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Should I wait for 2018 Wrangler?

The Great Grape Ape

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The closest thing I'd consider to a unique, collectible JK would be the Dragon Edition in so much as how awful it was.
Not really, you still need the demand for it, afterwards and even the Chinese market it was intended for had little to no interest, if it were a G-wagon or LandRover, ok maybe, but this was mainly sold to wannabes and pavement princesses, to which..

Think for a moment when you last saw an untouched Dragon Edition, if ever?
Quite often in fact, mainly because they were primarily sold to people who didn't off-road and didn't do bling, they to people who liked stock bling, which is why you can still find a bunch of Dragon Edition in un-moded and 'never off-roaded' condition, even now there are a nunch for sale on Auto traders online.
The Red Rock on the other hand was even more limited, and most went on trails, finding those that are in good shape would be a lot harder than finding a mall-crawling Dragon.

Seriously, though. In the grand scheme of the JK, there isn't a single model that stands out as unique, special, or rare. The LJ, on the other hand, is all three of those things.
No, it's not really rare as they made 2.5 years and tens of thousands of them, not dozens. Your use of 3 words to try to express the same thing doesn't make it so. Also this isn't even theory, one need only look at the marketplace again, it's been over a decade, and they do not command significantly higher rates of return than their TJ counterparts in similar condition. They initially even cost more than the first JKUs (which were better equipped, which makes it similar to this JK/JL scenario), but they haven't appreciated much at all for that premium.

However all of this speaks to the main point, despite the things people might think make a Wrangler collectible, even then they will struggle to see any appreciable advantage over other models, and usually you'll get better return on investment from a Sport S and putting your money in an institutional investment. Even a super limited edition which one could show number invite and all the provenance to make it super rare, would still struggle to earn payback even vs vehicles like Miatas or BRZs, let alone Vipers or Alfa 4Cs as collectible darlings in the FCA stables.

If you're talking true collectibility, then take a look at the auctions, and you'll see how even the pristine variants just don't pull in 'collectible' dollars even if they are truly "rare, unique and special" like an FC or Jeepster in great condition, the market just isn't for collecting that. The true fans would rather a beaten-up one and rebuild it into something of their own, because the mantra of Jeep are Built not Bought extends there also, hurting collectible status.
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Bullring

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A collectible JK? Maybe the very last one off the line. Or the first one off the JL line. Anything else, buy, trade sell and enjoy.

The only thing that would hold me off a JL over a JK is initial growing pains with the new platform/engines. In that case I'd just pick up a JK to hold me over until 2019 knowing full well once they iron out the early issues the JL will be superior in just about every way.
 

Spank

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Not really, you still need the demand for it, afterwards and even the Chinese market it was intended for had little to no interest, if it were a G-wagon or LandRover, ok maybe, but this was mainly sold to wannabes and pavement princesses, to which..
I wasn't serious about the Dragon Edition being collectible, nor the LJ for that matter. My point is that a collectible JK doesn't exist. The 10A could have been that vehicle, but the subsequent editions killed that.

The LJ isn't collectible either, but considering how many Wranglers are on the road, yes, they are absolutely rare.
 

Wolfslash16

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I think it's funny how you guys interpreted me saying "the most valuable JK ever" to "it's going to be the most collectible Jeep ever". By saying that I only meant since it's the newest version of the JK, the market value will most likely be the highest of all JK's.

Any how, I'm not completely against the JL, it's just got a lot to prove. The current JK has been proven to be a solid, tough, all around decent Jeep. The JL sounds better on paper so far, but it's got quite a bit to to prove it's self, there's a lot of changes going on.

Not to be negative, but I'm worried. Look at the newest gen Toyota Tacoma. Pushes for better fuel economy and other modern regulations kinda got in the way. Before it was launched, everyone thought it was going to be better, and the normal stuff. But now that's it's been out for two years, people are calling it the "turd" generation instead of the third generation. Value on late model model Tacos actually have gone up as a result. When Dodge came out with the 3rd gen Ram, pretty much the same thing happened. Now days, at least in my area, clean 2nd gen Ram's are worth more than the 3nd gens. These are just a few examples I can think of off of the top of my head, sadly there's plenty more. The first model years, or even the newest gens years always have bugs though. I'm just afraid that Jeep is going to push what the Wrangler is too far. I know it'll be better off road, with hopefully better fuel economy, but at what potential cost?

I know market value isn't really a good way to read what people think of them, but it's pretty accurate. Don't flame me please, I'm just thinking out loud...
 
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Billy

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The current JK has been proven to be a solid, tough, all around decent Jeep.
Albeit gutless and gets crappy mileage...

I haven't bought a JK for this very reason. If they had offered a CRD with either the 2.8 or the 3.0 (I have in my WK) no question I would have popped for a JK and never looked back.

BTW, I "drag raced" a V8 GC to work this morning and kicked his ass...

;o)
 

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orey22

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Albeit gutless and gets crappy mileage...

I haven't bought a JK for this very reason. If they had offered a CRD with either the 2.8 or the 3.0 (I have in my WK) no question I would have popped for a JK and never looked back.

