buying a new '07?

[altimar]

Hey guys, my mom's suburban died over the weekend and my dad is looking to replace it with something a lot more fuel-efficient and he thinks a vibe will still be big enough. My dad is very much against buying new vehicles, but I found that one of the 2007 vibes that I considered when I bought mine last Dec. is still sitting on a lot. They are listing it on the website for $15,185 ($2K less than I offered for it.) Combine that with the no-vehicle-limit GM card earnings offer and I could get this vehicle for a steal.The concern I have is that it has been on the lot for at least a year, possibly two. Not only that, but they have two other new '07s. As far as I can tell, they're the only '07s in the state, and there are only three '08s (all w/ 5-spd). I can't help but think there is something wrong with these cars. Whether it's damage or just option packages nobody wants, I don't know. The one we're interested in has the power options, auto, sun&sound, and monotone. The second is identical except for color, and the third has the power options and auto. I know they had and sold a few '08s and some '09s. This dealership is a little over an hour away so I don't want to waste my time going over there to look at it and I'm not sure I trust a salesman to be completely honest with me. When I dealt with them last year, the salesguy was a total jerk and lied to me at least a couple times.Should I trust that a different salesperson will be honest if I ask why they still have all three cars?

[michaelgt]

Not sure why they would still have that many. In Feb 02, I bought a 01 that had been built in 00 (date on door sticker). This was on the lot because it was a 2500 Yukon XL with the 8.1l (496ci) engine. The only issue I had was that the oil filter was pretty stuck, and had difficulty getting grease in grease fittings. So, I would ask for an oil change is buying.

[NibCrom]

I would never trust a salesperson. Pretty much everything they say is a lie. I would go ahead and ask, but be prepared to not get the truth. It's possible the car is perfectly fine and the dealership has just been asking too much for it or something. Have a trusted mechanic look it over.

[altimar]

Quote, originally posted by michaelgt »So, I would ask for an oil change if buying.For sure. I had at least thought of that, but you got me thinking, is there anything else I should have them check/change even if there's nothing else wrong?

[altimar]

Quote, originally posted by NibCrom »I would never trust a salesperson. Pretty much everything they say is a lie. I would go ahead and ask, but be prepared to not get the truth. It's possible the car is perfectly fine and the dealership has just been asking too much for it or something. Have a trusted mechanic look it over.That's exactly how I feel, but I'll be furious if I have to take half a day off work, drive an hour, and burn $20 worth of gas just to find out I've been lied to. I know they were asking too much and they have *totally incompetent* salespeople (at least two), but they must sell some cars, just not these for some reason.I don't have a trusted mechanic, much less one who would drive that far for me. I consider myself somewhat automotively competent. I change my oil, coolant, spark plugs and have removed and replaced alternators, idler pulleys, etc. but I'm not sure what to look for besides the obvious: signs of water damage, fluid leaks, listen to engine sounds, look at exhaust, test all accessories. I will drive it and check out the power, braking abilities, handling, and ride. I guess the good thing is that since I have an '07 Vibe, I know exactly what it should look, feel, and sound like.

[keithvibe]

see if you can pay blue book value on the car not sticker... cuz as soon as you drive it off the lot it's going to the blue book value... talk about a neg equity

[altimar]

Quote, originally posted by keithvibe »see if you can pay blue book value on the car not sticker... cuz as soon as you drive it off the lot it's going to the blue book value... talk about a neg equity The MSRP is $20,158. They have it listed for $15,158. Subtract $2K in GM card earnings for $13,200 + ttl. KBB private party value is $16,710. First time I've ever seen a situation where the car appreciates $3,500 by driving it off the lot.

[jake75]

I thought GM Card earnings could only be used by someone in the same household. Several years ago my son who at the time lived in another state leased a GM vehicle using my GM Card earnings. He still had a drivers license listing my address. One would think the credit check would have turned up the other address but no one seemed to bring that up. He drive that leased car for about two years with what amounted to out of state plates. Finally notified the leasing company that he had moved.

