Hiya :)

[futureviber]

I'm new here, and i am in the market for a new car. Just got my first 'real' (as if all my others were fake) job after college and I'm tired of driving crap cars! My most recent - 95 Lumina - has recently suffered damage due to flying objects on the highway. Anyway, I became interested in the Vibe mainly because of fuel efficiency, and its super cute. I'm thinkign probably '04 or '05. I know that you all LOVE Vibe's.... so... sell it to me. Right now, it's between the Vibe and the G6, but I've also got an option at a '05 Grand Prix for a good price, even though gas mileage isnt as good and insurance would be higher.Anyway, I'm 23 and I only have a few things that i really want in a car - fuel economy, sunroof, cd player, ABS & automatic transmission. ::Edit - and safety too, duh!::So, I guess I'm just rambling on. Why would I want a Vibe over another car. What are your favorite aspects. Compare the Vibe to other vehicles you own(ed). Is there anything negative about the car - problems that you have had? Anything that you could tell me that would help me out I would appreciate!! Also, I wouldn't do any modifications to it - so it would stay factory, at least for a while and even then i doubt I would do anything extreme.Any help that you can give me would be fantastic!! Thanks!!Amanda

[MRCN RCE]

you're right amanda, we love our vibes. but if you don't plan on doin any mods to it, you're not welcome here. go away now. j/p welcome to the familyi've owned a few cars before i got my vibeGT. it's the most functional car i've ever had, and 2nd on my favorite list. #1 is a 300ZX, but thas a different story. as you already know, there's a ton of space if you need to move anything big, all the seats fold down flat, even the front passenger seat. i've surprised myself at how much i can fit into it. it's been really good as far as problems go, except for the clutch which is really only a problem with the GT's, so you shouldn't have anything to worry about with an auto tranny. if i'm wrong, trust and believe that someone on here will definitely correct me lolthe fuel efficiency is great, and there's at least one minor and simple thing that you can do to increase it: get a k&n drop-in filter. so if you can change an air filter, and use a spray bottle n a water hose to clean it, you're good my favorite things about it are the space, fuel efficiency when i choose to leave my lead foot at home, and the fact that even though it's a wagon, it's still sporty.if i think about anything else, i'll let you knowsorry to hear about your lumina, what happened if you don't mind me askin??where's hagerstown at?? i grew up in indiana

[futureviber]

I can't afford mods, trust me I would do a few things if it all wasnt so expensive (and i knew someone that would help me do it).The Lumina -- Minor backstory I work as a promotions assistant (free downloads at http://www.sallyanthony.com ), so I was working in Indy late one night, - on my way home It was just after midnight I was on I-70 right before the 70/65 split and a wrecker or some type of work truck FLEW past me something, I couldnt tell what it was but it looked metal, came off the truck and hit my headlight (which amazingly just broke the plastic off, the light still works) put some minor scratches down the side, popped off the sideview mirror and busted my windshield pretty bad. The whole left side is actually shattered (i touched the inside and its broken all the way through, i got tiny pieces of glass on my finger and can feel the cracks all the way through.) the 'bar' whatever its called bwteween my windshield and side window is dented and paint is coming off an all, there's also an area where whatever it was shaved the paint off the door handle. But it was pretty scary. This was early october, then this past weekend I had to go to Bloomington to work and my alternator went out, its about 2 hours from where i live and it happened around 8:30 at night so i had to stay down there, then pepboys worked on it on sunday and they overcharge and I left and they had blown a fuse and my turnsignals didnt work!!Hagerstown, between New Castle and Richmond. It's where Wellivers smorgasbord is if you know what that is.Anyway, i have had this car since January. Before it i had a 96 bonneville, which my mom totaled when i was a jr. in HS (Brakes failed) and then i had another bonneville and ran it until it wouldnt go anymore, almost 200,000 mi! I really like Pontiac, and would like to get back into one of those. I just havn't had real good luck with cars lately and hope that getting a newer car will help me to not have so many mechanical issues at least.Thank you so much for your reply! The having lots of room is really good because I frequentl and hauling stuff for work (CD's, merchandise, etc.) so I definitely need something with a fair ammount of room in it. I also hopefully will be moving to Indy soon and that would be helpful with the move i'm sure. My friend has a Dodge Caliber and it is similar, i like it, but would not want a Dodge.Again, thank you for your help!!

