Getting ready to buy...need tips, dealer experiences, cautions..

[sheag]

So I'm getting ready to buy my H2 and I'm nervous about the whole experience and what to expect. I live in Hawai'i, but I'm staying with friends in the Seattle-area for the primary purpose of test-driving and ordering/buying my Hummer here and then it will be shipped to Hawai'i. I've gone to a few dealerships and taken test drives. I've been treated better than I expected as I'm female and I didn't expect so many women to be buying the H2, but it turns out a lot of us are! I very naively expected that I was going to be able to buy one off the lot, but the inventory here is at most places extremely limited. I would really like a Sunset Orange with Adv Pkg and sunroof. I'm not excited about having to wait for a custom order, but I will if necessary. My concern is that several of the dealerships are selling these cars at more than a little above MSRP. Am I foolish to think that I should be able to get one for MSRP? I notice that on eBay many H2s are selling for MSRP and slightly under. Should I expect to pay a premium in order to get one off the lot if I find what I'm looking for?

Any experiences, advice, opinions welcome. Thanks, I've been lurking for some time and very much enjoy the conversations.

Shea

[sheag]

So I'm getting ready to buy my H2 and I'm nervous about the whole experience and what to expect. I live in Hawai'i, but I'm staying with friends in the Seattle-area for the primary purpose of test-driving and ordering/buying my Hummer here and then it will be shipped to Hawai'i. I've gone to a few dealerships and taken test drives. I've been treated better than I expected as I'm female and I didn't expect so many women to be buying the H2, but it turns out a lot of us are! I very naively expected that I was going to be able to buy one off the lot, but the inventory here is at most places extremely limited. I would really like a Sunset Orange with Adv Pkg and sunroof. I'm not excited about having to wait for a custom order, but I will if necessary. My concern is that several of the dealerships are selling these cars at more than a little above MSRP. Am I foolish to think that I should be able to get one for MSRP? I notice that on eBay many H2s are selling for MSRP and slightly under. Should I expect to pay a premium in order to get one off the lot if I find what I'm looking for?

Any experiences, advice, opinions welcome. Thanks, I've been lurking for some time and very much enjoy the conversations.

Shea

[Big Z]

Four Hummers were bought by a local dealer (not Hummer) on a thursday last week, ALL sold by saturday for 65k each. Another dealer had 1. They would not test drive, or allow it to be sat in, It sold. MSRP-It will be cool if you do! But Don't count on it, Buyers are standing in line! [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img]

[SJ]

sheag:

First, welcome. Second, you should be able to land a deal at MSRP, but it depends on where you buy.

Be patient and order the options you want. I was #3 on my local dealer's waiting list and I had the opportunity to take one of the first H2s coming in - wee! Only one problem (or three to be exact): I did not want the brush guard, moon roof, nor side steps and the H2 coming to the dealer had all of these options. If I had been patient, I would've placed an order on a vehicle that wasn't loaded and pocketed the savings.

Let us know how it goes.

[Klaus]

I bought mine right off the lot at MSRP. What I did was to go to www.gmbuypower.com and build my H2. When I was finished, I used the option to contact all 4 dealers in the Atlanta area to let them know what I was looking for.

One dealer, Hummer of Union City GA, emailed me and said they had the truck on the lot. I dropped by the next day after lunch, and drove it away that evening.

They changed out the steps for tubes, and changed out the standard grill guard for the larger unit.

The only problem I had was a couple of bad relays in the underhood fuse box. One controlled the high-beam headlights. It was a little touch and go the first time I switched on the high beams at night on a lonely road at speed!

Here is the info on Hummer of Union City GA:

HUMMER of Union City
4100 Jonesboro Road
Union City, GA 30291
Phone 770-306-6000
Email wpb1996@aol.com
Fax 770-306-6020


They are located just South of Atlanta. I bought mine 10/30/02, and they had about 30 on the lot.
Might be worth a call!

[MAC]

Have not look at eBay recently, but I remembered many final bid prices did not meet the reserve, no sale. The prices I have seen were higher than MSRP. Everything is possible, but have not heard of any Hummer below MSRP.

There is nothing stupid about paying a little extra to get a Hummer, 50" thin TV, diamond ring, Rolex, latest video game or hot tickets NOW, how much extra is depending on your wallet and how much you want it. You got the money and you want it now, why not? I know some people who do it often, I don't see them crying, in fact, strangely, they get richer and richer.

Personally I would not compromise on the color, you have to look at it for many years to come.

