I'm in a bit of a pickle about buying a used H2, sight unseen.

I've been looking on autotrader & other site. I found a few 08/09s that fit the bill and budget. I've narrowed the choices down to 3. All different mileage & pricing.

Stats on the 3 (all 2008s):

1. $39,900. 50k miles.
Needs a back up camera. Has an aftermarket CAI.(lots of chrome I'd need to tear off).
No free history report. (Makes me wonder why)

2. $36,500. 85K miles.
Has everything I need. Very clean.
2 Owners: 1 corporate (40k miles), 1 private. No noticeable problems & service record indicates it's been well maintained.

3. $31,500. 98K miles.
AC controls need replacing (scratched, easy job). Has everything else I want, but looks a tad dirty (the dealership needs to clean their vehicles better).
1 Owner (Corporate).


I really need to get rid of my vehicles this week. No one has a 08/09 H2 locally or within driving distance. I can't leave to check them out. All I can go by are the pictures, what's mentioned, & milage/ car fax reports. It's not the best situation; that's why I'm reaching out to everyone here.

If you were in my shoes, what would you pick? Providing any sort of reason would be very helpful.

 

If I'm going to drop 40k on a vehicle the dealer or seller better be willing to provide a carfax for free. If not, run!

Personally I always Try to buy private. Getting to see what the person was all about can really determine how the vehicle was driven and maintained. Obviously you have a trade so this probably isn't going to work for you.

Why in such a rush? I had this same problem the h2's were 2hrs plus away and my wife works weekends and I had already sold my truck.

When you find the right one you will know. Follow your gut instinct, 80% of the time it's right. Don't take a salesmanship word on anything because once they've got your money it's too late.
Lower the miles the longer it will hold it's value

 

Thanks for the reply.

I own two Chrysler vehicles (ram 2500 & Challenger RT, 2012 & 2013 respectively) that the company will not honor the warranty. They both have transmission & suspension issues (among other things). I need to get rid of them before they get worse. I basically can't get anything done as I'm concerned the vehicles will literally break down at the worst possible time. At the same time, I need a vehicle with a good ride. When you drive people around who have injuries, a rough ride can literally put everything to a standstill. You can't get things done if you're in tremendous pain. That's why we had an H2 in the first place. I've never been in a vehicle with such a good stock ride in my life that held up so well.

I plan on trading the truck for the H2. It's value is in the ballpark of 35k (boy these things lose value quickly), so I can really pick which ever H2, but I'd rather not spend more than I have to. I know the power train on these H2s are bullet proof, typically. I owned an 03 H2 w/ over 115k miles on it for a good 10 years. I never had major issues other than having to leave the poor thing in the rain for a decade.

I'm just wondering if there's any reason ignore the 50k mile H2 & look at 80 to 90k? Any benefit of buying a car that was used in a corporate environment vs private ownership. As well, I don't give a damn about resale value. I plan on keeping & maintaining the vehicle, as many here do. I also want to say that I will be driving the vehicle a lot. I'm not going to keep it a low mileage vehicle. If the engine goes, it'll get a new one. If it lasts long enough to save enough cash, possibly even a diesel conversion (slim chance, but you never know). I know Hummers are like nothing else, but I've been down the road with owning vehicles that were low miles (18k on a 2004 volvo xc90). I sold that vehicle last year for the car. Because of the age, I got nothing for it. I'd rather buy the vehicle to use it, not look at it.

Private sellers are not an option since people don't want to do a trade. As for the car fax reports, I agree 110%. Even for $30k, the dealership should offer info on the history.

What I'm thinking is have whoever wants to sell the vehicle take a picture of the sticker in the glove box that states which features & packages the vehicle has. Other than that, it's a toss up, but there's nothing within a 3 or 4 hour drive & with how the vehicles are driving, I'd like to say I can't do worse.

I'm eyeing the 85K one as the car fax is the most complete and lists any and all oil changes, etc done to the vehicle. It really does appear well maintained.

 

#2 is the best out of those three.

 

I wouldnt take any of the 3 ...