[MRCN RCE]

no problem, it's what we're here for the filter is about $50 give or take a few bucks, and you never have to replace it, just clean it. it's got a million mile warranty (seriously), so it pays for itself in a year or less, depending on how much you driveyeah i'm sure that was pretty scary. i'm sure the driver of the truck didn't even slow down or stop when the stuff fell off the truck. did you get the name of the company that was on the truck or anything??the pillar you're talkin about between the windshield and side window is the "A pillar". then the one between the back doors is the "B pillar", and so on the farther you go back in the cari know where new castle n richmond are. i was raised up in south bendi forgot to mention this earlier... the vibe actually has a toyota engine in it, so it's pretty solid. the vibe n toyota matrix are actually the same vehicle, just different body panels on the outside. you might wanna take a look at those too i've never driven a caliber, but i've seen the inside of a couple, and the interior looks a lot cheaper

[futureviber]

wow, the filter sounds like a good idea. if/when i get the car I will definitely try adn get one.The truck was going so fast, it was around me before i even knew it was near. I didnt get any info on it and i doubt that they even knew anything flew off. they went I65 and i had to go I70. It was so dark I couldnt see a name or plate number, plus theres no way that i could have caught up to them. oh well, thats what comprehensive insurance is for right. Looking back, I had a GPS with me, I should have just called the cops and tried to catch up with them and get a plate number or something. I dont know if that would have been any easier though. I mean, if nothing else, I just want the person to know what happened and that he/she should be more careful. If it would have hit the middle of my windshield, there is no doubt in my mind that it would have come on through the windshield - just based on how deep the scratches/dents were and how shattered the glass was by my A pillar. (Yay! I used new vocab!)Ya, the inside of the caliber is pretty cheap looking. She bought it new... which, i'm sorry, is absolutely rediculious to me, at least for just a car to drive a mile to work each day. Her payments are 350 a month. Fine, if thats what she wants to pay. But, it depreciated so much as soon as she took it off the lot. I think it is better to buy one thats maybe had an owner drive it for a few months, or a year or so that still has low miles, but is SO much cheaper. I can get a year or two old car that is just as nice and my payments will be around 150 cheaper than hers a month. which is much better to me I knew the Matrix and Vibe were the same, I heard the vibe would be cheaper, but I will look into the matrix also, thanks.

[MRCN RCE]

well the good thing is that you came out of the situation ok. a deductible is definitely better than a hospital bill you can actually get the filter for just about every car on the market. just go to http://kandn.com. you can get the filters from other car parts stores, toothey also help a lil bit with acceleration. i put one in my mom's rav4 and she even noticed it lol. the filter cleaning kits are around $10-$15 at autozone or someplace like that, and i've used it about 6 times. i've still got enough in there for 1 more use. it won't void your warranty, either man i wish my payments were only $350, mine are $420. but i got the loan without a co-signer, and didn't have much credit.

[joholste]

one other great thing that has been experienced by a few people on here... and quite a few people around the states...the vibes passenger compartment is very safe...I remember there was one guy on here that his son rolled it several times and the passenger compartment was still almost the exact same shape as original other than dents it didn't collapse on him...I like it because it is very sporty and fun to drive. It also has the reliability of a toyota engine. it could use a little more horses for the base model but it's still fun to drive.

[futureviber]

Safety is an issue for me too, its good to know that when it has been in accidents it had kept the riders safe. I want one more and more! Thanks for all the info!! I think were gonna go look at them tonight or tomorrow. I will let you know what I find out. I keep seeing red for some reason, I really dont want red. I would like white with white trim or orange... maybe silver. I dunno, I will have to see what they've got. Thanks again!

