Chevy HHR

[PapaSmurf2k3]

So my dad has a Saturn wagon for work usage. He travels something like 60 miles per day and the gas prices on his Tundra were killing him. He bought the saturn last year and it paid for itself in ~5 months.
Anyway, the saturn he has isn't really comfortable enough (he's got back problems) and its bare bones. No power windows and cruise control. He needs a wagon for moving lumber, sheetrock, all sorts of big stuff on a daily basis.

He looked at a 2010 HHR at the local chebby dealership yesterday and said it was pretty comfy. I guess it gets pretty good gas mileage too... not quite on par with the Saturn, but still way better than the truck. Does anyone have any experience with an HHR, or relatives/friends? Did they like/dislike it? Any known GM style issues?

[VQpwrdSE-R]

My friend has an SS HHR. This is actually copied and pasted from the poor design thread I posted in.

The "chopped top" made 6 "3 me feel like a gorilla and I know it blocked his view of traffic lights in the city. ( I actually tried to view the light through the sunroof)
Although I didn't drive it, the 5spd transmission sounded like a POS. not the transmission itself but rather the shift lever and archaic noises it made as he shifted. ( he knows how to drive stick no grinding, just cheap sounding components
The dash was fully plastic with shorty overlaying panels with GM's 10 yr outdated green backlit display in 8 bit fashion on the stereo.

Hopefully your dad isnt over 6 ft tall with neck problems. Because if he doesn't, he will. The ergonomics of the cockpit are compromised by the chopped top and is enough for me to not want it due to comfort issues.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Nope, about 5'10. Not sure if he'd be going manual or autotragic. I'm assuming auto. I bet the manuals are pretty rare what with America being the fat lazy Americans they are and whatnot.

[Jesda]

The Ecotec 4 is a dependable motor. Opel, Saab, and Lotus had a hand in its development.

I heard there were issues with suspension wear since its a tall, heavy wagon built on a compact car platform.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Any idea how bad the issues were? I imagine there's some aftermarket fix out there once the OE equipment goes out. Just the dampers right? Not like, blowing through bushings or anything...

[MinisterofDOOM]

HHR is based on the Cobalt. Which is a mediocre but not bad car. Only major issue I'm aware of the suspension problem Jesda mentioned.

If he needs it solely for transport, there's a panel wagon version. No rear seats or window, just a big flat floor. Still has four doors but the rears only open from the inside.

You could get them with the Cobalt's turbo 2.0 ecotec, too. 260hp.

I think what he really needs to do is change the first two letters of the car and get an SSR. Truck. Bed. Ladder frame. V8. Folding hardtop. WTF? Win.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

He used to like the SSRs, but they were quite pricey. Not to mention fuel economy/comfort is sort of the name of the game here. I had no idea you could get them in panel wagon and/or 2.0 turbo. Fascinating.

[Jesda]

Any idea how bad the issues were? I imagine there's some aftermarket fix out there once the OE equipment goes out. Just the dampers right? Not like, blowing through bushings or anything...

Stabilizer bar links and bushings
Struts

Nothing serious but they make a bunch of annoying noises.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Bah, child's play. Thanks for the heads up.

[nissangirl74]

Greg's brother had one. In his words, they were quite possibly the worst vehicle Chevy ever built. Hated, hated, HATED it. If you want more details, I'll get them for you but I thought that pretty much summed it up.

[AZhitman]

The reviews were not kind, and IIRC, they were even eliminated from rental fleets in short order.

There are better options out there. If he's thinking he'll put "lumber and sheetrock" in an HHR regularly, he's in for a not-so-pleasant surprise. It's a car.

Why not a small pickup with a shell / hard tonneau?

[Gold Digger]

Late 80's to mid 90's Chevy S10 Extended cab long bed. Problem solved.

Friend of mine had one for about 14 years. Used it for his normal job working for a building contractor Mon-Fri, and used it for hauling his guitar amps/equipment Fri-Saturday. Had the 2.5L 4 cylinder with manual. He babied it, regular maintenance, and kept all his service records. He spent maybe $1000 in parts on the entire time he had it. Did 98% of the work himself, sans some work that needed to be done on the head and rear end. When he sold it, it had close to 230k miles. Always fired right up first try.

He said on the highway, he could get anywhere between 25-30MPG. City was a bit worse as there were lots of streets that had an over abundance of signals, so it was a lot of stop and go.

With the extended-cab, you can actually recline the seats back a bit instead of being limited to the back wall of the single cab.

I also had a 1994 S10 Blazer and loved it. It had the 195HP 4.3L Vortec CPI engine and was 4WD, got crappy milage but had cruise, cold A/C, 6-way power drivers seat, power locks/windows. Hands down on of the all around best vehicles I have ever owned. Only part I ever had to replace on it was the alternator. When I bought it, it had 108k on the ODO. I sold it 3 years later before I moved here and it had 125k and still ran like a champ.

