Repair Costs

I am new to the forum, so bare with me. I am looking to purchase a 1999 H1. I am looking to get a decent price, but I am worried about the cost of the more common repairs. Can some of you H1 owners fill me in on some of the prices you have paid for certain repairs? This will help me to determine if the H1 is going to break me or not. Thanks for the help!

I just replaces my front break pads, rear break pads, and rear rotors, + labour it set me back $817 CDN and that was a good price cuz I knew the mechanic and stuff the dealership priced me at $1000 for just the pads and labour.

Is that a repair that a knowledgable home mechanic could do to save some money? I am sure labor was probably half that bill, right??

Come on guys and gals. I know there are tons of you with the information I need. Share the love. Help out a fellow enthusiast! PLEASE!

The problem is, there aren't very many H1 owners, let alone many that are on this site. Those that are, don't check in on a regular basis, so it may be a while before you get more information from other H1 owners. The vehicles aren't that hard to work on, I spun a few wrenches on them in the Marine Corps, but my ability was limited because the Marine Corps is finiky about only letting MOS school trained mechanics work on stuff. I just got lucky a few times. I can tell you the hardest thing to do to the military versions is to leave them on the street. We had more broken stuff because of highway time then we did from off road abuse. I would assume this may hold true for the early civilian versions, but the later ones might be more streetable.

Well I am not very well off when it comes to mechanic knowledge just learning as stuff breaks and stuff but yea I guess the breaks are tricky because they are up into the frame and not right at the tire the mechanic said he had to take the whole rear end apart just to change the rotors. and I believe $250.00 of the bill was labour the rest was parts and this mechanic is good with me when it comes to parts and labour.
Also I have replaced the alternator and that cost me 315$ CDN 250$ of which was the part.. the mechanic said the retail price for it should be 350$ so i dunno.

As for other work I had done was a bleeding of the fuel system due to a air lock... that set me back 100$ in all labour but that was my own fault idling on a hill back in the trails for like 10 min(to take pics) with only 1/4 tank of gas....

Oh yea and oil changes done at the hummer dealership set me back $80CDN and some change...

hope that gives you some idea of costs...

Thanx Injunfarian, the infromation is VERY helpful! Keep it coming! Anyone else with some info / advice?

I know that when I had spoken to the salesman at the dealer and I expressed the desire to get an H1, he told me that not only are the repair bills very high, but the are even having trouble getting parts because priority is the military. The service guy told me he had a 3-6 month wait just on tires!

Dealership guy told me simular thing that I would have to have a couple thousand a month just for repairs and maintenance, and he also said he wont even sell the H1's due to this etc etc...but I had this thing since May of this year(at 80,000 miles currently has 91,000 miles) and spent less then 1,400$ CDN on it and its 8 years old... And it was very abused before I got it and I abuse it almost every weekend... So honestly I dont think the repair bill is that high on it considering what it is and what i put it through,... I know if i would have bought anything less the repair bill would be much higher due to broken parts. I been trailing with many vehicles and only time I have ever broken down on the trail was due to an airlock in the fuelsystem because I was on a slant so long the pump couldnt get any fuel which was my own mistake.. but I was out there with jeeps just as old or newer then mine and they had blown driveshafts, cracked frame rails, broken U joints... etc etc.

Also forgot about some own repairs I did myself
50$ CDN for parts for the dome light setup in my ride(direct from dealership so paid the dues i'm sure if i shopped around coulda got it alot cheaper) as for installation just clipped in

like 10$ CDN for generic flasher for my turning signals again installation was just pull the old one out and snap the new one in...

like 17$ CDN for new headlight as for installation just unscrew 3 screws take out the coverframe and headlight unit... plug the new one in put on the coverframe and screw the screws back in then goto a large wall and check that the alignment of the lights are correrct and your done...

I believe that is all but if I think of more ill let you know.... but yea honestly I wouldnt worry about repair costs if your really interested in the H1 I would worry about the fuel cost... that is what I spent the most on, but you can expect this from any fullsize SUV.

Personally, I think this urban assault vehicle is impractical for a daily driver...Get an H2, becuase at least they are more practical for streets with the brawn to off road too...But that's just my opinion...Good luck.

