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Option Advice...what's worth it & what do you wish you took a pass on?

Big Lebowski

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Long-time Wrangler owner, looking for advice on a 4-door Sahara or Rubicon JL. We currently have a 4-door JK Rubicon, and love most of the upgrades...except the "start/stop" thing. Our love for our JK has diminished with the interior quality, lack of creature comforts and dated NAV/Head unit.

Don't get me wrong. We LOVE our Wrangler...but ready for some upgrades.

We DO take it off-road, but only a few times a year when we take a trip up to Northern Michigan...most of our needs are centered around daily driving needs. We do take the top off in the Summer, and have a ceiling winch to take it up easily.

Set in Stone / must haves:
- 4 door
- Mella Yella (I was high on Mojito! but my wife wants a new color...and we've never done yellow)
- Painted Hard Top & Fenders
- LED Lighting
- Keyless Entry / Remote Start
- Hard Top Headliner / Insulation (as we have always added it ourselves)
- 8 speed
- Cold Weather / Heated Seats / Steering Wheel
- Blindspot / Rear view camera.
- 8" NAV / Alpine Audio / Sirius

On the fence:
- Sahara (Like the cost savigs, and DD smoothness...don't like the look as much as Rubicon)
- Rubicon (Love the looks...love the capability, but mostly a Mall Crawler)
- Tow Group?
- Steel Bumper?
- Leather Interior (how does the cloth fare?)

And concerns?
- Has this Steering thing been worked out?
- Any other major issues to look for on a test drive?

Thank you in advance! - Big L

(PS-Here is our outbound beauty and the future home of our JLU!)

jeep 2.jpg
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TXRobD

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The LED lights and 8.4 Alpine are my favorite things on the jeep and I'm really glad I got them. I got plastic bumpers figuring I would be changing the bumper out eventually to add a winch. I also liked the look of the standard Rubicon wheels over the upgraded ones so I didn't go for those.
 

Chocolate Thunder

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Ditto the preceding comment. Sounds like the Moab was built with you in mind. Iā€™d get the tow group simply for the higher capacity alternator and auxiliary switches even if I never planned to tow anything. I donā€™t remember if that included in the Moab edition package.
 

MALL R8D

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Most of your must haves are what I would have suggested as must haves.

As for the maybes...

I skipped the steel bumper because I knew I wanted a different bumper style. If you like the look of the steel and don't think you will replace it, it gives you options to add on things like a winch, bull bar, lighting, etc later on (if that interests you).

I wish I had bought the tow package. I don't tow anything so I didn't bother, but in opting out, I missed out on the AUX switches being already wired/programmed in and the upgraded alternator and battery.

I love leather because it is easier to clean and holds up better. My Grand Cherokee was 17 years old and still had nearly perfect leather when I sold it.


I am biased towards the Rubicon because I like the look of the hood and the red stitching on the seats and the red dash (which I don't think comes in the yellow anyway). There are obviously offroad features that make it beneficial, but if a Rubicon and Sahara would equally suit those needs for you, go for what is more aesthetically pleasing to you. The price difference between the two is really insignificant, but changing some of those features later would not necessarily be an inexpensive choice.
 

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ShaunTheJeep

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I agree. Tow group for the Aux buttons (oddly, not for towing) is a must. Who knows what you'll want to add in a few years and having the buttons built in will inspire you to upgrade.

Steel bumper if you'll keep it, else not if you'd replace. Leather vs cloth interior is all personal preference. One upgrade I found unnecessary is the wheels. They look a bit cooler but are basically the same function for $800.
 

BillG

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Really does sound like youā€™d like the moab except for the tires, but you might could get some off a Rubi.
 
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Big Lebowski

Big Lebowski

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Thanks for the feedback everyone. Really great insight...and of course youā€™ve successfully put me in conflict over two options Iā€™d decided to drop (steel bumper and tow/aux). :clap: Need to think on those a bit more.

Oddly the ā€œMella Yellaā€ is not listed as ā€œavailableā€ on the Moab package, but then again itā€™s not on the site now either. Sadly, I found out that both LED lights and Mella Yella are on ā€œrestrictedā€ status. I get the meaning, but does anyone have any insight as to how long that might last?

