Broadzilla

Hello there fellow HHR-ians! We bought our '07 HHR 2LT January 28th. Of course, I got the bull from the dealership, saying it wasn't a rental. Took it home, found an Avis receipt under the back seats. Anywho...I looked at the tires a few weeks ago, and noticed the left side was more worn than the right. Now the other day, I noticed the back left tire is BALD from the outside to about an inch and a half in. What's the deal with that? Hubby says they're not going to fix it, and if it's out of line, they'll blame it on me for hitting potholes or something. True or not? That was the main reason for taking it in....
When I took it in yesterday, I also took with me a laundry list of things that are wrong.
1. The tire thing
2. Emblems looked like they were full of water.
3. Drivers side window seal has a bubble in it, coming unsealed.
4. The good old paint chipping on the rear in front of the tire (No running boards). Just to see what they'd offer to do with it, since I see some of you have gotten a deal.
5. Windshield is very pitted.
6. Two large chips out of the paint on the rear bumper, on top right side.
They put it up on the lift, looked around, and did absolutely NOTHING!!
Came and told me they're ordering the seal and emblems, and they need to talk to the salesperson about everything else. So, I grab the lady who sold it to me, and started *****ing. She knows nothing of it, and says she doesn't know what they're talking about, that after she sells a car, it's out of her hands, but she'll make sure I'm taken care of...RIGHT.... They'll need to talk to the sales manager. So, I'm pretty mad. Then I tell her, the car is supposed to have XM and doesn't (has the button, but no stations, and XM doesn't know anything about it.) So, we go out and look, and she says she's never seen that, and has no idea what to do about it. Go figure.
The car has 32000 miles on it, and is still under warranty (or so they told me), so why am I getting the runaround, and WILL they fix this crap?? I paid $14,000 for a car they won't fix? They'd better hope not.
I LOVE MY CAR, and I NEED it to last 6 years, since I have to pay for it that long! LOL!
This is my first post, so please be nice. I don't know if it's in the right place on the forum or not. I've read all of them, and you people are quite knowledgeable about our cars. Sorry it's so long.
~Broadzilla, proud new owner of a 2007 Sunburst Orange 2LT Chevy HHR. Only mod is a brake light cover that says SPOILED BRAT~

pitbull76

The dealer screwed you on some of the things by not fixing before selling, but good luck getting them to admit it. I would push HARD on the alignment and tire issues to see if you could get them covered. Paint chips and pitting on the windshield, on the other hand, are really wear issues and IMO if you didn't mention it before buying, it now is yours to deal with.

jeffs396

Kelly! Sounds like the typical sales experience...forget all about you after the papers are signed! They should do an alignment at no cost to you, the tires who knows...if they are the original firestones, they're junk and I'd toss em and buy four new good quality tires after the alignment. Cosmetic issues...you're probably stuck with. If they order & install the seal & emblems at no cost to you, that's great! Enjoy the car, let us know how it turns out!

dbfruth

Yours may not have come with XM. The XM receiver is hidden in the cargo area . It is possible to have the right headunit and still not have XM. The easiest way to tell is to look for the XM antenna. It will be right above the rear hatch on the roof.

pitbull76

You're right about that. Mine has the right headunit, but no XM. That is probably how the original poster's car was configured.

jwj1219

Sounds like a lot of the typical fun dealership bull****... But hey, you live in Pennsylvania, so guess what... That car has to pass PA inspection before they can sell it. If those tires are shot, they can't pass inspection, and you couldn't have run them bald in that amount of time. If the alignment's screwed, that could be considered a hazard and it also wouldn't be inspectable. Same with the windshield if it's too pitted - but that one's up to a lot of interpretation. They should have given you an inspection sheet with the tire wear indicated, the emissions report, etc. So if they slapped a current inspection sticker on it like that, that's a huge no-no for them - all sorts of fines. You might want to bring that up - they might just fix everything for you for free.

an08HHR

Welcome. Pitted windshield and stone chips come with a used car and aren't cover by warranty. The water in the emblem should is covered by warranty since some had this problem and got them replaced. I agree with Jefs396 about the Firestone tires, in fact I don't think you will find any HHR owner that would give a dime for those things Firestone calls tires. They all need to be chewed up and made into floor mats for Fords.
I do hope you get the alignment problem taken care of and can enjoy how good the HHR actually is. Oh don't forget to tell the dealer that there is a forum that loves to know about car dealerships since and the members can spread the word as who to see and who not to see.

solman98

Sorry, but you can blame the dealership all you want. Everything, except the Avis receipt, you should have noticed when you were looking at the vehicle. IF all this happed within the two months after you bought, I would also wonder what had happened since the purchase. Have you ran a carfax to see if the car was indeed a rental?

Broadzilla

I did run a Carfax 2 days ago, after noticing the tire wear problem to see if it was a rental. And yes, it sure was.
This being my first "new" car from a dealership, I asked about the remainder of the warranty, etc., and figured those minor things were covered. It's a GM Certified vehicle after all...why would they not have noticed all this stuff with their 5,645,087 point inspection? Dumb girl thing to think huh?
The only thing I'm REALLY worried about is that tire/alignment thing, as I always have my children in the car with me, and it can't be safe. Doesn't help the fact that the tires are so darn expensive, and I don't want to be replacing them every two months.
I wasn't "blaming" the dealership for what is wrong, I just want some answers, and some good service. Shouldn't be too much to ask, right?

pitbull76

As a certified vehicle, they should have checked/replaced the tires and fixed the alignment. Definitely gives you some backing to get those problems resolved. Solmon is right; you need to look over the vehicle carefully before you turn over your money. It is much easier to get it fixed before you sign on the dotted line, or pass on it altogether.