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Comments
Never had any other electrical problems, of course they just of the car minus the radio is Toyota.
I get 22-23 mpg with my base 5sp Vibe; my wife can get 35 mpg in the summer with longer trips.
-Mathias
I curiously await your responses!
I've heard that people who use a laptop consistently use the plug to run those, plus if you fold down the front seat, it makes a nice "desk" for using a laptop - so long as you don't hit the brakes too hard! :-)
I dont usually like to drive too much but, the car is so fun I have already gone 550 miles. It has a very powerful motor and yet my first 9 gallons of gas yeilded 232 miles. That was a combination of city and highway driving along with some TESTING of the motors capability. The transaxle came with a 4:53 gear ratio and it is not hard to get the engine up into its powerband. I read some reviews about the GT being geared high but, I think it is geared nicely (unless the 4:53's are a change for the 2006 model). The only thing that I am not completely satisfied with is the 6 speed transmission. It is a bit hard to find certain gears at times. I think I am either getting used to it or, it is "breaking in" because over the last few days I havnt had much of a problem with it. We got about 15 inches of snow here today but, I am not too anxious to take my brand new car out in a blizzard. It seemed to move pretty easily in the driveway however.
All in all this is a very comfortable,roomy,quick,super handling car that somehow even manages to be economical !!! What more could anyone ask for?
Patrick
Perhaps a couple of months and 1,000 miles or so in which to break the engine in? I realize it ain't the 60s anymore, but I'd stay out of the "power band" of 6,000 rpm and up for awhile...
Other than that, congratulations.
-Mathias
I have noticed a few NUANCES however - I am 6 ft tall and have the steering wheel and seat positioned where I want them. The problem is that I cannot see ANY of the gauges without TRYING to see them (including the speedometer). Also the directionals seem to stay on - it makes me feel like an old man driving down the street with my signals blinking :O).
Gas mileage right now (it has been cold here in Massachusetts)is averaging 23.5 - 25.5 mpg. The GT WILL NOT TOLERATE anything but premium gas. Right now gas is pretty inexpensive but, when it goes back up to $4.00 bucks a gallon I might be sorry I traded in my 99 Elantra (Elantra got about 33 MPG). The dealer put regular 87 octane gas in the car when I bought it and it was pinging quite a bit (even driving it very easy). I put Sonoco 93 octane in it and it runs like some kind of wild animal.
I have bought 3 new cars in my life before this one - a 95 Grand Am SE , a 99 Grand AM GT coup (these were basically my ex's cars) and a 99 Hyundai Elantra. I like driving the Vibe better than any one of these other cars. It is certainly quicker than any of them (ie. fun :O). However, the Hyundai proved extremely reliable and I am hoping the Vibe will be as reliable. The only other car I liked as much as this Vibe was my 67 Firebird. The Firebird was a showcar and had leather interior and beautiful paint. It only got 12 mpg had very limited interior room and handled HORRIBLE compared to today's cars. Besides I am pretty sure the GT vibe is quicker than the firebird was and I can go to BJ's warehouse and fill it up with groceries (am I getting old or, what !!! )
I'm facing a dilemma. I'm looking for a commuter car to put about 22,000 highway miles each year on. I'm contemplating a 2003 Pontiac Vibe w/ 20k miles on it for around $11k or a 2000 Honda Civic EX w/ 70K miles for $6000. I'd prefer not to have a car payment so I'm leaning toward the Civic for that reason. I also see alot of them on the road (even older than a 2000) and most of the ones I see for sale in the same year have as many as 150,000+ miles on them. The only downside is that I think it's crazy to pay almost $6k for a soon to be 7 year old car. I'm kinda drawn to the Vibe as a previous Sunfire owner. I like the sporty looks of the vibe. It's also a semi-Toyota so that's a plus. My husband would prefer me to buy the newer car but I'm at a loss as to which will be better in the long run. I'm not going to use the car for anything else but commuting. What's your take on the situation? Thank you!
I just want a basic vibe, front wheel drive, power windows, cruise, and good gas mileage. When I go to trade in my car, should I ask them to come down in pricr for theirs? I am not good at buying cars. COuld use some help. When I bought my Avalon it costs me $20,000.00 in Jan 2005. Now a car dealer is saying he will only give me 14,000.00 Can they depreciate that much in 1 year? It is loaded, leather seats, etc.
Can anyone help?
Thank you.
Lonnie
I would look into a private sale on the Avalon to get the most money.
