I wanted to start a thread to read what other people went through when deciding to look in to the HHR, what research they did before purchase, and how you went about bringing one home. I wanted to read other's stories because mine was a memorable one, and I am a post-nut and like to type.

I am an active member and moderator on a message board pertaining to my one of my other cars. Those cars have a following much like the HHR's do, except their following almost requires some explanation because not many people would consider a Lincoln Mark VIII a car to go gag-ga over. they are nice, fast, cheap, have gadgets, and are easy to work on/modify for better perfoamance...but lets face it...they were not designed as such a toy initally.

But back to the HHR. I was actually looking for a sports car. many friends drive and race Mazda Miatas...they are excellent little toys to tinker with, a blast to drive, and DIRT CHEAP to own/tinker with. But I was getting frustrated...I couldnt find "the" Miata for me.(I was being picky, and set up some strict criteria).

After MONTHS of searching randomly I was very frustrated. dealers would budge on price, and private sellers were full of deceipt. So, frustrated, I just broadened my SEARCH paramters one day on a local dealer's website hoping to maybe find SOMETHING ELSE.

BOOM. There it was. a Sunburst Orange 2007 HHR LS. I was shocked to see it priced so low. I thought for sure they were more expensive. So I looked online and found several more for the same price. I emailed my insurance agent whom I knew had a black HHR...but never looked "in to" one as a candidate. I loved them, but they were not in my cross-hairs....until now.

The dealer with the "copper" one set it aside for me to drive, and when I told my Girlfriend about it, she went to their website and saw it. She loved it. So, when I got to the dealer, they had it set aside alright...out back..completely un-washed...it didnt even appear to be FOR SALE, yet the interior(black) was spotless...I was disgusted. brake dust on the wheels...dried mud all along the rocker panels...how could they? The pictures on their site were beaming with shine/bling....

I was very disappointed. My GF tells me they have 2 at her dealership up the street...silver...I thought...hmmm...I dont know if I want a silver one. She then tells me one has the roof rack, chrome dress up, nicer wheels, sunroof, etc.

end of a LONG post...I went...I bought it...it's dark silver...and it's ALL MINE!!!!

lets hear yours?

 

I own a 1983 Mercury Marquis Brougham wagon with the wood grain sides and roof rack and all the goodies that Father Ford blessed it with. I also had a 95 Escort. In three weeks the Escort cost over $600 to repair for various problems. The exhaust then fell off and I says "that's it!", this car has got to go. Not having a lot of money, I asked my boss to keep a look out for cheap but reliable cars that my GF can drive. He says his wife has an HHR that she loves and I should look into buying a new car, specifically the HHR. After perusing web sites about them, I decide to see if I can get Holz Chevy to approve my loan app for one. I talk to the sales guy at Holz and tell him about what I do as side businesses outside my regular job (I'm a mobile DJ). He says wait, I'll go get one that's perfect. After a bit, he returns with an HHR with no windows...a panel! I had not seen these...it's perfect! So know I own the neatest Imperial Blue panel.

 

My story goes as such:

On a lonely sunday afternoon in September I was napping/watching golf and I woke up to catch the tail end of a chevy commercial which showed a snapshot of, what I later found out to be, an HHR. Later on that afternoon, after my nap, I went online to try to find what I saw. I found the HHR on the GM Canada website and priced one out. It looked interesting and had some good options so I applied for GMAC pre-approval and got that right away. Monday at work I called the dealer that I had previously picked up an Impala from and he did not have any HHR's and wasn't sure when they were going to come in. So I called the dealer a couple blocks down from my office and he said he had three. So I left early that day and went down to check them out. These were the first three delivered to Calgary and the first two were sitting on the lot sold to salesmen or other people at the dealership. The third one was in the system but noone had actually seen it. I was later told that it was still on the truck and that's why nobody knew where it was. They let me take one for a spin and I drove up to my friends place. My friends thought it was cool and I went back to the dealership to talk about price. I left with a quote and with the car info sheet and called them back on Tuesday to put a deposit on the third HHR they had. I signed the papers on Wednesday and picked up the HHR, after ditching out on some classes, on Friday afternoon.

I parked it in the driveway in front of my moms garage spot and she woke me up on Saturday morning asking whose car that was. I told her it was mine and she just laughed. She thought someone spend the night or let me borrow their car but than I showed her the papers and she thought I was crazy for buying a new car.

That's my story.

