Power Wheels Hummer of a Humdinger!
The Fisher Price Power Wheels Hummer had great reviews from Wal-Mart purchasers, so I decided to give it a try as a Christmas gift for two of my little ones. Retailing for $394 at Wal-Mart, it was sold out and not available before December 24th. However, my wife found one at Toys-R-Us for about the same price, plus there was an incentive for 15% off when purchasing with a new Toys-R-Us credit card. As much as I hate credit cards, I bit and they had me hooked.
I was out the door after taxes for about $368; not bad comparatively. The credit card statement arrived from Chase a couple of weeks later, and I paid it off immediately.
One of my real concerns was getting the Hummer assembled in time and making sure all the parts were included. After I got home with it, my wife informed me that the store offered installation services for $30. Too late, I was not going back; that place was a mad house!
Instead, I enlisted my 11 year old son to build it for me – and for $20 instead of $30 (I made $10 for supervising). With his experience in building Bionicles, I knew he would do just fine. First I had him lay out all the parts on the floor of the garage (locked to keep the little ones from peeking). We checked them off against the parts list and verified that everything was there.
Next, I gave him a few pointers and set the power screwdriver on 5 (out of a possible 24) and set him loose. On and off my himself, it took about 2.5 hours. A very good use of my time and money, and good learning for him.
Now the little ones love driving around in our front yard – several acres. If I had a small yard, I do not think this would be a very good toy unless we had easy access to a neighborhood park or playground. I wanted a large car that would seat two, but there are single seaters and 4-wheelers.
The battery seems to go strong for about an hour of driving before needing to be returned for charging (meaning, dead as a doornail). The battery comes out easily, but I do not want to push the car because the rear wheel motors are constantly engaged, and I do not think it would be good to push the car as such. So, I pick up the back end and wheel it like a wheel barrow – another thing to consider if the battery were to die when you are far from the charger.
The real live radio has its own battery set, and the kids love it.
For my family’s needs, it fits great, but you will definitely want to think about how it fits yours.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
Checking in here again on the Power Wheels. I have learned a few things.
1) Fisher Price is a Mattel company. So, I had to call Mattel. They hooked me up with a local independent service center in Garland, Texas. I was responsible for getting my product to them. They were extremely friendly and accommodating by meeting me on a Sunday even though they were a M-F, 8-5 operation.
2) My unit is called a Jeep Hurricane and not a Hummer. But my kids simply call it their big truck.
3) The service center fixed my unit without charge to me since it was still within the 1 year warranty period. I did not even have to show my receipt since the production date stickers vouched for my assertion.
4) With the toy fixed and back home and the battery having charged all day, it was time for the kids to drive. They went about 1 centimeter before the truck halted. The battery was D-O-A dead! The batteries have only a 6 month warranty, and last only about 6 months in my experience.
5) I bought a lawnmower battery at Wal-Mart to replace the original dry-cell battery. The lawnmower battery is a wet cell full of battery acid. It is larger and deserves some special consideration. My friend uses one of these with his kids’ Barbie 4-wheeler and has great results. I’ll try to check back in later after I have finished the conversion.
Well, Iiiiii’mmm baaaaack! – 8 months later. Unfortunately the Power Wheels toy is not doing so well. The front wheels are splayed out and the vehicle can hardly be steered since the left and right front tires are trying to go separate directions.
My original assumption was that the retailer would support the manufacturer’s 1 year warranty at the store. But, that is wrong. Toys “R” Us tells me they have a 45 day return policy and that is it unless you purchased a buyer protection plan from them. (Why should I have to “protect” during the first year if the retailer and the manufacturer are my allies? Maybe I need to be protected from them).
So now I am off to take it up with Fisher Price directly.
By the way, did you know that Sam’s Club has a 100% member satisfaction policy for buyers with their receipts, and there is no time limit, regardless of whether you purchased a service agreement? They do not loudly proclaim this policy since there are a lot of cads who would abuse it. But from my own experience as well as my inside sources, it is true. Also, I have had good CS experience with Target in the past. Take notice Toys “R” Us!