Hi, I'm Adam and I've been toying with the idea of buying an HHR in the silver or white. No more dark colors for me. To much work. I am in love with the styling outside. It is probably the single nicest looking CUV out there. Inside I am not so sure yet. I've owned Hondas, Toyotas and my first love, Volkswagens. Currently drive a red 2001 VW GTI. I have never owned American cars during my 20 years of driving other than my 68 Mustang that I no longer have but I've worked at dealerships over the years and driven just about everything. I do consider myself a Ford guy at heart where the American classics are concerned. I am not a GM fan and never have been, though I like the looks of the Vette and the previous generations of Camaros and Firebirds and even some other Pontiacs. But most of the stuff coming out of GM and Ford is cheaply constructed with questionable fit and finish.

I looked at the HHR the other day and while I see some improvement in fit and finish over previous generations of GM cars it doesn't come close to German and most Japanese cars. Inside the HHR I see acres of hard plastic some of it with poorly finished edges and seams. I could not find anything soft to the touch other than the seats themselves. The leather package gives you skimpy thin leather on the armrests but thats it and the leather on the seats isn't all that pretty. The seats themselves don't come close to even a base VW Rabbit but I can address that with aftermarket replacement seats if needed.

Now on the positive side it was nicer hard plastic than I've seen in previous generations of GM and the interior styling was nice overall. Outside paint quality seemed to be pretty good but I found panel fitment issues depending on the particular HHR I looked at. Seams that did not line up. Gaps between panels that were irregular. On one the doors were not lined up properly. On VW's you will almost never see anything like that. Same goes for Hondas and Toyotas.

So what it comes down to is am I willing to sacrifice build quality for killer styling. Reliability is not as much an issue for me since I roll the dice with my VW, which has had its own reliability issues as do most German cars but unlike alot of the GM and Ford vehicles you would never guess that by looking at a German car. I only drove a 2.2 HHR auto so at this point I am not going to try and compare the ecotec to my GTI's 2.0 turbo or the many of the buttersmooth and quiet Honda and Toyota motors that I have had the privilege of experiencing. Also AWD should be an option but I'm not so sure I really need it otherwise I would not even be pursuing the HHR. So here I stand, unsure of my anal mentality will allow me to look past the HHR's negatives and just go for it.

 

Yeah, just go for it!

Here are a couple of links in case you missed them, of how hot white looks....

https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/featured-hhr-submissions-43/october-2007-featured-hhr-10649/

https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/picture-media-11/official-summit-white-hhr-pix-only-4377/

 

Only gripe I have is the paint chips easy and metal is thin on HHR but other than that

 

I LOVE my HHR, & it is one of the colors you are considering! I hear you on the dark colors, my wife has a black Hyundai that is VERY HARD to keep clean, as a matter of fact I just detailed it yesterday & today it is so dusty it disgusts me! I don't have that with my white HHR, it doesn't show dust and looks AWESOME with the chrome acccents, high polished wheels & tinted windows. I have taken my HHR from Illinois to Maine twice, and on various other trips and it is my daily driver. 14 months of ownership, 13,000 miles, and NO PROBLEMS! Other than the people who drool over it of course!!!

 

There it is in a nutshell. Which side of you is going to win? When the second statement enters your mind, just remind yourself the first one.... and just go for it!

 

I'll tell you this much, if you have any doubts about buying one because of fit and finish and other issues that you've already noted then you probably don't want to pick one up.

I bought one the day after I saw a commercial for it. I too fell in love with the styling and didn't look at the vehicle beyond that. After about 6 months all sorts of things started to annoy me with respect to interior and exterior problems. Some have been addressed whereas others have not.

I wish I would have looked more closely at the overall package, I probably would have gone with an A3 or MB B-class.

If you're a picky person than find the vehicle that bothers you the least, the HHR probably won't be that vehicle.

Mine was purchased Sept 2005, it's silverstone metallic and has all the option minus XM, Onstar and side impact airbags.

 

I agree 100% with Calgary

You will not be happy, IF YOU ALREADY FOUND FAULTS, that generally are not acceptable to you.

If you purchased one, you would still drive around in a nicely styled car but you would gripe about the leather, or the plastic, or the body panel fit, or the paint, or the rotors, or the poor gas mileage, or the lack of performance....or. or , or , if you see my point....something(s) will bother you constantly.

Now, if you do buy one, don't forget the running boards. That will minimize the one item that has the largest amount of criticizm.

I own a 2006 and have no complaints and no defects. Could they have used better leather...yeah. At the cost of maybe making the pwer windows an option. Could they have used a better material for interior trim.....yeah. At the cost of charging for the door locks. This is an economy vehicle with really good styling. Many people attempt to make it out as something more.

Good Luck...on what ever you decide.

 

Fit and finish on my '07 is okay. Also, it is a very tight and rigid body-- feels like the entire thing was chiselled from a single block of steel when you go over railroad tracks, etc. My 2.2 goes good, but to be fair the 2.4 is going to have more pull for the same mpg.

If you don't want the leather get the cloth interior in ebony. I'm not diss'ing anyone else's interior color choice but I think the cloth interior looks more upscale in black, plus it won't show dirt and wear nearly as noticeably over the years like a lighter color cloth will.

I think the 1LT package w/ 2.4 engine is a better value than a loaded 2LT if you're going to customize with your own choice of wheel rims, billet grille, and even as you mentioned possibly custom seats. But the 2LT does offer the firmer sport suspension which is a big plus if you plan to push the car to the limits in cornering etc.

 

Pass. Anyone who has driven Toyotas and German cars will easily find fault with the HHR. Yes the plastic is terribly bland. The fit and finish is no where near a Toyota. It fells more fragile then any car I have ever owned. The panels are PAPER thin.

HOWEVER,,,,,,

being American, parts are a lot cheaper when you need them
Being American, Depreciation is very high allowing for fantastic deals on fully equipt year or two old low miles cars

Being American there are more service places outside dealerships that are less expensive. Far less expensive.

I have never owned a GM car and would put GM last on my list. But I could not pass up the deal for what I was getting (at a Chrysler dealership no less), If I tire of it I can always buy a Mazda 3 or Matrix and not get too burned.

This is not a car to impress anyone with. Its a very practical wagon with uncommon style. No more no less. If you can accept that go for it.

 

Funny. I was hoping some of you might have felt what I said about the HHR was not accurate but it seems everyone agrees with me. So at least my observations are not crazy :-). And I am not knocking American products and the HHR because I have something against them. I just give credit where credit is due. For instance I feel Chrysler has the best exterior styling of the American companies. Love all their models. Other than the HHR the rest of GM's line is nothing special stylingwise, except the Vette of course or the upcoming Camaro which is awesome.

I am going to check out a few more HHR's though before I decide one way or the other. I saw a used one that I might consider. It is a 2006 silver 2LT 2.4 auto, leather, moonroof, runningboards, bright chrome package and roofrack. 31k miles. They want $14500. Bet I can get them down more.