2003 Pontiac Vibe

Wagon

1.8L 1794CC l4 GAS DOHC Naturally Aspirated

Automatic

5Y2SL62873Z468510

Clear

Gasoline

2003 Pontiac Vibe Incredibly Reliable Car for Sale I've owned and driven this car for the past 10-years. My job requires me to travel frequently, usually to Blacksburg, VA or the Washington, DC area. The vast majority of the miles on this car are highway miles on good interstate roads. It has proven to be incredibly reliable all this time. I regularly change the oil every 3,500 miles. Other than that, the only service the car has needed is tires, brakes, timing belt (last changed around 175,000-miles) and whatever parts you normally change when changing the timing belt, batteries and radiator (original one cracked near the top and could not be repaired. This occurred around the time the timing belt was changed. All the radiator hoses were replaced at that time as well) I am pretty tall, about 6' 2" and have plenty of head and leg room. The car seats are really comfortable. Road noise is certainly higher than a new car, but the ride is impressively comfortable. Slideshow of the Car's Interior and Exterior As you can tell from photographs, the car is in very good shape. I had a friend polish and wax the outside. The paint is pretty much at the end of its life, but the car is shiny now. The clear-coat over the paint seems to have worn off, so it doesn't tend to keep its shine very long after the waxing. The lower body molding on both the driver and passenger front door seems to have a broken clip. They don't hold snug to the rest of the door. This is caused by opening the door over a curb and then getting into the vehicle. Sometimes when you close the door it drags on the curb due to the additional weight inside the car. They have both been this way for years and they are not getting any worse over time. I've never used the car's roof rack. It seem to be in fine shape. The car's electric mirrors both work perfectly. I meant to take a video of them in operation, but forgot to. Anyway, they both work fine. The windshield wipers are in excellent condition. They are the wide-blade Michelin ones, and they do an excellent job clearing the water from the windshield. The windshield wiper fluid dispenser works properly as well. The wiper reservoir is full. The rear wiper works and the intermittent timer for both work too. I just replaced both headlamps. There are two choices when replacing the headlamps, the standard brightness ones with ~800-hr lifespan and the high-brightness ones with ~300-hr lifespan. I always choose the high-brightness lamps because it makes nighttime driving much better. I had the oil & oil filter changed and filled up the gas tank too before listing the car for sale. The rear seats are somewhat spotty and discolored in places. We have two dogs that love to ride in the car. We've steamed cleaned the interior of the car, including floor mats and seats, however some imperfections remain. The seats actually look better in person than they do in the photographs. The car doesn't have a smell to it. The driver's floor mat is noticeably worn, the others are in great shape. There are only four (4) functional seat belts in the car. The center position in the back seat doesn't engage properly. When I took it to the dealer to repair the airbag recall I had them quote repairing the seat belt. They wanted $550 to replace the entire mechanism. I chose to pass on that repair. Before listing the car I took it to a mechanic and had him turn the front brake rotors (the car pulsed slightly when braking due to out-of-balance rotors). He hooked up one of those computers to it and said didn't show any problem codes. He said it was the first car he's ever worked on with this many miles that didn't show any problem codes. If you notice in the photographs the "check engine" light is illuminated. When I had the car at the dealer they checked it and said that it was probably due to the gas tank not quite being able to maintain 5-lbs negative pressure. As soon as you plug in the computer it resets the "check engine" light but doesn't doesn't give a "problem" code. About 10-miles later, the check-engine light turns back on. It has been this way for years. I was certainly not about to replace the fuel tank to eliminate that problem. The car gets about 24-mpg in town and 30-mpg on the highway driving about 77-mph. I use regular gas when I fill up. As a general rule, you will need to fill up about every 300-miles. The fuel refill is on the driver's side of the vehicle. The car is equipped with a set of four Michelin 205/55R16 Primacy MXM4 tires. Three have approximately 50% tread remaining. One has approximately 75% tread remaining. This tire had to be replaced when a large screw in the road punctured it so severely it could not be patched. Click Here for CarFax of Car's History Click Here for Copy of the Car's Owner's Manual I created a series of videos of the car in action. These videos are large and not "streaming" like a YouTube video. It may take a while before the videos start playing. Another option is to "right-click" on the video and download it directly to your computer. Video of Car Starting and Revving from the Front This is shot from the front of the car and shows me cranking it and revving the engine. When the car first starts the air conditioner is running. Later in the video you will hear me turn the air conditioner off. The engine purrs like a kitten, very smooth even when revving. The air conditioner compressor is louder than the engine. Video of Car Starting and Revving from the Rear This is shot from the rear of the car and shows me cranking it and revving the engine. Video Showing Front Lights and Horn Being Tested This is shot from the front of the car and shows all the lights being tested and the horn honking. Video Showing Rear Lights Being Tested This is shot from the rear of the car and shows all the lights being tested. Video Showing Interior Accessories Being Checked This is shot from the inside of the car and shows me adjusting the radio, operating the windshield wipers, air conditioner and turning the cabin lights on and off. Note about the radio. The radio's display does not work. It is completely black. It has been this way for over a year. I have it programmed for my favorite six local channels. When I travel I simply search for stations. If you are a person who constantly seeks known frequencies on the radio, you will need to replace the headend. However, if you have six favorite channels in your local market, you will be able to figure out where they are and save them into your presets. Also, the speakers sound distorted in the video. There is nothing wrong with the speakers, they sound fine. I don't know why my phone recorded it this way. Finally, the CD Player does not work. Video Showing Driver's Side Windows in Operation This video is shot from the left side of the vehicle showing the smooth operation of the electric windows. Video of Passenger's Side Windows in Operation This video is shot from the right side of the vehicle showing the smooth operation of the electric windows. Video of Keyfob Locking & Unlocking Doors The car comes with two functional remote keyfobs and three keys. This video shows that all doors and rear hatch function properly with the keyfobs. Test of Front Shocks Being Bounced This video shows the responsiveness of the car's front shocks. Test of Rear Shocks Being Bounced This video shows the responsiveness of the car's rear shocks. So Easy to Drive Even a Thirteen Year Old Can Do It!! Thank you for considering our car. We have had many great experiences in the car and have been amazed by the near perfect service record the car has enjoyed. We are really hoping it ends up with another appreciative owner.