Looking for a Vibe

[timsdiecast]

I hate to admit this, but between my wife and I we just totaled our 3rd AWD Vibe. We've lost 2 to hitting deer, and my wife was involved in one of those pile up accidents on the freeway. That's how we lost the third one. We still own a 2006 AWD Vibe, but now I want a 2009 or 2010 AWD Vibe. Living in Michigan the AWD really comes in handy. Not much to choose from on eBay, and I've noticed the web sites like cars.com, autotrader.com, etc. all have the same Vibes on them. I wish there was a way to search Craigslist.com nationally without having to search each city of each state separately, but there doesn't appear to be a way to do that. Anybody have any other ideas how to find 2009 and 2010 AWD Vibes for sale? I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm mainly finding 2009 and 2010 AWD Vibes for sale by dealers. There has to be some out there for sale by private owner, and I don't have a problem with buying a plane ticket, and jumping on a plane to look at one I may be interested in. Here's another question. I recently seen a little old lady driving one of the newer body style Vibes, and it was like a pastel green in color. Did they offer Vibes in this color? If this wasn't a factory color, whoever painted it did a nice job. I real like that Mystic Blue, and there's a 2009 AWD mystic blue Vibe for sale in the Cleveland area. I might have to take a 3 hour ride to look at this car. Thanks in advance for any help or advice anybody can offer.

[robtco99]

searchtempest.com will check all the craigslist in a certain mile range.

Our vibe was totaled a couple months ago and we looked for over a month for another vibe at a decent price, but came up empty handed. I was astounded at some of the prices dealers are asking for them. In the end, we ended up going a totally different direction for a replacement. Good luck with the search.

[vibenvy]

Sorry to hear about the loss of your third Vibe, but glad to hear your wife wasn't seriously injured.

I recently seen a little old lady driving one of the newer body style Vibes, and it was like a pastel green in color. Did they offer Vibes in this color? If this wasn't a factory color, whoever painted it did a nice job. I real like that Mystic Blue, and there's a 2009 AWD mystic blue Vibe for sale in the Cleveland area. I might have to take a 3 hour ride to look at this car.

I'm sure the color you saw was Mystic Blue Metallic. It was only available for 2009. It's an iridescent color so it can appear to be a different color / shade under certain light. I have only ever seen two Vibes in this color in person and they have both been 1.8L Bases. It's a very unique and rare color. I say go check out the one in Cleveland. A 3 hour drive isn't bad, so you don't really have much to lose except possibly missing out on a great Vibe.

Definitely keep us posted on how your search for a "new" Vibe is going .

[jake75]

For what they are asking for a 2009-2010 you might want to see if you can find a new Matrix.

[timsdiecast]

[

I'm sure the color you saw was Mystic Blue Metallic. It was only available for 2009. It's an iridescent color so it can appear to be a different color / shade under certain light. I have only ever seen two Vibes in this color in person and they have both been 1.8L Bases. It's a very unique and rare color. I say go check out the one in Cleveland. A 3 hour drive isn't bad, so you don't really have much to lose except possibly missing out on a great Vibe.

The car was parked, and I actually walked up to it after the little old lady walked into the store. It was definitely a pastel green. Back in the 1980s I actually owned a few collision shops, so that's why I commented on how if it wasn't a factory paint job whoever painted it did a great job. Living in the Detroit area for the last 50 years I know one off cars can surface from time to time because some big shot's wife or mother-in-law wanted a special color, or one of the "Big 3" will paint a car a different color for SEMA, or some other car show, and then the car will actually get released to the public. I know back when GM was having financial problems they were sending cars to auctions that normally wouldn't of ever got released to the public. They were basically having a fire sale.

As far as the search for the Vibe I'm getting frustrated on what people want for 2009 and 2010 AWD Vibes. I found a steel blue metallic 2009 AWD Vibe in St. Johns, MI with 23,000 miles on it, and they want $14,900 for it. I called the dealership, and the salesman I talked to said they originally wanted $16,100 for the car, and it was just marked down to $14,900, but the sales manager would sell the car for $14,500. I told them I'd be a cash buyer if they got the car down closer to $13,000, and he basically said that wasn't going to happen.
Before I pay that kind of money for a 5 year old Vibe I'd consider buying a new AWD Buick Encore or 2014 turbo diesel Chevrolet Cruze.
I may have to go look at the mystic blue 2009 AWD Vibe in the Cleveland area, and try to buy the car.
I'll keep everybody updated on my car search.

[kumquat]

This thread is making me feel awfully good about getting my mint-condition 09 for under $8000, even though it had 99,000 miles on it.

[timsdiecast]

This thread is making me feel awfully good about getting my mint-condition 09 for under $8000, even though it had 99,000 miles on it.

