2006 Hummer H3

2006 Hummer H3

The Hummer H3 debuted in 2005 as a 2006 model and they started showing up all over the roads, at least here in Houston, immediately. I bought this one in 2005 with just a couple thousand miles on it at an auction. I'm always curious how some cars come to be at an auction, as this one was clearly heavily customized and hardly used.

I was intrigued by the H3 and I had a chance to inspect this one before the auction but had to go out of town prior to the actual auction itself. My girlfriend at the time Sheri was happy to step in and she ended up coming home with this H3......and a black H2.....and a nice little Mercedes! I assume she caught "auction fever", which can happen to the best of us. I initially thought she had overpaid for this one, but I hadn't really accounted for the added value of the extra "bling" and I think I may have even sold it months later for more than I paid for it.

This particular H3 had a really neat Pioneer aftermarket NAV system and stereo, a DVD player with screens in the back, the rims you can clearly see in the pictures, and a factory installed but custom ordered red/black leather interior. I'm not usually a "Pimp My Ride" kinda guy but I enjoyed the unique touches.

Sadly, it had been smoked in. I don't do smoke...at all! Dealers have gotten pretty good at masking the smell for resale, but it will always come back, especially when it heats up (and Houston is never hot, right?). I kept it for a few months before I got around to unloading it but smoke aside, I wasn't overly impressed with it really. It was just OK at everything and didn't do anything that would knock your socks off. Sheri didn't like it because it had a horrible blind spot. While the ride on the H2s is actually quite good, the H3 is more pickup truck-like, not surprising since it was built on the Colorado chassis. I'm not sure I would ever buy another one of these. They made them until 2010, but if you want the looks, go for the muck better (but much larger) H2.