Close to buying...!
 

Hi All,

I'm not an HHR owner....yet.

I'm very, very close to buying one though.

It all started last fall, when Enterprise rental car put me in a silver HHR instead of the sub compact I'd reserved. Man, was I impressed. As it turned out, I ended up needing to haul three of my buddies, all fairly large people, and all our luggage about 2 hours to the airport. The Aveo I'd reserved simply wouldn't have done it. I filed that away and said to myself that if I ever really needed a more efficient vehicle that could haul a decent load of stuff I'd seriously look into HHR's.

Well, that time has come! My commute just doubled in miles, and my Dakota simply HAS to go. I flirted with the idea of a Mini Cooper, but I really liked how the HHR feels out on the open road. It's a good cruiser mobile, and I've decided to treat myself to the more tranquil ride of the HHR. As you can see from my chosen user name, I think of the HHR as sorta an American Mini. It's like a mini SUV, and, like the Mini Cooper, styled retro like a vehicle of 50 years ago.

So, I'm committed to buying one and I have several used HHR's I'm looking at. I've driven 2.2's, 2.4's, autos, manuals. I'm getting there, I just want the HHR I buy to be a carefully considered purchase.

Glad to be here,

AM

Good luck , Get what you want, Something to consider , I get 33-34 MPG on the highway with my SS. And the fun factor is crazy ! :cool:

AmericanMini-

Take your time & get what you want...You'll appreciate it more..

Test drive, & do your homework..

Happy Hunting,

sleeper

Thanks guys,

My biggest problem is, strangely, deciding between manual and auto. I don't own any automatic transmissions. My wife, son, and daughter all drive manual VW's. My Dakota is a 5-speed. Last auto I had was in a Chevy Van (1979, 400ci).

Here's my impressions so far: 1) For some reason, the 2.2L feels smoother than the 2.4L. Seems like the extra power isn't all that worth the thrashing of the 2.4.

2) The auto trans is really pretty good at milking the power from the 2.2L. I drove a manual 2.2L the other day, and while I figure that banging through the gears at redline might produce a better 1/4 mile time than a auto 2.2L, it seems that in normal driving there were lots of times where the right gear wasn't available. In other words, for the first time in a looooong time, I'm thinking the automatic option might actually be the right tranny for this particular engine/chassis combo. Am I loosing my mind?!?

Thanks for the encouragement to buy the SS. I will certainly try, but I'm sure the financial situation will dictate an LS or an LT.

Any insight about my powertrain impressions will be appreciated!

AM

I have an LT Auto 2.4 I had always driven stick in a past life (before i was married)
and I tested out a lot of cars before buying a HHR and the auto has alot of power
more power then you will ever use on a street i get on the freeway no problem
and i am very happy with my decision on a loaded automatic.

Well....I think I found my HHR!

It's at a Chevy dealer, 2006 LT 2.2 auto leather running boards roof rack yada yadda. It is silver, which I like, it has 47,500 miles on it. Drives straight, no shakes, rattles. Brake rotors are fine (no pulsating). It was sold to the original owner by this dealer, and they obviously weren't smokers.

Dealer of course had it marked 1500 above Kelly Blue Book. I offered them $1000 below. We settled on KBB price, which is fine with me all things considered.

Does $10,500 sound out of line for what I've described?

AM

No, I would say that's about average for a dealer...

Price doesn't sound bad; car sounds good; enjoy the ride! Good luck and have fun!