[Rustie]

As you all know, I've been bouncing around thinking of replacing my van soon with a new car. Every time I start to think about one, though, it is either discontinued (Pontiac), bought by another company (Volvo), or WAY out of my price range right now (Corvette).

But I think I may have finally found my next ride.

Test drove a Jeep Wrangler last night. I've always loved Jeeps, and I mean since I was 6 years old and Daisy Duke was riding around in hers. So I test drove two last night, one a Wrangler base model in Silver and the other the Mountain upgrade versions in Army green. Loved both colors, but I found that if I am going to get a Jeep, I don't give a crap to spend the extra 4 grand to get the extra crap on it (running boards, tinted plastic windows, and sirius radio).

This is not meant to be a practical car for a woman with three kids. I have the soccer mom minivan for that still. This is for ME. I want to be able to pull the soft top back and drive down the road. And maybe in later years when it is no longer a daily driver, make it a true off-roading vehicle for weekend fun trips.

And don't worry Kenny, still thinking about those Volvo C70... just have to look used not new.

[Qball]

Originally Posted by Rustie

This is not meant to be a practical car for a woman with three kids. I have the soccer mom minivan for that still. This is for ME. I want to be able to pull the soft top back and drive down the road. And maybe in later years when it is no longer a daily driver, make it a true off-roading vehicle for weekend fun trips.

In that case, knock yourself out, kiddo.

[steve]

ask away. im driving a 2DR soft top right now. they do have some issues.

[ry57pont]

i have had 3, great fun. wouldent own one without softtop and softdoors. but they really are not the best built. and seem to rust easy. and poor power/mileage. my 02 had rust early, some was covered under warranty, some not. actually i liked going to soccer with the family in it. with the doors off its the next best thing to a motorcycle.

[steve]

Originally Posted by ry57pont

i have had 3, great fun. wouldent own one without softtop and softdoors. but they really are not the best built. and seem to rust easy. and poor power/mileage. my 02 had rust early, some was covered under warranty, some not. actually i liked going to soccer with the family in it. with the doors off its the next best thing to a motorcycle.

got the doors and top off my 2010 right now !

[Rustie]

Originally Posted by steve

ask away. im driving a 2DR soft top right now. they do have some issues.

What issues? Engine, tranny???

I knw the mileage is going to suck. Got that sticker shock yesterday. But driving one drove that out of my mind. Hair flying in the wind. Higher ride, which I love! And the stick shift. It is the rugged experience I have been waiting for!

[Rustie]

Originally Posted by ry57pont

i have had 3, great fun. wouldent own one without softtop and softdoors. but they really are not the best built. and seem to rust easy. and poor power/mileage. my 02 had rust early, some was covered under warranty, some not. actually i liked going to soccer with the family in it. with the doors off its the next best thing to a motorcycle.

I actually decided on the full hard doors versus soft or the half doors. Thought about the half doors, but I don't want zipper side windows. They get so crappy so quickly. Don't care about the other three that I won't have to be trying to see through, but the side and front I want to be real glass.

[steve]

i am with you on the hard doors. i would rather have them seal up nice and tight and have real glass. they are heavy to remove but i still have no trouble by myself. you can always buy soft lowers if you want that look but really its much more fun to have them all the way off.

they are noisy compared to other rides
they have poor fuel economy
they are "drive by wire" and many dont like that
they are underpowered (turbo lag without the turbo)
the auto trans is considered junk
they leak
the rear window is a PITA
they are kinda small
they AC has a hard time keeping up
if you plan on wheelin youll need upgrades
the widows scratch when you look at them
you will NEED a clover patch for you windows
you will want seat covers
if you take your doors off you will want aftermarket mirrors
overdrive is useless in any situation other than 70mph on highway
if you get bigger tires be prepared for a cascade of upgrades that follow
your jeep dealer MAY not be modification friendly and cause warranty issues
everyone with a jeep will wave at you (most anyway)
tow capacity sucks


spend some time on the jeep forum before you buy IMO.


here is a funny thread on the jeep forums

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f96/s...rship-1055615/

despite all its shortcomings i LOVE the jeep and really there is nothing like it on the market. its truly unique and i love the versitality..

