GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Can someone explain the terminology? My car was "preferenced" on 11/11 and "accepted for production" on 11/12. Dealer says that means that the week of 11/12 is my build week. Sound true?Thanks. - Earl

MoteDai writes:"Due to a shipping SNAFU from the Chicago railyard to New England....over 80 cars destined for the Boston area are unaccounted for".Well at least you have given me some hope. My car was also shipped 10/7 coming to a New Hampshire dealer. Last check with the dealer, they were waiting for 3 Vibes that were supposed to be shipped the same day.I'm actually glad to hear of the shipping snafu. I had visions of my car sitting in a body shop somewhere with the roof gone after a train went thru a too low tunnel. That actually happened to a friend of mine awaiting a Tahoe a few years back.What do you think the odds are that either Pontiac or the dealer will give us a free oil change or something for our trouble. (No throwing things at me now by our long suffering Canadien friends )

I bought mine off the lot 11/12/02. Neptune Base, Mono/Power/Tunes/Al. wheels/gearbox. After tax and the $2000 rebate I paid exactly $17,999. I love it!

quote:Can someone explain the terminology? My car was "preferenced" on 11/11 and "accepted for production" on 11/12. Dealer says that means that the week of 11/12 is my build week. Sound true?Thanks. - EarlSounds very promising to me. Is your uncle president of NUMMI or something?

quote:It's interesting to realize that our Vibes has been built in the same day but will go in different places to arrive at destination maybe on the same day too... Nice!Mine arrived on Saturday, 16 November, and I picked it up today, Monday, 18 November. So only about 2 weeks from 1 November build date to arrival at dealer's lot. Here's hoping that the rail lines to Quebec are not too much longer than to Baltimore!

Good news... Congratulations. I think you're very happy!Mine is still supposed to arrive next week. Just a few days of waiting...quote:Here's hoping that the rail lines to Quebec are not too much longer than to Baltimore!I think they are a little bit longer!! LOL

My dealer called last night to say my Vibe had arrived on the lot...42 days after being shipped. I'll be picking it up Thursday. Hope all the extra miles being shipped from pillar to post didn't do any damage to the car. (I've heard horror stories about rail dust on the finish).

As you know, I got mine. On November 18. Was on order (not my order) since July I think. Love it. Love the 1000$ rebate for my collegial diploma. Love the 500$ I receive as a gift form GM (the new winter promotion). And I love the 1400$ from my mom Gm card (I didn't need it, the brought a Nissan Altima 2003).

My Frosty 130 HP manual was ordered in Aug; is now in transit, due Dec 2. The paint however, a positivly INCANDESCENT yellow, with a touch of pearl, has been waiting patiently in the body shop for weeks...BTW, I heard a story re the slow delivery to Canada that is so bizarre that it must surely be true! When GM Canada negotiated the price of the Vibe with Toyota, they thought they were talking $Can, but in fact signed for $US. Thus they are losing thousands per vehicle, and the only way to staunch the bleeding is to choke the supply...

quote:The only way to staunch the bleeding is to choke the supply... Choke this Toyota! Give me my VIBE!I find that very hard to believe that Toyo would make a stupid mistake like that. There has to be checks and balances in the process. There's millions at stake.

Well, I spoke with my dealer today in Calgary, Canada, and he said that I may as well forget about getting the car before Xmas. I ordered my Vibe on July 15/02. Still waiting. It has been preferenced to be built by NUMMI but still no build date.I thought I saw an offer from GM featuring no interest on a 48 mnt lease on the Vibe, valid until January 13th/03. Anyone seen this as well in Canada?

quote:I thought I saw an offer from GM featuring no interest on a 48 mnt lease on the Vibe, valid until January 13th/03. Anyone seen this as well in Canada?Yes. 500 dollar rebate and 0% financing/48 month. The 'Ring & Win' promotion.

quote:I thought I saw an offer from GM featuring no interest on a 48 mnt lease on the Vibe, valid until January 13th/03. Anyone seen this as well in Canada?Yes. 500 dollar rebate and 0% financing/48 month. The 'Ring & Win' promotion.If a can correct, it s at least $500 rebate (but do not cout to get more, there's very few rabate more then $500. You can dream anyways)If you buy our Vibe, it is 4.9%/60 months or 0% up to 48 months. (I called GMAC today and those are the rate and rebate available now)

