GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

So I got my new Vibe - '09 GT. Black. Sunroof.

I paid too much for it for sure. I actually paid $700 more for it than an accepted offer I had for an identical vehicle HOWEVER that previously accepted one was 1. 3.5 hours away (so it would have been a long drive just to get there and maybe not be happy with the vehicle), and 2. I thought I had fully researched every vehicle I was looking at but when I was finally throwing away all the car-papers scattered all over my desk I realized I had never gotten the vehicle history on that car, and so looked it up. It had been in a front end collision. So... I called back, had my deposit refunded, and went to look at this one last car on my list (the highest priced) and bought this other one instead.

What's making me now feel the need to "cross my fingers" is that, when test driving, I did notice that the volume button on the radio was a little ganked. No big deal. The car is Certified, so has a bumper-to-bumper and I figured I'll just take it in and get it fixed some time during the next twelve months. ~shrug~ Certainly no reason not to buy the car I really want (OR to instead go with one that had previously been in an accident - though it too was Certified). Then, when I was driving home with my new vehicle, it started raining, and when I turned on the wipers, the driver's side wiper is completely shot. A large strip of the blade just flapped in the wind. Again, I know wiper blades are NO big deal and cheap, BUT - In order to be a Certified GM vehicle the car HAS to pass all 172 points, wiper blades being one of them. And that, that little thing, is what got me worrying about my new car. If they didn't check something as obvious as the wiper blades and called it "Certified" then what else did they just check off as "good" that they never bothered to check?

So I'm a little concerned about the potentially poor decision I may have just made. Was this some jank dealership that just slaps "Certified" on anything that comes through their doors and really it should read "buyer beware"?? There's nothing I can do about it now, of course. I bought the car so it's mine. You get three days to return a Certified vehicle but if you are a buyer like me, that only wanted one vehicle (a Vibe) then that 'money back guarantee' doesn't really mean anything since you can only return it for another car on the same lot. Not that I'd return a car for a wiper blade. But I would return a car (if it was an option) that was never checked over at all when that inspection - and assurance all things were good - was absolutely part of the price. So, crossing my fingers that my new little Vibe does me as well as my old one did.

PS - I should have added that in spite of my concerns I still DID get the car I wanted so badly and I'm very VERY happy about that. Didn't mean to be such a debbie downer about my new car. lol And something really awesome -> it was pouring on the way home. Pouring! and where my old '05 Base would have left me feeling like I was about to slide off the road, this little GT felt completely sure footed. It's a night and day difference and I'm loving it. And that 2.4L engine... I didn't think it would make THAT big of difference but man, that little thing has some serious pep to it!

Congrats on the new purchase!

Seems to me the volume knobs radios on those cars break more often than work according to reports around here. There is a thread on a DIY repair I believe.

Not sure why they would have overlooked wiper blades. Shouldn't surprise me, I have little faith in these dealer x point inspections.

At any rate, I'd rather have a used car with bad wiper blades and broken radio than one that was in a collision. I think you made the right choice.

Congratulations! Looking forward to pictures.

With a certified vehicle I wouldn't be too worried. You have the bumper-to-bumper to fall back on for the entire year after all. What I'd suggest is to take it to a trusted mechanic and pay them to do a thorough inspection and then get anything they find fixed at a GM dealer. Perhaps a different GM dealer than where you bought it since they weren't very meticulous.

The radio knobs are a known recurring issue with the 2nd Gens. They break easily and are difficult to remove because they have a lip on the back which requires you to disassemble the entire radio to get them out whole. What most people do is cut them in half from the front and remove the pieces, then trim the lip off the replacements so you can just push them on (and pull them off when they inevitably break again). Some also epoxy them on to prevent re-breaking. As for the wipers make sure when they replace them they don't just put on cheap aftermarket replacement blades. This happens a lot because they're easier to install, but the OE wipers work MUCH better in my experience and the rubber replacement inserts, while a pain to install, are cheap.

Well congrats! Glad you got the exact car you wanted. That is special, especially on a used car. My 10 GT is just about exactly what I was looking for too, and like I said before, it was about 200 miles away. But worth the drive to get it.

Certified they should have fixed everything. I'd be talking to the General Manager of the dealership to let him know how disappointed you are and worried about the rest of their "certification" process. I'm sure that is a violation of their agreement with GM as everything should be repaired BEFORE it was listed for sale. One thing I've been told is not every dealer can certify cars, so they can probably loose that ability if they fail on too many cars. Either way, you are covered for 12 months and don't you get 24 months of service too? That is a plus also.

