There is no practical decision. The 2010 has 13X the mileage.. eventually it will need more than $1500. IF the seller can provide you with photos of everything, including underneath so you can check the fuel and brake lines, I would not hesitate for a minute to purchase the 09 and sell the 10. But that's just me. When I was looking, I came across a semi-local dealer who had 12 HHR's of all the same vintage (2010's, I think). Each car was outfitted a little differently than the others, which made choosing difficult. Each car had between 8K and 25K miles - and each car was priced exactly the same. Apparently they were government vehicles and were driven by employees of the DoE. They were mint - I would have had no issues purchasing any one of those, knowing that it would have been subjected to a thorough inspection beforehand. But.. I wanted a panel, and that same week found one states away with 30K on the clock. And the selling dealer sent me every photo I could ask for. Wound up purchasing that one, and other than tires and wheels (my choice), the car needed next to nothing for completing the inspection.

The only thing that should hold you back is if the 09 is outfitted differently than your 10 and can you live with the differences?

 

Defiantly buy the 09.

 

Buy the 09 and don't worry. Everything should more than alright being both owners garaged the thing. Don't get paranoid by reading some of these posts. At 8800 thousand it's "like new". The worst thing is if it was ever in a accident.
I sold my first HHR with 14000 on it. Who ever bought it from the dealer had a good deal.

 

Yes I would buy the 2009 if it checks out.
Remember ... .you are buying Mileage and the 2009 has most of the important changes that were made.

Silverfox

 

In similar situation with differences. Have 2008 HHR LS 5spd standard with 125k miles

upgrade is 2010 LS auto with 65k miles at auction.

I bid $3500 not meeting minimum yet.
What upgrades are in 2010 that the 2008 lacks?

 

 

 

Problems? Or improvements?
The 2.2L became VVT in 2009
The 2.4L always was VVT
2009 is when they moved the front window switches to the door
Sometime in 2010 they changed the TPMS reset to needing a tool, 2009 you could do it by letting air out
All HHR had the ignition recall
2008 they changed some of the electrical connectors
Flex fuel came to the 2.2L and 2.4L in 2009
2011 Remote start is optional before that RVS delete was the option