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Review 3 of 30
Price Paid:
$100.00
from Denver Year / Model Reviewed:
2002 96, 99, Summary:
Hmmm, where to begin... I have owned three of these vehicles over the years each with it's own story to tell. I could write a book about this but I will keep it short and to the point. The first one I owned was a second hand 96 Wagon with a turbo. It had 4 thousand miles on it. The problems : Immediately Replaced all four MT tires that showed heavy wear and belt seperation; very unsafe,Electrical problem that would short out all gauges on the instument panel, no cure ever found, continious alignment problems with little more then fire road offroad use,vibrations from motor and driving would unlosen every screw in the interior and finally the paint job was bubbling up in numerous areas. I kept it for almost 2 years before trading it on a New 99 Green Wagon. The problems : Tire issues galore, GSA's would never stay balanced which consistently threw the alignment out. Tried 2 piece wheels with the same negative results. The tires were shot by 12k miles and dealer said they were defective. Goodyear, nicely told me where to go, and the dealer said there was nothing they could do. With no help from AM General I sold it back for a nice loss. The third and final one was a 2002 Black wagon with the Optional 17" wheel package. Beautiful truck. The interior dash was redesigned but the gauges still looked like they were stolen off of a lawn tractor. I noticed a difference in performance with the bigger wheels and paid the price with gas mileage. 6 months into owning it I noticed the roof paint was cracking and flaking. The dealership said this was normal and by the way not covered under warranty. I have traded it in on a H2 and currently still holding my breath. Oh I forgot, everyone I owned had problems closing and securing the hood and I replaced the front seats on all three because of defects. Lastly these things are unbelievably expensive to maintain, ($800.00 not unusual for basic service) the resell value makes a land rover's value look appealing but damn were they fun to drive in deep snow ! Strengths:
Will drive in four feet of snow, mud and water etc. Great factory winch option. Impressive ground clearance and appearance. These strenghts have convinced me to buy three of them ! Weaknesses:
Uhh, expensive to buy, maintain and poor trade in value. Weak dealer/manufacturer support and communication. Not mass produced, so plenty of fit and finish issues, cheap interior, still loud inside and a underpowered motor. Excessive tire wear with no serious offroad use, and very very poor paint jobs, Spooky warranty coverage with a long list of exclusions. Worth about the price of a H2. Maybe the above is why dealers have more second hand H1's on the lots then new ones. I predict the H1's will be available for a few more years and then they will be no longer be produced. Only competiton would help this product. Like the Toyota Megacruiser, but we will never see it stateside becuse of tariffs etc.. Similar Products Used:
Mercedes G Wagon, Toyota Land Cruiser, Suburban
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