Sunfire costing $2400 to fix! Advice on Pontiac Vibe/Toyota Matrix/Saturn Vue, etc (1 Viewer)

[Philip_G]

I'm with you.
repairing a car (yourself if possible) is WAY better than staring down 5 years of car payments.

 

[Drew Bethel]

Funny that you should mention used...we looked into used Vues and guess what? I looked in carsoup and similar Vues with as much as 10,000+ miles on them were costing more than a brand spanking new one! Not to mention the diminishing warranty and going interest rate for A-credit is 5% for used Saturns and Vibes. Maybe I can find something a lslightly lower interest rate by going third party but I won't hold my breath.

I got a great deal on it because the 2005's are arriving shortly and they were trying to move out 2004 stick shifts that the soccer moms can't be bothered with .

We're getting 3.6% over three years and may even pay it off in two.

 

[Mark Sherman]

Congrats on the new Toy. There is nothing better then the feeling of picking up and driving a new car. The new car smell the piece of mind knowing that your car will start and run in the morning.


I just got my new car in May ( a birthday present to myself)a 2004.5 VW GLI 1.8T. They wanted Drivers, well they got one.......... A very happy one indeed.

 

[Julian Reville]

It can happen. I had a 1970 240Z that I bought in 1974 with about 30K on it. I drove that car everyday. Finally in 1980, with about 100K on it, it made a horrible sound, and died in the street. Being extremely poor at the time, I pulled the trans and disasembled it: one of the bearings in the trans had failed, and one of the shafts (1st, I think) had dropped to the bottom.

So I replaced all of the bearings, ignored the few chipped teeth on the 1st gear shaft, and was good to go for about $150. When I retired the car in 1990 with 200K, the trans was still working fine.

 

[Drew Bethel]

I just realised that the model we got does not have anti-lock brakes...silly me for thinking that it was standard in this day and age! :b

Anyway, we ran some errands in it last night and like it a lot.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

I had a 1987 Toyota Corolla FX/16 5speed break the trans mainshaft at only 45k miles. It was out of wty but Toyota paid for it anyway.

 

[Bob Graz]

Wow Julian, when I was a poor student, I successfully rebuilt the 2 barrel carb on my 74 Dodge Charger in my dorm room. I think I even had extra parts, but the carb worked when I re-installed it. That was the first time I ever attempted anything like that. A transmission though, I'm impressed.

 

[BrianW]

I'm convinced that the emergence of fuel injection was done as a conspiracy to prevent common folks from learning that carbs are capable of violating the law of conservation of matter and energy. Has anyone ever rebuilt a carb and not had parts left over?

I know a guy who took his 1967 Volkswagen carb apart and put it together so many times, he eventually had two of them.

 

[Vlad D]

Too funny!!

 

[Alf S]

..and the Matrix is built on the Corolla frame/powertrain etc.

 

[Alf S]

Drew,
Curious, how is the dealer handling your Vue in relation to the massive recall for all the Vue's and their collapsing wheels during emergency manuvers(sp)?

Do they put in all new axles, wheels etc etc on your car before you buy it?

If I read it right, ALL Vues are recalled, not just a few.

That's what's scaring me away from it..that and the sub-par looking/feeling interiors.

Hope yours turns out ok...

Alfer

 

[Drew Bethel]

Alf, commom sense tells me that dealers don't sell cars after a recall until they undergo the change. Have you ever taken a car to be serviced when there is an outstanding recall issue? They won't let you leave until it is fixed properly. I can find out the details if you like though.

We got a sweet deal on ours, $4000 off plus they threw in the sports package and a few accessories like the heavy duty rubber floor mats. I can't think of any other deals coming remotely close. But you're right, the interior is very "plasticky"...however that sort of stuff never bothered me. I look at automobiles as something you sit in to get you from point A to piont B.

 

[Philip_G]

isn't the V6 in the view a honda engine anyway?

 

[Drew Bethel]

Yes, The VG is a honda engine...GM is building some diesel engines for Honda in this deal.

I got the lowly 4-banger but if you need the acceleration and towing power the V6 would be the way to go.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

I work in a Toyota dealer service dept. When recalls are issued that are applicable to current models, in-stock units are not sold until the recall work is performed.

We can input a vehicle's VIN number to our TIS system and determine what if any recalls are applicable, whether or not they have been performed on that particular vehicle, and even the name of the dealer that performed the work and the date on which it was performed. I would assume dealers of many makes have this same capability.

If one is considering buying a used car it would be an excellent idea to go to a dealer of that make and have them do a search for applicable recalls.

Mfgs. rely on DMV data to send out recall notices and often when a car's changed hands or the owner has moved the data is unreliable so a notice may not catch up with the car's current owner. We've found outstanding recalls not performed sometimes a full 8 or 10 years after the recall was first initiated for this reason and because some owners just plain ignore recall notifications.