And yea honestly if the H1 is what you really want I say get it... if you find a good deal on a older used one you can easily resell it for same price if you find you cannot keep it... I honestly aint rich barely coming up with the insurance, and lease payments on this beast each month but I still got it because it is an AMAZING vehicle and worth every penny... If you want to get noticed this is definatly the vehicle... I have been beside lambos, ferrari's etc and still got most of the looks because it stands out plain and simple... or if its the comfort in knowing you can take out any vehicle on the road then this is a good choice as well... or if its the adventure of going deep into the trails and knowing you have the vehicle to do it then the H1 is the choice...

I honestly use my H1 for everything... Its my daily driver... my fun vehicle take it offroading everywhere and even have enough room for my quad in the back... or camping its AMAZING for camping.. also good as a pickup truck I recently moved my friends bedroom set with this vehicle with no problem at all.

The only problems I find with this vehicle is when you first purchase it you gotta learn to drive it because it is sooo big but honestly it only took me a couple of weeks and now I handle it like a compact car hehe... Also parking isnt too fun either... sure you can fit in a single parking spot and get out no problem but gotta realize the doors on the h1 isnt that long as compared to most cars so you might be able to get out and in but they might not be able to and might ding yuh... so what I have learned is it is best to park in the back of the parking lot or better yet if you find a spot at the very end huge the very end line the best you can and you wont have any problems at all... Another problem is just people... they are always curious and staring etc... sure it was fine first month or two but kinda get tired of same questions after like 7 months... and you are always noticed so cant really sneak around town :(

I am really not looking for the attention. I just like knowing that I can go ANYWHERE with the H1. It would be my daily driver, so gas is a worry. I love the outdoors, and would drive this truck into the ground (or atleast try =)). Everyones info has been invaluable in my decision process. I am still leaning towards the H1, cause I will spend the same amount on an H2. (40-50K). So if thats the case, I would prefer the H1. It isn't very practical for a daily driver, but who cares, right!

Honestly the dealership tried to get me into a new H2 instead of an H1 and I honestly was just barely coming up with the cash and stuff but yea if offroading is your thing definatly go with the H1, sure you can get a brand new h2 for the price of a used h1 but the thing is if you REALLY are going to abuse it the H1 can take more abuse then the H2 hands down, plus the diesel makes offroading soo much easier can get the high end torque and power at a very low RPM setting. not to mention the independant suspension etc etc...
And yea it doesnt seem practical for daily driving but I honestly have no problem with it... i goto the mall, goto my college, even fitted in a very low parking garage at a hospital... so honestly its not that big of a deal... if you really want it then parking 50 feet further then you would with a smaller vehicle really doesnt matter plus good excersize :P

another repair set me back $15 CDN during the weekend when we were unloading the quad one of the rear clearance lights under the tailgate snapped off taking some of the frame with it so today I bought a new one at a local auto parts store and upgraded from old clearance lights to LED clearance lights and it set me back $15CDN including new chrome frame.. I am thinking on doing this with all my clearance lights definatly improves the look in my opinion

So i know the gas mileage sucks in the H1 (any SUV, really). But is it true that diesel gas is better gas milage than regular? I drive an Armada now, and practically fill it up weekly. Can I epect the same? How many miles you think you get on a full tank?

Anyone else with some info / advice??

diesel's in general get better mileage than gas engines, but your mileage won't be much better than what you'd get in an H2. you have an extra ton to tote around (8500 vs. 6500 lbs). but diesel's just want to run, and if your main goal is for offroad, the H1 is definitely the best available, as long as the trail is wide enough. but, there are few places my friend's have gone in their H1s that I haven't been able to follow. if i had a front locker, i probably could have followed them anywhere.

the H1 is a lot more expensive to repair, all the parts are specific, they even have 3 different sized half shafts, so spares can be an issue if you want to carry those that are most prone to breaking. the brakes are odd, as the rotors are inboard, not inside the wheels. more difficult to maintain that way. all in all, i'd like to have one, and everytime i see the yellow open top at the dealer i send the Mrs. a text message or two. maybe some day she'll cave in. or they'll sell it and i'll be sad . . . .

i'm in no way an expert on an H1, but i love to hear myself type.

Shortbus... The roadblock in my quest to purchase an H1 is the Mrs as well. If only they understood! So as far as the H1 engine is concerned, I heard it is basically the same engine as in a Suburban? If thats the case, I would assume the parts would be easy to find and not that expensive.