I've got a great story here. I am in the market for an HHR for myself. I know exactly what I want, so I have been feeling out a couple of dealerships to see who is most willing to work with me. I found the dealer that I liked, and was willing to work with me, but they didn't have a 5 speed for me to test drive. I just wanted to make sure there was plenty of room for my sasquatch feet (size 15). So the dealer searched the other local dealer's inventories for me and told me which ones had 5 speeds on the lot that I could go drive. That surprised me - a dealer willing to send you somewhere else to test drive? :thumb:

During my lunch break today, I went to go test drive a 5 speed at one of the other dealers. When I drive up, it is fun to watch the salesmen scramble. But not in the way you are thinking. Normally they fight over who can get to the customer first to make the sale. But not for me. They all run and hide. I actually had to ask the receptionist to page a salesman for me. That is because of what I drove up in. You see, I drive an old '88 Chevy Caprice. :eek: Up until about 3 months ago, all I used it for was to drive from my house to the vanpool parking lot that was only about 1/2 mile down the road. It's not pretty, and it's definitely not new. But it served its purpose and had cold A/C. Now I have a different job, and would like to have a new car to enjoy on the commute to/from work. And yes, I CAN afford a new car, just chose not to have one because I didn't NEED it.

So, the salesman comes out. I tell him which one I want to drive and he gets the keys. As wew are driving, he starts telling me how this is a brand new vehicle - GM designed it new from the ground up. Not like the PT Cruiser that is just a new body on the Neon. Hmm, I thought, Lets give him a little rope and see if he can hang himself. And he goes on... So I figure he has told me enough and I inform him that the HHR is built on the Delta platform, the same as the Cobalt. He looks puzzled. :red: "How did he know that?" he thinks to himself. Then he says, "Well, it sure rides better than a Cobalt." I reply back, "This is an LS so it has the touring suspension. It is a little softer than the sport suspension on the LT that I want to order." He replies that it looks like I have done my home work and didn't say much for the rest of the drive.

So we get back and he wants to spec out the perfect car for me to place an order. I tell him which options I want and he goes to check dealer stock in the area. "There may be one like that already here in the Dallas area." I told him, "I doubt it. 2LT with a 5 speed is very rare around here." But he insisted - and didn't find one but did come back with "Good News and Bad News." Good news is that they still have some HHR's alloted and can order one today (with a $500 deposit that is). Bad news is they do not give GM Supplier discount on this vehicle. In fact they sell them at $2000 above MSRP due to demand. I tell him that I have talked to another dealer that is willing to give me the discount. "Which one?" he probes. "Actually 2 other dealers," I reply without giving him a name. (This is, in fact, a true statement) So he goes back to the sales manager (you know - the good guy/bad guy routine) and comes back with, "We can sell it to you at sticker. But only since you are ordering. The lowest we have sold any others is $1500 above MSRP." I tell him thanks, I'll think about it, and leave. I expect a call by the end of the day telling me that they can do GM Supplier discount, but I am not interested in that dealership anyway. And if I was, they would have lost me for lying. That experience tells me why they are the only dealer in the area with 4 HHR's on the lot.

At least I found out that I do like the 5 speed. Now just to go back to the dealer I like and place the order. probably won't be for a couple of weeks, but at least now I know. Just FYI, I am a big guy. 6'6" ,260 lbs with a size 15 foot. And I feel like there is plenty of room in this car/truck. I love it!

Hope this humor makes you chuckle too. :cool:

:confused: One question for those of you that ordered your HHR's. Did you have to put a down payment to place the order? I had read in some thread that that is illegal. Something about not being able to take money for something that is not delivered. Any truth to that?

hello,

im craig kandiko, i work for pat o'brien chevy in willoughby hills ohio.

yes you can take money down when you order your vehicle. you are buying it and it is a deposit that goes toward the vehicle. unless you deal with a shady dealership. ordering an HHR takes about 8 weeks. might be a week earlier since you live in texas.

that is a load of horseshit that they do not offer supplier discount. the dealership just wants to make more money. are they high in demand yes, but you do not need to gouge a customer. my dealership takes $200 off of sticker, and we honor not only supplier discounts, but also employee discount as well.

the key thing also to buying an HHR is see what salesmen own one. i think im the only salesman in northeast ohio that does. and people respect that. thats why i have sold more than the rest of my dealership combined! and thats something im proud of.

if you have any other questions, feel free to email me batman5273@yahoo.com

another note:

not all salesmen are scumbags. even at crappy dealerships, there are some good apples. however for every nice, knowlegable, polite, considerate, caring and respectful ones out there, there are ten that will slit an old woman's throat and be able to sleep at night.

