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Who else is in the "I'm waiting until the 2nd model year to buy but it's really hard to wait" club?

DanW

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4 Runner....I've had two of them. The first one left my wife stranded in an intersection because the computer wigged out and the transmission would not engage. It was a VERY busy intersection, with people honking, cursing, flipping her off, and even threatening her. I felt so good about Toyota at that moment as she called me crying and I could hear what was going on in the background. It also had a vibration in the wheels or suspension that Toyota could never find and cure. Finally, it began to rust out at about 120,000 miles and about 7 years old. The second one wasn't kept long enough to judge, and it served well while we had it. That's hardly the magical experience everybody seems to claim about Toyotas.

I'd be happy to take any bets as to whether my 08 JK will make it to 250,000 miles. Name the prize and I'll take you up on the bet. Barring an accident, I've no doubt it will get there, and then some. It has held up better after 10 years than my first 4 Runner did in 7. That's simply a fact. The 4 Runner was not driven off-road, at all, either. The JK has been run extensively off-road, and through far more road salt, too.

Btw, stating Jeep is the world's least reliable mark is quite profound. Care to back that up with a source? And don't give me Fiat. We're talking Jeep. I still doubt Fiat has been the worst, though.
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ThirtyOne

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Anecdotes aren't ignorable with a brand new vehicle with ten or twenty thousand units on the road so far. There are no recalls on a two month old vehicle, that would generally be the case even with a POS Jaguar or similar. Too early.

Many have seen questionable production snafus, which are probably more the area of concern for me. Speakers not being connected, mismatched tops and fender flares. When the basics are wrong off the bat, it makes you wonder if there's bigger problems waiting to arise. The engineering behind the vehicle seems solid, but build quality is just as important. It's a time will tell issue. I'm reminded of test driving a 2016 Wrangler, new, that had a check engine light pop on. Doesn't make ya feel good!

Your last paragraph is kinda funny! The Accord might survive a 30 inch swim and interior hosedown. So would a Toyota 4Runner. Bonus points: the Toyota will hit a quarter million miles.

tldr; some people are concerned with potential issues they're seeing on a new vehicle made by the world's least reliable marque. That said, myself and others have hope! When it comes down to it, it's still a simple and rugged vehicle by today's standards, especially for us big (little?) ballers opting for the simpleton trims. The first person to spec manual windows has gotta post a review here, as a side note.
I think you are talking past the point. Not saying, for example, that there was not a Jeep delivered where the speakers weren't hooked up right. The point is this problem has not been reported anecdotally enough times to represent a design/production issue. it's a screw up. But if it is just one or two it doesn't tell you anything about whether YOUR jeep will have speaker issues.

A lot of individual unrelated screw-ups can indicate production quality issues. But they don't really tell you what issues you may or may not have with your Jeep.

You both are making different points.
 

Indio

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Any concern I have is mostly related to these two areas:

1) The electronic items. Will there be software issues or failure particularly in newly designed electronic parts. That is the kind of stuff that can be difficult for the owner (or sometimes even the dealer if intermittent) to diagnose and fix. Especially down the road and out of warranty. And these items in my experience are what leave the owner stranded. Historically that is the only time my 1985 CJ7 left me stranded (flaky electronic control module).

2) Some key design mistake with a component. Mainly something with the transmission or high cost item. For example, if that 8 speed auto trans has an issue, just watch the money fly out of your wallet, if vehicle is out of warranty. (Fluid alone is + $100.) Over the years there have been some marginal/bad component choices by Jeep, that haunted later owners of the vehicles. Hopefully Jeep did well this time around selecting components for the JL.

Regarding item #2, what might we have to worry about? The 8 speed auto trans has already been used on several vehicles? If there hasn't been particular failure of the trans on other vehicles, then probably we are safe with it. The new 6 speed manual trans is a wild card though - time will tell. The tcase is a known and well regarded unit. Other than seeing how the Sahara full time version holds up over time. Mainly we are left with the new axles, and then some key components such as the steering system which has been changed.

