2019 Jeep Wrangler Moab - too much $$?

[JeepJoe]

Wow, thanks for all the responses! This is why I love this forum. I'm going to touch on a couple of the replies, as I feel like they are the most relevant:

@cosine I have looked at optioning other models out, and it doesn't appear to be much different. Also, some stuff isn't available in other options (color matching hard top, leather seats...there may be more, IDK), which means 'sacrificing' somewhere and frankly if I'm spending this much on a vehicle, I'm going to get everything I want. I appreciate the different look at the situation though!

@DrPerez007 Wow, that sounds like an amazing deal - congrats! As someone who has looked at the used market, I feel like you understand where I'm at. The prices are crazy, especially for the Moab trim. After much arguing with myself I've decided I am pretty hellbent on the Moab trim, so I guess this is just where I'm at. I have spent countless hours looking at CL, Facebook, Ebay Motors, local websites, etc and have either found nothing, or found what I wanted in the $47K-$50K range.

@gqgambler Thanks for the PM with the alternatives. I think your experiences sound a lot like mine. 'Securing the Moab' is kind of what I was thinking too. And, as you pointed out, they are all expensive and kind of 'rare' in the config I'm looking at. I was originally looking at the Rubicon too, but the Moab fits me better.

@Rycam Thanks for the info. I wasn't aware of the 'J' vs 'K' in the VIN, but I checked and they are both 'K'. I have looked for leftovers, but everyone has cleared them out. I've also tried looking privately, including this site, and there's nothing currently being offered.

So I think where I've come down is that if I want a Moab, this is the costs. I know it seem crazy to everyone, but with this trim level at this age, I think it is what it is. I've run the numbers myself, but also have a local Jeep dealer looking at an equivalent 2021 build. We'll see how that goes, but I'm not holding my breath.

I think what I'm seeing is that used dealers price based on MSRP. What I mean by that is if you had a vehicle with an MSRP of $55K, and they're selling it for $48K, then they see it as $7K worth of savings. The reality is that the first buyer probably paid around $48K themselves, possibly even less. This spread gets wider as the jeep gets older, but current model year seems to suffer from this. There must be a term for this - if not, I'm sure we can come up with one.

I really appreciate all the opinions! If anyone has any other experiences they'd like to share, by all means. Thanks again all!

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[gqgambler]

Goodspeed and good hunting. Will let you know if I come across anything else. I assumed you looked through the forum classified already like @Rycam mentioned.

 

[JeepJoe]

Goodspeed and good hunting. Will let you know if I come across anything else. I assumed you looked through the forum classified already like @Rycam mentioned.

Yes, I did. There were a couple of really good deals in there, but they've sold.

 

[summer4x]

Since you are hell bent on a Moab I suppose you have two options:

1) Practice patience and make offers as they come available, trying to secure a good price.

2) Overpay if you can't wait.

Best of luck.

 

[JeepJoe]

Since you are hell bent on a Moab I suppose you have two options:

1) Practice patience and make offers as they come available, trying to secure a good price.

2) Overpay if you can't wait.

Best of luck.

Yup, this is where I'm at. Still trying to figure things out.

 

[summer4x]

Yup, this is where I'm at. Still trying to figure things out.

In my opinion, if this is the sort of vehicle you are keeping for a long, long time, like decades, then by all means get what you want. If you are planning on selling it in 3-5 years, I think buying new makes much more sense, from a depreciation standpoint.

 

[BadWolf]

@JeepJoe i started to break things down from options to style / design. at the end i ended up scrapping the rubicon idea and looked at the sport. the reason was that i didnt care for the wheel options, the red dash and couple of other things.

If you are ordering a Rubicon and don't want the "red dash", all you have to do is get the Dark Saddle Leather Seats and now the dash is gray.

 

[gqgambler]

In my opinion, if this is the sort of vehicle you are keeping for a long, long time, like decades, then by all means get what you want. If you are planning on selling it in 3-5 years, I think buying new makes much more sense, from a depreciation standpoint.

Wranglers hold their value well, but buying new is the worst for depreciation especially the sooner you get ride of the vehicle. The minute you drive off the lot you have taken the biggest depreciation hit and the sooner you trade it in the less you can recover from it. There is a reason leasing is pushed so hard for terms of 3 years; the customer takes the big depreciation hit, the dealer gets back a valuable car at the end that is prime for the used car market.

 

[summer4x]

Wranglers hold their value well, but buying new is the worst for depreciation especially the sooner you get ride of the vehicle. The minute you drive off the lot you have taken the biggest depreciation hit and the sooner you trade it in the less you can recover from it. There is a reason leasing is pushed so hard for terms of 3 years; the customer takes the big depreciation hit, the dealer gets back a valuable car at the end that is prime for the used car market.

Not compared to the prices he quoted on used. That's where my comparison came from.

 

[cosine]

If you are ordering a Rubicon and don't want the "red dash", all you have to do is get the Dark Saddle Leather Seats and now the dash is gray.

it might solve the red dash, but does not solve in spending more money for leather. not bashing on leather seats, but to me having leather seats in a wrangler just does not fit well. yeah it looks nice in a sahara to try to make it "up scale". but in a rubicon thats geared more toward the trails, leather looks out of place. i'll stick with the good ole cloth seats.

 

[zrickety]

it might solve the red dash, but does not solve in spending more money for leather.

I've considered painting my dash...the pieces come off. Body color or a gloss black would look great. $5 fix.

 

[shelglass]

Very Good or Excellent would be what I would use for price.

 

[Rycam]

@JeepJoe have you pulled the trigger on a Moab yet???

 

[JeepJoe]

@JeepJoe have you pulled the trigger on a Moab yet???

Not just yet, although I think I have something in the works. Why, do you have something I might be interested in @Rycam?

 

[Rycam]

Not just yet, although I think I have something in the works. Why, do you have something I might be interested in @Rycam?

@JeepJoe I was just curious to find out if you did locate one, I did an internet search last week, just googled Jeep Wrangler Moab for sale and located maybe 12 to 15 with various mileage ranges but again, compared to what I paid for mine new, to me didn’t seem like any “deals”. Again, just waiting to see what you end up with, please be sure to post what your outcome is!

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