The dealer should be able to change that knob easily, but it does involve taking apart the radio. The knob is used on other GM cars too as I got my replacement from a Chevy dealer. They had 18 in stock while my former Pontiac dealer had none.

It sure sounds like you are enjoying it already! Good luck with it!

Great job Mazzy21 & welcome to the 09-10 Vibe GT club Where are you located (update profile please) and post pics of this Black beauty As long as the previous owner didn't trash it too bad, these cars are practically indestructible so you should be in good shape for many years to come. Black is soooooo sharp when clean. I've owned a few black cars even though RED is my favorite color of choice

Congratulations on your "new" Vibe! Glad to hear you went with a GT ! That is ridiculous that the wiper blades are shot, but as Rayven said, make sure they replace them with OEM inserts as they work much better than any cheap aftermarket ones. And as others have said, the radio knob is not a big deal to repair and has failed on many 2009-2010 Vibes here. Surprisingly, all 4 knobs between our 2 GTs are still perfectly fine, but we tend to use our steering wheel controls more often than not which probably helps avoid wear and tear on the knobs. Don't worry about your purchase. It sounds like you are really enjoying it already and I'm sure once you get these small kinks worked out, you will enjoy it that much more.

Be sure and post some pictures when you get a chance !

Thanks everyone! I do love the look and feel of the car. I am right this minute shopping for seat covers on eBay - not at all because I don't love the look of the GT interior, but because I have a very large dog that travels with me often and I figure I might as well try to keep this one a little cleaner than the last. A 100 lb. dog, no matter how well she rides in the car, brings a lot of hair and dirt along for the ride.

As for the wiper blade, I figured I'd just buy a replacement. Is that not right? It's not the whole arm that's bad, just the blade itself is worn. I'd be kind of shocked if a dealership - even on a Certified car - was willing to replace something that should fall under 'normal wear and tear', but maybe I'm wrong on that?? I've never had a "certified" vehicle (not that I believe this one was actually certified properly at this point) so I don't know how far they go in servicing every little thing on the car. I figured I'd call my local dealership (not the place of purchase) today and make an appointment for the knob so they can order it, but do I tell them about the wiper blade then too??

tpolllauf - I agree that the black is sharp when washed and waxed. Honestly, even colors I didn't think I liked that much looked really sharp at the dealerships that bothered to wash and wax their Used stock. That little bit of 'metallic' that Pontiac added to most of the Vibes really adds a nice pop when the car is all shiny. It's been wavering between rain and snow here for the last two days but I figured as soon as the weather cleared some I would see about shelling out a little $$ for a nice wax job so I could see her sparkle. Or him. I always thought all cars, like ships, were 'girls', but this one kinda feels like a boy to me. A young boy, that just wants to go! go! go! LOL Every time I get in it, I hear a little voice in my head saying "vroom! vroom! Let's go!"

Honestly, aside from the obvious worries about their inspection process and what that could mean for me down the road, the only thing that weighs on me about my purchase is that I obviously bought my car from a jankity dealership and its a bummer to think I gave my hard earned money to such a skeevy operation. Not that any used dealership is exaclty on the up and up, but at least with some others I felt more confident in at least the business having a self-serving concern for their own reputation that they would avoid selling anything that held too high a risk for customer dissatisfaction. With this place, now, I feel they probably couldn't care less either way.
I have to call them today so I'll be mentioning the wiper blade and my concern for their (lack of) Certification process. There was a recall on '09 Vibes issued on 04/01/13 for the auto-windows. I had told them that I knew this car had a recent outstanding recall but that I wasn't worried about it because my last Vibe had a few recalls too; but that the only thing I WAS worried about was that I wouldn't get the paperwork in the mail so that I could take it in since the car was in their possession when the recall was issued. They said they'd look into that (because, according to them, GM pays labor for recalls and so they said their Service dept. tends to jump on any recall for something sitting on the lot at the time a recall is issued and they believed the history check just hadn't been updated yet) and send me the notice/paperwork if it wasn't fixed yet or find out if the paperwork would come straight to me and call me next day. They didn't. Ah well... used car salesman... glad I (hopefully) won't have to deal with any more for a long time to come.

