i'll try to make a long story short - i've wanted a hummer h1 for about 8 years now - my obsession with h1's is obscene to say the least - anytime for the last few years anyone has ever asked me about gift ideas foe myself i would say - dont't worry about a bow just wrap the key - now pretty much everyone in my life knows exactly what that means - what i need help with is i am really looking at purchasing an h1 sooner than later - i want to hear from any h1 owners on all aspects of ownership - i.e. expenses, maintanance, insurance, financing, buying used, (duh 06' was the last year) or anything else that would help me out - as far as h2's or 3's on not much of a fan - not that there is anything wrong with them, i guess to each there own, beacuse if everybody liked the same thing i wouldn';t like the h1 - i'm new to the forum but very serious about h1's - any help would be appreciated

Thanks in Advance,

Nick

 

Ownership is great definately the most enjoyable vehicle I have driven. It is my convertible cruiser, my offroad toy, my winter beater, my workhorse truck, and my SUV!!!
As For Expenses I was 23 At the time of purchasing my H1 and I am now 24 at the time of purchase I had 1 at fault accident, 3 speeding tickets, and one claim due to the at fault accident plus i was a male 23 yr old! it was a 1998 and the year was 2006 and my insurance was $670 a month cdn! i know it sucks but now my 3 speeding tickets are off my record and I am now 24 and now my insurance is $435 canadian a month which isnt that bad but still better next year I will be 25 and everything will be off my record hopefully i will get it down to like 200$-300$ range.
As for maintenance my hummer was over 8 years old with over 80k miles on it plus it was in bad shape all together(Damn T.H.E!) so expenses was great about $18,000 CDN so far but my mistake was taking it to the local hummer dealer here which prices are outragous!!! if I would have taken it to Phil the guy to goto if you got an H1 and in southwestern ontario it would have only been like $9-10k. But then again my case was a horror story plus it was abused before I got it and as you can tell in my videos I abuse it as well. If you baby the H1 I am sure all you will need is the A, B and C service when needed because these things are pretty rock solid if treated right As for financing I had a HARD TIME even with OVER 50% down due to the age of myself and the vehicle. Just if you buy use make sure you stand clear of T.H.E(The Hummer Experience) sure some vehicles on there are nice and not being sold by the T.H.E themselves which that is fine but if you buy one from T.H.E themselves dont trust anything they say. Definately scammers. but thats another story.
Also I'd suggest if buying used make sure the engine block is the new AMG block that has the #8 fixer. If that is not possible(due to higher prices of these trucks) you can try the unfixed blocks just make sure they got atleast 40k miles on it because if it does and still hasnt cracks likely hood it wont, if you go to check out one of these vehicles yourself do the coolant pressure check. It will let you know if there is a crack starting how to do it is let the truck run for a min then turn it off and open the coolant reservoir if there is pressure than likely it has a cracked block and the pressure is exhaust leaking into the coolant.
As for which year to go for it is all upto you if you want a street queen get 99 or later with ABS and TT4... id suggest 2002 and up to make sure it has the block fixed. if you want an offroading get a 98 last model year before ABS so BTM is still working and you dont have to worry about ruining ABS or TT4 while dropping it into a mud pit and one less thing to worry about is always good!

 

My advice is to call your insurance company, and get the actual insurance expenses. (You may have to call around just to find one that knows how to give you a price on one of these rigs.) Then figure out what your actual payments will be for the year/model you want, and get pre-approved for your loan if you will need one. Figure another couple of hundred dollars per month to cover fuel, maintenance and unexpected repair costs, and then add it all up to figure out the total monthly cost.

Now open a dedicated Money Market account for your "Truck Fund," and start putting that calculated amount into it every month while you are shopping for your truck - without cheating, skipping a month, putting in less one month, etc - the longer it takes to find the perfect truck, the more you will have as a down payment... and you will know whether or not you can really afford to do it.

In the meantime, do a lot of listening/reading on the Hummer forums. There is a ton of information archived on the web about H1's.

Good luck...

-Manny

 

Hey whats crackin! Im 27 and just bought my first H1, and I love it. Its my dream truck, ive always wanted one so I decided to do it. Mine is a 95 gasser. If you buy this old of a model just be prepared to put some money into it. So far Ive spent Id say around $1500 on it. I had to rear calipers that were bad and a turn signal switch. I try and work on mine as much as possible. Insurace runs me about $170 per month for full coverage. The main thing is shop around, and dont settle for something you dont want. Wait till you find the color, engine type, features you want. I just happen to fine my all black H1 that ive always pictured and it was meant to be. Also look on usedh1.com. thats were I bought mine. The guy is straight up with you and doesnt pull any strings. Good luck!