[WaveAction]

welcome to the forums, cant wait to see the vibe when/if you do get one..and it's not white or orange either it's frosty or fusion

[Kamikaze]

Personally I don't have any problems with the car. (23,000 miles and it's ran perfect)One safety issue that you can get as an added option (not standard) is side air bags, I noticed the other day that not all vibes have this, and later found out it is an added option.Other than that, I tell everyone I know to get a Vibe. They are great!

[KNINE]

Why would you want a Vibe over another car, you ask? Because if you get the Vibe, you also get us!

[Sublimewind]

Quote, originally posted by joholste »one other great thing that has been experienced by a few people on here... and quite a few people around the states...the vibes passenger compartment is very safe...I remember there was one guy on here that his son rolled it several times and the passenger compartment was still almost the exact same shape as original other than dents it didn't collapse on him...I like it because it is very sporty and fun to drive. It also has the reliability of a toyota engine. it could use a little more horses for the base model but it's still fun to drive.My X-boss's son rolled his moms 4 times, walked away without a scratch... no side airbags either.. she now has a stupid Neon(peon)I think the vibe is a super comfotable car to drive... i do 90mi a day to and from work and i set the cruse and chill... It's decent on power, but not a powerhouse... It handles good unless you want to drive like i so in my Subaru, then not so much, to the "normal" driver it handles great... It's got a proven toyota drivetrain... It's like a swiss army car in a lot of ways, very versitile... it looks frikkin cool and if you get white, it looks like a Storm Trooper, if you get black, yeah Darth Vader... LOTS of headroom... you can camp out in it... You can haul, at least 30 bags of landscape bark and at least 20 landscape blocks AT THE SAME TIME, IN IT.. (ask me how i know.. )Gas milage is nice for a 1.8L It's "zippy" not overly fast, but it's got a lot of zip in there (I think i covered that, man, it's time to go home)That's all i got, till later.......

[futureviber]

THERE IS A VIBE IN MY DRIVEWAY!!!! I'm test driving and I LOVE it!! haha. I test drove a G6 also... but i didnt like it as well.The one in my drive way is an '04, 31k miles, no sunroof but guess what!! IT'S RED!! What did I say about red... something about I dont want red but thats what I keep seeing. It's not the ugly red that I kept thinking of, its sort of a cool red. and red is my favorite color i just never have liked it in a car. The dealership that I went to also had a Black '05 with 41k for $150 more but it doesnt have power locks and windows.haha, thats funny about the storm trooper/darth vader thing. I think the white looks really nice.I was looking at the book and there is a color called 'wave'. Its... interesting. I know, someone on here probably has one that color, I had just never seen anything that color before.But it is SO much fun to drive!! I like parking it... you have to understand, I have had 2 bonnevilles ('96 & '93) and a '95 lumina... I'm used to a huge nose. so driving something that turns so nicely and parks so much easier was a lot of fun for me. It was zippy and a young person fun car. haha. It was VERY windy earlier and I could tell it was windy when I was driving it, but it didnt blow be all over the road. Lets see... My grandma liked it, as did my mom. I get going really fast and don't realize how fast I am going. It drives great, lots of head room, my dad is 6'3" and he sat in the passenger side and was amazed at how much room was above his head.So, I think I'm gonna get some type of Vibe. I REALLY want the sun & sound package, but that might have to wait a few years until I'm making a bit more $$. I like just about everything, especially the name, vibe, its a fun name.Thank you all for all of your help! I will keep you posted!Oh, and I included a pic of the Vibe that I'm test driving too ::Edit:: the one i'm driving is NOT red, it's salsa, that makes me feel better even though I HATE salsa lol! and the Wave, I just saw the post on that one. It looks nice - very bright. I still think I like the 'frosty' better, anything without the gray trim, but I'm not gonna be picky with my first 'real' car, as long as i like what I get.::

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[Kamikaze]

Welcome to the family. If it's in your driveway even only on a test drive, it's probably not going to leave.... Thanks for posting the pic too, we all like pics!31k... that things like brand new! enjoy!

