Time to evaluate my purchase !
 

You know, I bought my H3 because of it's looks and capabilities, but I have to tell you, this vehicle is not going to win any quality awards. I have now had my 2007 H3 for about 6 weeks. Let me give you my rants and raves

Let's start positive !
1. Love the ride, especially the height.
2. I am beginning to get use to the engine and its actually not bad !
3. Probably the best seats I have ever had, both materials and support.
4. I get just as many compliments on this ride as I do my Corvette.
5. On-Star and the hands-free cell phone are super cool !

Now for the negatives.
1. I don't know what jacka$$ is in charge of the painting of these vehicles, but he should be drawn and quartered. BY FAR, the worst paint quality of any vehicle I have ever seen. Drips, Runs, Bubbles, Over-spray, Blemishes, and God-Awful Orange-Peel. Really, this is a poster child for why people have been leaving American cars in droves.

2. The seat-heater button. I'm sure the son of the moron who is in charge of painting these trucks is the one who designed these buttons. First problem is the are located in a bad spot to reach. Second, I have somehow activated this button accidentally over half dozen times...today is about 100 degrees and I did it somehow, I have a nice wet shirt as a reminder. (I thought the vehicle was just hot from being all black and sitting in the sun, so it took me 20 minutes to realize what was going on) Also, why on earth is this the weakest togle switch ever created? It should take some force to turn these on if you are going to place them out of eyesight.

3. Mileage sucks....even more than I had expected. I am getting 15 right now, I am hoping that as the truck wears in, it will get better. I am not expecting 25, but since I drive mainly highway, 18 seems more appropriate.

4. XM Radio. Now this is not the trucks fault, but GM's. XM just plain SUCKS. I have Sirius in my other two vehicles and it is far superior. On top of the suckiness, every other car manufacturer somehow sells their satellite options for less than GM and manages to offer the service free for the first year, not just 3 months. If the merger between XM & Sirius does not go through later this summer, I will be ripping that POS out of my truck. They make a nice Sirius unit that takes its place (internal module, not an external model) For those of you who think XM is good, do yourself a favor and try Sirus for a coupe of weeks.

5. The Stereo in general sucks. It was bad enough that the head-unit does not play MP3's but its relative lack of ability to modify the tone bands is annoying. Both my Durango and Corvette are tons better than this thing.

Well, I'm sure some will disagree, but that is how I see it.
Overall, I am not sure I would buy again....I will have to give it a bit of a longer chance. I still have not had it offroad or in the snow, and that was the primary reason I bought it.....

Re: Time to evaluate my purchase !
 

Snap !!!

My paint is good

I dont have the heated seats

I getting a low of 15 using auto start in winter 16+ around town 17 to 18.7 on hwy trip depending on speed(65 to 85).I could hit 19 easy at 55 but I dont.( I got 15 on a 150 mile trip 20+ miles were ripping around the beach in 4 lock with the AC on.

I got a aftermarket head unit with sirius(i didnt sign up...yet)

the 06 has enough power to do what I do ,if I want to go fast I take out the 442

Very happy overall

Re: Time to evaluate my purchase !
 

:popcorn:

Re: Time to evaluate my purchase !
 

The bad...

First, the paint job sucks a$$. I just tell people that Hummer uses hammerite... just to get a few laughs.

Second, you didn't mention the factory pre-dented rear doors. I have not seen an H3 that didn't have them... and of course, all the paint jobs I have seen have the same orange peel going.

Third, the gas mileage is the worst I have ever seen. I guess this is what you get when you put a 5cyl in a 6 thousand pound vehicle (where are they hiding all that weight?)

Fourth, in my opinion, all factory stereos suck (upgraded or not). The first thing I did was sink 3 or 4 grand into after-market w/ Nav/Sirrius (but I always splurge on the best gear for my ear).

Fifth, only now that I have switched from 87 octane to "premium" does my H3 not lug in drive going up the slightest incline.

The good....

CHICKS DIG IT!!!
:dancingbanana: :dancingbanana: :dancingbanana: :dancingbanana: :dancingbanana:

Re: Time to evaluate my purchase !
 

Paint - should have noticed it when the truck was sitting on the dealer's lot before buying.

Seat-Heater button - should have noticed it when getting in/out of the truck on the dealer's lot before buying.

Mileage - should have noticed it on the sticker in the window when the truck was on the dealer's lot. And anyone with half a brain knows those numbers are optimistic at best.

XM - its an option, nobody forced you to get it.

Radio - should have listened to it when the truck was sitting on the dealer's lot before buying. You also didn't mention which radio you have. The Monsoon is by far the best stock radio I've heard.


Everything you're complaining about you should have noticed before buying, so bew-friggity-hew. :crying: :rolleyes:

Re: Time to evaluate my purchase !
 

LOL....so let me get this straight, you say because I did not go over every inch of the vehicle and notcied the crap paint, it is not really a problem? LOL, OK, whatever. Actually, I bought a black on black and I had 3 identical ones to choose from. the first one I rejected because it had a dented trim piece. The second one I rejected becaused it pulled to the left like it had hit a curb at 40 MPH. So the one I went with was the lesser of the three. I did notice two paint problems prior to driving off the lot, but decided to keep it anyways....the other 6 or 7 spots were found once I gave it its first wax job. So, yeah, if your point was I expect to much out of a $40K truck, you might be right....It may also be the reason there were 60 of them on the lot and I was the only customer.

Mileage. I never stated I wanted it to do something it could not do, but I do expect the mileage to be better between the posted 15 city/ 19Hwy...since I only go Hwy for the most part, asking 17/18 is not unreasonable.

