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2021 Wrangler Unlimited Sahara Vs. Rubicon

SoCal

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I thought I read somewhere that Rubis tend to depreciate faster than Sports, no? Or maybe it's just the same rate but the price gap to make up is much larger.
it's been the opposite in my searches it seems used JL Rubicons are not worth even looking at because they are priced so closely to new ones
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Carolina Jeeper

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It's my experience at trade in that my JKUR held its value much better than my JKU Sport at almost identical mileage. Neither had any issues at trade in.
 

aldo98229

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Of nine Wranglers I’ve owned, the absolute worst resale was on my 2018 JKU Rubicon Recon.

That thing lost 1/3 of its value in the first year. Never had that happen to me with a Wrangler before.
 

BrntWS6

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I put rubi take offs on my Sahara for $1200 that had only 20miles on them and TPMS sensors included. It gives it a much beefier look. Then sold my stock rims for $700 in a day. You can take off the grill, headlight and fog inserts and paint them black for $5.00 in spray paint. Or buy the black OEM ones which is what I did.

I like Rubicons but I knew I would never ever do any hardcore off roading. The Sahara is more than capable for my needs. I drove it through 10" of unplowed snow this year and it ate right through it in 4auto.
 

News2me

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I am looking to get a fairly loaded Wrangler. I was about to put in an order for a Rubicon and for the for the heck of it built out a Sahara and found it is much less expensive.

I am not a hard core off roader, the craziest stuff I do is hunt in the fall/winter down some backcountry two tracks and dirt roads that can get sandy or muddy and rough.

My current Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk can currently handle everything I have encountered except one time when there was a fairly messy sandy / muddy stretch on some back road I barely got through and then had to stop and the first power wash car wash I found to get the sand out of my wheels to get them back in balance.

My other driving is around town, towing a boat and some traveling. I had my eye on a Rubicon, mainly because they look cooler, and the branding, but I wonder if a Rubicon is overkill for me.

Two pretty much identical builds give me the following price:

Rubicon: $55,120
Unlimited Sahara: $51,650

What are the major things I am missing with a Sahara vs a Rubicon ?

Is there anything I am missing with a Rubicon vs a Sahara ?

Does the Rubicon hold resale value better?

Now I am wondering if the more rugged look of the Rubicon is worth it and maybe a negative for someone that does 95% of their driving on normal roads and at worst hits some iffy two tracks, back dirt roads, and a snow storm.
If it was me, with the same questions, I would go with the Sahara. Two years ago, I got rid of my JKU Sport. I loved that Jeep and it did everything I asked it to do. Mostly snow and forest trails around here and a few Western adventures thrown in. My sport never failed me. I traded it in on a 2019 Rubicon. It was a deal I couldn't pass up. I was always looking at the Rubicon because it was more heavy duty. Even though I will never do any extreme off roading with it, I feel that the Rubicon will hold up better in the long run and I plan on keeping it a very long time.

I also have a 2016 JKU Sahara Backcountry in the family (wife's). When that one expires, we will get another Sahara for her. Both are fantastic vehicles and for an average Midwestern driver like me, they will do whatever I ask of them. Both have all the options you want and the ride on both is fantastic. The Rubicon is mostly stronger axles, sway bar disconnect, lockers, gear ratio and and a heavier duty 4WD system. With the kind of driving you mentioned, you'll be happy with the Sahara and have some money left over.
 

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If it was me, with the same questions, I would go with the Sahara. Two years ago, I got rid of my JKU Sport. I loved that Jeep and it did everything I asked it to do. Mostly snow and forest trails around here and a few Western adventures thrown in. My sport never failed me. I traded it in on a 2019 Rubicon. It was a deal I couldn't pass up. I was always looking at the Rubicon because it was more heavy duty. Even though I will never do any extreme off roading with it, I feel that the Rubicon will hold up better in the long run and I plan on keeping it a very long time.

I also have a 2016 JKU Sahara Backcountry in the family (wife's). When that one expires, we will get another Sahara for her. Both are fantastic vehicles and for an average Midwestern driver like me, they will do whatever I ask of them. Both have all the options you want and the ride on both is fantastic. The Rubicon is mostly stronger axles, sway bar disconnect, lockers, gear ratio and and a heavier duty 4WD system. With the kind of driving you mentioned, you'll be happy with the Sahara and have some money left over.
I agree, except I pretty much decided on the getting a Willy with more options for about $1000 cheaper.
 

CNDJeepLife

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While a Sahara would have fit my needs just fine I went with the Rubicon b.c of the hood, wheels and tires. You will get the added $$ back, minus depreciation at trade in. You will mostly likely NOT get the added value back of aftermarket.
 

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I am looking to get a fairly loaded Wrangler. I was about to put in an order for a Rubicon and for the for the heck of it built out a Sahara and found it is much less expensive.

I am not a hard core off roader, the craziest stuff I do is hunt in the fall/winter down some backcountry two tracks and dirt roads that can get sandy or muddy and rough.

