Hello all, Newbie here. I'm so glad i found this site. I am i the shopping process right now. I will be hitting at least 4 Chevy dealers today. I thought i did plenty of homework but, if i did not come to this website i would have never known about the Sandblasting problem. Thank goodness i came here. I will put Running boards down as a must have option. Are there any other options you guys did not get that you wish you had? Also i was wondering how the car handles in the snow? Any input would be appreciated.

 

to the site!!! The running boards were the only option I did not get at purchase I wished I had. I put them on within the first month. From a Michigander the HHR handles pretty well in the snow. Search around the forums and you will find plenty of opinions on what people like/dislike about the HHR.

 

Welcome to the boards. Good luck in finding the one that you like. The only things I wish I would have got are leather seats, as cloth stains even with water. Fog lights, but that is an easy fix after you buy I am just lazy.
Some days I wish I got a sunroof, but out here in Az I would not use it very much.
But the seats are the biggest thing I regert.

 

Welcome! Fortunately mine came with running boards, so that was good.

I find my HHR handles in the snow awesome! But I think a lot of that will depend on what kind of tires you have on. In my experience, some winter tires do better on ice than snow, other do better in snow than ice.

I found snow not to be a problem at all. I got the HHR because I wanted a small car/wagon/hatchback, but with enough oumph to make it out of my looooong driveway after overnight snowfalls of a foot or so.

Got mine late in the season, so haven't done much winter driving with it yet.

 

Personally, I'd get it loaded with all!! It's so much easier to have it from the start than to add it later.

 

to the forum...the HHR is a great car and you'll love owning one. I too went to 4 dealers the day I bought mine. Like the others said...get the running boards. Mine didn't come with them and I was unaware of the sandblasting issue, but once I found the forums and realized the problem I had them installed at the dealer.

The only other options mine came with was the bright chrome package and the ABS brakes. I really didn't care about all the other options, so I figured why spend the money on something I don't really want or feel I need. With the money I have saved by buying it that way, I've been able to do other things to it that I may not have been able to do before.

Unless you're set on getting an automatic, be sure to drive both manual and automatic and the 2.2 & 2.4L. I drove a 2.4L Automatic Daytona Blue and personally didn't like how it felt to me. Then again, I had my heart set on a 5 speed from the get go, so that may have had something to do with that.

Happy hunting and we look forward to hearing about your experience at 4 dealerships. Mine was definitely entertaining and I ended up finding just what I wanted at the last one I went to.

 

welcome to the site sit back & enjoy the ride
I agree runningboards are the way to go. I think that runningboards are now standard on all 07 & 08 HHR's

 

From what I remember reading...running boards are only standard in 07 on the HHR's purchased in Canada. But as always, I could be wrong and will be corrected if that's the case.

 

We had a wicked amount of snow this year. HHR handled great. Of course remember that good snow tires on all four wheels plays a big part in how a car does in snow.

 

Welcome to the forum chief.
Along with getting running boards, I would suggest a set of the moulded splash guards.
Where abouts are you in NY?