[CountryVibe]

Welcome to the forumsCheck with the dealership to see if they can get one in the color you want from other dealer sometimes they will find it for you

[futureviber]

i had the guy see if he had any others, I'm gonna look in a couple other places on Saturday to see if I can get a better deal/different color. I like the color, I just realized (its late) i meant i hate salsa the food. trying to be funny, but it didnt work. the color is ok. It will do for now at least. If nothing else my boyfriends bro can paint it. He used to work at a body shop and could use something to do. But really the color is growing on me.Now, I'm not a mod person... but I'm trying to decide which ones I want. Mostly electronic I think, sound system etc., although the factory system is not bad. A friend of mine has an old Trans Am, he shaved off the door handles and added an electronic door opener. He's going modify the doors next year to open like lamborghini doors. I'm sure he could think of something sweet to do to my ride. lol.

[Kamikaze]

You know if you shave the doors and do a Lambo style, you gotta drop it and put some big wheels on it... it just goes with the territory.That would be sweet!

[futureviber]

The best thing about it - I look hot in the Vibe. bahahaha ::insert laughing smiley here:: Just kidding. But really, I do.

[mjbsb69]

Just do it!

[WaveAction]

i agree..like Nike says, Just Do It (insert swoosh) lol..vibes are definitly reliable and safe, good on gas, versitile..just awesome..should get the wave blue like i have though, be unique

[futureviber]

I'm going in to purchase it at 5:30 Monday!!! YAY!! The guy is gonna clean it up for me. The check engine light came on so hes checking that out too.I'm gonna go ahead and get this one and then when I get a raise I will get one that I really really want (sunroof sunroof sunroof) and in the color that I really want (still deciding)YAY!! I'm gonna get a VIBE!!Thank you all for your information!!I will post pictures when I get it

[WaveAction]

yay!, congrats on it girl, hopefully everything works out good for you and the new vibe when you get it on monday, hope to see pics soon

[lovemyraffe]

Congrats on the new addition!!! Can't wait to see pics! I hope you get the Lava one, we need to increase the Lava family.

[ramenboy...]

congrats on the vibe! its a heck of alot of fun to drive. i like it because it reminds me of my old 85 gti, 76 131 and has the space of my old 92 rodeo.you're gonna love it! oh wait. you already do!welcome to the family.

[jwalcik]

Congratulations on the impending Vibe and welcome aboard!

[MRCN RCE]

hey i'm glad you're happy with the choice. i knew once you drove one, you'd be hooked. thas what happened to me. oh yeah about your comment sayin how hot you look in the vibe... that needs to be backed up with photographic evidence

[futureviber]

Thank you all for the warm welcome and congratulations. I'm really excited. The biggest purchase I've ever made was a $1,600 vacation to Europe. So... this has been a big commitment for me, at least until i purchase a house.and I will get pics up soon, as soon as i find a camera to take them with, my phone's pics arent gonna do it justice. I've already volunteered to help a friend move friday afternoon then I'm taking it to Cinci, OH/Covington, KY on Friday evening for work. Too bad its getting to be winter! I want to go to the drive in movies and camping!!

[MRCN RCE]

it all depends on how far you're willing to drive for the campin n drive-in. there are plenty of places for both activities in arizona and cali. just hop in the vibe, pick your man up, call in sick to your jobs (use that super staph infection that's goin around as an excuse), and take a lil trip i got from south bend to my front door in cali in 40 hours drivin time on my own. with the 2 of you switchin off at each gas fill up then restin when you're in the passenger seat, you won't even need to stop

[futureviber]

Haha, that would work I guess. I could go to Florida and visit my Grandma. She would like that. I would probably take my cousin, we never get to see each other and she'd be more fun lol. Hmmm... will start planning a trip to FL. :DYou can tell in the picture that my car was SOOO dirty when i test drove it. He's gonna clean it up for me... i'm looking forward to seeing it clean.

[Sublimewind]

Sweet...!!! So Salsa is it? Or are you going to try and get something else?? Pics of the hotness with the hotness would be welcome, make sure you post it in the garage and the photo sections as well... Congratz 2 U...

