Hi all,

I've lurked on the forums on and off since '09 when I purchased a Black '07 HHR LS, 5 SP. I loved that little bad boy, even though I've driven Pontiac Fireflys that had more pep. Sadly, less than 2 weeks ago and after 145,000 kms, I was T-boned during an icestorm, and the car has been written off. The good news is that now that I have owned a HHR for three years now, I know what I am looking for in one. Realistically, I am looking at a White '07 LT 2.4L 5 speed with 80,000kms, however I admit I have been floating the idea of upgrading to a '08 Black SS, 5 speed with 60,000kms. The difference in price is approx $5K when it's all said and done, but I must admit, am I concerned about the reliability and maintenance costs of the SS, since the warranty is almost up. Any advice? Is the SS more/less reliable than a LT and more/less expensive in upkeep?

Thanks in advance for any help that you all can provide.

Rob

 

What are your winters like? I haven't run snows on mine yet but am not overly excited to drive my SS in the snow. The Goodyear GT's are marginal at best and tires for this car are uber-expensive. Reliability has been fine, I have a 2008 with a hair under 30K. Tons of fun to drive when the weather is mild.

JIm

 

Jim,

Thanks for the response. Our winters are pretty much the same as you have in NY State. Maybe a little more rain, less snow since we're more coastal than you are, but all in all, it's a lot better than it was even 10 years ago. We didn't have snow until January this year, it's been an extremely mild winter. I'd probably run standard 16 or 17" steelies on it during the winter, since there's no way I'd let the chrome rims be eaten alive by road salt.

Rob

 

Can't speak about your weather concerns,but a couple little tidbits to think about.
(1) If the SS has Brembo brakes, 16's wont fit.Some 17's won't fit(clearance issues with the caliper)
(2) SS's have polished and coated aluminum rims:not chrome.
(3) Is it going to be your daily driver?

 

my advice is this,first choose what your plans are. to get right to the point,if you plan on leaving it stock,take it to a chevy dealer and let them update the ecm. that way all the new updates will be fixed. on my 5 speed the only problem i had was the clutch pedal broke and chevy replaced it with a strong bracket. upkeep is a few dollars more due to running synthetic oil and paying more for 93 oct. if you run low octane,the car will not run right. tires are expensive. 225/45 18 is an odd ball size.outside of that,it's been pretty reliable. when it comes to modding,be prepared. the faster you want to go,the more money. forget about warranty. people will say use the gm stage kit to keep warranty...i say bs,but that's my opinion.basic bolt on parts will not hurt or harm the car. my mod list have been error free. no cels(except for my gas cap every now and then) my mods have been there since 08 and i have 50k on the clock.

 

Who cares about reliability, some are, and some need to be bought back. I can't say I have ever heard of a non SS being bought back by GM. On the other hand I have never heard of a 2lt putting down a 13.1 quarter mile, and then picking up a new dishwasher on the way home either. It's all up to what you expect from your HHR. You will need to find your own SS, unless you pry mine out of my cold dead hands.

55k on the ticker.

 

Thanks for the response folks. To answer some of the questions:

The HHR will be left stock. I'm not interested in modding or tuning it. I know a lot of people on here enjoy it, but it's not my cup of tea. The less poking around that gets done, the happier I am. I may do some minor exterior and/or suspension mods, but generally it will be left stock.

ZERO interest in racing it or driving it hard. Never mind the cost of a regular speeding ticket, anything 20mph over the speedlimit will earn you a stunting charge and a minimum $2500 fine and impounding of the car. No thanks. On the other hand, I do want something that can actually accelerate faster than somebody riding a bicycle. Yes, this car is intended to be a daily driver. Nothin' like tooling around in a 260HP grocery getter.

I believe that neither of the HHR SS's that I am considering have the Brembo brakes on them. In fact I know for a fact that one of them doesn't, since it comes with a set of studded winter tires on 16" steelies. Not sure on the other one yet, I'm waiting to hear back from the dealer on the full list of options.

I understand that the SS should be run on hi-octane and synth oil, I'm willing to accept that. My biggest concern is suspension and brake replacement costs vs the LT. Our roads absolutely suck around here, I just spent $1200 a couple of months ago replacing the front struts, strut mounts, tie rod ends and control arms on the LS. I'd hate to find out that the same job on the SS would cost $4K or something stupid like that.

Also, a 3rd SS has popped up on my radar, but that one is an '09. What are the biggest differences between the '08 and '09 models?

Thanks again to everybody for their input.

 

Our roads, here, are just like yours, and the ride of the SS is quite stiff. You'll feel the difference between an LS and an SS. You'll need to test drive an SS, to see if it's to your liking. The SS is a to drive, and if you don't abuse it, it should provide you with years of driving fun.

 

OK. Just my opinion here. If you're roads up there really "suck" as you say, then maybe the SS is not a good car choice. Remember,it has the FE5 suspension which makes for a harsher ride. Throw in bad roads and it will be worse. 6 months down the road you may be wondering why you got the HHR with the stiffest ride.
You might want to consider an LT w/ 2.4 engine. Get a "tune" for it to wake it up, and it might even have those seat warmers(that the SS does not).
Once again,just my opinion here.

 

Thanks. That's the kind of info I am looking for. Our roads don't campare to the autobahn, however they are not as bad as the roads in Quebec. I've ridden in stiff cars before, I could probably get by, escpecially if HHR_SS-QC is managing to survive

What kind of tuning could be done to the 2.4L to get a little extra oomph? Of course a CAI would be a start, but I don't know if that would add much more than 5 or 10HP, correct?