GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

How has the front monotone bumper been for everyone. do you think painted cladding is durable? How many stone chips do you have?

Over 2,200 miles now and 0 stone chips anywhere. The monotone panels seem different from the grey ones. The grey panels seem to be a rougher material with some texture to them. The monotone panels are smooth and painted to match the body color. Waxing should be easier with my monotone panels, since it is tough to get wax off of the grey plastic ones. So far, I love my monotone and wouln't have bought the Vibe any other way.

I have a little over 6000 miles and have only one small chip/blemish on my monotone Vibe. Nothing a little touch-up paint can't fix. No bumper can withhold all stone chips, but I believe the monotone bumpers hold up fairly well.

I've only gone 4,000 miles I have 4 scratches on the cladding and two chips of paint missing on my hood. I'm really disappointed in my paint job!!! The dealer gave me a quote on a bra for the car for $125, but he didn't have a picture. It has a GM part humber. I'll see if I can find it out and post it.

I have roughly 12,500 Miles on mine (driven cross country a couple times) and there is only a few chips on the cladding, they are on the sides where it rolls underneith the car. This mind you, is only because 7K of those miles were through construction (and Texas apparently thinks it is a good idea to redo freeways with a little tar and a lot of gravel!!),

Anybody consider ClearShield or any of those other clear vinyl protection systems? When my frosty mono Vibe arrives I think I'm going to invest in one...

It's not so much the chips on the front bumper, which I have two that I've been able to find, as the chips on the monotone sections on the sides of my car. We have an awful lot of gravel in the winter, which is a major problem on the highways, and it's showing quite a bit on my poor baby. As a remedy I have invested in both the front end cover and the molded splash guards, hoping that will keep some stones away.Does anyone have details on how exactly that material can be touched up or painted - what's the best approach (once winter has passed and the street cleaners have returned Calgary's roads to a cleaner state)?

quote:Anybody consider ClearShield or any of those other clear vinyl protection systems? When my frosty mono Vibe arrives I think I'm going to invest in one...There was some talk about the clear film protection here:http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id ... ead?id=751

UpdateIt finally went up to 50F/Sunny today (62F/Sunny tomorrow!) so I had a chance to hand wash my Vibe. I was surprised to notice a few more chips on my front bumper (monotone) than expected. From the winter brutality, I seem to have landed 3 small chips on the hood and 3 small chips on the front bumper.There are also a handful of smaller (not too noticable) specks of chips on the front bumper as well.Unfortunately I will have to blame this on being "attacked" by 3 wild salt trucks on the highway a few weeks ago during a snow storm. I cringed the whole time I got near and passed the truck. I could hear each salt pellet hit the Vibe.... Oh well, I will stop. Just wanted to give an update. Overall the chips are not horrible as they could have been and a little touch-up paint should take care of things enough to get me by.

quote:Can you notice them that much? I thought the good choice of color you got on your Vibe would hide those well. Unfortunately it is black under the paint (bumper and hood) so it's more noticeable than normal. Nothing a little touch-up paint won't fix.

im up in ohio and work construction.i thought my mono sattelite vibe was taking a beating.its 70 degrees today(vibe thermometer)so after 3 hours of washing buffing and waxing and cleaning.12 out of 13 supposed stone chips were rubbed out with rubbing compound the one that was left touch up paint and color wax. i do agree that the vibes paint job sucks its like one coat!!(cost savings i guess)but all in all its looking good.the interior on the other hand.....

quote:Nice weather yesterday meant a nice washing of the Vibe...To my surprise, no disappointment....the front end of the car is full of scratches....Same here, except I washed the car on Saturday, then refused to drive it yesterday when it snowed/rained again. I put a front end cover on after Christmas, and I think it's helped the whole rock chip acquisition process. I spotted a big new one higher up on the hood, but things look better than I could have hoped, given that I do plenty of driving on the highways visiting clients in remote, moutainous (and snowboardinous) locations.

i dont have the monotone paint, but a frosty 2 tone and while there are about 6 black "dots" on the nose, the sides are literally chipped to death i had the car about 1000mi before i put guards on and now its at 1500mi and it looks like its 3 years old while my hubby is a bodyman and can probably fix it( lots of sanding/painting and maybe clearcoating might help??), i'm a little disappointed about the durablility on the cladding/paint...i guess i should have equipped it with mudflaps before it left the showroom like i used to do when buying new...i thought the cladding would eliminate the need for flaps on the nose that clear shield is popular here and the people that put it on guarantee it for 2-3yrs before it needs replacing, dependent on the cars color