Update:Spoke to my dealer today, and they got an update from GM Canada. I have a build date! January 6!!! I placed my order on June 24, and the dealer says it takes an average of 3 weeks to receive a vehicle once it is built. That means I will have waited 7 month for my car. It also means that I wouldn't be able to use all of my GM Card points (system changes January 1), or take advantage of the new promotion in Canada (you have to take delivery of your vehicle by January 13). Basically I'm f**ked thanks to GM. The dealer claims that they are trying to get GM to honour my points since it is their fault I'm not getting the vehicle before the end of the year. Of course GM is resisting. They are also trying to have my build date moved up. I have little to no faith in GM at this point. Doesn't look like I will be getting a Vibe after all. We were counting on at least the GM points, and GM has done everything possible to (removed) us off (the GM rep we have spoken to has lied so many times even the dealer has had to b*tch him out).Can anyone recommend a comparable vehicle from a manufacturer that actually wants to sell to Canadians? I realise it won't have everything the Vibe has, but I need something as functional and in the same price range (in $CND of course).This is one very disappointed consumer.

I used the Gm site extensively for some time to track down my Vibe which I bought about 350 miles away from home virtually on the spot after talking to a few dealers. I was disappointed not to be able to buy in my home town but they couldn't come up with the car I wanted and I had jeard the horror stories about ordering. I became progressly more annoyed as dealers stonewalled me re any discounts and were very independent in general about selling the car. I am also annoyed with GM Canada as they have majorly downgraded the GM Visa card her effective 2003 and tried to spin doctor this into a favour to the card holders. I love the car so far but this may be the last GM I buy for a long time. I was finally swayed by good financing and the Ring and Win contest as well as my GM points. Having said all this, I am still delighted with the car thus far. For those who are waiting interminably, I say turn to the internet search tool of GM. Don't rush off to a distant dealer without checking their stock though. Inventory tends to be updated on Mondays so you might be chasing a non-existent car. I was originally looking for salsa but it turned out that they had made it a demo. It had over 1500 kilometers on it and they were only going to knock off about $175! Not much problem making a decision there. Love the grey anyway. Very elegant.

In Ontario 0% purchase financing for up to 4 years (not lease). Ring and win contest with minimum $500 off. Some winners will get more even up to a free car. I was surprised and pleased when the Vibe was included in the promotions as dealers had been very independent about everything.( i.e. no discounts and great difficulty getting dealer trades). Good luck!

I can relate to your frustration especially with GM. (see prior post). Obviously you can consider the Matrix. I was also looking seriously at the Volkswagon Jetta diesel. You can get them more luxuriously appointed than any Vibe. I hope that you will wage war with Gm over this points thing. I actually felt pressured to buy sooner than I wanted to because of my GM points and the expiry. I think they deserve some heavy duty negative publicity over this whole fiasco. Do yiou remember getting that inane letter about how they were doing us a big favour by not limiting how much you could accumulate in a year. What a load of crap! Do search the Gm Canada site though. I bet that you can find the car you want out there somewhere unless yo want something weird and wonderful! Best of luck!

I have been checking the GM Canada car finder site. It is extremely slow! In order to find a car you need the right postal codes, or at least the name of the dealers. Looks like I'm going to have to go through every dealer in the Ottawa-Gatineau region to find something similar to what I ordered. It still pisses me off that I have to "settle" for something instead of getting the car I ordered over 5 months ago. The main reason why I am seriously considering just looking at other cars is the blatant contempt GM has for Canadian Vibe clients. It shouldn't take 20 weeks for an order to be released, then an additional 7 weeks for the order to be built. Especially when U.S. orders are being delivered within 8 weeks of being ordered.I'm giving GM a maximum of two weeks before I completely give up on the Vibe. It seems that's what GM wants - for Canadians to not want/have Vibes!I agree that we should make a stink about this. Anyone on the forum have friends in the Canadian media? Maybe we can put a spotlight on GM, and how they dislike Canadian consumers. I'm sure that would go over well at head office.

Canadians there is hope. I ordered my Vibe AWD, sunroof, 17" wheels, security, NAV system, Lava, monotone on October 22 and my dealer said I would have to wait four months.I called them 4 weeks later to check on my order as my current vehicle was dying. I was told that there was no change in status of my order. I asked them to check other dealers in the area. Dealer called back the next day to say they found two cars one in black (two-tone) and one in Salsa (two-tone) that was about 350 km away . Both had all the other features I wanted. I took the Salsa They did a dealer trade and I had my car in a matter of days after that. Bug your dealers to keep looking around. Love the car!!!