Other than nuisance problems such as water leaks and noise, most of the issues I have seen reported have been electronic related. The one guy left on the side of the highway by a tollbooth ended up being an electronic issue? Some people complained about wipers running at wrong time and engine remote start not working. Or phone not integrating correctly. Wouldn't surprise me if support for the entertainment group takes a large part of FCA support staff effort.
 

ThirtyOne

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Any concern I have is mostly related to these two areas:

1) The electronic items. Will there be software issues or failure particularly in newly designed electronic parts. That is the kind of stuff that can be difficult for the owner (or sometimes even the dealer if intermittent) to diagnose and fix. Especially down the road and out of warranty. And these items in my experience are what leave the owner stranded. Historically that is the only time my 1985 CJ7 left me stranded (flaky electronic control module).

2) Some key design mistake with a component. Mainly something with the transmission or high cost item. For example, if that 8 speed auto trans has an issue, just watch the money fly out of your wallet, if vehicle is out of warranty. (Fluid alone is + $100.) Over the years there have been some marginal/bad component choices by Jeep, that haunted later owners of the vehicles. Hopefully Jeep did well this time around selecting components for the JL.

Regarding item #2, what might we have to worry about? The 8 speed auto trans has already been used on several vehicles? If there hasn't been particular failure of the trans on other vehicles, then probably we are safe with it. The new 6 speed manual trans is a wild card though - time will tell. The tcase is a known and well regarded unit. Other than seeing how the Sahara full time version holds up over time. Mainly we are left with the new axles, and then some key components such as the steering system which has been changed.

Other than nuisance problems such as water leaks and noise, most of the issues I have seen reported have been electronic related. The one guy left on the side of the highway by a tollbooth ended up being an electronic issue? Some people complained about wipers running at wrong time and engine remote start not working. Or phone not integrating correctly. Wouldn't surprise me if support for the entertainment group takes a large part of FCA support staff effort.
This is why I am leasing for 3 years. Then I will flip it for a new Jeep in its 4th year of production where those issues will be worked out. I don't want my year 1 JLU past the warranty.
 

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FrenchSSGTMike

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I really feel that some people around here should just buy a horse...
There’s so many variables that you have no control over... like literally NONE !!!
So why not just buy, hope for the best and see ? Cause that’s all you can do anyways, works from year 1 to 10 actually....
 

That One Guy

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I really feel that some people around here should just buy a horse...
There’s so many variables that you have no control over... like literally NONE !!!
So why not just buy, hope for the best and see ? Cause that’s all you can do anyways, works from year 1 to 10 actually....
There's controlling for variables, and there's accounting for them. Statistically, most here agree that the first model year of a generation tends to have more bugs and/or problems that get worked out later.

Also, how in the world would you sell a 3 year old JLU in a year and make money off of it? Finding an idiot?
 

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FrenchSSGTMike

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There's controlling for variables, and there's accounting for them. Statistically, most here agree that the first model year of a generation tends to have more bugs and/or problems that get worked out later.

Also, how in the world would you sell a 3 year old JLU in a year and make money off of it? Finding an idiot?
The whole definition of a variable is to not be controllable... you can look into odds, and try to lower them... But you’ll never control any of it.
And pretty sure you meant « how would you sell a 3 year JLU in THREE YEARS right ? » ?
Pretty sure you can sell it in 3 years for more than you owe on your loan = making money ; vs a lease where it’s pure loss !
Just my 0,02
 

That One Guy

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The whole definition of a variable is to not be controllable... you can look into odds, and try to lower them... But you’ll never control any of it.
And pretty sure you meant « how would you sell a 3 year JLU in THREE YEARS right ? » ?
Pretty sure you can sell it in 3 years for more than you owe on your loan = making money ; vs a lease where it’s pure loss !
Just my 0,02
Yes, how would you sell a three year old JLU in three years and make money on the transaction?