I went into a dealer tonight to talk numbers, and get a baseline to begin working with and god I love the Wranglers. Only vehicle Iā€™ve ever owned where you get offered above what you thought it was worth to start!

Unfortunately, the ā€œrestrictedā€ status puts timelines in question...donā€™t mind waiting, but Iā€™d hate to wait and have the color discontinued.

Found this example here, and this would be the exact setup weā€™d be after:

C5BCCB7E-8FDC-4B10-A1F2-44191C0B63C1.jpeg


77A6ABE7-7DD7-447A-B454-D23EDCB36173.jpeg
 

Chocolate Thunder

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Itā€™s ā€œHella Yellaā€. And if youā€™re placing a factory order, 2019 ordering is scheduled to begin in exactly one month. Iā€™m not sure if that will remain the case or Iā€™d the material restrictions will be appointing them as well but thought Iā€™d mention it.
 

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Big Lebowski

Big Lebowski

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Itā€™s ā€œHella Yellaā€. And if youā€™re placing a factory order, 2019 ordering is scheduled to begin in exactly one month. Iā€™m not sure if that will remain the case or Iā€™d the material restrictions will be appointing them as well but thought Iā€™d mention it.
Lol, ok...I get the noob award. 1 month eh? That is definitely a factor.
 

RavenJeep

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So I'm going to echo the MOAB thought and since the LED lights are part of the package you wouldn't have to worry about the LED restriction. If you go to that thread theres alot of info but the bottom line is that the MOAB package will save you about $2000 on options before adding in the front steel bumper, Rubicon hood, and upgraded rock rails which add another $1500 in value. Something to think about. The Hella Yella I can't help you with, possible it's not available on that package, though that seems odd.
 

VolCntry73

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I would suggest adding the tow package and dropping the headliner from the factory. From my understanding, the quality is a question. Purchase the Hot Heads with sound assassin instead. https://hotheadheadliners.com/

Just my 2 cents.
 

RussJeep1

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David: first off, cudos to you. You've kept your existing rig in pristine condition! And your garage is awesome.

I'd like to talk about the tow package, ESS (Engine start/stop) and the fabric.

The tow package, which I realize comes with more than just a hitch and cable, is something I highly recommend--much as it wasn't for me--if you intend on towing things with their own brakes, and that accordingly use a 7 pin connector.

Doing this 7 wire install yourself after purchase is a pain. There's a lot of cable snaking and tucking to get from the battery to the back of the rig. Dealers don't generally like doing this job except at high price because its a time sink.

I didn't get it because I don't see myself (I know, famous last words) towing things that have their own brakes, and the 4 pin install is pretty straight forward as a DIY, as is installing your own hitch, much that is it highly recommended you draw power direct from the battery and snake the cable under the rig.

If you don't like the ESS I'd allocate money in the budget for one of the Flashing devices out there that can configure your rig to effectively press the ESS off button automatically on rig button push startup (hereafter startup--not to be confused with ESS startup.)

As you may know, ESS by default is on at each startup short of reconfiguring it with one of these flashing devices. Users must expressly press the ESS diable button to turn it off after each button push startup of the rig. Maybe that doesn't bother you but many ESS dislikers (am ambivalent about it) like you don't like pushing the ESS off button every time they start up.

Fabric: While it's personal know that the cloth has no backseat middle armrest. The leather does, and when this arm rest is down (as in only 2 passengers are back there, not 3) it provides cup holders in the back of the headrest.

Fabric on the other hand provides them in the center floor rear console. In place of these cup holders, at least from the factory, FCA provides these all but useless (IMHO) shallow trays.

While I'd suggest you check the Ordering and Pricing section of the forum, many of us, myself included, got 5% off invoice by making factory orders. If you are willing to wait you'll not only save money, but potentially not have to pay for features on dealer inventory you don't want or do without those features you do want, that aren't easily upgradable after purchase on a rig that's part of a dealer's inventory.

Best of luck; safe trails!
 

Litfuse

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Although I like the look of the painted fenders, I wish I would have went with the stock black plastic fenders instead. I live in the country with a lot of oil and chip roads and the stock tires on the Rubicon likes to throw rocks. Itā€™s only a matter of time before my fenders are chipped up.
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