Hi, I'm 16 and my dad has offered to buy me any car I want under $20,000. I have grown up driving trucks, and SUVs, so driving a bigger vehicle isn't a problem. I've even driven my fathers h2 and I loved it i know the H2 does take in gas like crazy and it's a little to big for my liking. I have been debating on a hummer h3 my biggest concerns are is the fuel completely outrageous comparing to other SUVs? What are the biggest problems with the 2008-09 models?


If anyone could help it would be much appreciated!!!

 

08/09 are solid vehicles. Lots of good high mileage stories. Ours has 124k on it and going strong. Minimal repairs. We got 15-16mpg with the Alpha/V8 before we added 35" tires and a roof rack. I am sure the 3.7L does a good bit better.

 

Honestly, I don't think you're going to see much difference in mpg between the I5 and V8 versions, 1-2mpg or so.

I also wouldn't say mpg for the H3 is outrageous. It's not great, but it's going to be on-par with other SUVs of the same year. If you think of an H3 as having a small lift and larger tires compared to other SUVs, which really hurts mpg, it's not bad at all.

Using 3hummers as an example, show me another v8 powered '08/09 SUV riding on 33" ATs (or MTs?) that gets noticeably better mpg. It's not that Hummers get bad gas mileage, it's off-road ready SUVs in general that do.

 

O.K. Lol!
Someone has got to do it... may as well be me.
NO! do not buy a H3 or H2 at 16 years old.
Purchase a truck or Jeep that has readily accessible parts and is a less expensive platform to build upon.
When i say readily available I mean Dodge, Jeep, Chevy, Ford & Toyota that are currently being manufactured and that kits and such are available.

I struggle to imagine being 16 years old and wanting to trick out my ride and finding out that there just is minimal support and everything carries a luxury tax lol!

As always your mileage may vary. Be the captain of your own destiny.

 

Doesn't sound like price is an issue.... She also didn't say she wants to trick it out or build it up (which is more expensive but not that hard to find the parts). For general repairs and maintenance I don't think an H3 would be any worse than any other SUV of similar age.

We are talking about a GM/Hummer, not a Land Rover.

To put it another way, I have a 16 year old son and if I had $20k to drop on a vehicle for him I wouldn't hesitate to buy an H3 if that's what he wanted.

 

If you're staying near home, like to do your own wrenching, and are mechanically inclined the H3 can be a neat vehicle to own. If you plan on going off to college and will have limited funds for the forseeable future than I wouldn't recommend it. Pick up something more reliable with better gas mileage.

 

125K with minimal repairs seems pretty reliBle to me. It is my wife's car and she loves it. Drive what you want. Life is too short to drive anything but what you like and really want.

 

3hummers, my reply was directed to the original poster and not necessarily at you. The satisfaction you have experienced with your H3 is great but in general the Hummer H3 is not your typical vehicle that you can just gas and go for 100,000 miles. I have owned many different vehicles and so far my experience is the H3 has required the most attention to keep it running at 100%.

 

I suppose I could be wrong, but I don't think your experiences are typical (unless it's an '06). Everything I've read and my own personal experiences with an '07 H3 and '09 H3T leads me to believe H3s are very reliable.

 

My 07 H3 has been gas and go, change the oil, never had any issue.

Only time it ever saw the dealership after purchase was when the power steering reservoir cap disappeared in mid 2008, a called ahead, drove into service, signed a work order, they popped on a new one, and I was gone in less than 15 minutes.