 

I had a beautiful 2005 Harley Heritage Softail Classic sitting in garage doing nothing. One day I got thinking that seeing as I only put a few miles on the Harley each summer and I have to pay for it all winter, maybe I should be getting something that I can drive year around. I had looked at a few HHRs in the past and had decided that if I ever owned one it would be an Orange one. Unfortunately no one around here had one.....Then one day I drove by a dealership, and the he was...PeeWee was sitting there with a lonely look on his face (front end). I looked a little closer and it had my name all over it. The rest is history, I traded the Harley for PeeWee.......We've been partners ever since.......

 

My minivan had turned 8 years old and passed 100,000 miles and I didn't know how much longer it would last. In early June '06, I saw one of the first commercials advertising the HHR. I think it was the one with the flying OSM one. I went to a dealer and test drove one but wasn't sure about my finances and what I could afford. I hadn't made a car payment in a few years. Two weeks later GMAC offered 0% financing and I took that as as sign. I applied for financing online and was approved in hours. There weren't many to chose from back then but I'm happy with my choice. The sandstone color is growing on me each day. I just wish the interior was a different color.

I was one of the first in town to own an HHR and often got strange looks and lots of questions. Now I see several HHRs every day as I drive around town. I found this website while looking for better floor mats and other items. I wish I had found it earlier and had the benefit of all the advise posted here. I'm still a very satisfied HHR owner.

 

We really liked our Sunfire and it worked very well as a “toad” and tows four wheels down very well behind our motorhome. Our Sunfire has the 2.2 L engine and was very responsive and is a peppy little car.

Pat’s neck surgery Anterior Cervical Discectomy with Fusion, at level C5, C6 and C7 “ACDF” with titanium plate and 6 screws. Prompted me to purchase new Koni shocks for the motorhome and the new “toad” Chevrolet HHR for a better ride, ease of access getting in and out (the Sunfire was getting more difficult you had to fall into it and climb out). We like the height of the HHR seats off the floor. She is 12 weeks post op and wears the neck brace just when we are out driving just for protection in case of quick stop or accident. With her increased sensitivity she thought the ride of the motorhome was great with the new Koni shocks, very much improved from the old ride.

The other reason we are traded is that Pat really-really liked the Chevy HHR ever since the first time she saw it in 2006, so we ordered our new 2008 HHR.

Pat is really happy she has her “bowtie” back. Her GMC YukonXL was a substitute for a Chevrolet Suburban back in 2001. The GMC dealer gave us a better trade in value on her 1996 Chevy Tahoe.

 

I was sitting in a parking lot a couple years ago, with my car club, getting ready to go to a show and a guy drove up in a NEW black HHr. i had never seen one before. he said he got his before the dealerships had them in the showroom. it was BEAUTIFUL.
i looked it over, sat in it(owner told me to sit in it and get comfortable lol).
was really inpressed on the looks compared to the PT cruiser.

i told myself i would love to own one, but would never get the chance.

couple months ago i got a promotion and decided to get a new"er" car.
i looked in the paper and saw a silver HHr LS for $10k. i stopped in after work and looked it over. next day i came back and took it for a drive. fell in love with it. salesman said to take it over night and think about it. came back that next day and signed the papers.

 

I have a very bad habit of browsing car lots and going home with something. Chris and I were out cruising the lots and came across the HHR's. We weren't really thinking of a new car but liked how it looked. The salesman said to take it home overnight. After driving it for awhile we both felt it was a good compromise to one of the vehicles we were currently driving (a Chrysler Crossfire). I had recently lost my job and the brand new HHR was still cheaper to own than the Crossfire. Took it back the next day and drove home with it

 

I drove one when I drove through a car lot and saw it there, I really liked it so I came home , found this Forum, did a lot of research and figured with the miles I drive I could save at least $160 a month on gas and my insurance would go down compared to my 04 Chevy Colorado. I drove one with a sunroof and decided that was a must. I then asked our local Chevy dealer to find me one and gave them a list of colors and options etc. I have to say that they exceeded my expectations when they found me my Premiere Edition with only 4000 miles. The only problem is the shi**y weather prevents me from keeping it clean for more than a few minutes as I drive at least 120 miles a day for work.

 

Well here is our story we had a 96' Astro van with tons of miles and was constantly in the shop. I began looking at cars on line and really wanted the orange dodge caliber but Jason kept saying we couldn't afford it. So after picking up the van from the shop again, I told him there was a 06' Grand AM at the Chevy lot up the street for 6000 we could afford I had already been aproved for a auto loan for more than twice that much. He says lets go look at it. We get there and there is the Sunburst Orange HHR, he see me look at it and says is that what you want? my reply YES YES YES and we signed the papers and drove it home. And have been very happy with it. He still would like to know if his scaffold will fit in the back of a Panal for himself!