Thanks for the "Good Salesman" insight. I agree that not all are scum. Some are great, some are a waste of organic matter. But that can be said of many other people too. I really like and respect the guy that I AM going to buy it from. He doesn't own one, but has been honest and willing to help me from the start.

I paid 1777 over sticker for my LT2. I did not reseach when I bought the car plus I never saw it untill i bought the day I brought in my father's car in for Service. My father passed away 6/03/05 and I was taking in his car for Service on 8/13/05. I had no intentions on buying a new car. We told the dealer that my father recently died and I was looking for a Trade in for my 2000 Ford Focus. I lost 967.00 on the Trade in becasue I had Neg. equity becasue I owed money on the car still. The 5 year finance was almost over. On top of which I still had to put down a $3000.00 dollar Deposit. I was totally roped in and full taking advantage of. I was smart to do a Smart Buy option which really allows me to just pay for the car within 48 monthly payments. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the difference at the end. With the Smart Buy I do get title of the car and sell it at any time. All i'm really paying for at the end of the Tax, Difference due, and interest. First off the dealer did not have the sticker on the car. He showed me 2 different models and he Quoated "He was the HHR Expert". He did not know what the HHR stand for. Plus he also said they were not making the LT'2. So when I got my car I thought I had the LT1. But yet I had the leather wrap steering wheel and shifter and a 2.4 engine with the crome package. I will never go back to this dealer in New Jersey. Horrible experince. I will never again buy a car without doing any reseaching and they promised me they would give me a deal and take care of us.

ouch sihhr!

see thats what pisses me off being a salesman myself. i cringe when i hear those stories. but people keep going back. thank god i work for a good dealership!

That just makes me mad.

i live in toledo, ohio. i'd like to purchase a Cobalt SS or an HHR, every time i walk into a dealership im met by idoits. i know more about the cars on their lot then they do, dont they do their homework? what is the deal? you should know what you sell, not just make crap up. finding one willing to deal seems to be a pain too. :mad:

where in toledo?? i went to UT back in the day. well you could always drive to east cleveland. we have a few ss cobalts and 4 hhr in stock right now. you'll be taken care of here.

i live in east toledo, grew up in oregon, oh. when im ready to buy i might just make the trip over there. :beer:

I hate when I go to the dealership and the dealers tell me about the cars there. Now, I can see why though, I am only 13, and in a dealers eyes, I am stupid and dont have a clue about the car in front of me. But that is so far from the truth. I have actually made a few friends at the dealerships who always load me up with the latest brochures when I visit. I hate when a random dealer walks up and starts telling me stuff I already know. So, to shut them up, I tell them what engine the other trim levels offer, or options, or release dates on future models. It is quite funny to watch their faces. I guess they dont expect a 13 year old to know that stuff!

Gosh I just can't believe people would actually pay more than sticker for a car!

I live in New Hampshire, sure it is a small state with few dealers, but one thing is for sure when ever I have been told that I could buy a car for whatever over sticker, I for one tell everyone I know how poor that dealership is!

A few years back I went into a Chevy Dealer wearing dirty jeans and a very dirty sweatshirt. Told them I was interested in a Tahoe LT! Well, they gave me a book, but told me they only had a few on the lot and most likely it would be above my pirce range.

Said thank you and drove to another dealership and told them that I was interested in a Tahoe LT. The sales manager himself came out and immediately took me out to the lot and showed me all of the Tahoes. He went one step further and asked me if I wanted to test drive one? I told him not right now and that I would come back once I had cleaned up.

His only response was, "Wow thank God you didn't want to drive it with those dirty jeans on".

Guess which dealer I bought from. Further more when I went looking for an HHR I found out that Mark had moved to another dealership, so I called him and went in and made the deal for the HHR in one day. By the way he moved to the dealership that thought I couldn't afford to pay for the Tahoe!

I don't know anyone on this forum, but reading what Craig Kandiko is saying I am sure I would want to meet him and discuss buying cars. For newby buyers always remember to treat people the way you want to be treated! Sounds that is how Craig treats people.

Oh and I am in sales too, been selling capital nanufacturing equipment to the electronics and military contractors for over 30 years. I believe one key thing that all salesmen like to be thought of is "I never lied to a single person to get an order".



Wayne

thanks buddy!