I used Chevrolet.com to find ours. We just bought it two days ago. My wife wanted a black/grey automatic LS. Chevrolet.com said that there was one at a certain dealership so I called. The salesman said that it must have been an old listing because they didn't have one like that. He called me back an hour or so later and said that a truck had come in with the black LS on it. Apparently Chevrolet updated their database even before the vehicle had arrived. We drove down and picked up the LS straight off the truck! We've put almost 300 miles on it and my wife loves it!

Congratulations on finding your new toy!

 

Good point, and I think I will. And what really sucks is the vehicle they had located for me was what I really wanted.

And I had already tried Chevrolet.com, and searched all the dealers listed, using several different zip codes, then went through each one of their inventories, and I didn't have much of any luck. I found a couple 2.2L bare bones with no options, but that's it. And considering the number of dealerships I searched, finding a "couple" just goes to show you how rare it is to find a stick.

 

Our problem was finding a black one... And we wanted a 2.2 with no options. Of course, no options on an HHR still has PW, PDL, cruise, A/C, etc. We wanted satin instead of chrome. I didn't want 17" polished wheels because we are going to change them anyway. We didn't want roof bars. And so on... We wanted a blank slate to start customizing from. They were plentiful (other than without roof bars). The problem was black, and apparently outlying dealers who had a black one weren't willing to trade because black is not as common. At least, that is what we have found in Southern CA. After 1 month of searching, the HHR that we bought is the only one that we ever saw that didn't have roof bars. It was just luck that we found it in a black LS.

 

Ironically I did manage to locate a black bare-bones LS 5-speed with not a single option. It was about 150 miles from me, but I did find it.

 

Where are you from in GA? I'm from Dalton originally and will most likely be moving back there in a couple of years. I've only been in CA for about 4 years. Spent 11 years in Nashville before that. It's almost time to come back home... haha

We bought ours about 150 miles from home as well, but it was only about 30 miles from my in-laws that we have been visiting. And I didn't know it until yesterday but it was just a few miles from SoCalHHRs! If I had known, that would have been my first stop! We bought it in Temecula and he is in Murrieta.

 

You are dreaming if you think Chevrolet Customer Service has the "juice" to get a dealer to sell for a better price.

First, it is against federal law.

Second, GM does NOT have the "juice"...dealer national organization is to strong.

Third, it is not their function.

It is to the consumer's advantage to shop around...that is what consumer organizations, BBB, and the Federal Gov. tells you (it is called free enterprise in a capitalistic society).

For example, a dealer 2 miles from me is selling HHR's for sticker plus Dealer Mark-up of $2K with 0% financing. A dealer 10 miles from me is selling them for $200 over Dealer Invoice and the 0% financing. Guess which one my neighbor bought his from!!!!!

Oh....I needed to add that GM Supplier Discount Program is voluntary for the dealer.

 

I agree with most of what you say Snoopy, the part I have a problem with is the fact that the dealer would not tell me where the car I wanted was located. I realize the dealership wants to sell me a car they have on their lot for their profit, but knowing that I wasn't going to "settle" for what they had, there is no reason why they couldn't have told me where the car they located was. A sale is a sale in the eyes of GM.

 

I realize that the original thread poster has found his HHR, but, if anyone else is looking for a 5-speed my local dealer has one. I was by there today (Sunday), it is a white LT with cashmere leather, 17" wheels and side curtain airbags. No sun roof, no roof rack. The dealership is very nice, I have been doing business with them for 25 years. Lynn Layton Chevrolet in Decatur Alabama, 256-353-5531. They also have 2 Spring Editions on the lot.

Later,

 

There have been a couple of dealerships here in Birmingham that were totally worthless.

Check out Dewey Barber Chevrolet. The people are great there!!

My dealer worked with me to make sure I got the HHR I wanted. The salesman that helped me called with a list of HHR's that were available. Found the one that I wanted, and even drove up to Decatur, AL to pick it up.

 

While you may be correct in your assertions, if a customer feels that they have been wronged by a dealer for whatever the reason, the customer should always complain, not only to the dealer, but to the manufacturer. A car dealer, while an independent business, is representing the manufacturer by selling their product and the manufacturer needs to be aware of dealer issues since people often do not separate the dealer from the manufacturer. Nothing ventured nothing gained.