Spied in the classifieds
We really fancy a Hummer…
Buying a car from a defunct manufacturer can be fraught with danger. What do you do for spare parts? Who will be able to service it? What will this do to the resale value? All of these are very valid questions, but with the help of the internet and support from online forums, you can often make it work.
Take, for example, Hummer. Most will already know of the company’s military origins in Operation Desert Storm and the civilian version that followed, so we shall skip ahead to the H3, which came out in 2006. It was brought out as a cheaper model and the H3 was the smallest vehicle in the range. This meant that it was a bit more fuel efficient, but at a claimed 19.5mpg, it was hardly an environmentally friendly option.
Still, this didn’t matter in the US and the H3 sold rather well in its first few years. Then, in 2008, there was an economic downturn, which halved sales compared with the previous year. Eventually Hummer, at this point under GM management, had to close in 2010 after a buyer for the company couldn’t be found.
So where does that leave this H3? Well, its underpinnings come from a Chevrolet Colorado pick-up truck, and the engine was shared with a number of GM and Isuzu products, so parts shouldn’t be too difficult to find, particularly if you search online. There are garages dotted around the UK that specialise in American cars which should be able to look after it.
We found an H3 on Pistonheads that has covered only 30,000 miles and is up for £17,500. That means it has retained quite a lot of its original value, which is quite impressive, considering the company has been mothballed for eight years.