[lovemyraffe]

So, tell us how it is? Color? Pics? I hope that all went well with the delivery!

[futureviber]

ok, so Saturday when I test drove it the check engine light came on so they were gonna check it out. They went in a cleared all the codes out and I thought were going to have it fixed by the time I picked it up today. But I was wrong. They wanted the light to come on so they had a new code to know what was wrong. well all they had to do was drive it for 10 seconds, it was back on before i got to the end of the drive. They think its the oxygen sensor. Anyway, I have to go back in on Wednesday anyway to set up my loan. I was going to do that today too but my mom wanted them to check at the bank she worked at to see if it had a better rate. Anyway, dont have it yet but i will Wednesday!! Looking forward to having a real car!! It was raining all day today anyway, so I wouldnt have good pics. But I will get them up asap!

[wyatt89]

EEP! the dreaded check engine light!im at 37k miles and my vibe GT hasnt failed me yet! its been on some rough adventures such as rally racing and getting airborne (scary) i live at 7220 feet elevation and its snowing here already so my vibe GT is getting fairly bad gas milage (25mpg) but when i go back to texas it gets anywhere from 28-32mpgits a great little car that has awesome capacity for fun, storage, people, and just about anything i really hope you like it!my vibe is a red one too but its lava

[futureviber]

Oh ya, i always have issues with the check engine light. the car i have now and the car before nothing was really wrong with the car, except the check engine light - but it was expensive to fix so i said screw it, i can live with the light. The one before those two it was the radiator, but mom totaled it before we could get it fixed.I'm already taking it to KY Friday then November 1 I'm going to Chicago so were gonna get some fun little road trips in here right off the bat.I am very excited about gas mileage though, my current car gets 20-22 so 30ish will be awesome! Expecially since 80% of my credit card bill is gas!Very excited about Wednesday!! Will let you know how it goes! My boyfriend hasnt even seen the car yet so he's looking forward to it too. He always wanted me to get a hatchback... no idea why...

[joholste]

future you should looksee into going to the Epic Vibe Rally next july in Gatlinburg TN if you like road trippin anyways.check out this thread:http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=30621

[Sublimewind]

Quote, originally posted by futureviber »Oh ya, i always have issues with the check engine light. the car i have now and the car before nothing was really wrong with the car, except the check engine light - but it was expensive to fix so i said screw it, i can live with the light. The one before those two it was the radiator, but mom totaled it before we could get it fixed.I'm already taking it to KY Friday then November 1 I'm going to Chicago so were gonna get some fun little road trips in here right off the bat.I am very excited about gas mileage though, my current car gets 20-22 so 30ish will be awesome! Expecially since 80% of my credit card bill is gas!Very excited about Wednesday!! Will let you know how it goes! My boyfriend hasnt even seen the car yet so he's looking forward to it too. He always wanted me to get a hatchback... no idea why...Check engine light aren't always a BAD thing, they let you know the car isn't running up to it's proper efiency.... I can tell you, you'll be going through MORE gas with the CEL than without... and if it's only a O2 sensor, they usually aren't more than 80$... I would make good and sure that the CEL is fixed before buying though... I'm sure it's not the ONLY place that would have a Vibe for sale... If possible, ask them what the code was EXACTLY and let us know, there is a welth of information at your fingertips now... By the power of GenVibe...

[futureviber]

Oh ya, I'm not paying for it since it was bad when i got in it. They're gonna fix it then I'll buy it. I will try and remember to ask what the code was when I go on Wednesday.I looked at Richmond, they didnt have any Vibes that I could see, New castle had one but its more expensive than the one I'm getting, two tone frosty, higher miles, 1 year newer (i dont want two tone). Plus, the guy were buying it from is a friend and giving us a really good deal. Hopefully they get this figured out though. I can't wait to drive it home!!!Is it just me or does salsa look red sometimes, pinkish sometimes and kind of orangie other times?

