Any reason I shouldn't buy an 03 Pontiac Vibe as a beater?

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thedarkwolf

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 1999
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Been looking for a new beater for awhile to replace my 89 dodge caravan with 170k miles on it and so far this vibe is about the best thing I've found. The vibe has 195k miles on it which I'm not happy about but compared to my caravan it feels like a new car lol. I'm only going to put around 5k miles a year on it anyway. I haven't found any real issues with the toyota drive train. Everything on the car appears to work. The engine feels weak but I think that is because it is weak with only 130hp and pulling 2700lbs through an automatic trans. The seller is asking $2300 which compared to all the other crap I've found seems to be a good deal. The next cheapest one I can find has 257k miles on it and looks like it was owned by a 16 year old idiot and they wan $2500 for it. At $2300 I think I could drive the car for a couple years and resale it for what I paid for it or at least damn close.
 
FuzzyDunlop

FuzzyDunlop

Diamond Member
Jan 30, 2008
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the people I know who have them say that they are actually quite comfortable and solid cars. I'd be sure to test drive any car with that much mileage before purchasing. Check the air filters on the cars - if they appear old and dirty then its a good sign that the car may not have been properly maintained.
 
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thedarkwolf

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 1999
9,025
121
106
I probably would have just went ahead and bought it today but the girl that owned it is a college student and had to go to her parent's to get the title. The family has had the car since it was new. Unless I can come up with some reason not to buy it I'm going to go get it tomorrow. I took it for a decent test drive today including about 5 miles on the interstate at 70mph. The car feels good. The engine bay looks clean, no obvious leaks, and the oil looked clean. The trans fluid isn't great looking and probably needs changed but it wasn't burnt smelling.

I've had my caravan for 12.5 years now and I am sick of it. It is currently broke down with a broken flex plate and I'm trying really hard to not fix it lol. The van runs and drives good, well did, but everything else is completely worn out on it.
 
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SyndromeOCZ

Senior member
Aug 8, 2010
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I've got a toyota matrix with almost 300k miles on it. Although it had two motors, the first went out at about 150k miles. It went out because it went over 30k miles on one oil change and started knocking. The new motor I put in it had 6k miles. The rest of the car has held up very nicely though. I did have to do all the struts and the usual stuff around 200k miles.
 
MDE

MDE

Lifer
Jul 17, 2003
13,199
1
81
My wife drives an 06 Matrix with 70k on it. It's completely gutless and no fun at all to drive, but it's solid and dependable. All she's done to it has been oil changes, tires, and air filter.
 
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thedarkwolf

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 1999
9,025
121
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Well I do have my maita for a fun car so I'm not too worried there. I just need something practical for hauling my dogs, mountain bikes, and other crap around. The vibe may see an autox or two while I'm doing work to the miata but I don't expect to be fast :).
 
3chordcharlie

3chordcharlie

Diamond Member
Mar 30, 2004
9,859
1
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Dog slow especially with the auto (actually not bad with a 5-speed). Other than that the car is brilliant.
 
AMCRambler

AMCRambler

Diamond Member
Jan 23, 2001
7,714
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Lol. You mean other than people referring to your car as the vibrator? Should be a fine little hatch and cheap too.
 
Arkaign

Arkaign

Lifer
Oct 27, 2006
20,736
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$2,300 is more than I'd like to ever spend on a car with nearly 200k miles on it. At that price range, the pickings are slim, but I'd almost rather get a car with 100k miles and a smashed fender or something instead. That's a lot of miles, even for a Toyota.

Here's a perfect example here in my area :

http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/2814531893.html

Same price, but 90k miles instead of 200k. And those GM 3.8 motors are ridiculously reliable, usually high teens to low 20s in the city, and about 30 on the highway (this was my experience with a 95 LeSabre, basically the same car).

Cons are : ugly, kind of drives like a boat, paint not too good, boring interior.

Pros : huge amount of life left in it (250k+ is normal on a stock 3800 w/o rebuild), parts are ultra cheap, easy to work on, invisible to cops, practically free to insure.

I'm not gonna say that it's a terrible idea to get a Vibe w/200k, but I also can't honestly say it's a great idea.
 
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Black2na

Senior member
Nov 25, 2010
629
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matrix/Vibe are dog slow in base form (a riot in XRS or GT trim) ive owned both and they are awesome comfortable good on gas and can carry pretty much anything you ask them to. for 2300 its a good deal and even if the motor in it lets go there abundant and cheap. you cant go wrong with it. buy it
 
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thedarkwolf

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 1999
9,025
121
106
Arkaign said:
$2,300 is more than I'd like to ever spend on a car with nearly 200k miles on it. At that price range, the pickings are slim, but I'd almost rather get a car with 100k miles and a smashed fender or something instead. That's a lot of miles, even for a Toyota.