Define "depreciate". Did you pay $20k with tax? Then there's $1,200 right there. The car certainly did depreciate; depending on the miles you drove and the condition it's in, it "should depreciate" $2-3,000 in one year... even with very few miles drive... more miles, more depreciation. Don't forget, any car depreciates 100% over 15 years or 200k miles, give or take, so if it was a $30k car to begin with, you can see where I'm coming from.
Be glad you didn't buy a domestic...
We don't have much to work here; how many miles a year, how many miles on the car, did you roll any negative equity in when you bought it? What's your interest rate?
Yeah, you probably overpaid a little for the car, but I only say that because you say you don't know much about car buying. On the other hand, you did not overpay much because of the $14k offer... so last year it was a $17k car... you paid $3 over that, with or without the taxes...? Bingo, the spread between wholesale and retail is at $2-3k in this price range.
Unless you drive mega miles, keep the Avalon. Transaction costs are going to eat up $2k if you trade down, if not more. The payments will go up.
And in the future, buy less car or have more cash. I know everyone does it, but it's expensive to buy more than one can truly afford.
-Mathias
I really have learned a very hard lesson here. The only reason I want to get rid of this, is because my payments are$406.00 a month. I have always bought all the vehicles. I by my husbands and mine. I am tired of spending all my money on cars. My husband likes the Avalon, I asked if he wanted to take over payments, not interested. So its all my fault.
Also, the Avalon is not that great on gas, and terrible in snow. But other than that, what a beauty. Has all the luxeries.
I'm just going to have to buckle up financially and face what I have done and be greatful I have a nice car. And just take good care of what I have, I guess.
But your right Mathias, LESS CAR or More Cash!!!! Just takes a little patience, and less instant gratification!
Thank you again!
Lonnie
I doubt there's a problem with the car. In my experience, Dodge trucks put out a ton of soot, even when they're new. VW/Audis have almost none. Toyotas a little, but it varies. A certain amount of dry soot is no cause for concern.
Given how tricked out emissions systems are today, it'd be virtually impossible for an '05 with 22k miles to have something wrong with the combustion process without throwing a light. So unless you can actually produce quantities of the stuff -- as opposed to getting your hand or tissue paper good and dirty -- I wouldn't worry. It may also have more to do with he number of cold starts than the number of miles... oxygen sensors don't work the first minute or three while they're cold. So the injectors are on some sort of auto pilot during that time.
I'll try to remember to check my car ('04 26k) tomorrow.
-Mathias
There is enough soot in the tailpipe to get a white tissue paper "pretty dirty". Which means, there is not enough solid matter to fill even 1/10 of a tea spoon, but the tissue gets black in a few spots, and very gray over an area of 2x2 inches.
That's as accurate as I can make it.
My wife's '03 Sienna is just about the same.
If the car you're looking at is a whole lot worse, either don't buy it or have it looked at carefully. But be advised that Vibes (and even worse, Matrices) are wicked expensive used... consider taking advantage of whatever rebates the General provides (conquest, bonus, cash back) and consider buying new.
-Mathias
-Maxx
Is it just me? What in the heck is Maxx talking about?
-Larry
Perfect timing - just when gas is getting more expensive they feel it needs a larger engine. :confuse:
"Pontiac will discontinue the GT and all-wheel-drive versions of the Vibe wagon after the 2006 model year due to sluggish sales of those models and changes in U.S. emissions standards that would have made them costly to redesign.
Pontiac will continue to offer the base-model Vibe for the 2007 model year. It may bring back the GT and awd versions with the next-generation Vibe, a spokesman says.
In a bulletin to Pontiac dealers Thursday morning, Buick-Pontiac-GMC General Manager John Larson told dealers they had until April and May to put in their last requests for the GT and AWD versions. Larson cited changes to U.S. regulatory standards as the reason.
"These changes would affect key structural components," Larson wrote. "The cost of redesign is prohibitive."
U.S. regulatory policy for 2007 has an ultralow emissions standard that the GT and awd versions did not meet. The base does meet the standard, says a Pontiac spokesman.
Sales also factored into the decision. Pontiac sold 64,271 units of the Vibe last year. That was up 9.1 percent from 2004. But dealers say the base model has accounted for the bulk of those sales.
"The GT and awd are very low-penetrating models right now," says Pontiac spokesman Jim Hopson. "There's still a very good possibility we'll resurrect both of those as we look at the next generation of the Vibe over the next couple of years."
The Vibe is a joint project that GM builds with Toyota Motor Corp. at the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. plant in Fremont, Calif. Toyota builds the engine. Sources close to Pontiac say the NUMMI arrangement is profitable and the killing of these versions does not indicate that the relationship will end.