If that guy worked for me, he'd be fired.

 

Interesting market discussion. Funny, if it weren't for renting an HHR by accident (free upgrade....place was out of sub compacts), I probably wouldn't have ever driven one and seriously considered it. It was last fall, and I had a 2 hour drive to make. I was impressed with the cruising abilities for such an efficient car, plus, they're just sorta cool. I had rented Cobalts, which I thought was such an amazing leap over the old Caviler, and had gained some respect for the breed.

So anyway, while fleet sales reduce value in some ways, many of us wouldn't seek out HHR's without the extended test drive involved with renting.

Now, ironically, while I didn't set out to purchase a rental car, that's what I ended up with. I bought it from a small dealer, but it's only other owner was Enterprise. So far, so good. I've got the thing smelling great (Fabreeze and a BIG can of coffee left open overnight once in a while....car smells GOOD), and mechanically it's perfect. Over 1000 miles since I bought it with 25,300 and it feels new as far as I can tell. Oil looks perfect since I've been running it, and everything works perfectly.

I have a long commute, and that's why I bought this thing. For a small car, you can't beat the comfort of the HHR. Anyway, I paid $10,900 last month for an '09, and I plan on keeping it many, many years. I like to put at least 200,000 miles on a vehicle. If I can accomplish that with my Chevy, I figure I will have gotten my $$ worth.

That's my two cents....

 

I bought my '09 1LT from a private dealer who buys cars for clients at dealer only auctions. That's where dealers get the majority of the cars they have on their lots. He bought mine there and it was an Enterprise car. He bought it for an employee who put 4k miles on it. He had it listed on Craigs list for $9800. I wasn't ready to buy yet. Next time I saw it he had it listed for $8900. I jumped on it after I checked it out, ran a history check etc. He said he just wanted to move it. Only has 32k miles. Clean and perfect. Days before I had offered a Chevy dealer $10.9k for an '09 with 29k miles and he laughed at me. I sent him an email after I bought this car and thanked him, lol.

 

I got my 09 silver LS which was also a rental car. Had 35,000 miles on it and got it for 10,500 out the door. Now it does have a few scratches and scuffs, but drive well.

 

Rental cars don't always deserve the bad rap that they get... My 1999 Lumina was a rental car for it's first year, and it's still running strong, almost 12 years later!

Sounds like you got a great deal! I paid that much for my '06 last year!