Here's a perfect example here in my area :

http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/2814531893.html

Same price, but 90k miles instead of 200k. And those GM 3.8 motors are ridiculously reliable, usually high teens to low 20s in the city, and about 30 on the highway (this was my experience with a 95 LeSabre, basically the same car).

Cons are : ugly, kind of drives like a boat, paint not too good, boring interior.

Pros : huge amount of life left in it (250k+ is normal on a stock 3800 w/o rebuild), parts are ultra cheap, easy to work on, invisible to cops, practically free to insure.

I'm not gonna say that it's a terrible idea to get a Vibe w/200k, but I also can't honestly say it's a great idea.
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The problem is a normal sedan won't work for me or I would have a lot easier time finding something. Under $3k hatchbacks or wagons that fit my needs are slim pickings around here. I've been looking for a year off and on. If a car is rated to get 30mpg or close too it everybody is adding $1k to the price and claiming they get 35-40mpg. People want $2500-3000 for mid 90s ford escort wagons lol. I want a subaru wagon but the prices on those make the escorts look cheap. To get the car I want I need to spend $5k and I can't really justify that to drive 5k miles a year and haul my muddy dogs around. My $800 caravan has done that for 12.5 years.
 
3chordcharlie

3chordcharlie

Diamond Member
Mar 30, 2004
9,859
1
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thedarkwolf said:
The problem is a normal sedan won't work for me or I would have a lot easier time finding something. Under $3k hatchbacks or wagons that fit my needs are slim pickings around here. I've been looking for a year off and on. If a car is rated to get 30mpg or close too it everybody is adding $1k to the price and claiming they get 35-40mpg. People want $2500-3000 for mid 90s ford escort wagons lol. I want a subaru wagon but the prices on those make the escorts look cheap. To get the car I want I need to spend $5k and I can't really justify that to drive 5k miles a year and haul my muddy dogs around. My $800 caravan has done that for 12.5 years.
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All-plastic trunk in the vibe is a good feature then - you can pretty well clean it with a mop. I happen to know it will comfortably hold two 40lb collies, or one 180lb great dane, with the back seat UP.;)
 
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CraigRT

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
31,440
5
0
They are good cars. 1.8 is rock solid engine but as others have said, slow.. I almost bought an 07, it was a smoking deal, but someone else ended up getting it before me.
 
exar333

exar333

Diamond Member
Feb 7, 2004
8,518
8
91
3chordcharlie said:
All-plastic trunk in the vibe is a good feature then - you can pretty well clean it with a mop. I happen to know it will comfortably hold two 40lb collies, or one 180lb great dane, with the back seat UP.;)
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This.

I drove a Vibe (not GT) a few years back and it was very utilitarian, but was very solid. If you want a dependable car, with a good amount of space, that can take a lot of abuse (inside and out) its a great buy.

Repairs are simple and cheap, and the car is dirt-cheap to insure.

Edit: And the car is very easy to work on yourself.
 
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kornphlake

Golden Member
Dec 30, 2003
1,567
9
81
Get another mini-van if you want space and low cost, depreciation on mini-vans is horrible. A late 90s chevy astro in good condition can usually be found for around $3k and go down from there depending on how many cosmetic and mechanical defects you can live with, these vans are typically good for 250k miles or more. The RWD truck based platform has little in common with a FWD Caravan, it might be exciting enough to consider as a replacement, then again they aren't very fuel efficient or safe even compared to a 12 year old caravan.
 
vi edit

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
62,484
8,344
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AMCRambler said:
Lol. You mean other than people referring to your car as the vibrator? Should be a fine little hatch and cheap too.
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No lie...a 50 some year old woman in my subdivision used to own a bright white Vibe with the plates "VIBEBR8"
 
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thedarkwolf

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 1999
9,025
121
106
kornphlake said:
Get another mini-van if you want space and low cost, depreciation on mini-vans is horrible. A late 90s chevy astro in good condition can usually be found for around $3k and go down from there depending on how many cosmetic and mechanical defects you can live with, these vans are typically good for 250k miles or more. The RWD truck based platform has little in common with a FWD Caravan, it might be exciting enough to consider as a replacement, then again they aren't very fuel efficient or safe even compared to a 12 year old caravan.
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I really considered another minivan because they are super handy but if I'm going to go minivan I might as well just fix the one I have. I'd like something that got better mileage so I can drive it more often. My miata gets ok gas mileage but it is setup for autox and I do get tired of the stiff suspension at times.
 
3chordcharlie

3chordcharlie

Diamond Member
Mar 30, 2004
9,859
1
81
Worth noting:

The vibe is pretty much the perfect practical small car. Huge cargo holding, great mileage etc.

It's still a small car though - you can pick up 12 ft lumber, but there is no way to accommodate 4x8 sheet products.
 
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