GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Just bought my son a 2005 Vibe AWD,Car has only 41k on it ,Looked it over the best i could and it looked ok, Just have that ,i have been had feeling, I will take to my garage and hope that feeling is false when i pick it up this weekend, Any ideas what i'm in for? I have a 05 Vibe that has been great,That is why i stuck with Vibe.

41k is nothing! Was there something specific that made you nervous? Do you have the service records?

Did you drive it and hear any noises from the rear like growling? Is the idle rough?

If the Vibe was driven on salted roads, check the exhaust connections in the rear for rusted out pipe.

Based on being a 10-year old vehicle, you'll want to ensure that all of the fluids have been changed: engine oil, transmission, power steering, transfer case, rear differential, brakes, radiator coolant. Also, change filters (air, cabin, transmission) and clean the Mass Airflow sensor and throttle body.

Otherwise, it sounds like a good deal.

I did the car fax on it came back clean , A small rust spot on driver sill area, Drove ok, No big noise noticed, Guess I wonder why a dealer would wholesale the car and not retail it?

Welcome to GenVibe! Assuming your mechanic doesn't find any major issues, it sounds like you scored a great low mileage Vibe for your son. It's great to hear that you belong to a 2 Vibe family as well! Many members here, including myself, have 2 (or more) Vibes in our families. This is a great testament to just how wonderful Vibes are. Please post some pictures of both Vibes when you get a chance. We love pictures around here !

DJC868 wrote:I did the car fax on it came back clean , A small rust spot on driver sill area, Drove ok, No big noise noticed, Guess I wonder why a dealer would wholesale the car and not retail it?

Are you a dealer, too? I guess I don't understand the "wholesale the car" thing. Did he say he sold it to you "at wholesale"?

If you are thinking it was too cheap, an excellent condition & fully optioned (Leather seats, Moon & Tunes, Alloys, Navigation) AWD with 41k would retail for ~$9,650 according to the NADA Black Book. With the rust, in fair condition, that could knock it down to ~$7,500.

Congrats on the new purchase, and hopefully it will work out well for your son. The 06 Vibe was the first car for my son, and my daughter drove it for a year while my son was in his second year of college. It is a good car for kids to have, IMO.

Good luck with it!

I am not a Dealer,But i have worked for one most of my life, Wholesale is a term we use when we don't put a car on the lot,We instead sell it to a independent used car dealer or lot at a reduced rate and they try and get retail. My son's new vibe has no moon roof and has steel wheel with caps is AWD ,I get it Saturday and it goes to my shop and will get gone through front to back before my boy takes it.I paid $6400.00 for the car with 41k on it.

DJC868 wrote:I paid $6400.00 for the car with 41k on it.

NADA has the bone stock (no cruise, no power windows) trade in value of a clean condition AWD as $6,400. Seems like you got a good deal and you have the resources to get it checked out thoroughly.

Hope your son will join up here and send us pics of the new ride. Enjoy!

Got car home and to my garage, Check engine light came on as soon as we started our trip, Look's like it need's a post converter o2 sensor, My shop went over car front to back, Also needs a rear axle sea l"Leaking good" And the rear wiper blade is shot,That is part of N,Y,S,I- And should have been fixed.I am putting four fresh tires on car,The one's on car were wore un-even so why take a chance. Other than that at this point car is good to go.

DJC868 wrote:Got car home and to my garage, Check engine light came on as soon as we started our trip, Look's like it need's a post converter o2 sensor, My shop went over car front to back, Also needs a rear axle sea l"Leaking good" And the rear wiper blade is shot,That is part of N,Y,S,I- And should have been fixed.I am putting four fresh tires on car,The one's on car were wore un-even so why take a chance. Other than that at this point car is good to go.

It might be the converter itself. The prior owner of my GT had the post converter O2 sensor replaced a couple of years before he sold it, and it did not fix the problem. He still got the code but didn't worry about it since San Antonio, TX did not have emissions inspections. I had to make the light go away for my inspection and used the spark plug fouler trick to reduce the air flowing to the O2 sensor. So far, so good!

trb wrote: used the spark plug fouler trick to reduce the air flowing to the O2 sensor. So far, so good!

Make sure your cat isn't plugged or collapsed, etc. You'd probably notice, because when you park it and rev the engine it will be slow and unresponsive if it's plugged, but...