[mmkeller]

I rented one back in 2010 in FL, found it to be a hunk of junk, cheap materials and handled terribly.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

If you want more details, I'll get them for you but I thought that pretty much summed it up.

Yeah I wouldn't mind more details so he can look into the items if/when he goes and looks at it again.

Like I said, he's already got a truck, and uses that when he needs it. He doesn't need another truck. He wants something essentially just like his current saturn wagon, only with more comfort (power windows, locks, cruise control, etc). The HHR is a viable replacement for the saturn in terms of versatility, etc. Paying money up front now for better ergonomics saves him on back surgery later (which he's already had twice).

[Jesda]

What's a used Kia Soul going for? It has some of the same issues -- a tall wagon built on a small car platform, but the style and interior are nicer.

[frapjap]

Honda Element would do all of the required tasks pretty well. AND he could mess up the interior as needed and hose it out.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

What's a used Kia Soul going for? It has some of the same issues -- a tall wagon built on a small car platform, but the style and interior are nicer.

He test drove one of those and said the drivetrain was great, however he didn't like the seats (IIRC). I don't know if they've changed over the years at all though, maybe older seats were better for him?

Honda Element according to fueleconomy.gov and other sources put it at around 20mpg city, 25 highway. Not enough.

[zacmil]

So what kind of fuel economy is he looking for?

Has he thought about a mini van? My parents have a 2001 Caravan, and it is a fantastic vehicle. The seats are incredibly comfortable, it has plenty of bells and whistles, it drives and handles like a car, and, being a mini van, there is tons of space. Their van has the 3.3l V6 and it's nearly indestructible. I was actually just driving it just this past weekend and noticed that it's sitting at like 199,xxx miles and the only repairs we've ever made were for just regular wear and tear items. In the way of fuel economy, it's rated at something like 22-25mpg highway, but, in my experience, this is a tad on the low side. I've driven it quite a bit over the years and I've always seemed to get in the upper 20s while driving mostly on the interstate and rural county roads.

Another option he may want to consider would be the Mazda 5. I'm pretty sure that it's rated at somewhere around 26-28mpg.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

So what kind of fuel economy is he looking for?

My guess is ~32 MPG minimum. He's also been looking at old Mercedes diesel wagons. I think his best bet might just be to get another saturn with power windows & locks and cruise, and I could just swap in a different seat for him.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Clearly he needs a Subaru Brat, or an old diesel Rabbit pickup.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

diesel Rabbit pickup.

That would probably work well! Unfortunately he's in the rust belt and I'm fairly certain all those pickups are long gone. Hell, Toyota replaced the frame on his Tundra a few years ago because it was beyond rotted out. It didn't even last 10 years.

[Jesda]

Mazda 5 is a good suggestion. Neal bought one a few months ago (in Japan) and seems to like it a lot.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Mazda 5 can be had with a manual transmission.
MANUAL TRANSMISSION!

Hell, Toyota replaced the frame on his Tundra a few years ago because it was beyond rotted out. It didn't even last 10 years.

That's not the rust-belt's fault. Tundras and current-gen Tacomas have severe frame rust problems. There are recalls for it. Tundras would find a way to rust in the Gobi.

[AZhitman]

Old VW pickups? Know anyone who lives in AZ? Problem solved.

The Element makes sense, so does the S10. I'm not buying the Saturn getting those kind of MPG's, but people who like a certain car are a little more lenient on them - which I understand completely.

Realistically, even the early Caravan makes sense. I see early 90's models out here with 50K miles on them, and the 4-cyl got stellar FE.

[300ZXttZMAN]

The whole point is to save money on fuel yet be comfortable right? Right.

So I agree with with the element to a certain extent but its going to cost a little so it kinda out weights the gains although its a pretty stout machine. The S10 pickup is a great choice parts are plentiful and they are simple plain ole fasion pick-ups...

James - What does your dad do for a living?

[PapaSmurf2k3]

My dad used to be a business owner. He owned a bike shop (pedal bikes), but cashed in his chips a few years ago when he took his first sick day in something like 23 years when he discovered he needed back surgery and would be out of commission for a month or 2. Conveniently he got an offer on the business at the same time.

Now he's sort of a slum lord. With all the cash he made on the sale of the business, he decided to capitalize on Rhode Island's absolutely horrendous and crumbling economy. He bought/buys a bunch of foreclosed upon houses with cold straight cash, fixes them up, rents them out and/or sells them.

Anyway, I talked to him today. He axed the HHR idea in favor of a Scion Xb. It was about 4.5 grand cheaper (he got it for about 6 grand) and said it drove better. He hasn't been through an entire tank of gas yet but says he's gone about 200 miles and still has more than half a tank (11.9 gallon tank). Not too shabby. Also, he confirmed that when he's hauling ply wood and sheet rock, he uses the truck. The Xb and saturn did duty as general tool haulers, as well as light building materials like 2x4s, etc. I'll do a review next time I go home.