Yeah, I remember always hearing about sunroofs/moonroofs leaking, especially aftermarket ones. I'm sure they're better now, but I wouldn't want to take a chance on improper installation, especially from the dealership that's selling me the car. I figure if they were to make any alterations to close the deal, they'd do it as cheaply as possible and might not do it right. I was even a little concerned about the factory moonroof leaking on the '08 that I test drove, so we told the dealer that if we agreed on a price, we wanted to take it through a high-pressure carwash before buying.

The wife will probably be driving the HHR most of the time, and although she's always wanted a moonroof, she said she'd be happy with any HHR as long as it has air conditioning.

 

Speaking of air conditioning, it's great on my HHR. The system pumps a lot of air through the dash, it gets cold fast and the car runs very cool even idling with 108 degree heat. (Will probably work great hotter, but that's as hot as it's been here this summer). Much more comfortable in the heat than the MINI I had before.

 

Good news, we finally bought the car! We had previously test driven a couple with 2.2L engines which seemed a bit sluggish, but we had pretty much come to grips with the fact that we were trading performance for gas mileage. When we test drove the 2LT with its 2.4L engine, we weren't expecting much of an improvement, but we were pleasantly surprised!

The dealer did give us a small (very small) discount for some damage we noted, but I was not impressed with the salesperson who worked with us that day. She was very impatient and high-pressure. From the second she walked us over to it, she followed up practically every statement by asking us if we were going to buy it, then she complained when I started walking around the car looking for flaws. (Under what circumstance is it NOT appropriate--or, rather, necessary--to inspect a major purchase? Besides, this one was formerly a rental vehicle, after all.) She did try to redeem herself later, but I still think I would have preferred any one of the other three salespeople I had talked to prior to my visit.

Now, what's the trick to enabling Bluetooth? I tried to follow the instructions in the owner's manual and at http://gm.com/bluetooth, but when I hold the TALK/MUTE button on the steering wheel, it doesn't beep and prompt me like I think it's supposed to. At first I thought maybe I was the victim of a bait-and-switch, but even the buyer's guide that was in the window says it has Bluetooth, so now I'm wondering if I'm just doing something wrong.

Also, the buyer's guide says it has heated seats, but I guess I always assumed that option was only for leather seats. Does anyone else have heated cloth seats?

They had advertised that it had an auto-dimming mirror w/compass and remote start, but it doesn't seem to have those. I figured since the buyer's guide said it had heated seats, that was a fair tradeoff for the remote start.

So far the only thing we really dislike about the HHR is the poor visibility out the back left side, but we still need to confirm whether it's really a blind spot or if we just need to adjust the mirrors a little differently to take care of it.

 

Yeah, I think GM cars generally have great A/C. My Grand Prix is almost too cold on a hot day with the temp cranked as cold as it goes and the fan speed set to 2. I guess the wifey will get to test out the HHR's A/C very thoroughly this week.

 

intelligen-

Congrats on the new ride !!!

The A/C is like an icebox in mine.. But HHRs' also have ductwork exiting under the front seats to blow air in back quickly also..Really makes a nice diff..

 

Congratulations on the new HHR for you and your wife. Please, send me the VIN of the HHR via private message and I will dive into the build sheet for you. More than likely since the vehicle was rental it has had the Bluetooth deleted, but I will need to look into the build information.

Michelle, Chevrolet Customer Service

 

Thanks for the offer, Michelle, I PMed you the VIN.

 

Got all the info--turns out it was built with bluetooth, so we're taking it to the local dealer tomorrow to figure out why it's not working and to fix the door for the storage compartment on the dash (you have to press really hard several times before it opens).

The dealer we purchased from had also advertised heated seats but we don't see that on the build sheet nor can we find any switches for heated seats, so we'll also try to figure out what to do about that.

Thanks again, Michelle.

 

All right, it turns out the car does NOT have bluetooth despite the many advertisements and the Buyer's Guide claiming that it does. It also doesn't have heated seats, which were also listed on the Buyer's Guide. I'm not happy at all, because we would have just bought a cheaper 1LT if we had known that this 2LT had so many features stripped out. The lesson here is to never consider buying a used car until you've taken the VIN to your local dealer to and asked them to print off the build sheet for you.

The dealer has offered to buy the car back due to the discrepancy, so now I'm back at square 1 and considering an '09 2LT which has 10k fewer miles and is fully loaded (I think the only missing option is the spoiler), but that dealer is also asking a bit more than I paid for the stripped-down 2LT. Of course, it's also a bit of a drive for me and would basically be another day-long trip to look at that one and I'm behind at work from all this screwing around, as it is. I need to give an answer by morning.

Thoughts? Recommendations?

Are there any notable problems with the 2009 that were fixed on later models? Is there any significant difference between an '09 and '11 if they were similarly-equipped?

 

Well mis-representing the cars features (or lack there of) sounds like grounds for legal action.

PS: Only Leather Seats can have the heating elements.. Just fyi..

Can't offer much else.. (sorry)..