There's actually a 2009 AWD Vibe not too far from my house in Farmington Hills, MI for sale with a 102,000 miles on it for $9,244, but I'm trying to avoid that kind of mileage. Plus I realize I'm paying a premium for the AWD, but it really comes in handy living in Michigan on those snowy and icy days. I have to imagine $8,500 would buy that car. Two of the AWD Vibes we lost to deer had over a quarter million miles on them, so I don't know why I'm worried about 100,000 miles, but for now I'm trying to get the best deal possible on a lower mileage AWD Vibe.

[vibolista]

You can increase your chances of finding a good, lower mileage Vibe, by including FWD Vibes. I live in Maine and just stick a good set of snow tires on the steel wheels, instantly turning my Vibe into a great snow mobile. I drive from 50 to over 100 miles one way to get to the bigger ski areas in the state, and in the worst conditions imaginable. I've had no problems getting up or down hills in snow and handling icy roads. Right now I'm running Blizzaks, and they do a pretty good job. There are more aggressive snow tires out there that handle deep snow better than the Blizzaks, but they can also tend to be somewhat noisy. General Arctic Altimax snow tires on the other hand, are some of the best and are not noisy.

The savings can be pretty big, when you consider that you're not dragging around all that extra mechanical gear and can get better mpg year round! My manual Vibe gets 34-36 mpg during the Winter months and 36-38 mpg in the Summer. I've had a couple of 40 mpg tanks during the warm months. I don't push the envelope too much, generally driving speed limits or keeping up with traffic when that turns more advantageous. AWD is great, but with a good set of Winter tires, you can get about the same performance out of a FWD Vibe in snow.

AWD Vibes come with automatic transmissions, so you don't even get the choice of a manual. As soon as the Weather get's better here, usually by late March or early April, I take the snow tires/wheels off and replace them with a very comfortable and very quiet Summer tire on alloys, instead of a compromise All Season tire that is really not quite a Summer tire or full Winter tire. My snow tires last 4-5 Winters before they lose their Winter grip advantage.

Something to think about, anyway.

[timsdiecast]

You can increase your chances of finding a good, lower mileage Vibe, by including FWD Vibes. I live in Maine and just stick a good set of snow tires on the steel wheels, instantly turning my Vibe into a great snow mobile. I drive from 50 to over 100 miles one way to get to the bigger ski areas in the state, and in the worst conditions imaginable. I've had no problems getting up or down hills in snow and handling icy roads. Right now I'm running Blizzaks, and they do a pretty good job. There are more aggressive snow tires out there that handle deep snow better than the Blizzaks, but they can also tend to be somewhat noisy. General Arctic Altimax snow tires on the other hand, are some of the best and are not noisy.

The savings can be pretty big, when you consider that you're not dragging around all that extra mechanical gear and can get better mpg year round! My manual Vibe gets 34-36 mpg during the Winter months and 36-38 mpg in the Summer. I've had a couple of 40 mpg tanks during the warm months. I don't push the envelope too much, generally driving speed limits or keeping up with traffic when that turns more advantageous. AWD is great, but with a good set of Winter tires, you can get about the same performance out of a FWD Vibe in snow.

AWD Vibes come with automatic transmissions, so you don't even get the choice of a manual. As soon as the Weather get's better here, usually by late March or early April, I take the snow tires/wheels off and replace them with a very comfortable and very quiet Summer tire on alloys, instead of a compromise All Season tire that is really not quite a Summer tire or full Winter tire. My snow tires last 4-5 Winters before they lose their Winter grip advantage.

Something to think about, anyway.

I appreciate your advice, but to tell you the truth I've gone the FWD route before with the two sets of tires, and I think between buying a set of steel wheels, buying a set of winter tires, switching the set of wheels and tires every fall and spring, and having to store a set of wheels and tires year round I'll just stick to the AWD. Here's my experience with friends, relatives, neighbors and co-workers that have also owned Vibes here in Michigan. The people that own the AWD Vibes (like myself) love them, and swear they're keeping them forever. The people that own the FWD Vibes usually kept them 2 to 3 years, and moved on. I had one buddy that owned a FWD Vibe, and he lived in rural Michigan where they don't plow or salt the roads, and whenever we got more then 6 to 8 inches of snow he couldn't even use his Vibe. He had to rely on his 4WD pick up, but unlike you he didn't have the two sets of wheels and tires. AS far as the gas mileage I don't really care if I get 28 to 30 MPG or 34 to 36 MPG. Just isn't that important to me. I was actually looking through the FWD Vibes for sale, and there's definitely more to choose from, and they're cheaper, but for the $800 to $1400 difference I'll stick with the AWD. Like I said earlier I do appreciate your advice, but I've had such great luck with AWD Vibes in Michigan's nasty weather I think I'm hard headed about having to own an AWD Vibe. I have a cousin that's always telling me I don't need the AWD option on my Vibe, but I just smile and tell him, "but I love my AWD Vibes."