I went to the dealership to get a Malibu Maxx saw the HHR and it looked like a better looking station wagon with many of the same features of the Maxx, drove it home. 20,000 miles later and no problems.

 

I saw them when they first came out and was put off by the price.

I was test driving a Caliber (even though I really wanted a Matrix) when I saw mine on the lot. I made a low offer and they took it it to my surprise. I then test drove it and loved all the bells and whistles. I learned to love this car. But the jury is still out on the reliability. I have had it in the shop more then any other used car I have ever owned and with far less miles.......

But I keep adding chrome.......go figure.

 

I went in looking for a Trailblazer or Colorado and walked out with an HHR.

 

Last month HHR sales were 7,979. In todays competitive and niche driven market that is a sales success for sure.

I think most would consider the HHR a crossover as evidenced by it's hatch, raised seating position

GM has always made money on the HHR; a rarity for a GM small car.

The Cobalt's turbo is replaced with a turbocharger not an electric powertrain.

 

If you believed the sales manager at the dealership I got my HHR at, he personally was losing about $8000 out of his own checking account every time he sold an HHR. He played up that idea of "Oh, man, I'd love to sell you this car, but man....I make just nothing at all on HHR, Cobalt, and Aveo!" He acted like me buying the car meant about as much to him as a grocery store selling a pack of gum!

 

I would of walked out and told the guy if that is the way he felt, I'm going to another dealer.

 

I sell Chevy's and I can personally say that there's hardly any money into selling the Aveo, HHR, and Cobalt or any car under $20K. The profit margin is so tiny that my dealership usually pays my minimum commission of $100. That's not much considering the amount of work and time that is necessary to sell this vehicle. I can only hope in making money if I can sell other products with the vehicle; Lo-Jack, Service Contracts, etc. And even then that's only going to add a just little to the commission.

As far as that manager losing $8000 of his own money; that's full of crap.

I never tell customers what I make, because they really don't care. If they ask, all I say is that I work hard to earn their business so I may earn a living just like everyone else. All they really want is great service and a good deal, and that's what I deliver.

 

He didn't literally say he lost money on the sale, and especially not $8000; I was just exaggerating for comic/sarcastic effect there. He did go really deep into the "if all I sold were HHRs at this ridiculously low price I'm so generously offering you, I'd be begging on the corner and waiting in line for government cheese" car salesman cliche/stereotype. It was really comical in a way...he was the living embodiment of the car salesman stereotype.

By the end, it came out ok, or else I would not have signed...it's just the experience and his lines from his car salesman playbook were so exaggerated it was actually hilarious. My girlfriend and I sat there when he left the room for the moment "to run the numbers" and we could hardly keep from laughing at the way he acted. It just took a bit of effort to get past his script, is all.

I appreciate that car dealers need to make a living as well as anyone else, but it's not an excuse to be lackadaisical about selling more inexpensive cars, either. If you went into a grocery and were told that they couldn't bother with you unless you were buying prime rib and the fixings for a five course meal for a sitting of ten, that would be considered wrong, wouldn't it? A business should treat the guy buying the pack of gum the same way as the one who is getting that prime rib at many dollars a pound, as chingchonger probably does! It's not about a single sale; it's about your business model and business persona/reputation.

The place I got the HHR was actually the fourth dealership I had dealt with, after being ignored and offered ridiculous prices for strip model LS HHRs elsewhere. Overall it was actually not a bad experience...just a silly one at times. I probably could have done better if I knew all the ins and outs and were an aggressive haggler and all, but eventually I got the numbers down to where I wanted to be when I walked into the place, so I'm good with that, and have an LT rather than an LS. It's all ok!

 

I'm glad it worked out good with you. Getting a good deal is relative so if you drove away as a happy customer, then you got a good deal.

Some of the exaggerations that I use is reserved only for comic relief when the car buying experience becomes somewhat tense. It helps put everyone at ease so we can continue with the car buying process. It's always fun to joke with the customers, but only when appropriate of course.

 

Actually I saw two on a dealers lot here in town. did not buy one at the time, When my mini van started to get terrible gas milage, I bought one, that was about 6 months after the HHR was out.