:( I want to cry- ok- i am crying- i took my Purple Power to the hospital today. Last night, i couldn't get the key out of the ignition...so i turned the key on and off a few times and ended up setting off the alarm system- minus the horn honking-. I tried un-hooking the battery and trying to reset it...but that didn't work, so i just left the battery unhooked for the night. Still having the same prob this morning so i took it to a dealer.

We found out that the car has a Federal Salvage title- i knew this when i started looking at the car...but i fell head over hills in love...so i didn't let it bother me. The Doctor called me back and said that he has bad new....the car is actually a flood car. He said that all the wiring and computers are shot and it will be about $2100 to fix!!

How can that be???????? The problem i took it in for and a problem with the lift gate are the only things wrong. As far as i can tell, the digital dash and everything else works fine!! I'm taking her in for a 2nd opinion to another dealer tomorrow.

I havn't bought the car yet...i've just been test driving and falling in love. :breakdanc . The dealer i'm buying from will cover these costs....but now i have to decide if i still want the car. I can't afford to go and get another HHR for what the dealers around here want for them.

Wouldn't you know it....i became a premier member yesterday because i love this site!!! If anyone has any suggestions...please let me know!!!![/COLOR] [/FONT]You guys are the best!!!

*** Just talked the the Dr. again... he said that for what they can tell right now they need to replace the Body Control Module and the entire Body Wiring Harness. This makes no sense to me...but i'm not much of a mechanic. THANKS FOR LETTING ME VENT!!

We found out that the car has a Federal Salvage title- i knew this when i started looking at the car...but i fell head over hills in love...so i didn't let it bother me. The Doctor called me back and said that he has bad new....the car is actually a flood car.


Don't walk away from this car....... run like hell, just my :2cents: worth.

I don't think I would trust a flood car. :confused:

Don't walk away from this car....... run like hell, just my :2cents: worth.
Ditto!!!! :eek:

Electricty plus flood water = bad

When life gives you a lemon, make lemon aid
When a dealer gives you a lemon, make them trade it for a new car!

http://www.hilaroad.com/camp/projects/lemon/1lemon_meter.jpg



ps. if it has a salvage title, its not supposed to be sold as a driving vehicle, you should not even have been able to get a tag for it, those are for parts only. At least in florida they are.

Any type of flood/salvage car is a gigantic red flag. It can cause problems with your insurance, and certainly be a huge problem if you sell/trade in later on.

There are plenty of non-flood damaged HHR's out there. Keep looking.

Don't walk away from this car....... run like hell, just my :2cents: worth.
Ditto... and don't even look back! :scared:

Well CarShowGirl, I hate to say it ma'am, but I'm going to have to agree with the rest of the knowledgeable folks thus far and say run, don't walk away from this vehicle. The reasons are numerous as listed above, future warranty issues, on top of just general problems that you could be having and the trade-in value down the road will be nothing. Keep looking for a good used one.

CBL

Ditto to what everyone said. NEVER FLOOD DAMAGED

I Can Only Repeat What The Others Have Said. So I Will Not. As A Service Manager I Have Seen Some Of These Salvage Cars Take Their Owners To The Bank. Please Don,t Buy That Car. With The Great Deals Out There Right Now Just Buy A New One. Good Luck!!!

:confused: I don't understand something? If you haven't actually "bought" the car yet why can't you just get a different HHR. or was the dealer trying to hide the fact that this was a "Flood Car" and selling it at a much reduced price?:thumbsdow

RUN LIKE THE WIND!!!! It can't be priced THAT cheap!

No pun intended, well OK, I would bail on this one!

Pleeze..don't buy this piece of crap,It should go to a car crusher and be put out of it's misery. If it's been flooded, it will rust out including the drive train..
You'll go broke just trying to keep this car in a running condition!!

No sense even shedding another thought on it. :eek:

The good thing is you love an HHR, so..there is another out there for you!
Go forward and work the best deal you can.

The flood car is just a collection of parts, some useful, most not.
Shame on any dealer reselling one.

Hope to see you here in the forums with a new dry HHR!:D :cool:

:confused: I don't understand something? If you haven't actually "bought" the car yet why can't you just get a different HHR. or was the dealer trying to hide the fact that this was a "Flood Car" and selling it at a much reduced price?:thumbsdow

She knew it was a salvage car, but she was getting it very cheap.

"the car has a Federal Salvage title- i knew this when i started looking at the car...but i fell head over hills in love...so i didn't let it bother me. "

I feel like such an idiot!!
The dealer that i'm buying it from is actually my dad who bought it thru another dealer. We did not properly investigate the car like we should have. I'm going to talk to the dealer we bought it from to see what he will do. I'm just glad that i've been driving it and not buying it yet. Just wish i had figured this out before i fell in love!!! I guess the old addage is true " If it looks to good, it probably is!!"

