Just got my HHR brochure in the mail today and got so excited that I drove to the dealer to check them out in person. Not ready to buy just yet but the dealer was very helpful and spent 30 minutes with me and then took me on a test drive. I love it!

Two things worry me though. One, and this is pretty common with many Sales people I've delt with, these guys do not know much about their product. As I mentioned, they were very accomdating and spent 45 minutes virtually hassle free. However, I asked several questions that he flat our did not know and he actutaly told me conflicting info on some other things. Thank God for sites like this. I can't decide if they play dumb on purpose or really don't know their product that well. Maybe a combination of the two.

Second thing, I noticed rust on the rear drums. When asked, the Sales guy said this was pretty common and that it was not a concern. Hmmm, I beg too differ, but wanted to know if any one else has seen rust on their rear drums. Am I wrong to suspect this is not as common as the salesman would lead me to believe.

Oh yeah, does anyone know a reputable Chevy dealer in Riverside, CA or San Bernardino, CA area? At least one where the salesman are a little more knowledgable.

 

yeah mine has it on front and rear right by the studs and i don't think it's a problem just take wheels off clean and paint that area with a aerosol can of black paint

 

I think the salesman got this one correct. Noticed the rust within the first month of my baby being home.

 

Rust on brake drums, calipers, and rotors IS very common and always have been. These items are usually not painted and because of them being bare metal they get rusty. The surface rust that usually appears over night on brake rotor surfaces will dissappear once you drive the car and brake for the first time, but it will reappear again the next morning and there isn't anything you can do about it since you can't coat it with anything. The outside surfaces of the calipers and drums will rust but it's harmless although not pretty to look at. Many people clean the surfaces of these two items and paint them. I personally paint them black but I've seen them in various colors. High end cars often come with them painted as do many aftermarket high performance pieces. They actually make caliper and drum paint but all I ever use is high temp engine paint and have never had a problem with it, and it's much less costly than caliper / drum paint.

 

you could paint them, with rustolum or rust protecter, or cailber paint!

 

Mine dosen't have any rust yet.

If you think it's bad that the sales man dosen't know anything about the car. I live in Saskatoon Sask. And not only dose the sales men not know anything, but the serves departments have no clue when it goes to the shop. I don't think there are more that 2 or 3 HHR's here.

 

I will private message you with my contact number. I have dealt with nearly every dealership you have mentioned as we are in the same area.
The knowledge you can get from this forum, the deal from the dealership.

 

with over 11K miles on mine I have rust on the back as well

 

Don't worry about the rust.

The reason they're not painted at the factory is because its a machined mating surface for the wheel, in therory the paint could add runout. It seems over kill on GMs part, and it should be ok to paint them just don't go too heavy with the paint were the wheel contacts the drum.

For what it worth Harley powder coats the frames and then machines it off for the motor/trans mounting surfaces.

 

what you can do is clean them with brake cleaner. then when it driews there is a paint the will turn rust into a primered black. sand then paint the color you want. i think the stuff is called rust off. go to local parts store and ask them for rust paint and they should know what you are talking about.