Category: Chevrolet

Two years ago I was pleasantly surprised to learn about the 260 hp Chevrolet HHR SS unicorn and wrote about it here. Was even more surprised when a blog reader bought it! Well, here’s another one with lower miles and a higher price, but it comes with a five speed manual transmission. And 2010 was the last year for the HHR. The HHR forums suggest there were 916 HHR SS’s sold in 2010, and not a lot of them with manual transmissions.

The SS also included launch control and no-lift shifting for the manual transmission model, should you be so inclined, and while fun not necessarily fast at 6.5 seconds to 60 mph. I would have expected better for a 3,100 lb vehicle. Gone is the boost gauge in the A pillar that was in the 2008 model. Here’s the review from Car and Driver’s 2009 piece.

This car is damned clean with only 28,000 miles in 10+ years on New Hampshire roads. It’s a one owner, accident free car. It sold new for north of $26,000 and may not be a huge bargain at $16,998. But throw MaxCare in and you’ll be out the door for $20,000 with bumper to bumper coverage for another 125,000 miles until it’s 16 years old! Could be fun and not a lot of HHR SS models out there, and few in this condition. Find it here in Westborough, Massachusetts.

In November 2018 I wrote about a 2008 Chevrolet HHR SS and was pleasantly surprised to find that one of the readers here bought it.  At the time I wrote that I didn’t know these HHR SS’ were a thing, and was impressed by the pretty good 2008 car magazine reviews of this sporty little wagon.  Check these out; Car and Driver, Motor Trend, Road and Track, and even Popular Mechanics.

The HHR SS was only made for two years, and with a 2.0l 260 hp turbocharged four and “race-tuned” suspension, it was more than just an appearance package.  Not a rocket, but more oomph than a regular HHR and a bit of a unicorn.  The last one I wrote about sold for just under $14,000 with lower miles, and at $9,899 and 66,000 miles this one looks like a bargain.  The Chevrolet HHR SS sold new for about $24,000.  Of course, buy some MaxCare that will protect you until this car is an incredible 17 years old! This 2008 Chevrolet HHR SS is here, near me in Charlottesville, Virginia.  Tempting.  Also, at the bottom of this page is a link to another HHR SS in the CarMax “Coming Soon” section of their website.  Not as good of a deal though.  Also in the for what it’s worth category, there are only 18 of these on Autotrader nationwide, all very high mileage except for one in Hampton, Virginia with similar miles for $2,000 less – but not MaxCare eligible.   There is one for twice the price with an astonishing 6,500 miles.  Oddly, it’s in Eldersburg, Maryland – putting all three cars within my reach.  An omen?

Continue reading “Quick Hit – Another Chevrolet HHR SS for Cheap. (And One More Coming Soon)”

Always a skeptc when it comes to adding “SS” to a car name (like “GT”).  Sometimes they are badass like the Camaro SS and of course, the Aussie-Chevrolet SS, and sometimes they are just badges – like the Cobalt SS.  Was doing a search for 10 year old unicorns with low miles and came across this 2008 Chevrolet HHR SS.  On a lark I opened this page and was intrigued by the the retro wagon look, burnt orange color, low price and low miles.  Wondered about the SS part, especially since CarMax has it listed as 0 hp and 0 torque, and searched for reviews.   Pleasantly surprised they are almost all positive.  Check these out; Car and Driver, Motor Trend, Road and Track, and even Popular Mechanics.   The HHR had a five year production run but the SS was only sold from 2008-2010.  Yes, there were hundreds of thousands of base HHR’s sold, but the SS only represented a small percentage of sales (5%?).  Me thinks it was Chevrolet’s answer to the PT Cruiser that sold for 10 years.

The engine is the 2.0 liter turbo with 260hp, shared with the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky before they went belly up, and the suspension has been tuned to handle far better than a vanilla HHR.  Even has a boost gauge in the A-pillar like the kids have!  The mid-six second 0-60 mph time ain’t that impressive and yet the reviewers all seem to dig this box.  So do I.  I’m trying to resist calling my son in Portland and asking him to go get it for me.  If none of you do in the next 24 hours I just might.  Make a nice little commuter vehicle for me!

The car sold for about $24,000 in 2008.  There are 59 of these on Car Guru right now, almost all cheaper, and almost all have tons of miles.  Only one has less miles at this price.  Oddly, it’s an hour away from me.  But it wouldnt have the coveted MaxCare warranty to keep this 11 year old car in free repairs until it’s a 16 year old car.  That’s special.

Check this out – it’s a one-owner car and was originally sold in Florida, spent some time in California, and is now in Washington.  If I bring it to the East Coast it will have done its own One Lap of America.  Find it here in Tacoma, Washington.  If the link is dead the car is sold, on hold, or being transferred (to me!).