But do you have experience specializing in Jeeps? Jeeps- especially older Jeeps- can be a pain getting parts for if your a car guy. But if you come to understand Jeeps and know where and how to look for their parts, it’s no harder than any other vehicle. In many cases, it’s actually easier.
One does not go out & buy a Jeep. One shops around until they find a Jeep that adopts them- like selecting a good family dog
I’d be interested in hearing your experiences.
Boooo!!
JKowners.com FTW!
Well put.
PM’ed. I don’t want to offend anyone with my personal opinions.
With the cash for clunkers deal we had an infusion of older Jeep parts, and you are correct, if you take care of the rust issues early, they’ll keep on trucking. But the newer models do not seem to have the problems stop at rust . . .
Love my Wrangler. The straight 6 is a great engine. I have driven a Jeep with the new V6 and it’s fine; however, I would prefer the straight 6 if given a choice. The trade off of the 4-door is longer wheelbase which means it can’t go as many places as a regular Jeep, but you get more room. With a newborn this means I have an F-250 in my future with the Jeep becoming a third car. After all the sh** that Jeep has literally gone through, I’ll never be without one. I’ve had it in 3 ft. deep water, 2.5 ft. of snow, sand on beaches, and 75mph on the hwy in heavy rain. All that said, it sure doesn’t ride like a comfortable car. A Jeep is a Jeep, not a four door sedan. My wife doesn’t like to ride in it very often unless it’s nice, tops off, and the road is smooth. Or, the weather is shi*** and she has to get to the hospital for an emergency surgery or delivery. Other than that, she won’t get in it.
Sad, but true. Older Jeeps, especially the AMC full size Jeeps, have real problems with rust
I just got an '07 Commander (or as MistWolf says, “it ‘adopted’ me”…), and have been pleasantly surprised so far by the quality, the appointments, the handling & performance. I can’t speak to the smaller Jeeps (although I have a good friend at church who bought his Patriot new in '09 and likes it - no issues with his), but I like this Commander a LOT!
Jeep forums are so specialized now, you can find them for your PARTICULAR model even with a little searching. Find a LOCAL (state/region) Jeep board as well - they’ll be loads of help when it comes to finding local parts & service deals.
I’ve had 2007 and a 2009 Rubicon Unlimited’s.
Cons:
The engine in the pre 2012 Jeeps sucked bad, be sure to get the new 3.6 that’s in the grand cherokee, it’s supposed to have more power and better fuel mileage.
If you use it as a daily driver you will get tired of the wind noise quickly even with a hard top.
The seats aren’t comfy for long trips.
Pro’s:
You can’t beat a Rubicon off-road once you put a 2" lift and 35’s on it.
Looks badass once it’s got 35’s on it.
I traded my 2009 for a Hummer H3 Adventure and couldn’t be happier with the trade since I use it 95% on the road. Only concern will be parts availability after 2020 if I still have it then.
Another alternative would be a Toyota FJ Cruiser, only hear good things about them but they are FUGLY.
Check out http://www.jkowners.com/
Bought a 2010 Wrangler Sport. It’s 2door but I love it. At first the 4door ones were retarded, but I’m seeing more and more and they are growing on me. 36,500 miles on my 2010 now and no issues. 202 horse with the 3.8 V6, Im getting 20-22 on the highway(65mph) with the cruise set… That’s if there is no head wind… If ur driving into the wind it sucks.
I will never own anything but a Jeep again.
That’s what I’ve got … paired to a manual gearbox.
AC
The new Penti-Star engine is supposed to be much nicer than the current V6. I would wait until they stick that in the Wrangler and get the Rubicon package.
I have been throwing money at an 89 YJ for the past 3 years… I could buy a new one today but honestly, there is something about driving a carbureted engine with no computers and high emissions that’s very American.
The 2012’s have the new engine. It’s gotten very positive reviews as an improvement over the 2011s. My mechanic warned me off both last years V6 and the I6 as being unreliable and underperforming.
I will say that when I test drove the model on the lot it was very comfortable and very little road noise despite the soft top. Very responsive on the road.
I ordered a 2012 Wrangler Unlimited Sahara about 6 weeks ago it should be here in the next week or so.
I own an '04 Rubicon and love it! I also sold Jeeps for quite some time with a dealer in NY until a few months ago.
Anyways, there are now two V6’s in the JK models. 2011’s come with the 3.8L (202 hp) originally derived from the minivans. The 2012’s are coming with the new “PentaStar” 3.6L (280 or 290hp?) which makes a big difference in drivability/merging etc. The 3.8 had some small issues (the only major issue being rod bearings going early due to lack of maintenance or people trying to run the 15w40 Rotella oil they used to run in the 4.0L=No Good). The PentaStar is too new to really tell (debuted in the GC in '11) so we’ll have to wait and see how it holds up.
As for the Rubicon vs. Sahara, don’t forget that the Rubicon has 4.11 gears, meaning that you will turn a much higher RPM on the hwy and gas mileage will suffer (15%+ vs. the 3.55 or 3.73 rear in the Sahara). If you aren’t doing serious off-roading, you probably don’t need what the Rubicon offers you and a Sahara or Sport w/ limited slip rear will do.
As for not liking the painted flares/top on the Sahara, if leather isn’t a necessity you can option out a Sport with basically everything the Sahara has.
Email me if you have any specific questions (I don’t always check thread updates).
My wife and I have owned 5 Jeeps. The old V6 was a dog in her old Liberty. I bought a 2011 Overland this spring with the Hemi. Chrysler has definitely stepped it up several notches in overall fit and finish. We also still have my 2005 GC Limited. It looks like an economy car next to the new one. The interior is far nicer than my buddies 2011 Mercedes E550.
I joined this website http://www.treadlightly.org/ and got the car 1% under invoice with no bartering. I had to order it because the Overlands with what I wanted were next to impossible to find at the time.
This is also a great website to research:
http://jeepgarage.org/
I just picked up my new 2012 Wrangler Unlimited Sahara this afternoon. Black Forest Green with tan leather interior.
Awesome! Very comfy, all the technological amenities. Navi/Sirius/HDD. Nice pickup when in the proper gear. Driving home on the highway I didn’t really get out of 4th, it’s dead smooth/effortless.
It really doesn’t have that barebones feel like Jeeps used to, it’s quite refined and actually quite a bit like a luxury vehicle. I’m driving it down to Williamsburg this week for the Holiday so I’ll be able to tell more on the road.
I got the 6 speed manual and it takes a little getting used to coming from a Saabaru (9-2X) the clutch is not as tight and the throw is quite a bit longer. 1st gear wasn’t as low as I thought though I did get the 3.21 ratio so that might explain it. Merging onto the highway wasn’t a problem though quite a bit different than my old Saab.
That’s a great color combo.
If you’re coming from older Jeeps or other 4WD systems, watch out for the traction/stability control system if you like to drive hard or go off road.
I’ve never typed this in a thread here but…
This Thread is Worthless Without Pics!!!
I’ll snap some of my '04 Wrangler this weekend.
Seconded. British racing green with tan leather has always been my favorite combination. Must be a holdover from when I was lusting after a Triumph Spitfire as a kid.
Let’s see a pic of the new Sahara.
Work in progress/total money pit 
MetalCloak Fenders and Flares coming this spring.