[Rustie]

they are noisy compared to other rides Yep knew this
they have poor fuel economy Found that out yesterday

they are "drive by wire" and many dont like that Why not? Rob saw this but didn't think anything negative about it that he said

they are underpowered (turbo lag without the turbo) noticed the lack of pep but since I didn't expect it to be anything but a truck, I wasn't overly concerned

the auto trans is considered junk GOING MANUAL!!!!!

they leak water???

the rear window is a PITA Why?

they are kinda small Yep knew this

they AC has a hard time keeping up Really? My Dodge van has had A/C issues. Is this the same thing?

if you plan on wheelin youll need upgrades Yep knew this

the widows scratch when you look at them LOL! That bad huh???

you will NEED a clover patch for you windows What is this?

you will want seat covers Interior get that ratty that quickly??

if you take your doors off you will want aftermarket mirrors Why?

overdrive is useless in any situation other than 70mph on highway noticed 6th speed came in at 60 mph

everyone with a jeep will wave at you (most anyway) That's an indiana thing anyway. Everyone here waves as you drive down the street anyway

tow capacity sucks? 100 pounds on the base and 2000 pounds on the Mountains upgrade

[steve]

the drive by wire system is what gives you that spongy un-responsive feel. some have said that the flashpaq has fixed this for them

yes, many leak water. its a fact

the rear window is tough to get on and off. you WILL be cussing the rear window.

last 92 degree day driving home from the beach (mind you we drove right on and up to the water) the AC had a hard time keeping us (4 and a dog) cool the trip home.

yes, the windows scratch that bad (and you want UV protection for the sft top)

clover patch is a carrying/storage device for your windows

yes, the cloth seats will suck a stain right off your pants on to them

many states require at least two mirrors. youll want one anyway for safety

tow capacity still sucks

and did i mention MOPAR stuff is just a little on the "cheap" side ? well it is.

[boater bill]

I loved my 1990 Wrangler for 15 years and had all of the issues Steve described.
I added a 4" lift and 33" BFD mud Ta's, a Dana 44 rear with 4.56's and airlockers for the front and rear because the stock Dana 35 broke. I replaced the broken for the 3rd time5 speed with a NV4500 from a 1 ton Chevy for the granny gear and overdrive. Went through 4 tops, the last one had tinted windows and really liked those.
nothing like the feeling of a Jeep, a true freedom machine but can be tough as a daily driver.

[BlueGTO]

/jeep wave

Honestly I do not even hear the road/wind noise any more.
And EVERYONE likes Jeeper chicks =)

[keith h]

135,000 on my Sahara 6cyl auto A/C and still going strong, this is my 2nd Wrangler and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another

[John V.]

Bought '03 Sahara edition 2.5 years ago. Came with hard, soft (looked never used), and bikini (also never used) tops.

I love it, my youngest loves it, the other 2 boys that have gotten to drive it were ambivalent about it. My wife prefers her Honda.

I keep the hardtop on it in winter to save wear on the soft top. The soft top doesn't have the convenience of a convertible (one son prefer to drive the Sufire convert rather than the Jeep). If I could leave it off I would, but not really an option. My youngest son will take the trouble to open it up, he drives it the most.

Problem with the hard top is storage, it is big and bulky. I can see why most people wouldn't bother with them.

I assume the rear window "problem" is zipping it in and out? Mine isn't really all that bad, latching the top at the front was initially a challenge. Either we got that figured out now or the top has a little more slack in it now that it has gotten some use.

Fuel economy is probably the worst thing about it. Hasn't had any maintenance issues to speak of although needs front pads now (has 4 wheel discs), will do those soon. Mine has about all options except ABS but even so, it is kinda a throwback vehicle, no power windows, locks, mirrors, so pretty basic transportation and fewer things that can go wrong. Reminds me of the way many cars were equipped back in the '60s (except maybe for the addition of the A/C).

Problem with multifunction stalk, fog lamps wouldn't shut off so I pulled the relay.

Rust not an issue where I live. It is probably the most rugged vehicle I've owned.

I think the driver seat is also the most comfortable of any vehicle I own, the '04 GTP is good but I think I prefer the Jeep. Recently drove with my wife in her '08 Civic with seats I hate to pick up the Jeep from another son (he also didn't really care for the Jeep and only son of 4 who doesn't really like converts) after he bought his own car. On the return trip, I kept thinking how comfortable the seat was for about 400 miles with 1 stop.