[futureviber]

Quote, originally posted by joholste »future you should looksee into going to the Epic Vibe Rally next july in Gatlinburg TN if you like road trippin anyways.check out this thread:http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=30621Oh, ya I read about that. I'm gonna try and make it to that, it sounds like fun.

[NascarXprt]

yea i know im way late for this Welcome, but... Welcome to the fam!

[lovemyraffe]

Quote, originally posted by futureviber »Is it just me or does salsa look red sometimes, pinkish sometimes and kind of orangie other times?There are two different red's out there. Salsa is a deeper, almost burgundy red, while Lava is a brighter red.

[futureviber]

I got it!! Picked it up tonight. The boyfriend likes it too. I attached a pic, but it was starting to get dark and the colors look kind of weird. But I will get some good ones soon... tomorrow if the weather is good.

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[Kamikaze]

Congrats! Looks sharp... told you, you would get it!

[MRCN RCE]

hey, looks good. so what was the CEL code??

[Sublimewind]

Quote, originally posted by futureviber »I got it!! Picked it up tonight. The boyfriend likes it too. I attached a pic, but it was starting to get dark and the colors look kind of weird. But I will get some good ones soon... tomorrow if the weather is good.

[futureviber]

I forgot to ask they did say it was nothing major and it was fixed. Stupid birds! They pooped on my car last night! I have to go to Indy to meet my boss and he wants to see my car, so i gotta wash it before I go out and it's FREEZING outside Oh well, it's gotta look good!

[Sublimewind]

Yeah, make sure you get that poop off there quick... If left it'll etch the paint..!!Your gonna want to go and get some "quick detailer" and keep it in the car with some micro-fiber rags, just make sure you put the rags in individual ziplocks and they'll stay clean till you are ready to use them... I know what i just got me Subaru (i'm ALSO a subaru guy) I went to wally world and bought like 30 Mf rags and a box of ziplocks, spent like 10min in the parking lot, puttin rags in bags...

[futureviber]

The first picture is the door handle... whatever it was shaved off the paint down to the metal (in the bottom left you can kinda see where my brother got ticked and kicked and dented the door, poor car, if he did that now he'd be paying for it.)The second is the broken windshield, it looks a lot worse in person, and its broken all the way through.and the next image is the "A bar" This area is in the image above but because of the sun it didnt show up. The paint is chipped off and metal is dented. There are other scratches and such all the way down the car also. And the headlight is busted and mirror is gone, but thats not as exciting.

[Sublimewind]

That's not the Vibe right..? can't be the Vibe is "salsa" Why show pics of the OLD car, you've surely forgotten about that one by now... Pics of the NEW car is what we want... preferibly with you in, around or on it... lolYes, as with many forums sites, we are all pic whores...

[futureviber]

Quote, originally posted by Sublimewind »That's not the Vibe right..? can't be the Vibe is "salsa" Why show pics of the OLD car, you've surely forgotten about that one by now... Pics of the NEW car is what we want... preferibly with you in, around or on it... lolYes, as with many forums sites, we are all pic whores... Thats from the wreck that I was in that caused me to get the vibe. I was on the interstate at night and something flew off a tow truck and hit my headlight, broke my windshield and popped off my mirror.I've got to get my boyfriend to take pics of my new car, it needs washed as I just got back from Chicago. Maybe this weekend if I can get him to get his camera out.Oh, lol and I'm already htinking of poses to do with it in a bikini next summer! bahahaha. Is it safe to sit on the roof? Will it dent?

[Sublimewind]

Quote, originally posted by futureviber »I've got to get my boyfriend to take pics of my new car, it needs washed as I just got back from Chicago. Maybe this weekend if I can get him to get his camera out.Oh, lol and I'm already htinking of poses to do with it in a bikini next summer! bahahaha. Is it safe to sit on the roof? Will it dent?I don't think I would sit on the roof if I were you... might not turn out so well.... I'm prolly going to get a notification for digging for pics of the hawtness... this being a "family" site and all, but thanks for harboring the idea..!! Next SUMMER, next summer.... it;s not THAT cold out yet...