C G

For me it's simple. The car is excellent for what it is but there are minor things that bug me. I wish the speedo and tach (like hyper said) were not so useless. Maybe the biggest one for me is not being able to heel/toe. Anybody have an easy fix for that?

I would absolutely love this car it it was RWD in spite of the crappy cheap plastic all over the inside. Still for me it serves its daily driver purposes very well.

Jeda13

29K????????? Way too much. My 2008 was 22K. Just about right.
My wishlist is more practical:
Side running boards
a rear bumper protector that covers most or all the bumper.
Roof racks that tie into a structural point in the car and can handle more than cosmetic things on top.
Option out of the 18" wheels.
2" lower in the front seat (I'm 6' and the seat is just too high)
Better quality plastic for the interior.


That said, I still love my car for now...
Jim

goetylsd

Actually, I'm almost positive that in consumer reports and stuff, Chevrolet scores higher in quality than Hyundai. Chevrolets for the most part are good quality cars. No, they're not exceptional like some other companies like Hondas and Toyotas, but they're good. Did you know that Hyundai and Kia are the same auto-group, like Dodge and Chrysler? I don't think too many people would brag about the quality of Kias. They're on the low end of quality. They may provide you with a longer warranty, but you'll probably end up needing every bit of it. It's better to have a shorter warranty and not need it all that much than to have a longer warranty and constantly be using it. And in general, the HHR is a good car at a cheap price. Not all HHRs are $25K. Yes, the SS is, but that's because it's the highest trim level; of course it's going to be more expensive. You get what you pay for...

russruth

Actually according to the J.D. Power survey a Hyundai Sante Fe, which is probably comparable to the HHR ranks higher in reliability.

Now, I'm not buying a Hyundai, in fact the last two cars I bought this year with both Chevy SS, the HHR and a Trailblazer, to go along with my other three vehicles.

Regardless, your not driving an SS and you haven't had the upgrade issues you see reported here and no I do not believe they are isolated.

I want chevrolet and all the american makers to succeed. My heart goes out to the dealers for the position they have been put in by gm, but I know for a fact that my HHR has me spooked, after 4 or 5 breakdowns you get that way, where on the other hand my $$26,000 mitsubishi Evo would probably make it around the world and back without issue.

I'm not chevy bashing or have foreign car bias, (just the opposite), but the one issue I had with the EVO, mitsubishi flew in a technician from Japan and fixed it in two days.

That was the last issue I had 4 years ago. With the HHR, the dealer and chevrolet still deny any problem and put you through the ringer to get a resolve.

That's why you see well meaning and loyal owners on this forum taking matters into their own hands and reworking their cars to make them whole.

I'm not giving up on the HHR SS (yet) but one more serious break down and it's going on the block.

Life is too short to spend your time begging for a repair that is widely known.

IMO

J.

hyperv6

Life is too short to deal with a bad dealer.

It is like UPS the service you recieve is only as good as you local driver at time. The same for any dealer is only as good as the service department as you are working with.

My dealer is the tops and has done everything needed event the nit pick stuff with no questions and a loaner ready at the door if I needed it. I have been treated like royalty. I could not say the same in the past with the GMC dealer I worked with.

GM needed to cut dealers and many they were trying to kill were low rated dealers with a warning to the remaining they need to come up to standards in many different ways. The goverment is saving a few for publicity.

Many of us are not so much fan boys as we fans of the dealers we have to work with. I have hated many dealers in the past I had to deal with but the one I am with now is tops in Service and sales. When I bought the car I got the best deal of all the dealers I tried to work with. They came way off sticker with little hassle. Because of the help I went back a month later and bought my mom a new Malibu to drive with the same good results.

I really did not want a Malibu but now glad I bought this cars as it has been a great car and a great dealer. In fact I love driving this car more than the GTP GP I have.

goetylsd

OK, the Sante Fe may have ranked better. I didn't look it up online before I posted my post, I just thought I remember reading in an online article a while back that as a brand, Chevrolet scored higher than Hyundai. I could be wrong, I'm not an expert. And you're right, I don't have an SS, and I haven't experienced all the same problems as you, but I do have an HHR, which is the one thing that all of us on this site have in common. I understand why you would be upset if you have to keep going in for repair after repair. But the point I was trying to make was that, as a whole, the HHR is a decent car, and for the most part, they have been pretty reliable for people. My HHR has 118,000 miles on it, and it has had no major problems and needed only minimal repairs. That in itself has made me extremely happy with my HHR and made me feel even more confident about Chevy and GM in general. And I wouldn't hesitate to drive it across the country right now if I wanted to. Now, if I was in your shoes having all sorts of problems, I would probably be upset too. I guess you have a right to be upset. I'm guess I'm just trying to say that not all HHRs are as troublesome as yours sounds, only some are like that. It sounds like you got a bad one out of the bunch. And as far as you having to beg for auto repairs, it sounds like you're at a joke of a dealership. Maybe it's time for you to find another dealership. Some dealerships are garbage, sometimes you just have to try a couple different ones, and when you find a good one, stick with them.

When I was first shopping around for an HHR, I went to this one dealership in Plymouth, WI. This particular HHR had about 30,000 miles on it, and I asked them if I could take it into a garage for an inspection, and they said, "Sure, go ahead." So, I took it to the garage and they looked at it and told me it was a good car after looking it over. Upon getting in the HHR and starting it up at the garage, the Check Engine Light came on. So I went back in and asked them if they could scan it with computer. It turned out to be an engine knocking code (a serious problem), and they basically told me that the dealer must've cleared the code before I drove it. They said that when someone clears a code out of the computer, it usually takes 3-4 ignition cycles for it to show up again. And when the code showed up for me, I had already started it 3 times. So, I drove back to the dealership, and told them I found something wrong with it. And then they asked me, "Do you want to go over it and see if we can work something out?" And I said nope, gave them the keys, and walked out. Bottom line is some dealerships are absolutely terrible, and lying, cheating, and being unethical is how they run their business. Now, on the other hand, the Chevrolet dealership in Madison, WI, where I bought my HHR, treated me very well. They treated me like I was an important customer, they didn't get too pushy, and overall, they made it a really good experience. I really liked my salesperson too. I don't think I could've found a better dealership than that one. Now, that dealership is 2 1/2 hours away from my house, but I would go back there in a heartbeat to get that kind of service again, versus driving across town to one of the local crappy dealerships. Now, it'd be nice not to have to drive so far, but IMO it's worth it to get good service. Like hyperv6 said, the service you receive is only as good as the dealership is. Btw, I don't mean any disrespect or anything, and I understand why you're upset, but I just really like the HHR so I'm standing behind it!

gmdealerguy

Yep! We have 2 left at our dealer. Both are $29,132 on the sticker......crazy.......

bobiroc

Makes me happy I only paid about $22,500 for mine. GM Employee discount is nice but even the sticker price was only $26,700 before the discount and the only option it does not have is the 7 disc cd changer.

Mr.Redface

1) Parts to fix the car as it gets older.
2) A Stage kit that was more thought out or acknowledge that there is an cheap component issue and take corrective actions to keep customer enjoying their GM product. We did pay good money for it.

ballplr

Teloscopic steering wheel
5.3 V8