Some of the bent stuff is part of the fender assembly, per this




Perhaps the body shops are keeping up the grand illusion, hoping y’all are not going to ask questions, surf the interwebs, or have a clue about your HHR!

 

Oldblue, let's not tell them they'd be right about my not having a clue, shall we? But by the time this thread is done, I WILL be much smarter than I started out. (My knowledge runs much more to wood, saws, glue and clamps, etc.)

All four fenders are still on the car, so there can't be too much damage to those assemblies. Or maybe once they got the bumpers off, they realized the car would be totaled, so didn't go any further removing parts.

 

Hi, all,
Yesterday I visited that body shop I know and trust. I talked to the manager, and showed him the pics and the other estimate. He said they could put the old parts back on for about $500, if there were no other damage/needs. Which, of course, we wouldn't know until they saw the car in person. Wile we were talking, the owner came in, and the manager explained what we were doing.

I was thinking the cost might be worth it, knowing I was taking a risk with unknown damage/costs.

As I was saying my goodbyes, I asked both of them: "if this were your car, would you repair it or sell it? They both immediately said they'd sell it, and let someone else deal with it. This was from mechanics who could do the repairs themselves at minimal labor cost.

So that's what I'm going to do.


I still have my 2011 HHR, the one I bought to replace this one. So I'll still be a HHR gal.

Thanks for all the input and comments - they helped a lot!

 

One thing mechanics NEVER do is work on their own cars! Their family cars are always a POS.

 

Huh, I work on my own HHR, and Sweetie ‘s Sunfire GT
Neither are a POS!



255,000 miles! Still rocking!



Ready for winter with new rubber and fresh powder coating on the OEM steelies

Personally, I’d spend the $500.00 , detail it and then sell it, you might get more for it then as a basket case!

 

RJ_RS_SS_350, have you used Wholesale GM Parts Online as a supplier? Their prices are less than my mechanic is quoting.

I had it towed to him this morning, so he could actually see it, and he says I need a new front (bumper) bar and right wheelhouse liner (not unexpected). He has the clips etc., but not the hardware, so we'd need to buy that too. And two brackets for the right headlight.

 

I have not. I like to use their exploded diagrams and "what this fits".

 

Most shops charge "retail" price. In days of yore, NAPA would quote 3 prices; for the shop, retail and "your" price. I worked at a tire store that charged 2X the retail for parts and paid a lower than shop price.

You can get online prices and free shipping on eBay and Amazon.

 

The plot thickens.... So much for an easy drop-off fix. With EB and Amazon, I'd need to rely on reviews, and hope I'm not getting Chinese junk, right? I could call around to local junkyards, to see if any have the parts, but I'm not wanting to pull my own. (If I could do that, I could do the reassembly myself, practically.)

 

So, you are afraid of eBay and Amazon based on something you heard.

FYI Rockauto is the same type of thing. Most of the GM parts sellers are in fact GM dealerships. In general the price you pay in a brick & mortar dealership is the online price + shipping. If you can find something made out of steel that has no connection to China or the East Asia you win the lottery.

Next time you drive by a seaport gaze upon the huge piles of scrap iron being loaded onto ships bound for the East.