Hi everyone, fabs here....well i'm in the midst of looking around at either a brand new car or a slightly used one....I've been looking at the dodge magnum (used) and then i thought of the HHR. I'm looking for a wagon actually and i think the HHR does fit the bill.
I remember renting on in florida a few years back...it drove well but we had a bad experience with it..the door lock broke, we didn't have a remote door opener and seeing as the pass. side door doesn't have a key hole, nor the back gate..we were locked out of the car!!!!!
anywho, i think that was the first year model, or an unfortunate rental car, but i think they are good cars actaully.
So i wanted to get your opinions on it....pricing right now for them (new) is around 23,000(canadian) with the $3000.00 cash back and this is for the ls model. do you think this is too much?
I also came across a 2009 model with 12000km on the clock and they're asking 15,000 for it...sounds good?
let me know whatcha guys think.thanks
fabs
oh ya..how do these cars drive in winter time (we get lots of snow here)??

 

well if your looking for a dodge. then id say go for the SS hhr. cuz it is still a wagon and it has power like the dodge.

these are awesome cars. but id say the ss model is the best... to bad i dont have one

 

We get lots of snow on this side of lake Erie [80+ inches] and with All Season tires for winter my SS was just fine. I only had to watch unplowed areas as the snow over 7 inches will push on the nose. I took off the facotry wheels as the Pilots are not great in rain let alone snow and I wanted to protect the wheels from winter beatings.

Sorry about the door lock but most new cars do not have trunk or pass door lock key holes anymore.

 

Hi guys, thanks for the comments. As for the dodge or the HHR for that matter, i'm not looking for heavyduty power. The magnum i'm considering has the 3.5L V6 engine (256HP), not the big hemi V8! and i know the HHR has the 2.2. ecotech...2 completly different engine. I'm looking for long-term reliability, saefety (have a baby now), space (for kids stuff) and fun to drive...this is what i'm looking for. I think the dodge is a good car too, but can it last another 4-5 years easily? I've only had so-so experiece with chryslers.
let me know.thanks
fabs

 

Seeing that you must have snow tires by law in Quebec, you will have no problems with it.

 

I own a 2009 HHR LT2, can't say enough great things about car. I added a seat belt in the very back approved by local police so run arround with wife anf four kids. Mine has the 2.4 L engine which I find very adquate with plenty of power, I for one did not want the SS, I know a lot like it but I never even concidered it. What I wanted the the loaded leather seat HHR and have been very happy with it. I have gotten a high of 36 on freeway with city mileage of 26. My 6.0 L Suburban gets 15, so have been quite pleased with the mileage. Have not had any problems with it so far and it drives very confortably on the road, I figure that I have a 3 year 36 thousand mile warranty and if have problems it will work out in that time as we don't make perfect cars yet, I really like the 5 year 100,000 mile roadside warranty if have a flat tire will be fixxed anywhere in the country. I paid 23,000 for a Aqua Blue LT2 HHR after a 2500 dollar rebate with 0 percent interest...

 

Not to mention the Magnum is a rear wheel drive car and so loses out to the HHR right there on winter handleing.

 

An extra seat. That sounds cool. Do you have pictures? Was it easy to do?

 

As far as winter driving, I'd say the HHR is no better or worse than most other cars. Some people don't like the stock tires, I for one feel they are half way decent in the snow.


Maybe its because I grew up in the era of nearly all RWD cars, but I'd rather have RWD in the snow than FWD. I find they are much easier to drive in the snow than FWD. Not to mention dry handling is worlds better with RWD than FWD. It's why BMW doesn't make FWD cars. My Catera was RWD and was excellent in snow. My single qualm about buying the HHR was that it's FWD.

 

The base price for the LS with $3,400 credit is about $18,215 before taxes. (All $s are CAD)

That's manual transmission and no options except block heater. (MT delivers best mpg). In my view, the base model, brand new, is good value.

Tire pressure monitoring system is extra. If you are going to change wheels for winter/summer, tpms can be a pain. Stock tires are poor in snow. Probably bad on wet lake effect snow.