New Member - First Car Ever!

[ponta2147]

I have just purchased my first car EVER (I didn't even have a clunky car in high school/college)! It is a brand new 2009 2.4L Red Vibe 5-speed auto with the preferred package and the sun and sound package. Very excited!!!I've wanted a Vibe since 2007 when I first started researching practical, yet fun, 5 door cars. I was thrilled when I saw the new body design at the Chicago Auto Show, and proceeded to thrill/annoy the guy at the booth with my weirdly obsessive knowledge about the car. I'd all but given up on the Vibe once the bailouts started and GM was kicking Pontiac to the curb, figuring I'd get something like the Mazda3 or an older used car, until this past weekend when I was talking about getting a second car for the house (my husband has a 2008 Pontiac G6 GT coupe, fwiw... very pretty and fun but very impracitcal for carrying "stuff") and I realized that Pontiac liquidating their cars might mean I'd get a good deal.There were very few Vibes in the area, but I figured I'd see. I had my heart set on the options, engine, and color I wanted, so I figured I wouldn't find anything. But, there it was, in a dealership ten minutes from my house, as if it was meant to be. So that's how I spent my Black Friday, and now I have my car! The deals were great and I am thrilled! I can't wait to drive it for hundreds of thousands of miles!

[VforVIBE]

Congrats on your first car! And welcome to GenVibe!

[ou.grizzly]

Congrats on finding a Vibe with power windows, locks, cruise, and keyless entry!

[808 Vibes]

Congrats!

[lowincash]

welcome and congrats on your new car =D i know you'll have fun with it. my friend used to make fun of little cars but yesterday when i helped him move a tv shelf he was amazed how much space this little car has and his attitude towards my car changed haha

[Jims08Vibe]

very nice I looked at the same thing back in 08 and settled on the Neptune Blue 08 instead.

[03VibeOttawa]

congrats and welcome. My Vibe is my first car too, and IMO it's the best "first car" one could ask for.

[star_deceiver]

Welcome!!!There's just something about that colour I like...

[TONY TAT2]

Hi ! & Congrats

[lovemyraffe]

Congrats and welcome!

[ramenboy...]

great choice for a first car! and you match!welcome to the family

[ajb812]

Congrats and welcome! The Vibe is a perfect first car - you'll love it I'm sure!

[NascarXprt]

Congrats and Welcome! my Vibe too is my first car owned ever!

[Kincaid]

Welcome to Gen Vibe! The lighting in your pic makes that red color just gorgeous. I'm sure you'll love it (what am I talking about, obviously you already do).I recommend you get the GT spoiler as an add on.

[northvibe]

congrats and welcome! great first car to buy too!

[vibenvy]

Welcome to GenVibe! Congrats on finding one of very few brand new '09s left! It's great to see another Illinois (Chicago suburbs) female join !

[BiggieBoy]

Congratulations from Orland Park....Looks identical to mine. Wishing you many, many happy and safe miles in your Vibe....

[macuser3333]

Good for you you will love it.....

[LavaIlliniVibe]

Congratulations and fun driving days ahead! Vibe On! Happy Vibing!

[ponta2147]

Orland Park... awesome! My husband is from Flossmoor and I also have friends down in Crestwood... I make my way down there a lot!

[bikeman1]

welcome to you and your new Vibe! I have the same ride with a 5 speed and without the sunroof. You'll love it (I'm sure you do already). The 2.4 has a ton of pep and is actually fun in traffic!Too bad Pontiac didn't make a pink Vibe to match your jacket.....they got so conservative after the Aztek!

[Cruxless]

Welcome to the wagon club. Great choice on the engine and color. What modifications, if any, do you have planned for the near future?

[vibolista]

That's a great first car! You'll enjoy it a lot, good find, too. They're getting fewer and fewer! Be nice to it, cause they're not making them anymore... unless you don't mind Matrix looks.