As far as XM being an option, yeah, that is a genius point. Only problem was that every truck on the lot with the Luxo package had XM, so I really did not have a choice if I wanted the other features...very common practice. Also, EVERY truck on my dealers lot had towing....another little cash grab

I have the Monsoon radio, and if that is the best stock radio you have ever heard, I feel deeply sorry for your ears. The Infiniti system in my Dodge blows its doors off as well as the stock system in my 2003 Corvette. I would rank this radio with the stock unit in a cobalt or ford ranger.

But your overall point is valid, I did not have to buy it. Evendently, if you look at Hummer's sales numbers, alot of people are deciding not to.

I still like the truck and plan to keep it, but they could have done MUCH better.

Re: Time to evaluate my purchase !
 

Oh, this is gonna be good! :popcorn: :excited:

Re: Time to evaluate my purchase !
 

Maybe you just wash it too often.:giggling:
http://www.elcovaforums.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=27302

Re: Time to evaluate my purchase !
 

06 20000 miles LUX Pkg Auto

Monsoon super
MPG filled up today 17.24mpg 60% highway
Paint super (but it is YELLOW)
Seat Heater NEVER turned on by itself
Reliability super
Buy again YOU BET YA!

Re: Time to evaluate my purchase !
 

I'm happy with pretty much everything on mine. I got used to the engine strength, it's not too bad after all - I feel that H3 can be actually quite agile; I drive mostly alone and generally without any cargo (but don't see any difference with passengers either)...so it may help, plus I don't worry about gas mileage and I don't hesitate to press the accelerator down anytime if needed - if I worried about gas mileage, I wouldn't buy SUV. I like to drive H3, if has very solid "feel" or how to call it. Although I still didn't take my H3 to the terrain, just knowing that I CAN makes me feel comfortable.

Sound is fine and I like XM radio, definitely better then FM. Stereo in wife's Lexus sedan is much better, but I don't really care.

Paint job looks fine to me, and I purchased the teflon coating when I bought H3. Don't have heated seats or power seats, and got used to awkward placement of window control panel. On-Star satellite phone is a good feature, I don't own cell phone and it is nice to have communication device built into the vehicle for occasional use.

My only gripe is that I think that I'm slightly tilted towards the driver's side, about 1/2" ( I measured some time ago); I saw posts about this and I decided to ignore it - some days it seems more noticeable, other days I don't see it; weird. I also don't like how much we paid for the car ($40k+ plus tax, because unneeded installed overpriced options) - it was wife's impulse buying decision, and so the dealer scored a big time - oh well, live & learn..next time I'm going to negotiate myself.

Overall, I'm pleased with H3 - very cool car, probably best I had to date. So far everything is working OK, touch wood. Got some 1200+ miles since purchased in April '07.

Re: Time to evaluate my purchase !
 

Is there anyone that owns an H3 that doesn't own a Corvette,BMW,Rolls Royce,Ferrarri,Lotus or some other multi-million dollar vehicle??This all seems like a lot of "bull" to me.

Re: Time to evaluate my purchase !
 

Here's mine if you are questioning me....

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and the H3 of course

[IMG][/IMG]

Re: Time to evaluate my purchase !
 

I havent noticed any paint issues with my 07 or my wifes 07. The heated seat problem I can attest to. I figured it out with my entry and exit of the vehicle. if you "sit" on the edge to get in or out the seat flexes and pushes the toggle switch. I changed the way i get into the vehicle and havent done it since. Took about 4/5 times getting a hot seat before i figured it out. My wife did it too. She was used to sliding out of the seat and letting her weight rest on the edge before she got out. As to the stereo...I have the Monsoon also and have enjoyed it. Maybe I have never experienced and Infinity or Blaupaunkt or any other high end stereo, but I have enjoyed mine and am happy with it.
I have read many different threads about different things wrong that people didnt like, from the "dented" doors to paint issues, engine speed/power, etc. etc. But you know...I love my Hummer, regardless of any faults it may have or whether or not it cant do this or that. I think its a great machine, I love its look and the way it rides. Not everything is perfect and not everyone can be pleased. But I have to say this Arizona boy is happy and content with his ride and will enjoy it till the end.:)

Re: Time to evaluate my purchase !
 

By the way Mr Snappy, that is a great looking Hummer you have there. Hope it wins you over some day.

Re: Time to evaluate my purchase !
 

looks like 2 different driveways to me

Re: Time to evaluate my purchase !
 

mine use to lean toward the left as well, i took it into the dealership and they adjusted it and everything no fee no problem.

Re: Time to evaluate my purchase !
 

thanks for the tip - sounds like a good idea then; I think that I'll call dealer next week and let them check it out. I saw some posts where people said that they got it adjusted but it reappeared later again; your's still holds perfectly straight?

Re: Time to evaluate my purchase !
 

I don't own any other vehicle then the H-3... can't afford too.

did own a 58 caddy but no more

Re: Time to evaluate my purchase !
 

a 58 caddy :jump: yea those get some great mileage too !!!!!

and whats with the dude that hasnt worn his paint off yet ??? :giggling: :giggling:

Re: Time to evaluate my purchase !
 

It won me over from the beginning and I plan on keeping it, but just bringing up some of its shortcomings for discussion. It's amazing how many owners can't be honest about their vehicles problems or design flaws, it's like you are questioning their manhood or something.

I appreciate your post about the seat switch, I use the same method for getting in and out because I don't have nerf bars of steps. I will try another method going forward. Thanks :beerchug: