GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Our 2005 Vibe with 143,000 miles took a hit on the driver rear door/quarter panel. The accident was on 25 mph streets. The Vibe took the hit on the driver's side then spun around and hit the curb with the passenger side rear wheel. I had a mechanic take a look at it and he said the alignment is still straight, and driver side wheel bearing seems good. It has not been driven much since it got hit, just a couple of short trips on city streets, but it seems to drive OK. One problem is the wheel well needs to be pushed out so that it does not rub on the tire when the car goes over bumps. And the driver side rear door is jammed shut. The other driver's insurance (they ran a stop sign) is going to pay us $4700 if they take the car; $3500 if we keep the car.

For the $4700 I think I can get comparable Vibe in year and mileage out the door with taxes etc, but it won't have is the parts I've changed or had changed over the past two years: fluids, battery, hvac recirculation door actuator, spark plugs, motor mount and a brace, front rotors and pads. The Vibe has been reliable. A replacement is always somewhat of a gamble.

If anyone has had a Vibe with similar body damage that you drove without repairing, how did it go for you? Were there any unintended consequences of leaving the car unrepaired?

For comparison, I sold my 03' Matrix Xrs for just over $4900 with 100k miles. I would think a similar car without the Toyota name would be cheaper. But why not just take the payout + keep the car, go to a junkyard and get a replacement door and pound out the area in the wheel well with a BFH and call it good? Buy a nicer car with the insurance money, but keep this one for to/from work or for hauling things?

Thanks. Hammer isn't going to get that area of the wheel well moved. I gave that a shot yesterday. Only about 3" of space to swing the hammer, so only gentle tappig is possible. I am going to try a bottle jack - one end on the rear frame rail, the other end on the inside of the wheel well and see if that will push it out without moving the frame rail

I have your car on kbb.com worth $4500 on the high end of private sale. Assuming you have threatened and yelled at the insurance company until you are blue in the face and have gotten every penny out of their offer, and short of hiring a lawyer to get even more money, I'd take the money and go get either another Vibe that you can swap your parts (new tires, etc) onto, or something a lot more modern that will serve your family for years to come (ie: Honda CRV: 2012-2016. Fantastic vehicle and many, many used ones out on the road.) Good luck with your decision.

This is definitely repairable for under $1000 assuming you do the work. Most Vibes in junkyards have FRONT END damage which means there should be an abundant supply of rear end parts. I'm fortunate to have a shop and have done auto restoration in the past which is why I'd take the smaller payout and keep the car. your skills & limitations may be different. Keep us posted on which way you go

kc27 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 07, 2020 3:02 am Thanks. Hammer isn't going to get that area of the wheel well moved. I gave that a shot yesterday. Only about 3" of space to swing the hammer, so only gentle tappig is possible. I am going to try a bottle jack - one end on the rear frame rail, the other end on the inside of the wheel well and see if that will push it out without moving the frame rail

There is more than 3" of space if you remove the tire to use the BFH..

Sometimes you can "borrow" hydraulic kits from Advanced Auto, Pep Boys, etc. They can be placed in small area and pumped to expand when a hammer can't be used. I used one on my truck frame near the front end after an accident a few years ago.

The kits look very similar to this https://www.harborfreight.com/automotiv ... 62115.html.

Of course, it is not as satisfying as using a BFH but it still gets the job done....

It’s hard to see from the picture but it looks like the inside door jamb/well got bent in, which is something that has to be pulled rather than pounded out. It’s usually pretty thick ‘structural’ as well, as opposed to a body panel. Back in the day I had a ‘96 corolla that took a similar hit, but by then it was about 2006, so an old car. Body shop guy took a look and said it wasn’t worth him fixing ($2000ish) but if I wanted to do it myself he’d help me out. What and offer! So he had his shop guy pull the major dents so I could do the major. Here is what he did. (1) cut a seam with angle grinder along the outside ridge. (2) he put the car on a platformed hydraulic rack. Welded some anchors, hooked up some chains and pulled that sucker out, (3) welded the seam back, (4) did some grinding and put an epoxy high build primer. I paid him $300 and I was on my way to do the bondo and painting... I end up pounding every other dent out and repainted the whole car. A labor of love. All that to say, Option 1 - see if u can find a local shop that do the major structural stuff at hourly rate. Option 2 - go to ‘you pull’ scrap yard, find a vibe and saws-all that whole section. Find a buddy that is a good welder, cut out your bad part, and weld in the new section. Grind the weld, prime and paint... I did a version of my 03 vibe, but the front wheel well/quarter panel.

I forgot to post how this turned out. I ended up doing a version of what pwyu1969 suggested, except I found a retired body shop guy through Craigslist who does bodywork out of his home garage and he did the whole repair.

I told him my goal was to have the car look respectable, with a working rear door, and be safe to drive and that I was not looking for a Concours d'Elegance trophy-winning restoration. He charged $2200. The car looks good, the door works, and there are no driveability issues. It has gone through one winter with salted roads and so far, no rust. Photos of the repair in progress and the finished repair below.

Not bad BUT not the greatest either. The main thing was that you got it fixed and are able to keep this Vibe rolling along. You patronized a retiree (good as I'm right around the corner myself and will be doing occasional side work) and got your Vibe fixed. Thanks for the update

Looks to me like you came out ahead moneywise and the retiree did a pretty good job - not perfect, for sure, but good enough - and you still have the Vibe you wanted to keep. You made the right decision.

The gentleman who did the repair originally intended to cut the damaged quarter panel from my car and replace it with a quarter panel from a donor car, but due to a miscommunication between us, he instead pulled the damaged metal back into position, covered it with mar-glass, then filler. It looks good to me. I will be satisfied if the repair lasts three years.