Hi all,

I am a current H3 owner (2 years) and use to drive a military hummer back when the militay first started using them, '86 - '90. I'm looking at purchasing my first civilian H1 and would appretiate any advice on things to watch out for or look for in my purchase. I'm currently looking at a 1995 soft-top with tons of upgrades.
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I am a Hummer Club, Inc. member and go to Hummer off road events at least once a year. I am also involved with Hummer Club H.O.P.E. program.

Also, any idea on a good place to look into financing a vehicle like a Hummer? Not thinking may banks would be interested in dealing with a vehicle like that?
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Thanks in advance for any comments you might have.

 

Credit unions usually finance the person as much as the vehicle and are more flexible on rates and loan lengths.
A 95 will have the older HVAC set up which isn't so good for really hot areas. The NA motor is much simpler than the turbo. Unless the wheels have been swapped out by the current or a previous owner the 95 will have 16.5 inch wheels, which have very few tire selections in 37".
Main thing is to get a truck that has been maintained. If you buy a truck with a lot of deferred maintenence expect to spend thousands to get it back right. If they don't have the records on the truck it is worth the $100.00 you would pay an H1 mechanic to check out the truck.
www.lynchhummer.com has a very concise description of the differences between model years.

 

Most if not all banks won't touch a used car loan for a vehicle over 10 years old [or heck even 5 years old].

A good credit union might, up to a percentage of the book value of the car.

Otherwise you may need to go with a "lifestyle" loan which may have higher interest rates than a normal loan.

In a nutshell things that you may look out in terms of big ticket items in early trucks are:

HVAC issues, most of the early trucks have non serviceable A/C parts. The HVAC box was upgraded in years 1997.5 and above. Early model 97's can be checked by vin number if they shipped with the upgrade.

The upgrade retails for around $2500 and needs a day labor to install, so it's ideal to find a truck that already has the upgrade installed [you can tell by the type of control panel].

I've seen a few trucks sold where the heater core was bypassed at the water valve, resulting in no heat, and no leaks, but wound up being resold to someone who didn't know that the hvac was bypassed and had to repair the system.

1996-2000 trucks you have to worry about the #8 cylinder block crack issues due to poor jacket design. Usually this only happens within the first 30,000 miles, higher mileage trucks tend to not have this problem but it may be worth running compression tests on the engine to ensure each cylinders psi is within spec.

1999+ trucks have ABS and traction control [TT4], the TT4 system sucks for moderate to serious offroading. If going with a TT4 trucks I'd add in a rear switchable locker at a minimum.

Personally for a wheeling truck, a 1998, with an upgraded engine and lockers is the best of all worlds unless you can spring for a 04 or 06.