GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Barring incident with financing, I am now an ex-vibe owner. I replaced it with a new 2008 Kia Rondo V6 EX. A lot less gas mileage and a lot more room for those who have to be in the car with me. The sales manager and finance guy were not very happy when I left, so who knows what will happen tomorrow. By the time they ended up screwing themselves into the ground with all of their double-talk and "making the deal work" stuff, they ended up paying me $250 more than I still owed on the Vibe. Personally, I think it was a win-win. They got me to buy a car that cost a whole lot more than I wanted to pay and they ate all of the negative equity they wanted me to take. Hopefully, it will all work out in the end. I'll keep you posted and if I get to keep it, I'll post pics.Btw...you won't get rid of me that easily. With all the fun I have in the Political Asylum, and the fact that I haven't been able to find a Rondo forum that is as fun as this one, I'll make sure either way that I'm still around for a while.

Cool! I really the Rondo, a nice mini-minivan. Cute little thing, tons of room, nice equipment for the price and pretty safe to boot. I'd love to have one for myself - I'd settle for an LX 4-cyl to save a few bucks. Hopefully everything works out to your advantage! (And that you were able to screw the Kia dealer out of a couple bucks. ) Looking forward to seeing the pics!I've lurked on some Kia boards a bit, seems people were pretty satisfied with theirs. I certainly haven't found a Kia board (or Hyundai board for that matter) that's anywhere near as good as this place, so I understand you sticking around.

A week or so ago I was at Target and when leaving was not paying a lot of attention and mistook a grey Rondo for my Vibe. I wondered why my remote keyless entry was not working.

Well, it never turns out as good as it seems. After all of the haggling and wrangling, it turns out that the deal was not as good as I though, but better than it started. In the end, I saved 2.2% on my financing, but lost $575 on the Vibe. I would say we fought to a draw....no clear winner....but at least I have more room and a warranty again. All is good.

pics or it didn't happen

How do you figure you lost $575 on the Vibe? It's all in there somewhere - they can offer you more for the Vibe and make it up on the price of the Rondo, or sell the Rondo for it's worth and make you eat what appears to be an upside down situation on the Vibe. I have had a couple of situations where they gave me a great deal on the new car, but tried to steal my used car. So I kept the used one and sold it myself. The last I looked there were some pretty good rebates on the Rondo.

Let's just say with the check engine light (trans valve and 1 lean fuel rail) and the 83k miles on the Vibe with 2 years left to go in payments, only losing $575 is a blessing in my book. I put 22k per year on a car and I just didn't want the worries. In short, with trade, I paid $575 more out the door than I would have if I had no trade (and no other discounts except the $4000 rebate). Could I have done better? Sure, but I wasn't working from a position of strength and it just wasn't worth the hassle.....plus, the finance guy got me a rate 2.2% lower than I found on my own (and that's worth much more than $575). I loved the Vibe, but now I have more room and my worries are gone. I'll start worrying again in 99850 miles.

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Nice car. I've seen a few more running around here, lately. What kind of mileage can you get with it? You said a V-6, so is it that much bigger than a Vibe? Certainly must have quite a bit of power. The deal you made sounds fairly good, especially with the lower financing rate. Wish the first gen Vibe had those long roof rack rails.

So far, the trip computer has me at about 26 mpg (which I don't believe). I am going to do my first fill up this morning, so I will have a more realistic amount in about a week. I am a fuel conscious driver. I would normally get around 34-37 mpg in the Vibe with an auto transmission in the summer, so I'm hoping to just reach 30 with this car. Anything I get above the estimated 26 mpg will make me happy.

Quote, originally posted by Tubaryan12 »Btw...you won't get rid of me that easily. With all the fun I have in the Political Asylum, and the fact that I haven't been able to find a Rondo forum that is as fun as this one, I'll make sure either way that I'm still around for a while. We wouldn't have it any other way.

Quote, originally posted by vibolista »Nice car. I've seen a few more running around here, lately. What kind of mileage can you get with it? You said a V-6, so is it that much bigger than a Vibe? Certainly must have quite a bit of power. They're 179" long (vs 172-ish on the Vibe) so it's still on the small side but they managed to squeeze in an optional third row seat. I've been back there in one, enough room for me (5'8") but I don't wish that on anyone taller. It's really not a bad size for all it can do.192 HP/184 lbs of torque with the V6.Beautiful ride, btw! I love the color.

That's some packaging job for a car only 7ish inches longer than our Vibe. Third row seats, very impressive.Tubaryan12 since the car is brand new and the trip comp already sez 26mpg (and I've found them to be fairly close for the most part) you should see quite a bit of improvement as the engine breaks in. 198 hp with 184 lbs torque, will move it nicely! Seems like an efficient V-6! How does it drive compared to your ex-Vibe?

Quote, originally posted by vibolista »How does it drive compared to your ex-Vibe?The first thing that you notice is that the seat height at its lowest setting is higher than the Vibe. Steering is not as tight, but I'm not racing so I don't mind that. The suspension is firm, but no where near as sporty and stiff as the Vibe. I hate the leather wrapped steering wheel...it's just too slippery. The front seat leg room is less, but because the seat is so high, I can still be comfortable by bending my legs a little more. The main reason I chose it instead of another Vibe is because the car is wider. More hip and shoulder room. The cabin is much quieter, and not having a high revving 4 cylinder engine under the hood cuts down on a lot of sound. Rear seat legroom is the big plus. I can sit in any seat except the 3rd row (I may try it one day, but I doubt it). One touch I thought was cool: they even make a floor mat for the 3rd row. Shortcomings so far are the front leg room, lower gas mileage, cloth interior that gets dirty way too easily, slow windshield wipers, no 120v plug, and I believe I no longer have a spare tire because of the 3rd row seats. *correction* The spare is under the car.On the plus side, we have more hip and shoulder room, more rear seat leg room, 7 passenger seating, more power, more cargo area with the second row up.

1st tank of gas: 24.0 mpg. There was a lot of city driving on this tank. Not bad for a V6. The next tank is looking a little better. I can't wait until the break in is over and I can fill the crankcase with synthetic oil. 2nd tank: 28.5 mpg3rd tank: 25.3 mpg4th tank: 29.5 mpg 5th tank: 26.9 mpg

I've been seeing more of these around town lately. I'll need to replace the 2001 family minivan in another year or two and a two year old Rondo might be just what I need. I'd go with a second Vibe but it's just too small for long trips with all four of us.I hope you keep posting and updating your personal mileage, performance and reliability findings.