Thanks again man and yeah it is definitely one sweet looking car.

 

Congrats! I've driven the wagon version (V70R), and it's a tremendous vehicle. A great driver....

 

Thanks and I completely agree they're a great driver and a tremendous vehicle. I also think it's awesome that they offered both a sedan and a wagon version.

 

Well as of today the Volvo is gone. It was a really nice car, but after having it less than a month and having to take it to the dealer 3 different times for 3 different issues I finally said enough was enough and traded it back in. The first issue I had happened 2 days after I bought the car. I was driving home and the reduced engine performance light came on (limp home mode). So I called the dealer and they told me to bring it in and they would look at it. The next day I did just that and they told me that the code wasn't showing anything associated with it and that they cleared it. After that I didn't have any issues for another 2 weeks.

The 2nd issue was pretty simple. I just had to bring it back for the dealer to fix the front bumper that someone else had messed up on a test drive sometime before I bought the car. It had a decent crack and chip in the center. Both of which they agreed to fix and they did a great job I might add. I was very pleased with it when they were finished.

Then the 3rd issue happened. This time I was driving to work and again the reduced engine performance light came on. So again I called the dealer and they told me to bring it in and they would take it over to Eurocars (the only shop in my area that specializes and works on European brand cars). Well then on the way home from work the engine system service required light came on. The next day it went back to the dealer for the 3rd time and they took it to Eurocars to have the problem diagnosed and fixed. Turns out the problem ended up being a sensor that had gone bad in the accelerator assembly (the car is drive by wire throttle and has 3 sensors). So they replaced the assembly and reprogrammed it so it would all sync again. I finally thought it was done after that, but nope. I drove the car home with no issues, turned it off, and then a few hours later went out to go to work, and the car wouldn't start at all. It was giving me an immobilizer message and the Volvo dealer said it was either the coded key or the antenna in the ignition module that reads the coded key that was bad. They then said it was going to cost anywhere from $220-$440 depending on whether they were able to reprogram the current key or had to cut and reprogram a brand new one. If they had to replace the antenna in the ignition module all they said is it would cost a lot more. Wouldn't give me an exact number just a lot more.

So after that like I said enough was enough. I brought the car back to the dealer I bought it from today and ended up in a brand new 2013 Mazda 3 i Touring sedan. The car had 420 miles on it and was nicely equipped for a car that costs a little over $20k. It's most similarly equipped to a 1LT HHR, but has a few extra goodies. For example it has push button start, 16 inch alloy wheels instead of wheel covers, Bluetooth hands free with audio, Mazda advanced keyless entry (I can lock and unlock the car without ever having to take the key out of pocket which is pretty cool), dual-zone climate control, Dual front and front side-impact airbags, plus the curtain airbags, leather-wrapped steering wheel with cruise control, audio controls, and Bluetooth controls, and halogen projector headlights. That's just to name a few lol. It has the 2.0L Skyactiv engine that puts out 155 hp (the same as the 2.2L in the HHR) and still gets 40 mpg. It also has an automatic transmission with manual shift mode which I think is pretty awesome. Plus the car is a 2013 IIHS top safety pick.

All in all it's a nice car and I ended up getting a great deal on it. The dealer gave me the car at invoice pricing plus a Mazda owner's discount because my dad bought a Mazdaspeed 3 from them the same time I bought the Volvo which brought the car at below invoice. Then they gave me exactly what I paid for the Volvo on trade-in to make things right since they sold me a car that was having nothing but issues. Then to top it off they discounted me on the gap insurance so it wouldn't make my car payment go up. Overall I'm really happy with the experience I had from this particular Mazda dealer and saw a group of people who truly put the customer first, which is something you rarely see in the car business these days. It was very nice to say the least.

Anyway to anyone who actually reads this entire post I apologize for it being so long. Oh and for those wondering how I finally got the Volvo started all I can say is I got extremely lucky. After not being able to get it started yesterday and having to miss a day of work because of it. I ended up coming out this morning and the car started perfectly fine. So I got dressed, called the dealer, and told them I was on my way lol. So I'm extremely thankful that it started this morning so I could take it back and get something else.

Also for those of you who are saying why didn't you just get the HHR back they had already sold it so it wasn't an available option.

As for pics of the Mazda I will get some up tomorrow because I got home from the dealer too late to get any decent ones tonight.

Again for anyone who actually reads all of this post I'm sorry it's so long. I tried to break it down as best I could and thanks for reading it all.

 

What a BUMMER !!! Hope this next ride is all you hope it to be..

 

Yeah it was definitely a bummer and thanks sleeper! So far I'm really liking it. Especially the push button start and advanced keyless entry. Now it's still not quite as nice or as quick as the Volvo, but it's still pretty quick for a 155 hp I4. Mazda did really good with this Skyactiv technology and now I have the same horsepower I was getting out of the HHR with 40 mpg which works for me lol.

As promised here are a couple pics I took of my Graphite Mica Mazda3.