The I hate my HHR Rant Thread
Founding Member
Joined: 11-23-2007
Posts: 8,210
From: Texas
Eventually members that don't want to read these type of posts will know which thread they are in and stay out of it, if that's what they choose.
Senior Member
Joined: 09-18-2008
Posts: 157
From: Lake County, CA.
I have 500 miles on my SS and love it! OK, I realize that 500 miles and 5 days of ownership isn't much of a history, but, hey...I'm an optimist. I traded one of those awesome/reliable Japanese cars, an '06 Honda Civic, that was in for warranty stuff 3 times the first year and rattled like hell the whole 3 and a half years I owned it.
Speaking of rattles, my little red wagon had a nasty rattle coming from the lower left dash area. I pulled the decoritive cover under the steering wheel and looked around. Then I pulled the plastic panel behind that cover and looked around. Then I reinstalled everything and snugged the bolts up tight. Rattle gone. Word to the wise: When buying a new car, it doesn't hurt to pass a wrench around the interior one time.
Speaking of rattles, my little red wagon had a nasty rattle coming from the lower left dash area. I pulled the decoritive cover under the steering wheel and looked around. Then I pulled the plastic panel behind that cover and looked around. Then I reinstalled everything and snugged the bolts up tight. Rattle gone. Word to the wise: When buying a new car, it doesn't hurt to pass a wrench around the interior one time.
Senior Member
Joined: 01-24-2008
Posts: 725
From: USA
Funny - I have been sort of looking for a vehicle to replace the HHR someday and I've got to be honest - I can't find anything that really compares. Came this close to buying a 2009 Pontiac G6 loaded, but if you think the HHR depreciates fast, the Pontiac will go down faster than the stock market crash of 2008.
Most importantly, you can't beat the storage the HHR provides. Try putting a load of anything into a typical car and it's a pain.
The 2.2 and 2.4 are fabulous engines. The cars are retro and roomy.
The only problems I've had are the rotors and I seemed to have solved that by adding drilled/slotted (or maybe it's a better metal).
For those that want to rag on the HHR, this isn't really the place, other than normal small complaints.
I do want to mention that we do live in a free country and it is anyone's right to purchase the vehicle of their choice be it American made or foreign. Those that would impose "American buying only" ought to look in the mirror at everything else they own. Literally - look in the mirror. Just about every garmet in your closet comes from China, India or VietNam, etc. Your TV is probably from Japan. The Dell computer you are using is probably off-shore. Hell, my wife came from off-shore!
Isolationism and protectionism isn't the answer. When we buy foreign goods, we're helping open up world markets which in turn empowers other countries to buy goods from us. GM, Ford and Chrysler are building cars for those markets. More and more companies are doing business in China and India ie: Corning Glass has a plant in Japan to produce the glass for TVs. The list goes on and on.
If any of you are old enough to remember the '50s - Japan was the India or China of the day featuring cheap electronics and people labeled it "Japanese Junk". Well, we bought that stuff and Japan grew. Their wages increased, their living standard grew and today their stuff is just as expensive as ours and they are a valued trading partner. They now have the wealth to purchase big-ticket items from us and they help to make us wealthy in turn. We should always see the abundance in life rather than the lack.
Personally, I try to buy locally but fall into the normal trap of trying to save a buck. (I have to laugh as I see others sending our guys to "Tire Rack" which is just another nail in the coffin for the local tire companies.) - But to continue - I see it as every persons right to buy what they want without criticism. Everything will fall into place. If you buy cheaper, you send a message to management and the unions to get their prices in line. If the Chinese goods don't hold up, don't buy them and you'll send a message to them to pay their people more and bring up their quality.
Final point - if you buy at WalMart (and I do), then you don't have any right to criticize anyone for not buying American, because I don't think they sell anything made in the USA.
"Let us enjoy our HHRs and all be friends and remember what this forum is about"
Most importantly, you can't beat the storage the HHR provides. Try putting a load of anything into a typical car and it's a pain.
The 2.2 and 2.4 are fabulous engines. The cars are retro and roomy.
The only problems I've had are the rotors and I seemed to have solved that by adding drilled/slotted (or maybe it's a better metal).
For those that want to rag on the HHR, this isn't really the place, other than normal small complaints.
I do want to mention that we do live in a free country and it is anyone's right to purchase the vehicle of their choice be it American made or foreign. Those that would impose "American buying only" ought to look in the mirror at everything else they own. Literally - look in the mirror. Just about every garmet in your closet comes from China, India or VietNam, etc. Your TV is probably from Japan. The Dell computer you are using is probably off-shore. Hell, my wife came from off-shore!
Isolationism and protectionism isn't the answer. When we buy foreign goods, we're helping open up world markets which in turn empowers other countries to buy goods from us. GM, Ford and Chrysler are building cars for those markets. More and more companies are doing business in China and India ie: Corning Glass has a plant in Japan to produce the glass for TVs. The list goes on and on.