You are not alone in your frustration. GM's attitude towards Canadian consumers is an insult. I find it outrageous that AJAC just gave the VIBE an award. I sent them an email asking them why they would give a Canadian award to a vehicle that is not available in Canada! I get more pissed every day. The people who should be really upset and doing more are THE PONTIAC DEALERS! They can't just sit back and let this injustice go on. They should be hopping mad and blasting GM Canada every hour of every day. When National Post did an article on the VIBE, I sent the author an email telling her about the outrageous wait times in Canada and that she should have mentioned it in her article. I'm on the blacklist at GM Canada phone help line I think. I let them have it every time I call. I won't take the standard form answers any more. I demand answers, ask why and then ask why again. I tell them they are doing a poor job, because they are. We need to band together and call regularly. If just one or two of us call, we are just an unstable blow hard on the other end of the line. If they are bombarded with phone calls from irate wannabe Vibe owners, they may take notice. GM is a huge company that is notoriously impossible to deal with. The love we're sending ain't making it through to their hearts! Everybody make the call. 1-800-gmdrive, 1-800-463-7483

Believe it or not, I bought my Vibe on the spot. Went to a "Midnight Madness" sale a local Toronto dealer was having and he said they had three Vibes in stock. Two were GT's which didn't interest me since most of my driving is city and most car reviewer are recommending shying away from the GT since the car only 'pulls' at high revs. The other model was a two tone base satellite (my third choice of colour behind salsa and nepture). It also had the power group which was really the only option I was interested in. The sales guy told me the person who ordered it had bailed and they been getting half a dozen calls a day from other dealers looking for them to give it up. Took it for a test drive and it only confirm my craving to have this car. Of course we started talking numbers. I had $2300 of GM Visa points which as mentioned in previous post would be reduced to $1500 in the New Year. My Ring to Win saving was $500 (not big luck for me that night in the contest respect). Plus of course I took advantage of the 0% financing to some degree. Nothing like using someone else's money for free. Plus did manage to get the dealer to give my a token $250 discount. Chances are the person who first order it did it before the price increase I bet. But hey, after hearing about the 2-4 months waits during my research on this car, I still considered myself very lucky. Or maybe since it was 11pm and the midnite closing time was fast approaching the sales manager wanted to chalk up a last sale. Also saw another salesman showing the car to a couple while we were talking numbers. I guess my evil death stare caused those folks to move on. Heh, heh. Only other dealer add on was the lifetime rustproofing. So I bought it on Tuesday and they could of had it ready for me by Saturday, but I was working on that Saturday and spent an entire restless week before I could pick it up on my next day off on the following Tuesday. So I have had this car for three days and I can postively say..."I LOVE THIS CAR!!!" Sorry if I been long winded, I'm going now to see if I can buy more toys for my car.

quote:Believe it or not, I bought my Vibe on the spot. Wow FastEddie You are the luckiest Vibe owner in Canada! I waited 21 weeks, which is by no means a record. What tranny was it? With a handle like "Fast Eddie" you must have plans to modify....

Hi Frosty. It's an automatic. Fast Eddie actually is a reuse of my nickname from a running forum site. I'm into long distance running and triathlons, usually place in the top 10% of my age group, and was a nick name my coach gave me in high school. The Vibe going to be great for transporting my tri bike and equipment. I will probably put in an K&N air filter eventually, but no other plans for modification yet.P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROSTY.

Less than a week!I went into the dealer and test drove a Neptune base, auto, power pack. Unfortunately we already have a dark blue Montana so asked what else was available. There was a silver GT and a black GT on the lot and by chance a salsa base with auto and power became available on the computer.Put down deposit on 15th October and it arrived on the 19th, I picked it up on the 23rd.I think GT's are easier to find on the lot's.

Thats very similar to how I got mine... Went in on June 25th to order a Vibe... I wanted Salsa, but ended up with Satellite when the dealer here in Ottawa had a cancelled order come in while I was setting up to order my Salsa. Had it 1 month later.

Just got a build date from my dealer (I think). I have been told it will be built 'the week of December 30th'. It looks like many other Canucks have been told the same. Problem is, NUMMI will be shut down - like every other assembly plant on the planet - from December 22nd to January 2nd. What up with that? A cruel joke on us maybe? Who else has been promised a Dec 30 build date?