[vibolista]

Sounds like a great deal... but if you do go out there to see the car, look it over extra carefully. If the car has been in the water, there are ways to look for it. Brackets and other hardware under the front seats and under the dash usually corrode pretty fast if they have been wet. The engine compartment should look clean with little in the way of rust and free of any silt deposits in nooks and crannies. If you find any dried silt stuck anywhere in the car, run away from it and don't look back. If you can get underneath the car you'll probably find a few lightly rusted bolt heads, but most of them should not be that corroded. Look around the suspension pieces for signs of heavier than normal rust. The black painted steel pieces should be black and not too rusty. Use your own Vibe and the other ones on the lot as a comparison. New cars shouldn't smell musty inside, so don't be shy about getting into all of them to check that out. If something fishy stands out on one of them, it's probably fishy. By the way, if you want max mpg, consider the 5 speed manual. Like michaelgt wrote, in any case, have them change the oil if you get it. That oil is likely to be pretty stale.Good luck! Let us know how it turns out if you make the trip to see the car.

[altimar]

Jake, my DL actually does still have my parents address, but in any case it won't be a problem.Vibolista, thanks for the excellent detailed advice. I'll have to bring a flashlight. And I would have considered a manual (I drove one for years and loved it) but to get the options I want, it has to be a slushbox. I did talk to the salesguy this afternoon. As predicted, he said there's absolutely nothing wrong with any of them. He claimed that the incentives for the '08s made them better buys and they just finally got serious about discounting these. He said they still had a lot of other '07s. Plausible story. True? I dunno. Anyhow, one other factor was that at least the one I wanted had 4,500 miles on it. He said it was used as a "courtesy vehicle" for a coach at the local college, but that it was, in fact still a "brand-new vehicle" and the full warranty applied. He quickly agreed to about a $300 price drop due to the miles. I bet I could have gotten more, but I feel almost greedy, lol. I think it may be a good thing that the vehicle did actually get driven rather than sitting around for two years. I need to call him again in the morning to discuss a couple more issues and if it all goes to plan, we'll be heading over there in the afternoon.

[vibolista]

Last time I was out at our local dealership, they had a couple of 08s left and one 07. That was a couple of months ago. So I imagine that there must be a few orphans still scattered around the country. By the way, feeling greedy is good when you are dealing on a leftover - leftover. They need to sell it. So get greedy, it has a few miles on it. Just make sure you check it out well!!!

[dianebrat]

Similar story that worked out well.I was looking in January 2007 for an AWD '06 vibe, and it took some time, but they were around, even though the 2007's had been out for quite some time, and I'm glad I got it, it was perfect except for faded front and rear bumper covers they buffed out, and it had 120 miles on it, about the distance it took to get it from the dealer they found it in to mine.Diane

[djb383]

Doesn't it still have the 5 yr/100K mile new car warranty? For that price, how could you go wrong?

[jake75]

" the one I wanted had 4,500 miles on it. He said it was used as a "courtesy vehicle" for a coach at the local college, but that it was, in fact still a "brand-new vehicle" and the full warranty applied. He quickly agreed to about a $300 price drop due to the miles."Quote, originally posted by djb383 »Doesn't it still have the 5 yr/100K mile new car warranty? For that price, how could you go wrong?I suppose the salesman knows best - seems to me that GM might question when the warranty period started for a "courtesy vechilce".As for KBB values - I would think that an '07 MSRP 20,158 with 4,500 miles would be less than $15,185, but then again a new car warranty is worth quite a bit too.Warranty Question - is it 36,000 miles in addition to the 4,500 on it when you bought it "new", or just up to 36,000 miles. [This has never been an issue with me as I always hit the 36 mobths before the 36,000 miles.]

[NibCrom]

I'm pretty sure the warranty is up once the car hits 36,000 miles, regardless of how many it had when you bought it. If a car had 4,500 miles on it, I'm not sure how that could possibly be considered new.

[djb383]

The warranty starts when the new car is delivered to the owner or when it is first registered.Our 3 yr warranty expired yesterday.......it's never been back to the shop since day one.......gotta love the ponyota vibe reliability.

[dianebrat]

Quote, originally posted by NibCrom »I'm pretty sure the warranty is up once the car hits 36,000 miles, regardless of how many it had when you bought it. If a car had 4,500 miles on it, I'm not sure how that could possibly be considered new.I had a dealer demo once, and it was considered new with almost 3000 miles on it according to Dodge since it had only been driven by the dealer staff, and never been registered. I got the remainder of the new warranty, and it was treated as new in all respects.Diane

[altimar]

Old sig= 2007 Vibe: Platinum monotone, AutoNew sig below.