[ponta2147]

Quote, originally posted by bikeman1 »welcome to you and your new Vibe! I have the same ride with a 5 speed and without the sunroof. You'll love it (I'm sure you do already). The 2.4 has a ton of pep and is actually fun in traffic!Too bad Pontiac didn't make a pink Vibe to match your jacket.....they got so conservative after the Aztek!Haha, I think my husband would kill me if there was anything remotely resembling a pink car anywhere near me. I was threatening to buy one of those bright blue 2010 Mazda3 5-doors (you know, the ones with the big freaking grins) and he kind of died a little inside (I think it's adorable, like ridiculous anime of some sort, but I'm a girly-girl-nerd-thing so my opinion is unique). The Vibe was my first love though, so there are no regrets!"Pep" for sure, the accelerator likes to jump from a stop! I'm finally getting the hang of how gentle you have to be in it, my husband made fun of the jumpy starts until he drove the car... haha. Big Red (the car) seems quite content going 75 on the highway, so I'm glad we got a radar detector for Christmas...

[ponta2147]

Quote, originally posted by Cruxless »Welcome to the wagon club. Great choice on the engine and color. What modifications, if any, do you have planned for the near future?Well, I'm not really a "car person" in terms of working on cars at all (though I plan to take great care of it because I'm so proud of it!) so I'm not sure how much I'll tweak it... though looking at all the pictures on here makes me appreciate all the totally sweet stuff you guys have done to your vibes! However, it would be nice to get some fog lamps on there, and more likely some splash guards... not something I'd do myself though, and probably not any time soon.

[ou.grizzly]

I highly recommend splash guards. I have them on the All Wheel Drive model and they are well worth the money. Also might want to consider the door side mouldings from http://www.sportwing.com

[bikeman1]

The vibe forum gives it up for people with great ride photos and Vibe love stories. You have both, so you'll be a welcome addition.a couple of thoughts on your suggested upgrades. The lack of foglamps I share, and wish there was a Pontiac kit out there but no such luck. The harness is in the car stock, and in principle one should be able just to pop in inserts and lamps and plug/play, but not so fast. the harness isn't wired in , the steering column switch would need to be replaced or a new one added, and there is no relay. So it is in fact a hefty task. The upgrade would involve buying new fascia inserts, lamps (only OEM ones fit the inserts), perhaps a wiring harness, a relay to drive the lights, and a factory or aftermarket switch on the instrument panel. Plus a lot of labor, plus it may void the warranty for electrical issues. Could cost from $200-$600 depending on whether DIY or dealer. Would have been a lot easier if the dealer had just built it with the option (grr). I am watching for someone to do it and post a how to. A better option (there's details on the forum) might be just to replace the OEM headlights with brighter bulbs. I gather the cost would be under $100 DIY. I may try this before I deal with adding fogsIt doesn't sound like you are intending to do a lot of tuning, but here are a few cheap/easy ones to consider. Door wind deflectors are great for keeping out wind/rain and allowing one to vent humid air without getting soaked -- they also look great. They are really easy to install, come with alcohol pads to prep the surface for the sticky tape they mount with. Just be careful to place it where you want the first time , after it touches the door it ain't budging!! They are $50-$80 for a set of 4. Either the wade or the weathertech are good unitshttp://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...67763also there are rear bumper protectors that mount the same way and protect the tailbed from getting scratched up loading. Look for the Bushwacker one for the Matrixfinally, after you have things skittle across the hard plastic rear deck, you'll want to put down some kind of carpet there. Many people buy rubber-back carpeting (cheap) at Home Depot and cut to fit, or you can use old commercial carpet remnants. Those are three easy and useful upgrades. You'll find details on all these in the forum if you search. If there's something you are thinking of doing, someone on Genvibe has already tried it or looked into it, probably, and in some cases there are How tos. If you badger your husband, he may install them for you.....(just don't tell him we said so and get us in trouble )Quote, originally posted by ponta2147 »Haha, I think my husband would kill me if there was anything remotely resembling a pink car anywhere near me. I was threatening to buy one of those bright blue 2010 Mazda3 5-doors (you know, the ones with the big freaking grins) and he kind of died a little inside (I think it's adorable, like ridiculous anime of some sort, but I'm a girly-girl-nerd-thing so my opinion is unique). The Vibe was my first love though, so there are no regrets!"Pep" for sure, the accelerator likes to jump from a stop! I'm finally getting the hang of how gentle you have to be in it, my husband made fun of the jumpy starts until he drove the car... haha. Big Red (the car) seems quite content going 75 on the highway, so I'm glad we got a radar detector for Christmas...