Best option is #1 as it got the lowest Mileage , however paying 40k and still needs to replace camera , chrome and intake .. Plus a H2 with Chrome plus I dont know why the comb of 50kmiles , chrome and CAI and not carfax report smell fishy

#2-3 Forget it I will not drop 30-40K on an almost 100k miles vehicle ...

Dont get me wrong I love my H2 but 40K for a very used vehicle is crazy
You can get a brand new Wrangler with all extras for that money

 

Yeah, the value of H2s is crazy.

HUMMER in 2014: Retaining More Value than Any Other Vehicle*|*Hummer Guy

At the same time, vs any other vehicle, it does everything I need:

1. Has no issues going through 24"+ of water
2. Has a better quality ride than other SUVs I've been in
3. Actually is built well with heavier duty parts
4. Just a solid SUV that is safe due to size/weight/safety features.

I don't offroad, but we get 60 inches+ (not a typo) of rain annually here, so flooding is just a way of life. When I owned the H2, I had no worries with flooding & I can tell you, it got me out of very bad situations where other vehicles had stalled out or had to turn around.

Wrangler = Chrysler = SH*T, pardon my French. If you read my 2nd post in the thread, you'd see why I'd be crazy to give Chrysler a dime. As I said, I already have 2 new Chryslers with power train issues. No thanks. I doubt the ride is good & I need a quality ride over a tiny offroad vehicle that isn't as safe. The lack of cargo room & comfort is another issue. Also, I don't care for jeeps, at all.

A jeep vs hummer is a very apples to oranges comparison for my situation. With all the issues new vehicles are having, I'll pass on something new. Been down that road twice & I've been royally screwed.

At the same time, lower mileage H2s are in the ballpark of $65K+, which some will say is just as crazy of a price for a "used" vehicle without low mileage (under 15k). 35k~ish is fine as I'd rather dump my truck which is only 2 years / 17k miles w/ a bad transmission & uncomfortable seats for something w/ 70k more miles, but would actually perform as intended.

Don't get me wrong. I see where you're coming from. If this was a year ago, I'd say the same thing as you. After going through what I've gone through, my outlook has changed. For what an H2 provides, I can't get the same thing, despite cost. It's a unique vehicle. At least at that time, I feel vehicles were, overall, made much better. I don't feel comfortable buying anything new as quality is at an all time low, across the board.

 

After reading your post , I have to agree with almost everything ..
Even 40k is a lot of $$$ , like I always said after a while you will forget about the $ but still feel the H2 ( I got mine 3 years ago and still look at it with same appreciation )
My disagree : Chrysler=POS but Jeep even it is owned by Chrysler is still a Jeep ( not perfect but still a quality vehicle )

 

2 years ago, I would have said to buy new & looking at a used vehicle in the mid $30k range was nuts. After two lemons & the increasingly horrific issues with car companies, I just feel like the old tried & true hummer will last & I'd rather maintain & dump money into it. I know how you feel. I was literally sad to see my old H2 go. My truck doesn't live up to the experience. GM really had something here w/ the Hummer line. No wonder the value has stayed high.

Escalades (something that was compared to the H2s back in the day) are running upwards of $85k now!

I will say no one can judge my opinion on Chrysler after my experience. I'd be nuts to throw more money at a company that (at least locally, over 3+ dealerships) will not honor a warranty!

I'm still looking at what's on the market. Whenever I get a trade done, I'll post pics. A lot seem to have minor abuse; people like to kick off the rear cigarette lighter caps. I know there's replacement parts, especifically for that. Depending on what I get, I'll fix everything & post some info in case there's none here. I might also need a little with as I've never replaced trim before.

 

BTW .. are you looking to get a 08 or older model .. If I had exp before I would choose to pay the extra for the 08 , even I like the 06 interior ...

I know what you said about Chrysler cause we got 4-5 on the family also Same story happen to me with Ford ,

Good luck with the chase .. Post pics

 

You know how you get so involved in something, you feel that all the info flows into others via osmosis? Yeah, that happened to me.

08/09 only. I had the 03 and I know all through 2007 are basically the same with only a few improvements along the way before the refresh.

That's why the price is so high. I wouldn't pay that much for an 06/07.

I found one in the mid 30s w/ just under 70k miles. I'll update when I get my truck ready to ship so I can make a deal.