If any of you are old enough to remember the '50s - Japan was the India or China of the day featuring cheap electronics and people labeled it "Japanese Junk". Well, we bought that stuff and Japan grew. Their wages increased, their living standard grew and today their stuff is just as expensive as ours and they are a valued trading partner. They now have the wealth to purchase big-ticket items from us and they help to make us wealthy in turn. We should always see the abundance in life rather than the lack.
Personally, I try to buy locally but fall into the normal trap of trying to save a buck. (I have to laugh as I see others sending our guys to "Tire Rack" which is just another nail in the coffin for the local tire companies.) - But to continue - I see it as every persons right to buy what they want without criticism. Everything will fall into place. If you buy cheaper, you send a message to management and the unions to get their prices in line. If the Chinese goods don't hold up, don't buy them and you'll send a message to them to pay their people more and bring up their quality.
Final point - if you buy at WalMart (and I do), then you don't have any right to criticize anyone for not buying American, because I don't think they sell anything made in the USA.
"Let us enjoy our HHRs and all be friends and remember what this forum is about"
Senior Member
Joined: 01-13-2008
Posts: 4,708
From: Washington State, where it rains
Ive wondered that to..these cars won't last forever...it'll either be rebuild or replace, and how many would actually rebuild...I'm hoping that by the time it comes to replacement I won't care about all the "goodies" the HR/SS offers and just want a roomy comfy car that makes it to where ever I'm going, or if I'm not going anywhere , looks good in the driveway.By then I should be in a rascal.....( and trying to "Tim the Toolman" it.....)
Senior Member
Joined: 07-13-2009
Posts: 414
From: NC
I know why I bought an HHR....long term economic sense in a usable and interesting package. Hear me out. With gas prices very unsteady, I knew my next car would be a 4 cylinder (always a V-8 before). I took some long trips in rentals, and didn't like the Civic (slow, noisy, pricey too) or Corolla (crude. period). I did however like the Cobalt just fine. Nothing to dislike except the looks, and a funny lump in the seat cushion. I could live with the former and fix the latter.
I only buy used cars and let someone else take the depreciation. That said, the Japanese cars keep a silly resale value. I base that upon cost versus mileage on used cars. Also, the repairs on an American car are still a lot cheaper in my experience, even if you have a few more repairs total. So, that's why I chose a used American car....long term lower overall out of pocket cost. I'll have a son going to college in 7 years.
I decided to check out an HHR as I knew it was a Cobalt (which I liked) but it looked cooler. The drivers seat sold me the second I sat in it. The whole car fits me just fine. So, I bought a 9 month old 13,000 mile used HHR 2LT.
Is it perfect? No, but I bought an economy car and I cannot compare that to a Cadillac. Also, to get fuel economy, I understand some things have to be left off or made light. Just the way it goes. If gas was not an issue, and money wasn't an issue, I probably would have different wants than an HHR. Like A Caddy CTS wagon, or a Hemi Challenger RT. As it is, I understand the HHR's faults and don't rage and rave that it's not a Rolls Royce.
I see more rants over the SS than the regular HHR, as well as a longer list of reliability problems. Since the owners paid more to get an SS, I think their mood is less cheritable when something goes wrong....same would go for me. I personally believe that the SS has exceeded it's humble HHR base. The rattles and shakes come from that stiff suspension. I also think the technology to get 250+ hp out of a 2.0 has overstress a lot of things, including GM's ability to make it reliable. Lots more technology equals lots more to go wrong....on a more stressed engine. Those are the reasons I didn't consider a used SS. Just my opinion.
God Bless, Marc
I only buy used cars and let someone else take the depreciation. That said, the Japanese cars keep a silly resale value. I base that upon cost versus mileage on used cars. Also, the repairs on an American car are still a lot cheaper in my experience, even if you have a few more repairs total. So, that's why I chose a used American car....long term lower overall out of pocket cost. I'll have a son going to college in 7 years.
I decided to check out an HHR as I knew it was a Cobalt (which I liked) but it looked cooler. The drivers seat sold me the second I sat in it. The whole car fits me just fine. So, I bought a 9 month old 13,000 mile used HHR 2LT.
Is it perfect? No, but I bought an economy car and I cannot compare that to a Cadillac. Also, to get fuel economy, I understand some things have to be left off or made light. Just the way it goes. If gas was not an issue, and money wasn't an issue, I probably would have different wants than an HHR. Like A Caddy CTS wagon, or a Hemi Challenger RT. As it is, I understand the HHR's faults and don't rage and rave that it's not a Rolls Royce.
I see more rants over the SS than the regular HHR, as well as a longer list of reliability problems. Since the owners paid more to get an SS, I think their mood is less cheritable when something goes wrong....same would go for me. I personally believe that the SS has exceeded it's humble HHR base. The rattles and shakes come from that stiff suspension. I also think the technology to get 250+ hp out of a 2.0 has overstress a lot of things, including GM's ability to make it reliable. Lots more technology equals lots more to go wrong....on a more stressed engine. Those are the reasons I didn't consider a used SS. Just my opinion.
God Bless, Marc