[altimar]

This will have to do until I clean 70mi worth of bugs and find my real camera. I guess I didn't really explain the whole situation earlier. The blue one is actually the car I wanted when I was looking late last year. I offered $17,200 for it and the salesman gave me the biggest run-around I've ever seen in my life. He eventually agreed, but when I asked for an out-the-door cost, it was magically inflated about $200 more than ttl. So I bought the platinum one at another dealer for about $1500 less (only difference was color and no $1050 sun&sound).So anyway, I've kinda been watching the blue vibe on their site just to see how much longer it took them to sell, when I recently noticed they listed it for $15,185 (eventually talked 'em down to $14,900). When dad asked me what kind of vehicle he should consider, I (of course) recommended the vibe and told him that I saw a good deal on a new one. Well, he didn't like that it had a sunroof (he says they leak), so he proposed buying mine, since the blue one was the one I really wanted anyway. Kind funny to trade in a vehicle for the same year, make, and model. The guy doing the paperwork did a double-take, he thought he messed up. And we found out that the original idiot salesman no longer works there. Big surprise, lol, he blew the deal to make $2,300 more for the car nine months earlier. Oh well, good for us!Alright, now we need to have a contest for the best story to tell my girlfriend when she gets back in town tomorrow:"What are you talking about? It's always been blue.""It's been *really* cold lately!""DON'T use [brand x] car wash!""I got hit by a blueberry truck."Got anything better?

[sk8r78]

You were washing it at the car wash and the paint started to peel so you kept going and this is what color it was underneath. Good deal and everyones happy. Anytime you can walk out of a dealership with out your butthole hurting, you've done good

[Blueridge9]

Quote, originally posted by altimar »Alright, now we need to have a contest for the best story to tell my girlfriend when she gets back in town tomorrow:"What are you talking about? It's always been blue.""It's been *really* cold lately!""DON'T use [brand x] car wash!""I got hit by a blueberry truck."Got anything better? What do you mean? The Vibe looks BLUE to you now??? Really?? Altimar, Seriously I think that has always been your Vibe and it waited for you.

[tnpartsguy]

only thing about a car sitting so long is the tires WILL flatspot, and the battery will die. I made them give me a new battery, and I replaced the stupid Goodyears within a month of buying my '06 (it had been on the lot 13 months)

[altimar]

Quote, originally posted by sk8r78 »You were washing it at the car wash and the paint started to peel so you kept going and this is what color it was underneath.I like it! I went to help her dad at his office after work yesterday (computer stuff) and he did a double-take as we were walking out. His first guess was that I had just painted it. Then he invited me over for dinner and we told her (my gf's) mom that I had a new car. She was incredulous, lol. "Is it a rental? Borrowed? Do you own this car?" "Yes, I do. I traded the old one in." She was totally puzzled, it was awesome. Then we went to look at it and I explained the whole thing. She got all excited for me. I'll have to trick my girlfriend's sister too. She bought a vibe last summer (before me actually) on my recommendation and she still loves it. I'll make her think I'm a traitor! Bwaah Hahaha.Quote, originally posted by Blueridge9 »What do you mean? The Vibe looks BLUE to you now??? Really?? This could work too, I could tell her it's all that formaldehyde getting to her optic nerves (She's in Med School). I wonder how many different stories I can tell before she whacks me, heh?Quote, originally posted by Blueridge9 »Altimar, Seriously I think that has always been your Vibe and it waited for you. Exactly what I was thinking. Quote, originally posted by tnpartsguy »only thing about a car sitting so long is the tires WILL flatspot, and the battery will die. I made them give me a new battery, and I replaced the stupid Goodyears within a month of buying my '06 (it had been on the lot 13 months)Hmmm. I didn't think about those two items. Well, I was going to swap wheels back with my dad since I had alloys on the old one and he was happy since he'd get the tires with fewer miles. I'll inspect them when we swap, but they felt OK on the 70mi trip home. And I'll keep an eye on that battery.Thanks guys!

[altimar]

Still haven't washed and waxed it good or swapped wheels for the alloys, but here it is.

[tnpartsguy]

Quote, originally posted by djb383 »The warranty starts when the new car is delivered to the owner or when it is first registered.Our 3 yr warranty expired yesterday.......it's never been back to the shop since day one.......gotta love the ponyota vibe reliability. Actually, that's not 100% true. GM actually sent us a notice the other day that '06 models still sitting new on lots will only get a limited bumper-to-bumper warranty.I have a very hard time believing that any dealer has enough '06s still sitting to warrant an announcement!!

[bull77]

congrats --- nice to see a new wave on the site