YEah thats where we part ways. I am not anal about the outside. Wax once a year and run through the car wash once a month. There is no snow or salt here and the car is black. I would go nuts attempting to keep it shiny only to panic upon seeing a dead bug om the paint or a ding in the door. I don;t park way in the back of the lots.

That said when Im ready to sell I have it professionlly detailed and all the dings taken out. Its a small cost to pay to avoid all those anxious moments during ownership.

I am meticulous bout the mechanics though.
Does that count?


Hey I had an Opel GT too.....That was a fun car but handled like the wheels were bagels and the road cream cheese......

 

i love my HHR as much as my 2003 Lexus GS300. i have also owned a 2001 Nissan Maxima and a 2000 Solara and the fit and finish is about on par.

 

20vtguy,

Here was my HHR car buying experience and why I chose an HHR.

Here is the list of cars I was originally thinking of buying in summer of 2006:

1) BMW 3 Series
2) Mercedes Benz C Class
3) Audi A4
4) Chrysler 300 C
5) Dodge Charger RT
6) VW Passat
7) VW GTI

As you can see the HHR is not on the list. Here is what I thought of each:

1) BMW 3 Series: A very nice driving car with an ugly interior.
2) Mercedes Benz C Class: Very solid feel but had difficult to use controls.
3) Audi A4: Rough running and, to me, not in the same league with the BMW or Mercedez.
4) Chrysler 300 C: Fast but with what I thought would be atrocious fuel economy.
5) Dodge Charger RT: Fast but with what I thought would be atrocious fuel economy and a chintzy interior.
6) VW Passat: I loved the look of the Passat and it drove nicely.
7) VW GTI: Pure fun but maybe too small for what I needed a car to do.

I checked into the reliability of all of the cars above and found out that they all had issues but, then again, every model of car does. Then, midway through my car search my god-awful 2000 Malibu broke down in my hometown. I took it to my hometown dealership to be repaired. I had vowed that I would never buy another Chevrolet after the Malibu experience but, just to check one out, I drove an HHR.

The first HHR I drove was a 1LT with an automatic and cloth interior. It was not a sports car type ride but it handled and drove well. I was very surprised. Then, I started to research HHRs. I drove several others over the course of the next year and, once again to my surprise, decided it was the car for me.

I called my hometown dealer and he located an HHR for me: fully loaded 2LT that listed for $24,995. He sold it to me for $21,000. I love this car. It is not as fast or luxurious as some of the cars on my list but it is quite comfortable. The leather in mine seems fine, not quite luxury car grade but still quite satisfactory. It gets great gas mileage and mine seems quite nicely put together. Overall, I think it’s a great car and I have money left over from purchasing it to work on my 1951 Nash Statesman!

This may not have helped you but it goes to show how complicated car decisions can be. One thing I know for sure is that I purchased the car that fit my needs best and, at least to me, is quite cool as well! I call that winning.

PaulW

 

That PaulW evaluated the particular cars he listed, and foresaked them in favor of an HHR speaks volumes about the HHR's quality, functionality, and appeal.

 

Or with the exception of MAYBE the GTI, the $20K cost

 

+1 or minus say $10.........thousand? Thats enough to buy a used 2006 HHR! 1 new and one used ..for parts. Not bad.

 

Very interesting list. The price ranges and types of cars you drove were all over the place sorta. None were SUV's or crossovers. Interesting that you liked the GTI and the Passat but not the A4 being that the GTI and Passat and A4 share many components including their engines. But it seems like utility was your top priority or you likely would have ended up with the VW's, correct. Why weren't you shopping other crossovers wagon types such as the Subaru Forester, Pontiac Vibe/Toyota Matrix, Mazda5 or even the PT Cruiser?

Oh and I agree about the current 3 series. I'm not a fan its interior styling at all either. Looks very odd.

 

Buy American plus the warranty is good.

 

on paper anyway.......

 

I purchased a 08 blue flash lt last month, I was looking for a larger car to replace my 2000 Corolla, I love the Corolla so much that I still can't part with it. It has over a 136,000 miles on it, still runs good. My wife and I travel alot on vacation, we mostly camp and packing up the corolla was always fun. So this year I went looking for a vehicle that was bigger with more cargo space, I test drove RAV4, Jeep Patiriot, Honda Element, Ford Escape, and Sion xb,
I found Good and Bad in all, but the HHR drove the best and has the best gas mileage, yes the car has some quirts, but what car doesn't. I can't give it a total thumbs up yet, but so far so good.