Your minimal original post claimed you'd make money off of owning a new vehicle for three years then selling. Selling for more than your current loan value is not "making money"--it's just not being upside-down in the loan.
 

ALEX-4LO

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Clue: See "Discuss Issues, Repairs, Warranty, TSB, Recalls"

Firmware bugs, electrical issues, assembly issues all typical of a product line startup. This is nothing completely unexpected for any vehicle, or complex product for that matter. I suspect as the assembly line gets more experience on this, feedback rolls in, and processes are adjusted, the issues will decline. This thread was about buy now or wait until year 2. No offense to any early adopters, i was thinking of being one.

Great feedback.....

However "firmware bugs" was the u connect on all jeeps that have u connect, not because of the JL It was the latest update that made the screens power off. That has been fixed. "Electrical issues" that has always been a (JK Issue). There has not been any reported issues for electrical on the current JL. I'm anxious to know if there's any new reports you came across confirming JL has electrical issues?
 
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ALEX-4LO

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I have had first year models of several makes including Lexus, Toyota, and Ford (to name a few) that had less problems than later year production units. Conversely, my '11 Land Cruiser was very problematic compared to my buddies first year production '08 that has been bullet proof for over 150k miles. I think it's merely luck of the draw and anything man made on an assembly line with hundreds of parts, including many moving mechanical parts, can have issues. With that said, I just got home from a 13 hour round trip to PA to purchase my new '18 JLU Rubicon and drove it home almost 400 trouble free miles. Not a rattle or issue. Man, the Alpine stereo is freakin' awesome and maybe the best I've had in a stock vehicle. There was a little wind noise above 75mph, but that's to be expected. No leaks, no rattles, and so far so good. Respectively, I think we can sometimes get caught up in believing "myths" that 2nd and older year production runs are better. After 12 years in the Army, and several deployments, life has taught me to simply enjoy the moment and not worry about things out of my control. Therefore, I purchased now because 1) I really wanted a new Ruby, 2) the vehicle has a new warranty and luckily the dealer I purchased from has a lifetime limited powertrain warranty that exceeds the factory 60K, and 3) I could be dead next year from either natural causes, or thousands of other possible scenerios. If you want one, my humble opinion is go buy one and drive the wheels off of it. You have a warranty and typically any issues that rear their ugly head usually happen within the warranty period anyway and can be ironed out before 3/36 or 5/60k. Regardless, I LOVE my new Ruby and a Mopar 2" lift, and 35's are being installed soon along with a snorkel and many other mods. I guess the only down side I see with my new Jeep is the fact that my wallet is getting lighter and lighter the more I search this forum :like:

Congratulations on your new Rubi!

Great input and feedback by the way. I as well had my fair share of Lexus / Toyota's. To be honest I had 3 Toyota Tacomas. One of the most reliable highest resale mid-size truck in the market today. However these Jeeps have called my name for quite a while. Every time I would see one on the road I would almost break my neck LOL. So I could not wait any longer and I traded in my 2017 Tacoma off-road 4x4 for the new Rubicon. The only thing that I hate is the wait..... LOL
 

That One Guy

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Congratulations on your new Rubi!

Great input and feedback by the way. I as well had my fair share of Lexus / Toyota's. To be honest I had 3 Toyota Tacomas. One of the most reliable highest resale mid-size truck in the market today. However these Jeeps have called my name for quite a while. Every time I would see one on the road I would almost break my neck LOL. So I could not wait any longer and I traded in my 2017 Tacoma off-road 4x4 for the new Rubicon. The only thing that I hate is the wait..... LOL
Kudos for having the drive to trade in a truck that new and nice for a new JL. It basically shows how badly you want the JL!

Sometimes there's no substitute for desire. I cross-shopped Tacomas last year, and while they'd be a much more practical and reliable daily vehicle that still perform very well off road, they're not a Wrangler, and what I really what is a Wrangler. So I'm getting a Wrangler.

Enjoy your JL when it comes, cheers.
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