Firewatcher

Well, I just got back from dropping my wife's 2007 Equinox at the dealer. It is back in for an oil leak that won't quite go away, the check engine light is on again, and the wiper controls don't work. This is all in less than a year and doesn't include the other dealer corrected problems and 2 recalls. And it's only been 10000 miles. Then I look at my HHR. Since I bought it in 2005 it's been one thing after another. And as I look at it today I still need to replace the rear bowtie, the top dash compartment door latch is broken, and I have a new clunking sound underneath. And I only have 14500 miles on it. It's really getting depressing. With both Chevys it's one thing after another. It's why I got away from Ford....I mean, I like the dealer, his service guys are great, but I'm really getting tired of going there for repairs. I've been doing a lot of research and have been looking at foreign. Subaru seems to be the best bang for the buck as far as economy, repairs, and is handy here in the northeast. As a former union member, I always took pride in my work. I know most union members do. But I think the UAW needs to look at what they are building. It's all getting to be overpriced junk. It's either time they put the pride back into their work, or I am going elsewhere.

mizzouHHR

It really is sad it has come to this, but I know exactly where you are coming from. Fortunately I've had minimal problems with my HHR, and at 65,000 miles I'm very pleased. With our old Pontiac Montana, it was a different story. We bought it used with 40,000 miles. At 65,000 we had to replace the head gasket (thank you dexcool). At 125,000, the head gasket goes again, taking the engine out with it. We left it where it broke down and went van shopping, knowing it would not be another GM, or as it turned out another American car. We bought a KIA Sedona with only 38,000 miles with the remainder of the 10 year 100,000 mile warranty, and it's been a great van. No problems at all. This is the first car I have ever owned that wasn't one of the big 3, and I have to admit I'm pleased with my purchase. I was one of those who swore I would never by a foreign car, but when there is such a gap in reliability, you don't feel like you have a choice. It burns me up that GM knows about the dexcool problems yet continues to ignore it. I won't EVER buy a GM with the 3.8 or 3.4 V6 again. And when it's time to replace the KIA, it will probably be another KIA, Toyota, or perhaps Subaru.

Danko

The Equinox was not built by the UAW. It is made at a Japanese plant in Quebec by the CAW with a Japanese trans and Chinese engine. I am an American and do what I can to support my country and its economy in spite of driving a new Mexican assembled HHR. Our children deserve our support. Screw Korea! They sold over 700,000 vehicles here in 2007 and bought 4500 of ours and now riot over American beef imports. At least they know who butters their bread and do not shoot themselves in their feet as Americans do. We justify buying unAmerican by saying it is a global economy. NO it is not! Others do not buy from us like we buy from them. That is why each month there is a $60 BILLION imbalance of payments problem. ..and THAT is why the American dollar is plummeting and it takes more to buy gas and everything else!

mongo

Seriously, why should someone compromise their needs in an expensive purchase like an automobile just to satisfy a misplaced sense of patriotism?

I bought my HHR Panel because it was the ONLY vehicle on the market that had the combination of utility and fuel mileage I needed. I was saving up for an Astro, but they stopped building them before I had enough saved to buy one. I need a panel to keep my tools secure and out of view when I go on road service calls. It would have been nice to be able to buy a UAW built vehicle, but none existed that met my needs. I refuse to join the sheeple.

Goose

I have always had great luck with Toyota although a lot of that is based on a 1991 Celica GTS..hands down the best car I have EVER owned.


That sucks FW..I had a Saturn Vue that was just basically a rolling POS that the dealer had to rebuild piece by piece..that lasted a year before I dumped it and didn't take too much of a hit most surprisingly

If some of the issues of this HHR blossom into stuff where I'm running back and forth every other week than it will probably be back to Toyota or maybe Honda for good this time

Hope it does not come to that though...still starts everyday 1 year and 35K later



Goose

hhrcrafty

Wow, this is a great thread to start up on an HHR fan forum...

I gotta say, this is BS. If you have problems with a car, trade it for a different one. Everyone builds lemons at some point and everyone's going to buy a lemon at some point. It doesn't mean that you write off an entire company or country, for that matter.

I'd really LOVE to see all those Koreans and Japanese who get a troubled car and say, "Hey, I think I'M going to stick it to Toyota/Hyundai next time and buy an American/German car." It's not going to happen. Completely unthinkable in that culture yet in the North American and Western European culture it's completely acceptable to take bread from your neighbor's kids to punish your neighbor for putting a bad part on your car.

mongo

You are right on that point, anybody can build a bad car, after all, they are built by humans. Oh, and the robots were built by humans too.

I have a 93 Mercedes Benz 190E with the 2.6L engine. The timing chain broke and wiped out half the valves. it's going to cost me $1600 to repair. Does that mean that M-B builds crappy cars?

Danko

That "misplaced sense of patriotism" goes by different names in the Midwest. Here it is called "jobs" or "future for our children". We have a lot of Toyota owners driving to the unemployment offices here. They do not see the connection but they make the Japanese happy. The Koreans are smart! In their country, the 3% of their vehicles that were not built there get rocks thrown at them.

TomR00

Also keep in mind that most of those parts on that automobile are bought from vendors outside any given automobile company. And the person on the assembly line installed what they are given.

TomR

itschaboykenny

Danko: Sorry to burst your bubble but your KIA is used there for has 5 year/60,000 mile warranty. Not 10 year/ 100,000 miles (that only applies to first owner) unless your car was CERTIFIED! I KNOW THIS BECAUSE I WORK FOR HYUNDAI