[JJ]

I ordered mine 8 weeks ago, still another 4 weeks til delivery. Since the moonroofs are limited, the likelihood of finding the color and the moonroof in the same combination is probably slim however some of the larger dealers have better selection. You're going to spend a significant amount of money so my advice is get what you want even if it means waiting a little extra time - order it if you have to. You should have no problem finding a dealer who will provide it for MSRP, expecially if you order it. And don't forget about trying some of the Hummer Only dealers.

good luck,
JJ

[Zing]

My advice is to order exactly what you want even if you have to wait a few months. This is a beautiful vehicle that you will be driving for a while and you shouldn't compromise. And if a dealer is pricing over MSRP, go to another. Many on this site have gotten free or discounted accessories, not that you should expect that, but you shouldn't expect to pay more. And if you happen to find and H2 on the lot that you like, even better.

Welcome to the forum and best of luck!

[MAC]

Did you read that? 30 HUMMERS ON THE LOT!
What does that mean? If they are really hot sellers, you don't have 30 Hummers on the same lot, that is a lot of inventory of one vehicle and a lot of interest cost. If you have 30 on the lot, you will sell them at a discount if you have to. The key is to keep inventory on hand for as short of time as possible. Think of the logistic and the business side of 30 Hummers on the lot. Sorry, I could not help it to count the beans. Numbers don't match.

[Zing]

Where did you read 30 on the lot, Mac?

[JJ]

Maybe those 30 Hummers are part of a drop shipment headed to US Army - our boys could use a more comfortable ride from time to time...

JJ

[MAC]

The dude H2 4X4 said at the bottom of his post:

"They are located just South of Atlanta. I bought mine 10/30/02, and they had about 30 on the lot. Might be worth a call!"

[Klaus]

It's no lie... They had that many. I haven't been back since, so I can't tell you what they have now. I can tell you that they had every color at the time. They are also a Saturn dealer. What a contrast!

They told me that they had driven a few of them to Atlanta Motor Speedway to show them.

I'll be back there in a few days to pick up some locking lug nuts, and the service manual on CD, so I'll take a look and see what has happened since I bought mine. I live about 30 miles away.


Klaus

[Klaus]

One other thing... I don't know how long they are staying on the lot. I bought mine 10/30/02, and it has a build date of 10/02 on the door sticker!

Klaus

[HeeHaw]

You will get one at MSRP. Don't rush it. Visit Sunny Southern California and I can take you to 3 dealers that will sell at MSRP.

One dealer has several. not 30, but several to select from. The other 2 dealers have a few, maybe 3-5 to pick from at all times. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img]

Hee

[HummerGirl]

You can always check the inventories online through Hummer to see who has what on their lots.

~amy
Reality is merely a crutch for those with a broken imagination.~anon.

http://www.CelestialBath.com

[Texas Red]

Gimme a link Hummergirl. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img] I tried www.hummer.com and couldn't find any inventory info.

Jim
Red H2 in Texas

[Hummie2]

H2 4X4...

Tell me more about the service manual on CD. When I inquired at a dealer they said their CD covered the whole GM line. It is a subscription that is updated every quarter and is pretty expensive. They did direct me to Helm Publication for H2 service manual. Helm says the manuals are still in printing and are not available yet. I would rather have the manual on a CD if they can be had.

Don

[OLE YLLR]

WELCOM TO THE FORUM I DON'T KNOW IF YOU FEEL LIKE TRAVELING, BUT I WAS JUST LOOKING AT THE INVENTORY AT PASADENA HUMMER AND THEY HAVE 3 SUNSET ORANGE H2,S. YOU MIGHT E-MAIL THEM TO FIND OUT WHAT THEY ARE EQUIPPED WITH. GOOD LUCK OLE YLLR. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img]

[Klaus]

Don,

Like you, I called Helm. They had no idea when it would be available, and gave me Hummer's phone number to call. I called Hummer, they put me on hold, called the dealer, then transferred me to the dealer after they had talked them.

The dealer says he has ordered the CDs, but they have not yet come in. I'll post an update when they come in.

On my own, I discovered that folks are selling the si-2000 CDs on Ebay. They have, as you say, all the GM service info. I bought a set on Ebay for $35, and it does have Hummer info. Unfortunately, the CDs appear to be issued every 2 weeks, and GM's web site has an update patch that comes out between CD updates. The patch will only work on the latest CD release, so without getting the latest CDs, the info will get old. BTW, the GM site is http://service.gm.com/


Klaus