The 2008 Pontiac Vibe holds the dubious honor of being arguably the best of those boring wagon-style compacts they were coming out with in the late 2000s. But, it easily beats the PT Cruiser and the Chevy HHR as the sportiest and most reliable of the bunch.
Is the 2008 Pontiac Vibe a Good Used Car?
- Overall Rating 8/10 – Probably the best of the late-00s wagon-style compacts. Not that that’s saying much.
- Interior, Comfort & Cargo 8/10 – The wagon body style offers more headroom than you expect of a budget compact, and the cabin is well designed to make the most use of the space available.
- Reliability 8/10 – It’s a Toyota with Pontiac branding. It’ll probably do a quarter million miles without a single breakdown.
- Safety 7/10 – Standard features include airbags… and that’s about it. Anti-lock brakes cost extra, which is hard to overlook for a 2008 model.
- Gas Mileage 8/10 – There are compacts coming out today that can’t do 26/33 miles to the gallon.
- Value 7/10 – If you’re looking for a really basic, reliable daily commuter, you might be able to get your hands on a bare-bones Vibe for around $4,000. It gets more expensive once you start adding features to it, at which point you might as well just buy a Civic or a compact SUV.
What Do Critics Say About the 2008 Pontiac Vibe?
Consumer Reports found the 2008 Pontiac Vibe’s physical dimensions appealing, with excellent design making the interior feel roomy and the exterior feel small and nimble. But, a loud engine and awkwardly placed driver seat cost the SUV a perfect review.
Kelley Blue Book liked the roomy interior, stylish design, and hard plastic cargo floor. They note that the engine could be a little more powerful, with acceleration feeling a bit sluggish from a dead stop.
Edmunds agreed with CR and KBB on the subject of the roomy interior and versatile cargo area. They note excellent fuel economy, and Toyota-grade reliability, thanks to an actual Toyota-made powertrain. But, the list of standard safety features is pretty short, and the acceleration feels a bit lazy.
What Common Problems Does the 2008 Pontiac Vibe Have?
The 2008 Pontiac Vibe has generated just 63 complaints with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Most of these are for the airbags with 48 complaints on file, mostly pointing to airbag warning lights illuminating despite three airbag recalls between 2016 and 2019.
Vehicle speed control complaints take a very distant second place with 4 complaints on fileand drivers reporting difficulty braking at low speeds. Where the mileage has been reported it’s been fairly low, with one driver experiencing the issue before 20,000 miles.
There are a few reports of engine stall and overheat. These complaints are rare enough that they may be considered outliers rather than a pattern.
The 2008 Pontiac Vibe has been recalled 4 times in total, which is on the lower end of average for a vehicle of this age.
How Long Will the 2008 Pontiac Vibe Last?
The Pontiac Vibe is basically a rebranded Toyota under the hood, so you can expect a typical lifespan of around 250,000 miles with adequate maintenance. You might be able to squeeze a few more road trips out of it after that, but a quarter million is when you should start shopping around for a replacement.
Repairpal estimate an annual maintenance cost of around $332, which is pretty low, even for a compact. Most common repairs are fairly inexpensive, with the only really pricey one being a new expansion valve for the A/C, starting at around $523.
How Is the Technology?
Entertainment tech in the 2008 Vibe is pretty basic, even for the model year. You’ve got a CD player with 4 speakers, and you can upgrade that to include an MP3 player and 3 more speakers.
Safety features are likewise pretty basic. Anti-lock brakes are available, but only as part of an optional security package, which could be included for $1,220 when the car was released.
Is the 2008 Pontiac Vibe a Good Value?
The 2008 Pontiac Vibe is priced to move in the Blue Book. Typical listing prices stand at around $6,121, with the fair market range going from $4,441 to $6,602. These prices are for models with under 150,000 miles on the odometer.
Models with more of the optional features added on will typically list for a little more, while you should be able to find a bare bones model for well under $5,000. The fuel economy is where the Vibe really pays for itself, outclassing some compacts being released today.
What are the Different Models of the 2008 Pontiac Vibe?
The 2008 Pontiac Vibe is available in a single base model with optional packages. Standard features include:
- Cloth seating
- Manual air conditioning
- Tire pressure monitoring system
- CD player with 4-speaker sound system
- Fog lights
What Engines Come In the 2008 Pontiac Vibe?
- The 2008 Pontiac Vibe packs a 1.8L inline-four delivering 126 horsepower and 122 lb.-ft. of torque. The engine is paired to a 4-speed automatic transmission in front wheel drive, and it averages 26/33 miles to the gallon.
What Colors Does the 2008 Pontiac Vibe Come In?
How Comfortable Is the 2008 Pontiac Vibe?
The 2008 Pontiac Vibe is fairly comfortable for a budget-friendly compact. The back seat stretches a decent 48 inches across, the station wagon design allows for ample headroom, and the suspension rides nice and smooth. Sure, it’s not a luxury car, but it’s well-designed to make the most of the limited cabin space.
How Much Storage Space Does the 2008 Pontiac Vibe Have?
The 2008 Pontiac Vibe packs 19 cubic feet with the seats up, which should hold five or six medium suitcases. This puts the trunk space on par with a full-size sedan. Fold the seats down and you’ve got 54 cubic feet, which dang near makes the car an SUV.
What Are the Differences Between Years?
The 2008 Pontiac was one of those short-lived wagon-style compacts you saw all over the place in the late 2000s. The Vibe ran from the 2003 to 2010 model years, making the 2008 edition the sixth iteration of the nameplate’s 1st Generation before the 2nd Gen launched for 2009.
2006: A Sport package with 16 inch wheels was added for 2006.
2007: There were no big changes for 2007.
2008: The 2008 model received an optional Sun and Sound package with a 6-disc CD changer.
2009: The 2009 model Vibe was redesigned with smoother lines. The new design sacrifices a few millimeters of interior space, but you won’t notice the difference.
2010: There were no major changes for the Vibe’s final model year.
How Does the 2008 Pontiac Vibe Compare to the Competition?
Compared to other wagon-style compacts released in the late 00s, the Pontiac Vibe is a clear front runner. These cars ranged from boring to serviceable. The Vibe doesn’t exactly stand out in that regard, it’s pretty basic, but the Toyota powertrain under the hood makes it more dependable than most of its competitors.
The PT Cruiser, for instance, typically lists for around a thousand dollars less than a comparable Vibe, but it’s also likely to clunk out at just 150,000 miles, with most models listed in the Blue Book already packing around 140,000 on the odometer.
A Chevy HHR is even cheaper, typically listing in the low-$4,000 range at the entry level, but it’s plagued by mechanical issues and is one of the least enjoyable driving experiences on the road today, with wide turns and sluggish brakes.
These wagon-style compacts weren’t the most exciting cars in the world to begin with, but the Vibe is easily the sportiest of the bunch, and the best long-term investment, essentially being a rebranded Toyota.
