Sure they could do that. But that would change the look and kill the retro look. SOme don't like the boards, now they must live with the issue. I see boards all the time on EBay. I have had things painted. It will not cost you a grand to have it done it you do a little research and put some effort into that your self.

I can give you a good example. My mother recently purchased an 06 Cobalt LS. She wanted a cheap new car. She got it. Only thing she wanted was to have cruise installed. Dealer told her she had to buy the unit ($300), BCM ($500+), install, (3 hrs labor), and program (1 hr labor). Dealer stated BCM could not be reprogrammed for criuse.

You know what it cost? Unit $155 shipped online, $75 to install and program the BCM (no new one needed). I spent less than an hour researching how much BS the dealership was stating. The service writer has also been confronted (in front of his customers) of how much BS he was adding to customers bills.

Boy you should have seen the looks.....

 

I'm not talking anything major, I'm just talking a little tiny change. I really don't see how it could change the looks of the car to just bring the fenders out just a tiny shade more, so that the tires are not sticking out and spitting stones. Just looking at the car, it seems it would be just a matter of a very slight adjustment.

I'm not in the habit of looking at car fenders, but I will have to look and see what's going on out there since you don't usually hear about this sandblasting problem. So far hubby has not gone out there to put the mud flaps on, we've got the HHR molded ones, and are hoping that will protect the car somewhat, but I do see where mud has been flung up along side the car and it stands to reason that if mud can be flung there so can stones.

You can bet I'll be doing my homework on highways under construction, last year on the way to Craters of the Moon in Idaho, most of 93 was under major construction, and so was a big portion of 93 in Montana between Missoula and Flathead Lake. Would not be taking our little HHR over that this year, that's for sure. That's what happens when you want to protect your cute little HHR, and we sure would like to keep it looking nice.

Any of you guys checked things out yet? What was the deal back in the 40's, did they make the running boards a little wider. Maybe so because in those old Elliot Ness cops and robber movies you'd see them jump on the running boards for a quick get away, right?

 

I`m telling you this is the next HHR. No more checking road conditions, no need for mud flaps. This ride wouldn`t throw a stone if it was mad...
Look at that smiling face, one only a mother could love...
The lady is saying, "Hey when ya gonna trade that old style HHR in for one of these new babies?"

 

Hi all,

I am starting to notice some chipping on the hood. We wash Gomez every week, I wonder is the extra pressure rinse the reason. I still need to get the mud flaps and running boards. I promised Gomez I would get them this summer.

Gomez...Still strong at almost 5900 miles!

 

Hi, My 2007 does not have boards. I installed the molded GM guards - full set of 4 - as far as I can tell, they did very little if anything to keep the debris from hitting the rear door/rocker cover area. They do keep the front portion of the rocker covers cleaner. They are very easy to install using simple hand tools. good luck

 

The problem with even a "little" change is that it would cost more to redesign the exterior of the car, retool the stamping and factory, and submit the car to new wind and crash testing than it does to offer panel repaints to the 0.1% of customers who ever notice.

I'm willing to bet that if it becomes a major issue with buyers in the US, GM will simply make the boards come standard and raise the price of the vehicle or replace the lower rocker covers and color-keyed stone guards with argent-colored textured plastic units like they put on the old Avalanche.

 

Angel; I just got assist steps [running boards] for my whifs 07,in primer for $340.00+ $27.00 shipping this is a kit to add boards like I did to my 06. I was abled to get painted ones for my car, no teal anywhere!

 

update
As of Tuesday May 29th, Chevrolet has agreed to cover 50% of the cost to install running boards on my '07 with just under 3K miles on it after I chose not to accept their initial offer of $100.00 in assistance. When the $100 offer was made by the Area Service Manager, I explained to the Chev.(GM) customer assistance guy that I felt that the $100 offer was an insult and that Chev was not acting in good faith. After further discussion including my mentioning not wanting to have to resort to the BBB online mediation process, and the possibility of me ordering boards online and having Chevrolet re-imburse me , he agreed to contact the ASM again with a couple of options he and I had discussed. She returned with the 50% parts/labor offer and I accepted. Customer Satisfaction contacted the dealer and I went to see them that same day. Chevrolet insisted that the boards be installed at the dealer for me to get the 50% assistance from them.

The dealer has agreed to help with my share of the expenses. My final cost will be in the area of $250.00 to $275.00 installed. The dealer is also going to have the cladding left off after the rear door TSB is done.
The new design running board is not fully in production yet - it is available only in prime with either steel or aluminum treads - color matched ones should be available in about a month or so (According to the parts dept at my local dealer.) I have opted to wait until this design is available in my color to have them installed rather than pay 50% of the refinish cost.
The new design has an MSRP of $485.00 as compared to the first design MSRP of $525.00 - this is for the color -corodinated prepainted ones. Prime is a bit less expensive, around $460.00 MSRP. Alumimum treads set is slighly more (about $20).
There are still some first design boards avaialble in colors, the supply seems to be dwindling and most dealers can't seem to get them. I found some first design color coordinated on the net from GM sources at around $413.00 and the 2nd design for $380.00 (but not yet available).
It will probably be about a month or so before I can give the final report.


Points to consider while negotiating with your Dealer, Customer Assistance and the Chevrolet ASM.
I would recommend

Always remain polite but firm.
Be aware you are most lilkely going to have to educate the people you talk to about the problem - so do your homework.
Do provide them with links to forums, the TSB number about the damage.
If your dealer makes you do the legwork ( calling Chev. Customer Assistance) then once you get your best deal fom Chev - ask the dealer to give you further assistance with your part of the labor/parts.
Be patient and be prepared for it to take time. The archaic way that Gm requires their different branches to communicate cause lots of time between calls.
If my experience in this matter is an indicator, the complete process will probably take a month or two to complete. In my case, I feel I got a better result by going through the Customer Assistance process than I would have dealing with just my dealer. The customer assistance guy was very helpful in making sure my points were presented to the ASM accurately and he was aware that I was prepared to move higher along in the GM service hierarchy if the ASM wasn't fair and reasonable in her final offer.
Best of luck to everyone else going through the process.

 

No running boards, no splash guards and no damage on mine.

Of course, it helps that I live in the sunny South, where using salt and sand on the roads is a rarity.

 

Bwc001, if you can retain your fender guards, I would be interested in buying them from you.
I`ve had a classified listing going, and I`ve been trying to find a used pair for a project.
Let me know...B/B