I'm looking to purchase a used Pontiac Vibe for my 1st car. I've read some reviews but am curious as to what everyone has experienced with these. (Problems, repair, gas usage, misc things breaking.) I know it's built by Toyota so I guess it should be good. My friend has a '03 Firebird and another girl from work has a '98 Grand Prix and the windows are junk on both of them. Are the vibes window motors Toyota made or Pontiac Made?
2007-03-22 08:16:14 · 4 answers · asked by David 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Car Makes ➔ Other - Car Makes
We bought a 2004 Vibe in August of 04 and I only have one complaint which is true for all front wheel drive cars and that is they eat the front tires. Do your homework on tires and buy a decent tire with good tread life and you'll be good to go.
As to other posts, the Vibe is built by NUMMI in Fremont, California. NUMMI is a joint operation between GM and Toyota and they've built some great cars in Fremont (Vibe, Corolla and Tacoma currently). In the old days the motors came from Japan as well as some of the electronics but I'm not sure if that is still true.
The Matrix is made in Canada not Fremont. Seems to be a bit cheaper new and I never did figure out exactly why.
I know exactly what you mean about window motors. Pontiacs that I have or have had:
76 Sunbird
86 Grand AM
97 Grand Am
01 Grand Prix
04 Vibe
Interestingly enough it always seems to be the front passenger window. Maybe they put more stability in the driver side as the door opens/closes a lot more often than the passenger side. Just my guess but we've had absolutely not problem with the Vibe since day one.
I drove all of the different Vibe models at a GM in Motion show a couple of years ago and couldn't get enough of them. It's just a fun car to drive. Only real complaint I have about the Vibe is that the wife won't let me drive it unless she wants me to wash it or change the oil.
2007-03-23 17:25:05 · answer #1 · answered by jd_nocal 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have a friend who has an '04 Vibe with over 100K miles on it and has never had a problem with it. He is a smoker and is constantly rolling the windows up and down with no issues.
I also do not notice a recall for the window motors on the vibe, and personally believe that the problems your friends are having are coincidental or they burned out the motor due to time ('98 is an old car).
I would highly recommend the Vibe/Matrix. I would defintely consider the Matrix more because it will hold it's value better and looks a tad nicer (in my opinion).
If you are planning on running the car into the ground, then get the Vibe if you like the way it looks better.
2007-03-23 16:17:28 · answer #2 · answered by Stupid Flanders 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The Vibe is EXACTLY the same car as a Toyota Matrix.
Both are very reliable and both are built by Toyota in Japan
2007-03-22 10:11:34 · answer #3 · answered by Bill in Kansas 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
get a honda accord or toyota cammary or a nissan altima..
2007-03-22 08:26:58 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