BTW, I "drag raced" a V8 GC to work this morning and kicked his ass...

;o)
Much in the same boat, albeit I have a JK because I rack up mileage very quickly on my Jeeps, although I was very sad to sell my TJ a few years back, my JK has held up well. It's a 2012, first year pentastar, and there haven't been many kinks to it being a first year model. If they had a diesel five years ago I would have pounced, IF the manual trans was there.

Fingers crossed for Eco Diesel and manual transmission, otherwise version 2 of pentastar in 2018.
 

RDwheeler

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Yep ditto that. The current Pentastar leaves a lot to be desired. Diesel or updated 3.6 for me, assuming it is significantly improved in power and mileage.
 

Zip

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The gearing in Jeeps will kill gas mileage. The big thing will be what tranny they put in.
 

Jeepsterfreak

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When considering a JKU recently, I determined I wanted the 3.73 gearing option or Max Tow Option (which includes 3.73 and tow hitch) but these options in the Base Model are hard to find on the dealer lots in my area.

With the new auto tranny, is the axle ratio still as important if wanting up to 35" tires, or can the new tranny simulate a lower axle gear ratio by keeping it in 6th or 7th gear?
 

The Great Grape Ape

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The gearing in Jeeps will kill gas mileage. The big thing will be what tranny they put in.
First of all, the gearing doesn't kill gas mileage significantly. The difference is demonstrably minor compared to many other aspect, like aerodynamics, weight, and tire size & style. The biggest problem is that you need X amount of HP to keep pushing that brick through the wind, and while lower axles allows you slightly lower RPMs, the engine needs to maintain a certain RPM level to generate the required power, so there are diminishing returns that would do nothing if they move to a 2.72:1 (lowest available) in the D44 because it couldn't generate enough power well enough below 2000 RPM to overcome air resistance, so that means improvements as X approaches zero, the difference in the 3.21-4.10 equate to about a mile per gallon, not much. This is a topic that has been investigated since people swapped axles.
Where some efficiency can be derived is how smoothly snd efficiently they get to optimal RPM, which is where the transmission come in, to which...

Regardless of torque rating (8HP50 for gas / 8HP75 for diesel), the ZF 8-speed has the same ratios for both and a generous spread, making the low end higher (shorter) and the overdrive lower (taller) than even the NSG370 manual, and it's way better than the auto.

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / R

5.000 / 3.200 / 2.143 / 1.720 / 1.314 / 1.000 / 0.822 / 0.640 / 3.456

The only unknown remains which Manual Transmission they will use. The thinking is it will likely be a new bariant of the popular Tremec 3160 which has had a bunch of options regarding first gear ratios and spreads, but all of them sofar have fallen well short of the current NSG370 trading a lower first gear crawling multiplier ratio for a more fuel efficient final overdrive gear. This of course could be comenssted for with an altered offering of axles ratios for the manual, but would mean it would remain permanently crippled versus the auto for low-end delivery (the opposite of the current scenario).
 

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EagleEye123

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Looking to buy new Unlimited Rubicon shortly. Now the big question...now or later? I'm feeling a little pressured because I'm not sure I like LED DRLs on the fenders with turn signals. On a Jeep? Hard for me to picture big rugged off road rig crunching through the trail..."cool LED running lamps man". Oh well. This is just my opinion I guess, and we all have one. Share yours with me as well. Thanks!!!
 

Izzy901

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I've been waiting. After I purchased my 06 Cherokee a couple years ago, I quickly decided I wanted a wrangler. I was in the market for a JKU but used prices were around 25k for what I wanted and it only made sense to spend the extra 5k and get a brand new truck. After wondering on to this forum, I decided to wait for the 2018s. My Cherokee will still be my daily driver and my JLU will become my weekend warrior pavement princess mall crawler. :clap:
 

WXman

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With all the standard upgrades on JL, and a better looking exterior and interior, it would be stupid to buy a JK at this point. My $0.02.
 

Jeepsterfreak

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Well, you may not want the first model year JLU anyway. Maybe Jeep will be willing to deal on JK once the JLs start showing up on dealer lots. It could be awhile until you can get your new JL optioned the way you want. Just depends on supply and demand on the JL.
 

Bullring

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Looking to buy new Unlimited Rubicon shortly. Now the big question...now or later? I'm feeling a little pressured because I'm not sure I like LED DRLs on the fenders with turn signals. On a Jeep? Hard for me to picture big rugged off road rig crunching through the trail..."cool LED running lamps man". Oh well. This is just my opinion I guess, and we all have one. Share yours with me as well. Thanks!!!
Keep in mind the JK and JL will be sold simultaneously. At the very least I would wait until then. Now is the worst time to buy. Once the JL goes on sale, even if you prefer the JK you can use it to try and haggle the price down on the 2018 JK.

That said, I agree with what others have said, unless there is a big price difference or you prefer the looks of the JK (they look about the same to me) I can't see any reason to choose a JK over JL based on what we have seen so far. You're spending about the same amount for two Jeeps that have the same offroad capability but one has better engine/transmission, mpgs, safety, etc. It's a no brainer to me.
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