Thanks everyone for being so nice. I'll pop in and say hi and keep you posted. I'll even post the VIN number so mabey we can help someone else from getting screwed with the same car!!!

I was just beginning to feel at home here!!! Now i'm a sad carshowgirl since i won't have anything fun to show at the shows!!! I'm back to driving my mini-van which i'm beginning to hate!!!

THANKS!!!!! You guys are the best!!

So your dad is a dealer? So it sounds like he is stuck with it now? Don't take this the wrong way, but I hope he's honest with whoever does end up buying the car.

Just curious, how much was this car? It seems as though you should be able to get a former rental/lease for a relatively good price. They should start popping up everywhere now.

Hey, if it's cheap enough, I'll buy it so we can strip it and drop a V8 in it! :D

Just curious, how much was this car? It seems as though you should be able to get a former rental/lease for a relatively good price. They should start popping up everywhere now.

My thought exactly!:bow:

With the 07 model year starting there will be lots of 06's to be had at a good price.

No matter how we get rid of it...i'll make sure they know what they are getting into!!! It was actually a rental car out of CA...we knew the car had taken a bath but were told that it wasn't to deep and that everything checked out. Obviously now...we know it didn't!! Thanks!!!!

what do you consider cheap???? Let me know...mabey we can talk!!!

Hey, if it's cheap enough, I'll buy it so we can strip it and drop a V8 in it! :D
You rock! I hear the crate LS7 is out now! :thumb: :bow: :D :nuts:

The problem i took it in for and a problem with the lift gate are the only things wrong.

I've had the same 2 problems pop up on my HHR. A TSB took care of the rear hatch. Still don't know about the key sticking in the ignition, but I'm not the only one it has happened to either. So unless someone took my HHR for a swim in her first 50 miles, I don't think these problems are related to the one you had being a salvaged title.

Flood cars are bad cars.......PERIOD! If you can't afford a new HHR, try to find one coming off lease. Otherwise.............well you can see that it's already starting. :2cents:

I have been a car builder/repair tech all of my life and there are two types or cars I always shy away from, flood and fire cars...too many issues in wierd circumstances. Good luck in finding your real dream HHR...but I don't think that this one is it...

Flood cars are bad cars.......PERIOD! If you can't afford a new HHR, try to find one coming off lease. Otherwise.............well you can see that it's already starting. :2cents:

Will agree with you and all others on salvage cars not a good idea, but the problems she was having was NOT flood related!

I agree. This is only the beginning. The dealer that sold it to your dad should have some action taken against him for misrepresenting the vehicle. Try to find a good rental being sold, or go for the gold and get a year end deal.

Having been in the insurance industry in the past and dealing with salvaged vehicles, they are made salvage vehicles for a reason, usually meaning that it would cost more to repair them to the condition they were in just prior to the loss. The owner generally has the option to buy the car back and it appears to me that they declined to exercise this option, and probably for good reason. While a flooded vehicle physically appears to be just fine, there are way too many things that can go wrong internally that one cannot see.

Do you have details on what constituted it being considered "flood" damage? Was the car totally submerged or was it stuck in an underpass or something similar that resulted in only partial flooding? These are things that you need to discuss with your insurance agency, but generally once a vehicle is damaged and an insurance claim is filed, it goes into a national database and the information is readily accessible and can be picked up by places like CarFax.

Having said all of this, I am in consensus with the general opinion. Only you and your father can really make the decision on whether or not it is worth the risk. While I understand that you have fallen in love with the car, is it really worth dealing with a possible bag of snakes or a can of worms?

http://www.militantbreastfeedingcult.com/vbportal/forums/images/smilies/canofworms.gif

I know buying a car such as the HHR can be an emotional one (versus buying a minivan), but the key is always liberally "salt" your emotional attachment with logic and common sense... now where is that ad for a repairable exotic wrecks I saw? ;)

the only kind of car with a salvage title worth repairing is an old muscle car or a rare car of any type i bought a 69 z/28 with a salvage title due to the floor pans being rotted out. got it after they were all replaced for 4000 with a weak motor , so i replaced it drove the hell out of it for 10 yrs and sold it for 10,500 and i had a total of about 6000 in it!! so who knows maybe if you buy it and park it in a barn in 20 yrs it might be worth a bundle??

would be an everlasting mistake to buy it, wait till monday and see if 0% is coming back

With all of the computers in cars today. The only reason why computer companies do not build cars is becasue the car compaines get parts cheaper. I was told when I bought the car the HHR has more wireing the older cars and the electic system is very critical for the car. Sounds to me if you spent 2100 now, your going to spend more later. So if you factor the price of the car at the Dealer cost and the possible repairs you would need. I'm sure it would cost just as much as a new one.

just use the $2100 you were gonna use to repair the car as the down payment for a new one.