As others have stated. It's best to steer clear of any first model year vehicles. The 06' HHR is quite a bit different under the hood. If I was you, I'd be looking for an 07' and up. But... it sounds like you want this for a toy car. If you don't need it right now. Save your pennies and try to find an SS. You'll have a much more "authentic" hot rod.

There's lots you can do to the non-SS models as well. You've read around so I'll not bore you with mods. As a young family man myself I thought I'd share my latest project. I actually own 3. Bought the wife's 08 SS first this spring(barely running) and our Admin is correct. The SS is our money pit, as I'd like to call it "Overboard" you can see that one here https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/hhr-...erboard-54048/
...but she fell in love with it since building it from the ground up. The 2nd car is for me, 08 LT. I'm rebuilding the old SS engine to transplant into it for next year.

The 3rd will interest you. We made it a family project, my kids are 9 and 6.



I bought this 07 LT not running, completely rebuilt it and now its got 643 miles on it as of today. You can see the full story here. https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/feat...mission-54885/



Good luck in your search and WELCOME to the site! Grandma might let it go for the right price! I can always build another.

 

Hi Dbeluscak. Thnx for the advice. For sure a SS model would be cool, but I'm going more for the looks than anything. A few mechanic friends of mine say that turbo cars cost way more when things go wrong in the motor, and it's generally more difficult to fix by yourself. I actually felt that the Ls model I had tried was quite sufficient in power and speed. Being a 50s music singer, I'd love to get a car that goes with my image. I used to want a real vintage car, but the parts are somewhat difficult to find. I plan on getting a black HHR, get the doors painted in dark grey, paint the rims red, some moon hub caps, windshield visor, maybe a bit of chrome on the fender, and voilą ! Just can't wait to find it. Btw, great looking HHR Dbeluscak. And it's so cool that you have a bigger garage and the proper tools to do all of your mods. I also want to learn to do some repairs myself, but not as extensively as you. I only have a small single car garage (not a lot of space for tools). Have a good evening everyone !

 

Hey RockinD, I can't take all the credit for the mileage on my '06, as we bought it used with 77,000 miles on the clock for Michelle to use for her now defunct Antiques Store.

She ran that little Trucklet all over the Carolinas, Alabama, Georgia, and Virginia to Estate Sales and Antiques Auctions. It was used hard, and it was used as a proper truck more often than not.

I took it over as my Daily Driver with 134,000 miles on the clock, and the miles have just kept piling up. It's utterly dependable, even though the '06 model year HHR's are the most fragile and quirky.

There has always been a "Hard 'N Fast" rule about buying GM vehicles in their first model year, since The General tends to use the owners of a new model as "Development Drivers". And the '06 HHR's prove that rule.

The way it breaks down is...

2006's are stand-alone models.

2007's & 2008's are what I consider "HHR 2.0" models.

2009's through the 2011's are "HHR 2.1" models.

Each evolution has its good points, and its bad points. As far as "Swiss Army Knife" dependability, look for a good '07, '08, 09', or early production 2010.

During the last year and a half of production, quality slipped, either due to post-bankruptcy apathy, or the fact that the HHR's were on borrowed time.

 

Hhhmmmm an LS with red rims and baby moon's !, well Oldblue is well blue but you mean like this classic look?

 

As a previous owner of an early 06 model, Yes there were some differences, but nothing major. You can always tell one going down the road with the parking lights on as DRL's. With the 07+ they used the low watt high beam setting. My issues were about the same as most here. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another 06.


Plus that was the only year for Daytona Blue.....

 

Hi guys, sorry for my absence. Oldblue, it's very much what I'd go for, although I'm kind of freakin' out now cuz I just realized that there's apparently no more sun visors for the front windshield to be found. Man, are there other accessories that can't be found anymore? For my wheels, I think I'd go for center knuts (with the Chevy emblems), or maybe baby moons. There's something else that's cool but that I think it's custom made. It's the little piece of chrome grille (bottom side of the fender). Is it possible that someone simply bought an extra upper grille and cut a portion off of it? Either way, I plan on adding that for sure. I was also thinking of either getting eye lid head light covers or the chrome thingies that go around them. In fact, I wish one could have chrome on the contours of the windows (like vintage cars). Haven't seen any of that around though. And to Solman98, thnx for letting me know about your experience with the '06 model. I'm open to that year's model too. I think that at this point, if I just find a black HHR, and in my price range, I'll go for it. I now see that they're really hard to come by. I so wanted one for this Fall, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen.

 

Headlight covers

Race and Street: HHR Headlight Covers

I've thought of thin moulding in Chrome around my windows stuck to the paint just near the rubber on the doors and around the windows out the back and the windshield.

Body Side Molding | Car Molding & Chrome Body Side Molding - CustomAutoTrim

 

Exactly Oldblue. I saw the 1st website you've mentioned, but thnx for the 2nd link. It's much easier to just get your own chrome mouldings. For the headlights, this is the site I found today. It's got other cool chrome parts for the HHR

2008 Chevy HHR Chrome Accessories & Trim - CARiD.com

 

It's kind of unfortunate cuz I do see a few black HHRs that are in my price range, but they're LT models and I've read some bad things about them (sun roof leaking). Plus, the front seat adjustment is achieved by a motor, and as much as possible, I try to get cars with as little gadgets as possible for fear that they may cost a lot to repair should they bust. Anyone have opinions about the LTs?

 

I have an '06 LT 2.4 (168,000 miles) and it has been pretty reliable; had to do all the usual 06 repairs like the VVT solenoids, butyl patch, etc. Overall very reliable car especially in this Florida heat.