GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

2005 Vibe, base model. Red, about 210k on it.

Clutch has just died, I need to move to a truck for the work I do, quoted 1500-2000 to replace the clutch.

I won't get that back if I were to sell it, and don't need 2 vehicles. It is scrapped at this point? Engine and body are in great shape, just the clutch has given up the ghost.

Thoughts?

Alternately, with the abilities of someone who can change tires and brake pads/rotors, would buying a clutch kit and putting it on blocks while I tinker away at it over time just be asking for more trouble, I think the parts I need are about $275 from autopartsway.ca

Thanks!

Easy job for one of us here who have the tools & capabilities to do such. Where are you located? Someone here may be willing to purchase it off of you and repair it for themselves.

Oh my, yes. These cars are in very high demand. If a clutch is all that is needed, that's like saying my house needs a new roof.......do you think it will sell? If you can show that you have done all the fluid changes over the years, do a nice positive write-up and put it on craigslist or cars.com. It will be gone very quickly.

Don't know if it's 210,000 miles or km - I assume you're in Canada based on the site you mentioned. If so, a Vibe at 210,000 km/130,000 mi is just getting broken in - don't scrap it, that car has a lot of life left in it. I'm sure you can find someone to take it off your hands in short order.

Yes, I am in Toronto, Ontario.

So that is 210k km, yes. I would love to keep it and fix it myself, but I fear that would be biting off more than I can chew. Especially since I just did the brakes right before the clutch went.

It is the second clutch, as I have used the car for a fair bit of towing, which makes me wonder if the whole transmission may be next to go.

true; towing is the biggest abuse a car can take. Only you know how the car has been maintained over time. If fluids and parts were changed at normal intervals, I'd keep the car until it really died. Your hedging your bet against a car which is proven to last a long time. If my tranny or engine go on my Vibe, I will not hesitate to put money into the car. It has proven its worth over time and is worth some repair money. Anyway, getting back to your original post/question, if you don't believe it is worth putting the money into it, I can guarantee you that there are hundreds of people just waiting for you to put the for sale sign in the window. I don't think you can lose either way you decide.

You may want to start with a few more quotes from other shops. Don't rush, ask around. I get anything I can't do done at my local junkyard, for instance. Make sure you get a warranty, of course. Doing a clutch can be tricky if your not a mechanic type, so be sure you can do it yourself before you decide. Good luck!

If you have to pay someone to replace the clutch, then the car is not worth a lot. The prior owner of my Vibe paid about $1,400 for a new clutch, slave cylinder and master cylinder about 3 years ago, then sold it to me a year later for $2,900. The cheap replacement went out about 1-1/2 years ago and I did the complete job myself for about $300 or so as per my "going under the knife" thread. But I've done at least 6 clutch jobs on two other vehicles so I know what I'm doing. But if you are somewhat mechanically inclined and have a friend that can help with ihe heavy lifting and positioning, IMO it would be worth keeping it to fix up. Running, it cold be worth $4K or so, but as it is now, probably just $2K US.

Good luck on it!

Thanks all.

My big issue with the vehicle is that once repaired, were I to keep driving it, I know I would abuse it again, and probably blow another clutch.

Hence the buying a truck plan.

I'm glad to hear you all think there is a market for it, hopefully I can find someone who will put it back together and let it live on in vibe glory!

But before I decide fully, I will read the 'under the knife'. I'm a carpenter/welder with my own show, so we have some tools on hand, and a place to work on it, so maybe it's worth it to give the fix a go.