Road noise is not as bad as I imagined it was going to be, right from the day I bought it, especially with the hard top on. Has oversized Goodrich All Terrain T/As.

The friendly wave thing is fun, I didn't know about that until after I got it.

Haven't ever pulled the doors, wife says no to the boys. For that reason, I keep threatening to buy the half doors. The full doors feel too enclosed with the top down (or off). But they are a virtue for winter weather.

Supposed to be easy to flip but son no. 3 managed to do a 360 out on the road doing about 50 mph. Someone drifted into his lane, he apparently swerved and over-corrected. I'm sure his knees were knocking after. Except for the scrubbed rubber on the then brand new tires, Jeep was none the worse for wear.

A/C is plenty cold in mine (northeast Fla). Fits 2 short boards and 2 surfers well enough, haven't ever really hauled much aside from beach stuff in it. Wouldn't make a habit of taking it on road trips because of the fuel economy (I think it does about 15 mpg highway, tad less around town, 4.0L). You mentioned a turbo so I'm guessing engine choices are completely different now.

Back seat is even comfortable although awkward to get into. But youngest leaves the rear seat at home, has no use for it.

I'm not a fan of the 4 dr Wranglers (just look odd to me) but I'm sure they are easier to load 4 people into.

Factory premium stereo is not the best, but I'll guess newer ones are superior.

I wouldn't know about the auto trans, I wouldn't have bought without the stick, 5 spd in the '03.

Still looks to be in about the same shape now as it was when I bought it, had 38k miles, now up to 66k. So it is holding up well for me. Unfortunately, it is rarely home so I drive it infrequently.

I also always loved Jeeps and this was my first, it hasn't disappointed.

[steve]

island beach

[Cvarney]

I picked up an 05 wrangler last year. 2.5 SE, pretty mcuh base model with no options. And i absolutely love it. Not having AC doesn't bother me, except on stupid hot days at really long lights or RR crossings with a slow train. I agree with the other guys, after about 2 weeks I don't really hear the raod noise anymore. Mines a soft top but I've never had any issues with it leaking. If I leave the windows off at night, in the mornings I"ll have some condensation in it, but it's not affected anythign that I can tell. The interior is supposed to be weather proofed or something, not sure what all that means, but I can't see any problems. Only things that's been added are some 31/10.5's that were on it when I bought it, and I put a Tuffy center consol in it (mine didn't have one at all). I wouldn't trade it for anythign right now. Can't go wrong with it, in my opinion.
C

[codyyy]

I come from a Jeep family although I have not personally owned a TJ or YJ. I'm not sure what model year you would be going for though. I hear good things about the new ones like the JK but I would personally stay with a TJ. 4.0L tried and true. My last vehicle was basically my first, a '98 Jeep Cherokee Limited with a 4.0L and I loved it. I took that car everywhere and built it from stock all the way to putting 33s on it with a bunch of different suspension setups to get the feeling just right.
I have not had any problems with the engine or trans in mine although I had a 4.0L with the AW4 and the NP242 transfer case (the full-time 4wd one allowing you to pretty much have AWD abilities).

[rascal455ho]

I had 03 rubicon and sold.I now have an 04 unlimited with full doors and soft top with sunrider option. I test drove alot of jeeps and can tell you the main thing is to get one with a good gear ratio.Mine is auto trans w/ 4.0 and 3.73 gears.It runs great comared to the ones I tested with 3.07 and 2 series gears.I would not have one unless it had 3.55s or better.

[rascal455ho]

Also test drive an older 4.0 you might like it better.You can email Chrysler and get a build sheet on the jeeps you look at to check the ratio of differential

[ry57pont]

my 1995 wrangler's driver side hard door would never shut in temps below 20deg. i always had to drive with one hand on the door until the cabin temp increased.

on the hardtop storage, i used a one of the hardtop lifters attached to the ceiling of the garage, it made removal and storage a breeze.

and jsut for spite (i believe) my 02 wrangler's check engine light came on about an hour before i sold it. i had to deduct a couple hundred from the sale.