant being a full 2 liters low. You might want to ask for some general history on the vehicle as that is more probable to be a leak, and leaks aren't fun. Topping fluid off is one thing, but a major loss is another.
Hope this helped at least a little! I drive a 2005 FWD Vibe myself and have for about 4 and a half years now.
I took my Vibe in about a year and half ago and they had told me my coolant was a little low. But after they topped it off, I haven't had that happen since, so it might just be an age thing. My Vibe has usually held just about everything I've put in it(I change my oil ever 5000 miles as per recommendation), however recently with all the winter weather driving I have done trying to navigate through mounds of snow, it read about a quart low, but I was pretty hard on it.
I generally think if he's just trying to get rid of it(knowing he's only put about 30,000 on it in 5 years) he might not have kept up on all of the required maintenance. But honestly I wouldn't find that too big of a deal. Generally parts for Vibes aren't too expensive as well as them being known to be very reliable, so I would say 3500 isn't a bad price. If he has also taken it in and had filters/fluids added and/or changed, I wouldn't worry too much myself. The only thing that sort of worries me is the coolant being a full 2 liters low. You might want to ask for some general history on the vehicle as that is more probable to be a leak, and leaks aren't fun. Topping fluid off is one thing, but a major loss is another.
Hope this helped at least a little! I drive a 2005 FWD Vibe myself and have for about 4 and a half years now.
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Caretaker
Re: To buy or not to buy
walk away......walk away. This oil burning issue isn't anything you want to deal with
Re: To buy or not to buy
I agree. My first had oil loss with no leak, had to be burning it. I figure that's why catalytic converters didn't last long on that one