I've wanted an H2 since they first came out. I've drooled over them and always said I'd get one. I test drove one 6 years ago and fell in love. I knew what I wanted - 08/09 H2 in orange. I've been looking nationwide off and on for 6 years, but never found something I could pull the trigger on.

A few months ago one popped up for sale locally by a private seller. I went and looked at it, but it just had too many problems for me to get into. I'd have to sell my Avalanche, which is 100% sorted and totally pristine near showroom condition, and didn't want to buy someone else's problem. Last week I saw the same truck for sale by a dealer - went and looked at it and all of the major issues had been dealt with. I guess the sellers just took it to a dealer and got what they could. The dealer showed me their entire page of repairs that totaled over $2k. At this point, the only issues are things I can handle myself and or live with.

First up items to be addressed:

1. Nerf bars. The old ones were rusted and the dealer flip just took them off. I have to crawl in and out - embarrassing. Junk yard ones arrive from UPS today
2. Fix the leaks - roof seam sealer replacement (it's all dried out, rotted and cracked) and marker lights.
3. Undercoating. The underside is very rusty, but I didn't find anything that looked to be more than just surface rust. A friend of a friend has a shop with a lift, I'll get under there with a drill + wire brush and some rattle cans to kill/convert the rust and undercoat
4. Door lock actuators. 3 doors + hatch only work sometimes, or you have to press the button several times to get them to go all the way
5. While I'm inside the doors, replace the door catches. I lubed them up as best I could from the outside, but they still squeak and pop when opening
6. Replace rear bumper. The previous owner hit something and it's sagging badly on one side
7. Replace grill. Previous owner hit something and it's cracked
8. Body shop PDR - about a dozen door dings, some roof dents, and one really big dent on the hatch
9. Really, really good detail and paint correction. The previous owner used touch up paint but it needs to be smoothed out. I'll give it a good washing, clay bar, buffing compound and polish and see where we're at from there. All black plastic restoration (I have an Avalanche, so I'm pretty familiar with this stuff)
10. Gas door screws are all corroded for some reason. Replace those before any rust starts
11. Driver door outside handle and one hood handle need replaced. The chrome is cracking and peeling (and that stuff is sharp!)
12. Remove the sunroof exterior vent thing. That makes a ton of wind noise
13. Front seat bottom replacements, and deal with the non-working lumbar supports
14. Second row seat bottoms are also very worn. See about those...
15. Interior detail. The dealer did, but it was a quick job and not as thorough as I'd be
16. Replace a rear speaker
17. Remove spare tire carrier and install lighted license plate pocket

Once those are sorted, I can focus on the fun stuff! I try to keep my vehicles as stock as possible, but do mods that are easily removed, undone, or otherwise keep the vehicle unmolested. The above should be done by winter, at which point I'll replace the nasty worn out sticky (no matter how much cleaning, it's still sticky) steering wheel with a 2009 heated one. And some sort of radio upgrade to get Apple Carplay and bluetooth (may upgrade the OnStar VCIM to a 2009 in the meantime). I've been looking at Aftermarket Navigation Car Stereo, Android Navigation DVD Player, Car Navigation Head Unit units as they look very close to factory style.

 

Welcome to HF. Congrats on your new to you H2!

I hate Nurse bars, useless, and get mangled when off road.

 

To each their own

I struggled to get in and out without them. To climb in/out, I had to open the door very wide, which meant I couldn't park it in the garage. Once I added the steps, it's now garaged as I can slip in & out with the door not even being open to the first detent.

 

Welcome....

Enjoy!