My current Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk can currently handle everything I have encountered except one time when there was a fairly messy sandy / muddy stretch on some back road I barely got through and then had to stop and the first power wash car wash I found to get the sand out of my wheels to get them back in balance.

My other driving is around town, towing a boat and some traveling. I had my eye on a Rubicon, mainly because they look cooler, and the branding, but I wonder if a Rubicon is overkill for me.

Two pretty much identical builds give me the following price:

Rubicon: $55,120
Unlimited Sahara: $51,650

What are the major things I am missing with a Sahara vs a Rubicon ?

Is there anything I am missing with a Rubicon vs a Sahara ?

Does the Rubicon hold resale value better?

Now I am wondering if the more rugged look of the Rubicon is worth it and maybe a negative for someone that does 95% of their driving on normal roads and at worst hits some iffy two tracks, back dirt roads, and a snow storm.
For $3500 difference take the Rubi and thank me later. We started off with a Sahara which we have pretty much built into a Rubi and then we bought a second Jeep... a Rubi.
I could go on and on of the why the Rubi is better starting platform but I'm sure others have already beat me to it. Just go for the Rubi. BTW... we too started with "well we will just go down some dirt roads and stuff" and now we live 10 miles from Sand Hollow and some of the best rock crawling We4st of the Mississippi and love every minute of it.
 

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Of nine Wranglers I’ve owned, the absolute worst resale was on my 2018 JKU Rubicon Recon.

That thing lost 1/3 of its value in the first year. Never had that happen to me with a Wrangler before.
Pretty sure because that's the last JK year and the first JL year with all the new improvements. They were selling the 18 JK's for a song just to get rid of them at the end of the year. Just too many improvements on the new JL platform, never understood why they make both for the 18 model year.
 

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I am looking to get a fairly loaded Wrangler. I was about to put in an order for a Rubicon and for the for the heck of it built out a Sahara and found it is much less expensive.

I am not a hard core off roader, the craziest stuff I do is hunt in the fall/winter down some backcountry two tracks and dirt roads that can get sandy or muddy and rough.

My current Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk can currently handle everything I have encountered except one time when there was a fairly messy sandy / muddy stretch on some back road I barely got through and then had to stop and the first power wash car wash I found to get the sand out of my wheels to get them back in balance.

My other driving is around town, towing a boat and some traveling. I had my eye on a Rubicon, mainly because they look cooler, and the branding, but I wonder if a Rubicon is overkill for me.

Two pretty much identical builds give me the following price:

Rubicon: $55,120
Unlimited Sahara: $51,650

What are the major things I am missing with a Sahara vs a Rubicon ?

Is there anything I am missing with a Rubicon vs a Sahara ?

Does the Rubicon hold resale value better?

Now I am wondering if the more rugged look of the Rubicon is worth it and maybe a negative for someone that does 95% of their driving on normal roads and at worst hits some iffy two tracks, back dirt roads, and a snow storm.
Not sure what your builds look like but i spent 51k on a sahara and if i just left out a few unnecessary options i cld of had rubi for same price. My suggestion is do what ya can do to lower rubi price and go with that. I made the mistake of going sahara, no clue what i thinking. Saharas are sweet but rubi’s are siiick
 

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Dedicated mall crawler here. We had for a time two 2020 JLUs in the garage at the same time—- a Sport S and my wife’s Rubicon. Looked at them side by side every day and never ever thought we overpaid for the Rubi. The Rubi just looks so much better overall.

Have your dealer put the Sahara and the Rubi side by side and see how you feel.
 
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Dedicated mall crawler here. We had for a time two 2020 JLUs in the garage at the same time—- a Sport S and my wife’s Rubicon. Looked at them side by side every day and never ever thought we overpaid for the Rubi. The Rubi just looks so much better overall.

Have your dealer put the Sahara and the Rubi side by side and see how you feel.
I decided against the Sahara and Rubicon and plan to get an upgraded Willy. I think it looks pretty awesome and will do more than I need.
 

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mgroeger

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I decided against the Sahara and Rubicon and plan to get an upgraded Willy. I think it looks pretty awesome and will do more than I need.
For that coin I'd go Rubi all day long. That's basically a glorified Sahara.
 

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As someone who went through the same decision making struggle, it all came down to finding one with the options I wanted, as opposed to waiting for a factory build. I wanted a Jeep for a long time and once they released the JL in 2018 I was all in. We ended up with a loaded Sahara Unlimited, less LED’s and Auto 4x4. I’ve since added Rubicon suspension and tires, pMoab wheels and rails, plus lots of Plastidip to create my own look, and I’m very happy with it - in fact people have asked how I like my Rubicon! Now I didn’t buy (or build) it to look like a Rubicon, I just built what I wanted to drive and am pleased. That being said, if I could go back and do it again I’d probably buy a Rubicon or even a Moab (had I known it would be available). Reason is I’ve probably spent almost the difference already and I still don’t have lockers or sway bar disconnects. However my Sahara has been quite capable of everything I’ve thrown at her, and overall I’m a happy Jeep owner!

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