Yipee!!!! I got a build date... I got a build date! I'm so excited. My dealer told me the build date was as of Dec 2nd (Monday). Now how much longer it takes will depend on shipping and transportation. I may make the Christmas deadline just yet. This is for the Calgary Canada area. As I mentioned in previous posts, I have been waiting since July 15th! Bring on the Ring In and Win promotion![Modified by lesterb, 12:43 AM 12/5/2002][Modified by lesterb, 12:44 AM 12/5/2002]
[Modified by lesterb, 12:45 AM 12/5/2002]

lesterb - my build date is this week too. Will be interesting to see how long it takes to get here.... I want to use the current US$2000 rebate, which is only good through 1/2/03.We live close to a rail yard in Moraine, Ohio, which is used as a transfer point for thousands of GM vehicles from rail to truck, so it won't have far to go by truck once the train gets here! - Earl

Way to go Earl, it sounds like the Vibe is going to be virtually delivered to your door step! I'm sure you will love the vehicle.The only thing that concerns me, propably an old wife's tale, but my car was built on a Monday right after the U.S. Thanksgiving weekend. I hope the car won't suffer quality problems.

This is frustrating. While I'm really happy for my fellow Canucks that are finally getting their Vibes (congrats all ) I can't but be annoyed that people who ordered their Vibes up to a month after I did will be getting their cars over a month before I do. I just can't understand the logic at GM.

yah, I kind of feel the same way. I'm glad people are getting their cars. There just seems to be no logic behind the build dates.

quote:I can't but be annoyed that people who ordered their Vibes up to a month after I did will be getting their cars over a month before I do.I will try to answer your questions....Maybe it's because of the dealer's allocation. When I ordered my Vibe, the dealer told me I will be his October's Vibe. At the beginning of the year, he was told by GM Canada that he will be able to order a certain number of Vibes. One of the lot will have to be AWD and he wants a GT, he can order it as he wants and for the base it will be this number.... I was told recently by him: "GM Canada offered me another Vibe if I order a Pontiac Grand Prix 2003 !" It's not very easy for the dealer to «deal» with that...Ask your dealer when the Vibe you had oredered has been scheduled at the beginning of the year. You will probably get the answer if you are lucky.....Good luck!

You know that really is strange. We ordered our in mid october and it should be here Monday...but then again, I think the dealer had already ordered one and it just happened that it had all pf the stuff we wanted.

quote: We ordered our in mid october and it should be here Monday.. I hope you do get your car Monday, but don't be surprised if you don't. Let us all know.

My dealer called me today (12/9) and said that my Vibe was shipped on 12/4. Not too bad, considering that I ordered it on 11/7. Maybe I'll get it by Christmas. (This is news, not gloating. I feel really bad for the Canadians here. If I were Canadian, I would NOT want to hear some guy in the U.S. saying that he'll get his Vibe in less than 2 months from the order date.)- Earl

No worries Earl... Its not your fault. Enjoy the car!

I just finished talking to GM customer service (nice, friendly representative) and she indicated the Vibe has left California on Dec. 5th now on the way to Windsor, Ontario. It may even be in Windsor already, as the Vibe was transported via rail. Once it leaves Windsor it will be on the way to Calgary, Alberta. GM mentioned that I may be lucky enough for the Vibe to arrive before Christmas. Talk about a Xmas present in Salsa! So far I have been waiting for 4 months and 25 days.

Hey.. I know something about Canadian geography. Doesn't it seem stupid to ship the car East to Windsor, then back West to Calgary? Isn't that like 2000 miles or so unnecessary train travel? - Earl

Still waiting and waiting...Mine was supposed to be built yesterday (dec 9th), called today GM service, and told me that she will be build "this week" !!! So, no car, no VIN, no delivery date and... may be, forget about Call/Win promotion. I'm about to change dealer and get the VIBE somewhere else more than ever... On internet I found nearly 14 vibes available in the province, so!

quote:Still waiting and waiting...Mine was supposed to be built yesterday (dec 9th), called today GM service, and told me that she will be build "this week" !!! So, no car, no VIN, no delivery date and... may be, forget about Call/Win promotion. I'm about to change dealer and get the VIBE somewhere else more than ever... On internet I found nearly 14 vibes available in the province, so!SCTM, push your dealer. I got mine to get GM to give me the $500 minimum discount form the "Call in and Win" promo even though my build date is on Jan. 6. They will also honour ALL of my GM points. If I can get it, then you should be able to as well.Good luck.