Mazzy21 wrote:As for the wiper blade, I figured I'd just buy a replacement. Is that not right? It's not the whole arm that's bad, just the blade itself is worn. I'd be kind of shocked if a dealership - even on a Certified car - was willing to replace something that should fall under 'normal wear and tear', but maybe I'm wrong on that?? I've never had a "certified" vehicle (not that I believe this one was actually certified properly at this point) so I don't know how far they go in servicing every little thing on the car. I figured I'd call my local dealership (not the place of purchase) today and make an appointment for the knob so they can order it, but do I tell them about the wiper blade then too??

Hadn't thought of that, it's possible that's considered a wear item. In that case the original dealer should really make it right but it's probably not worth dealing with them again for such a cheap repair. Hopefully the OEM blades are still on the car and you can just order from the dealer and install the inserts. Here's a post with the insert part numbers. Here's instructions for replacing the front inserts: and the rear:

It can't hurt to at least check with the dealer you bought the vehicle from about the wiper blades. I would think with a "certified" vehicle they would want everything, even something as seemingly small as wiper blades, to be repaired/replaced, but obviously you have your suspicions about the dealer so it's not surprising the wiper blades are shot. If they give you a hard time, it's not expensive or hard to replace the OEM wiper blade inserts yourself. I replaced the front and rear inserts on both our GTs last year for the first time (they didn't even really seem to need to be replaced, but I figured it'd probably be a good idea after 3.5 years) and it was cheap and easy. I also took the opprotunity to re-paint the wiper blade housings which had started to fade a little.

I hope you get everything worked out easily with the radio knob replacement. Again though, this is not something that's too bad either if you end up having to do it yourself.

Yes, normally wiper blades are wear items, but they are listed as one of the 172 items that are checked on the certified checklist. http://www.gmcertified.com/themes/defau ... 012913.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

At item # 63, there is a box to check that they were inspected and good, or a box to check that they need service, and then another box to check AFTER they have been serviced or replaced. To me that says they should have been replaced if they were worn. It was obvious they were gone when you first used them. Therefore the GM dealer should have replaced them. Yes it is only maybe $20, but that is $20 the dealer should have taken care of. You might just ask them if they want your service business. If they say yes, you can tell them, "Well, new wiper blades that should have been included in the Certified certification process, would be a start."

And ditto on using the regular GM or Toyota blade inserts in the stock blade holders. IMO they are MUCH better than the full replacement wipers. They have two metal stiffeners you recycle and that hold the blade in the proper position. I replaced mine and it was pretty easy. And for me the Toyota ones were cheaper.

Good luck on it.

Hmm, seems my "certified" Vibe right from the GM dealer here missed both the regular air filter, and the cabin air filter. The air filter wasn't real dirty, but it was a shock to see the cabin filter. People have no idea how fast they get clogged up. They are a once a year item as well. Most people don't know that most cars have em, including the first generation Vibes!

So I guess I'm not the only one who got a maybe-100-or-so point inspection. I don't know if it comes down to laziness on the part of the inspecting mechanic or if it's the actual dealership telling them to count anything they can as "pass" (even if it barely passes) just so they can get it on the lot as "Certified", but it certainly is annoying. The dealership that I had originally accepted the offer from - for $700 less, mind you - went over every single item of the 172-point inspection with me on the phone. They understood that I was coming a LONG way and I told them upfront that I was nervous about getting all the way there and then not liking/having something wrong with the car. The dealership I bought from was, of course, a GM dealership but it was small and in a po-dunk town. The dealership I passed up was absolutely huge if their website is anything to go by (they have advertized that they ship cars everywhere in the 48 continentals and I forgot the number but a crazy amount of cars on their lot - maybe it was 500 or so?? something just crazy). The turned-down dealership even said to me "Ms. Black, we are currently the biggest dealership in the country so it wouldn't serve any purpose for us to sell a car that wasn't meticulously "certified" because the couple hundred bucks we'll make off you isn't worth the headache you can make for us if something ends up being wrong with the car". I thought that was rather honest of them. But alas, it was still a car that had been in an accident and since they didn't fix it there, they had no way of knowing if it was just a fender bender or a full on smashed up car so... po-dunk it was.

My car *seems* to be okay though, other than those couple annoyances I mentioned, and it sounds like, '09Snowy, that yours seems to be in good shape too other than the same sloppiness on the certification process. I hope we both have our cars, trouble-free, for many years to come.

I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THOSE PICTURES YOU TOTALLY WERE JUST ABOUT TO POST! (Hint, hint! )