Considering trading the GTO for SS, thoughts?
 

Ok, I feel slightly ashamed, confused and depressed but I'm strongly considering trading in the Goat for an HHR SS.

My driving profile:
Daily Driver. I average about 1200 miles per month, about 50% highway and 50% city driving. The occasional high speed run. The occasional off the line romp. Overall I really enjoy driving!! ( I've owned Porsches and Audis too...)

Pros:
- Gas Mileage!
- Now that the economy is slowing, lowering my monthly payments would help aslo.
- Its a New ride!!
- It'd be nice to haul stuff around.
- Staying with the GM family

My concerns:
- Will it be as much fun?
- Do I dare consider AT? (I'm driving a MT6 right now, and love it!)
- no longer being able to school (beat) 90% of the cars out there.
- 400hp vs 260hp
- 400lb-ft vs 260lb-ft
- 3725lbs vs 3280lbs(MT)
- RWD vs FWD

Yes I know they are not the same class of car, this is just my situation and I'm weighing the pros and cons.

I figure ya'll would be the group to help me come to terms with the trade, and feel good about it too! HELP!!!

My opinions (for what they are worth):

- Gas Mileage: For a daily driver, gas mileage really plays a big role. You can't go wrong with better fuel economy (without having to sacrifice too much performance).

- Now that the economy is slowing, lowering my monthly payments would help also: Can't argue with that. I will say that I would bet dollars to doughnuts that the GTO will hold it's value better than an HHR SS. The value of my loaded & flawless PT Cruiser GT (a not too distant relative of the HHR SS) was in the toilet when I traded it in a few months back. The dealership can't even sell it for what they gave me for it. The retro wagon market is flush with deals; I'm sure you'll start seeing deals on HHR SS's in the near future starting with dealership demos.

- Its a New ride!!!: "Newness" goes away. Ask yourself: Which one will you be happy with over the long haul?

- It'd be nice to haul stuff around: The finest point of owning an HHR or an HHR SS.

- Staying with the GM family: I don't have corporate loyalty; if that makes you happy...

- Will it be as much fun? I think that I probably would have more fun in a 400 horsepower "throaty" GTO, but the HHR SS will be plenty of fun too.

- Do I dare consider AT? (I'm driving a MT6 right now, and love it!): The armrests and extra cup holder on the automatic version of the HHR SS are a great thing, but if you LOVE manual, stick with the manual.

- No longer being able to school (beat) 90% of the cars out there: Trust me: With a 0-60 of 6.3 seconds (with a manual transmission), you'll still be beating most of the cars out there.

- 400hp vs 260hp: That's a big difference, but is the 0-60 that different?

- 400lb-ft vs 260lb-ft: Torque is a great thing, but if the 0-60's are similar, who cares? You're not going to be hauling anything with a GTO. With an HHR SS, at least you have the space to haul something in the trunk.

- 3725lbs vs 3280lbs(MT): Who cares how much something weighs? By the sound of your post, it really comes down to performance.

- RWD vs FWD: Non issue; both have pros & cons that cross each other out

To sum up: The GTO is fun, but the HHR SS is FUNctional!

Attachment 38077 to the site!!! Both are nice rides but you are the one that has to live with it, so you are the only one that can say if you can come to terms.

Nicely put.

keep the goat and buy a used 2lt or 1lt, thinking about this myself but in reverse

If I had a manual GTO, I'd be hard pressed to trade for an HHR SS, my son has a GTO and it is a very well made car, I'm really impressed with the interior comfort (front seat anyway, backs too hard to get in), and the smoothness/driving fun. The HHR is really not in the same class as far as the interior, hard plastic covered doors and door armrests and other bits and pieces, but it is considerably less expensive, and a good bit more economical. But: You are probably gonna take a good size loss on the trade of the GTO, and the money lost there will buy quite a bit of gas. Myself, I sold a 12 mpg Tahoe, so the gas savings are going to make my payment for me. HA HA

Welcome. At some point in your life it no longer becomes a issue if you can smoke every one that pulls up next to you. You still want that ump and guess that is why you are considering the HHR SS. I'm sure you can still blow the doors of a few but you also will be able to drive by gas stations and enjoy the retro look of yesteryear. Those old cars were cool and some couldn't get out of there own way but they are still neat to drive. I don't have the SS but only a 2.4 2LT and even thou I am in my 60's it is a hell of a lot of fun to drive, no Lincoln Towncars for me, maybe when I get old. I keep finding myself going way over the speed limit on the freeway since it just seems to want to go fast and I have to back off, may have something to do with that electronic gas pedal.. The SS has to be even more fun but I don't want to talking to police officers on the side of the road telling them how a chunk of ice must of jammed my throttle ( Use that excuse once and it worked), lucky it was the dead of winter and a lot of snow on the side of the road.

I went from a kia sephia to this, and even 235hp it's pretty damn fun from the auto. I wasnt worried about cargo - I got a silverado for hauling and towing. I wanted something sporty to get me to work, reliable, mpg - this claims to get 22-34, and get some fun time plowing along in ATL traffic. Gas will easily be heading past $4/g once hurricane season ramps up and media just pushes and pushes all these drama stories about storms of the century - which all occurred years ago. So basically for comparison, I got myself a peppy little camaro 305, which came with 4 doors and a little extra cargo room if needed. Fantastic handling, responsive steering, great run speed, and 4 doors to move the family - it's got 4 wheels, and I fond it functional.

If you want to drag, twink out the gto or some trash body car and just go all out track racing. I've got the '89 350 iroc im rebuilding, which won't eat me alive getting to work 5x a week for 105 mile round trip. this just gave me fantastic cost/performace, fit my lengthy body - knees arent bent in odd places and sticking through a steering wheel!, and gave me some Fun GO to get to work.

I sold my 2005 GTO manual and ended up with the HHR SS. I had to have a 4-door, and the G8 was still too far out for me to wait. Do I regret it, only when I'm awake:D I miss the GTO terribly, as it got pretty good gas mileage, but the carseat in the back just wasn't feasible. But I love having a boosted daily driver again.

I will give the HHR SS props for being an extremely fun car to drive. It's not got the gutteral sound or tremendous torque from idle to redline, but still alot of fun. The interior isn't as luxurious as the GTO, but the upright seating is more comfortable on long trips to me (6'3"). The trunk in the GTO was a joke so the cargo space is also a huge benefit. I really don't think it would ahve mattered what I traded for, as I will always miss the GTO. I just flat-out liked the car. But if you've got to get rid of it, the HHR SS is not a bad option.

Well, I would keep the GTO, but that is primarily because I think the GTO is the best non-corvette car GM has made in the past 20 years...

Thanks!!
 

Thank you all for your thoughts and comments I appreciate it!!

I had a local dealer to check what he could get me if I traded in the goat, it was disappointing to say the least. $16K he did this in good faith from my description of the car and without actually seeing the car. The bids that came in were way below what I was dreaming I could get. Trading in would put me upside down on it and it just isn't in the cards right now. I could do a private sale and make a few more grand on the sale but it'd still be lower than what I'd want.

Oh well, no loss. I would have probably made the trade if I could get what I owe on the GTO, and right now I think that would be pretty tough.

The goal was to immediately reduce monthly costs, but as of right now it wouldn't really work that way. I'll revisit the scenario this summer to see if anything changes. w00t!

The GTO is still a really cool car, and I'm proud to own it.

Thanks again for y'alls replies, they were insightful.