I've only had my SS for 35K miles, but sometime in the next year I have to get my youngest daughter a car. When my oldest daughter starting driving I gave her my GP and then bought the SS. So the natural thought was to give the SS to my other daughter when the time comes. But I'm having second thoughts about it for the following reason:

1) The SS will have less than 60K miles on it in a year, and I'm not sure I want to give a new driver such a relatively new car.

2) The SS is not the easiest car to drive because of the performance.

3) Cops may be all over her driving the very visible vehicle.

My other thought is to keep the SS and buy her a used car of some sort. But after reviewing used car prices these days, you can't get anything decent with <60K miles for less than $10K. And I know how well I've treated the SS, so I have confidence it will last quite a while. My GP now has $110K miles on it and is still going strong. Buying someone else's used car has been a disaster the last two times I've done it.

If I decide to give her the SS, I'm having difficulty finding another car that fulfils my needs. The SS is fast, sporty looking, has great utility and gets very good MPG. There aren't too many other vehicles (if any) on the market that can match it. Fortunately I don't absolutely need 4 doors anymore, so I have more flexibility. I would love to get a new Camaro, but I'm not sure I can lower myself into that car every day. Getting into the HHR is a piece of cake. I love the exterior of the Challenger, but the MPG sucks and the interior is so plain and boring. I don't like the new Mustang rear end.

The Subaru Impreza is good looking, but the performance sucks unless you upgrade to the turbo model, but it's still not as fast as the SS.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Should I just buy another HHR SS?

 

Detune this SS and let her GO.

 

"My GP now has $110K miles on it and is still going strong. "

I would hope so if you've put $110k in it!

You could debadge the SS and put steel wheel with wheel covers on and lock the waste gate open ....

You can get really low miles Saturns now cheap.

 

yeah Terry I saw that but I figured I'd let the $110K into slide...shoot he shoulda shot that 1 and burned it.

 

For your next car wait till the end of the year for ford to release the F-150 truck with the ecoboost V6 engine (twin turbo), get you a 4 door. What more could you ask for, a twin turbo V6 truck, that has a small bed to carry stuff, towing capacity, comfortable seating, huge HP/TQ numbers to embarrass people and get great gas mileage for a full size truck. If you haven't guessed it this might be the route I go next, but I would do a sport drop on the one I buy.

Agree about detuning and let her go. I would imagine it would be great for her to be able to take all her friends in, have the utility to carry stuff, the gas mileage, not to mention the excellent crash rating the HHR got. Most people think the HHR SS is just a regular HHR that someone slapped some SS badges on, at least the ones I encountered.
You must have some *****s for cops up your way, my HHR SS is visually modified more then yours (plus I have no CAT so its a little loud) and have yet to have any problem with any cop, they pretty much leave me alone down this way.

 

The new RWD Chevy sedan will be out in 2012. AKA the Chevy G8.

Also the ECO Turbo Buick Regal GS will be here next year. It was car of the year in Europe last yearas an Opel. It was a very aclaimed car and was changed little to come here. 255 HP in it should feel fine as well as the 6 sp the HHR never had..

 

Ditto other then don't bother waiting for the Chevy version. My dad sells GM and is fine with the demise of Pontiac, other than the G8. He sold many G8's and I have a co-worker that owns one and can't stop talking about it. I was close to buying one over the SS and finally decided on the hatch-two young kids. G8 GT or G8 GXP.....you will find some still sitting on dealer lots I bet...at huge discounts too. If I was in the market I would buy one tommorrow......$30k or less for a BMW 5 killer.

 

I would not give an SS to my kids to drive unless it was after they graduated from college and had more wheel time. Too much car in my opinion for young drivers. HP and really quick steering. Besides, I cant imagine what the insurance would be either.

I have had really good luck buying inexpensive vehicles that were all one owner rides. The key is One Owner! Use Carfax or Auto Check. I like Auto Check best. That and driving a couple of the same vehicle to see how they run and drive to compare.

99 V6 Mustang w/traction control 100M miles $4,500 (my daughters car)
98 Astro AWD 100M miles $1,999 (my second ride)
98 Buick Park Avenue Ultra supercharged $3,400 (helped pick out the car for a friends HS son)

I went with the Mustang for my daughter as it was a decent size car that is super easy for me to work on and parts are really cheap. Oh and my daughter liked them. As long as it has traction control it goes OK in the snow. 3 years and 13M miles the only nonwear parts it needed was a serpentine belt and tensioner. I recently did the front brakes. New calipers, brake hoses, rotors, and pads, all for under a $100. I am also getting ready to do the struts and shocks. Bilstein GS2 struts were $52 each and the rear shocks were $27. For insurance I have just PLPD (personal libility property damage) for her which cost around $950 a year.

To start it really comes down to how much money you can spend on your kids car and how much wrenching you can do yourself. Then it is all about shopping for the best one owner vehicle you can find. Good luck whatever way you go. If you do decide to give your daughter the SS and need a new ride, keep a look out for the upcoming Buick Regal GS. It will be running with our HHR SS motor and a 6 speed manual. G.B.

 

How about picking up a nice '06 or '07 HHR? If you can't fight them, then join up! With HHR resale values so low it makes for an excellent 2nd car, great for hauling and sharp looking.

 

No GXP's are left unless they are used also a very rare thing.

The G8 GT is rare to find new and only a few are left.

The G8 V6 is still around in about 100 units nation wide the last I heard.

Used examples are still aroud of the GT and make for a good buy with the lower prices.