How did you get the dealer and GM to give you the Ring n' Win promo? My apparent build date is 'the week of' December 30th, so I don't expect to see a phone call in my future.Me - Ordered early September, Dec. 30th build dateYou - Ordered June 24th, Jan. 6 build dateGo figure.GM Canada, you suck!

quote:How did you get the dealer and GM to give you the Ring n' Win promo? My apparent build date is 'the week of' December 30th, so I don't expect to see a phone call in my future.Me - Ordered early September, Dec. 30th build dateYou - Ordered June 24th, Jan. 6 build dateGo figure.GM Canada, you suck!'Rater, I think the fact that I ordered my Vibe before the announcement of the change to the GM points program, and the fact that I will have to wait 30 weeks helped. Looks like you'll have to wait less than 20 weeks (lucky you), so it might be hard to get the point (but I would still try if I were you). If you are lucky enough to get your car delivered in the 2 weeks after build you just might squeeze in before the Jan.13 cut off date.Like I said in my earlier post - it doesn't hurt to ask.

Hi,i live in calif. out inthe desert I bought my Vibe on sept 1st off the lot . It is hard for me to understand all this waiting nonsense I underst stand that some of us like to order stuff on our cars and want it to be just so, but thats not me . I am the compulsive guy who doesnt really know or seem to care ,but has to go down and sniff around the lot and drive home that day... or forget it.The 1st car I was going to get was a mini cooper Most of those are ordered , but you can still get some off the lot out her in ca. but the prices were $4000+ over msrp!!! forget that!Next , I went look at some golf TDI's But the sales guy kept lying to me .... and if he lies ..he will steel too.. forget him and his stupid TDI's!I actually bought the "1 only at this price" vibe off the lot ,because of looking through the paper. It had 3 things that i decided that I did really want. 1)manual tranny. 2) sunroof 3) color white.(a good color for living in the hot desert).Now by this time I had been scoping the Vibe, so I wasnt that impulsive on getting that day. but to give you an idea how plentiful they are out here, In Victorville where I work,Ther were 9 on the lot that I had been looking at the week or so before i bought mine.In palmdale near my house there were 5. In valencia about 50 minutes from home, ther were 4 left ont the lot when I drove away! Mind you, I live in the desert about 1 to 2 hours away from the LA basin.. the places I listed are in the middle of nowhere too! I think that there is a Canadian conspiracy afoot Good vibrations Faultline

I just purchased my Vibe on December 12, 2002. Since I work as a sales consultant for a Pontiac Dealership....I decided to trade in my beater car (non GM) for an Abyss Vibe GT. Got the special GM employee pricing along with great rebate incentives that GM is offering. Just couldn't pass up a great deal.As a GM sales consultant....I can honestly say that I personally drive one of the vehicles that we sell.So far....I'm enjoying the car greatly!Regards,

Hey fault,Glad you found what you wanted. Unfortunately there are hardly any Vibes on the lots up here. My dealer has three right now (most they've had at any one time). They are all GTs (which means $5K-$6K CND more than base), and have none of the options I'm interested in for far more than I want to pay. That's the biggest problem. Unless you get lucky enough to find one of the few stock Vibes that has close to what you want ordering is your only option. My dealer didn't even get the stock Vibes they ordered in April/May until last month.If my dealer had the kind of stock U.S. dealers have I probably would have bought off the lot, and been enjoying a new Vibe for months now. But GM doesn't like us Canucks right now, so we wait and hope for the best.

My family called around dealerships in the GTA for about three weeks... We were told the standard "5 month waiting list" rigamarole... Finally phoned a dealership in Thornhill who said, "As a matter of fact, I have one on order that the original purchaser changed his mind on..." We went up to see him, got the financing done, and about 3 weeks later, took possession of our happy Power-Packaged Shadow/Graphite AWD Vibe. And we got a deal on the purchase price because it wasn't what we would have asked for, we were kind of taking it off the dealer's hands... then we got $500 extra off on the Pontiac Ring In and Win thing. So we're quite happy. We (me, my husband and our 10 and 6 year olds) LOVE OUR VIBE!! It's perfect for our downtown urban life...

Congratulations on your new purchase !!! I'm sure you will like the Vibe a lot ! And welcome to GenVibe.I have two questions... 1) If you bought a Vibe why do you have a Matrix as your avatar?2) Does GTA means Great TOTONTO Area?Thanks! Enjoy your Vibe

I finally got my Vibe! HOORAH! I ordered it April 29 and had to wait til Dec 16- but because I waited I got 0% financing and an extra 2500$ off for a Christmas deal! YIPEE!

Wow! You were "Lord of the Wait" and didn't even know it!Congrats

quote:I finally got my Vibe! HOORAH! I ordered it April 29 and had to wait til Dec 16- but because I waited I got 0% financing and an extra 2500$ off for a Christmas deal! YIPEE!Wow! I feel so much better now. I ordered my April 24 and received it the end of Sept. What the heck happened to your car? Enjoy!