New Member, not owner yet

Hello all, I have been investigating new vehicles for the past month and all the different forums have great information for their vehicles.  I do have a few questions for some of the owners, not sure if I should post them here or in the H3 forum, which is the model I am looking at?
 
Look forward to getting more information from here.
 
Rekud

Welcome Rekud!  You can ask your questions in this thread if you'd like.  We'll cut you a break since you are an aspiring Hummer owner!
 
Post away

Welcome to the forums, ask away.

Looking at the H3 LUX package obviously the I5. 
 
Do more people purchase or lease?  Right now with employee pricing, I think they are giving me a great lease deal.
 
39 month, 39,000 miles. $400/month. 
 
Does the Monsoon sound system make that much of a difference to the standard? 
 
Why doesn't the Hummer have an Aux jack for the stereo?
 
With wife and 3 kids, on long trips say for camping, is the storage area to small to hall everything you need.  By the way it's all tent camping.  Seems like it could be a tight squeeze in the cargo area.
 
I did test drive one.  The dealership is around one of the busiest rush hour areas around and was only able to take on a few side streets.  Probably going back on Saturday to take out on the freeway.
 
I am sure I will have more questions as they come up.  I appreciate the quick responses.  Better than some other forums I have visited of other vehicles I have looked at.
 
 
Chris
 
 
 

The interior is tight with three kids on a trip.  You could look at roof rails with a soft top carrier to free up the inside for trips with extra gear.
There are also easy mods that can help with drivability and fuel economy as well.
 
GM is pricing them such that they really are a great little big truck for the $$.  Good luck.

Monsoon is a big difference than the "base" stereo.. I have had 2 H3's.. one was a base that I traded for the one I have now.. There is a ton more range in the Monsoon..

Depends on your idea on camping... Are you roughing it or having a few modern comforts...?

I bought mine...  err, the bank bought it, I'm buying it from them..

I buy my cars. Lots of people on here lease though. Not sure what the break down would be between the two but there may be a thread on that if you want to search for it. I just went on a two day 130 mile off road trip. I was packing for myself in the H3 and had plenty of room. I do a lot of camping and travel pretty light. I had one small bin with food/misc, a medium ice chest, small gas cooktop, sleeping bag, sleeping bags, a big ice chest tools, water, etc and the back was pretty full. If you are taking that many people and their gear you would need roof racks/rails, etc. or an H2.

3hummers - it may be cheaper to get rid of a kid or two than get the H2.
 
I have only leased one other vehicle in my life and it was my wife's 04 Toyota Sienna.  When the lease was up, we ended up buying it out cause the residual was so low and we had around 10m miles to spare. That is the nicest vehicle we have owned so far.  I couldn't replace it with a new one for what the purchase was for.  Now I want to spoil me and a Corvette is out, can't haul 3 kids around in that.
 
jdrew - we usually find sights with electric hookups and water nearby if not at the sight itself.  Also, now that I am thinking about, the one I am looking at has the tow package and I do have a 3'x5' trailer I could always take camping.
 
 

A trailer opens up a world of possibilities. On my H2 I used the two rooftop mount Hummer stroage bins and was able to pack gear for 3-4 guys for 4 day hunting/camping trips. Not sure what is available for the H3 but roof racks start at about $500.00 and most of the guys on the Mojave trip had them. They loaded lots of gear on the top. That could be another option. Trust me, the sooner you get rid of the kids the cheaper it is. They just keep getting more expensive.

I personally love the monsoon sound system. I have heard both and the monsoon is a better buy for the bucks, gives you the nice highs and the nice lows in bass. Nothing to rattle the windows in your house with but a great sounding system in a vehicle yes.
As for the leasing that is your call. I am in the same boat that jdrew is in. The bank bought mine and im buyign it from them, but needless to say i got a great deal on mine. Now i bought mine used (a 2006) with 7000m leather seats, heated seats, chrome rims, sunroof, xm radio, towing package, pretty much everything but the indash nav. and got it for $24k.
As for the camping i can't really say because mine is the pavement princess (PVM PRN as the plates will read soon) But if you have the trailer then you would be ok without the roof rails, but they do look nice up there (mine doesn't have them, but it makes it harder to wash and wax with them IMO so i won't be getting them) and who knows they may come in handy one day.
The radio Aux jack im guessing that is a GM thing. Really better off getting an aftermarket HU if that is the case and you really need that Aux jack.
All in all either way lease or buy it is without a doubt one of the best vehicles i have owned. It garners attetion, and it looks good on the road. Rides great and drives great (take that Cons. Repots)

Great info so far.
 
Does anyone have the cashmere interior(beige leather)?
 
If so is it hard to keep clean?
 
Looking further on the internet, I found a local 07 H3, 4500 miles with the Chrome, Lux, Monsoon stereo, package for $28000.  That could be worth looking into as for that price I would be able to do a purchase instead of leasing a new one.  Which I would actually prefer.
 
Has much, if anything changed from the 07's to the 08's?
 
Thanks again for the responses

I have the dark leather interior. Not sure on 07 to 08 changes. Obviously the Apha is significantly different but I am not sure on the I5 H3s.

Welcome. I personally buy my vehicles, I like to change things (mod) on them and don't want to have to worry about taking it all back off in 3 yrs. Also, I have a habit of putting ALOT of miles on my vehicles. I buy them to drive, not sit in the driveway. I can tell you that we bought a hitch basket for our trips and have driven from Ohio to VA and back a few times with Christmas presents and 2 kids in it. A "little" tight, but everyone survived Buy or Lease would depend on your situation, I know they have some great leasing deals going on right now. It just doesn't work well for me.

Hello..and Welcome!

Hey!!

Two things to think about between 07 and 08.  One is the relocation of buttons on the doors.  Second is the child locks, I believe they started putting them on the 08's.  My Wife and I do a lot of camping and it is tight without a trailer.  Our kid has grown up so we lay down the seats which you could not do, otherwise no way could we get everything in.  Good luck, you'll love the H3.  Great truck and lots of fun.

My wife an I buy all of our cars, we tried leasing once and it does not work for the way we drive. We usually keep our cars for at least 6 or 7 years, well at least I do. My wife struggles to stay in a car longer than five years. But buying still works for us. So I would say it depends on your driving habits (ie mileage and how often you want a new car.)