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Are us middle class Jeepers going to be (fuel) forcefully priced out of enjoying our Jeeps? [CLOSED DUE TO POLITICS]

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JABCAT

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It currently costs over $90 to fill up my wife's Grand Cherokee which needs to be filled up at least once, if not twice per week. We can't downsize her vehicle because she requires a vehicle that size for work. She receives a montly stipend and mileage, however, that doesn't account for the significant increase in fuel costs. If the government isn't going to do anything about lowering fuel costs (which can easily be done), they need to increase the per mile compensation for those who have to use their vehicles for work.

My Corvette gets about 10-15 mpg (on a good day), and a fill up is currently also almost $90. That vehicle only sees about 1,000 miles annually, so fuel costs don't both me much. When our new Wrangler comes in, it'll just be another large weekly fuel expense that we have to figure into our budget.

The thing will getting more "fuel-efficient" vehicles is that their fuel capacity is often lower than less fuel-efficient vehicles, so you have to fill up more & is almost becomes a wash.
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MidwestJeeper

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I have a few friends from college that currently reside in the "cocoon of snobs", in the CA Bay Area.
The general mindset (not branding everyone in the same basket) of the folks there seem to think they are way better than the rest of us in the country, especially when it comes to tech and advancements.

Most of these people own Teslas. One of these acquantainces mocked me like I was a 3rd world hick for driving a gas Jeep. "I mean, are you still in 1982?" was his exact comment.

Said dude goes to Joshua tree national park in the Tesla that looks half SUV-half sedan. Shit happens with his electrified drivetrain and he is stranded for several hours.

I don't like getting into silly games, but I had to do this one for myself and all the Jeepers so I told him. "Man, I can get into a lot of shit too.......... Just that I can engage 4-Lo and get out of it, come home, have a pizza and beer and go to bed" :)
 

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I bought my Jeep in March 2021. Gas was pretty affordable (for here) at around $4.x a gallon. Yesterday I just filled up for $6.69 a gallon. The Jeep pretty much doesn't get driven at all anymore, unless it's for a pre planned trip. No more spur of the moment exploration trips. The gas budget in our home is pretty static unfortunately, and with both our employers holding back any form of raise, bonus, or COL adjustments, we have simply had to drive less.

Luckily we also have a Miata RF to flog around that never sees under 30mpg. The bikes are definitely getting more play these days too with 45+ mpg on them all.


I guess I should be happy I'm keeping more miles off the Jeep? trying hard to coin that a silver lining. Everyone paying $4.x still is living the fucking dream.

I'll add I considered a 4xe trim, but with gas being reasonable at the time of purchase, I didn't wait for it to be available. Now I'm thinking I should have. I'm not a Jeep flipper like many seem to be here, trading in one after another; some on their 3rd JL in a single year. So I'll be keeping this 3.6L, especially since I've put substantial work into it, but damn a 4xe sounds reallllllllllll nice right now.
 

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My wife and I have made adjustments, but the Jeep and weekend adventures wasn't part of it.

1) Subscriptions (Disney+, Apple, Amazon Prime, Ect..): All cancelled. We watch little to no TV so even less leaves more time for family and experiences
2) Pool Service: I can do myself, so we axed that
3) Food: I cook. I shop the perimeter of the store and avoid the middle. Bonus here is we eat healthy. Very little processed foods. In comparison, produce, dairy, and meat is far cheaper and goes further than processed foods or the crap in all the isles
4) Sams Club Membership: Avoid the right and middle, buy select items in bulk
5) Eating Out: All but stopped. Not great for you, expensive, and I swear the quality of the food has dropped. Noticed last time at Canes that the chicken strips were about 1/2 the normal size


With all of that, we have shaved off hundreds of dollars. I do get 55 gallons of gas a month from my employer, so that offsets the costs. But I daily my Jeep and in no world does getting another "car" save a single nickel.
 

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I have a few friends from college that currently reside in the "cocoon of snobs", in the CA Bay Area.
The general mindset (not branding everyone in the same basket) of the folks there seem to think they are way better than the rest of us in the country, especially when it comes to tech and advancements.
I had no idea when I moved away 23 years ago the brilliancy in my decision. Born and raised in San Mateo. It's a shame because it was beautiful there, weather was great, but when Arnold came on board, I could see the sideways slide. Funny though, I WAS of the mindset that the SF Bay Area was better. Boy, was I so very wrong.
 

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aldo98229

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This gas price hike is all insane right now. So ready to see a slight glimpse of normalcy back in this world so we can all enjoy things like we used to! These added costs to live are a pain the a** in general. Gas, food, what's next?
If it is any consolation, for the first time in a very long time, the price of everything else, fuel, food, homes, automobiles, has been going up faster than the cost of healthcare in this country...

If anyone’s planning to get sick, now’s the time...:bandit:
 

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I believe the answer to your question is yes. Most of the pressure to switch to EVs comes from the rest of the world. Most other western countries are at a higher adoption rate than we are here. The farther we fall behind, the more painful it’s going to be to catch up. Even Saudi Arabia is getting into the EV manufacturing business, and since they largely control the price of oil you can be sure they will do what they need to to make the new venture work. Big oil was the big business for a long time, but it’s hay day is probably over. We have seen disruptions in industry over and over again like……smartphones…….some people were never going to get one. Remember? How about …….Kodak. Remember when they thought that selling digital cameras would hurt there film sales? How’d that work out? How about cassette tape killing 8 track, compact discs killing cassette, and digital killing compact disc. It happens all the time, and the worst thing people can do is dig their heels in and pretending it’s not happening.

I own a gas guzzling wrangler and love it, but I know I’ll have to let it go in the next couple years because depreciation of these kind of vehicles is eventually fall of a cliff and I don’t want to be that guy that’s holding onto a dream that gas will come back down to $10 a gallon.
 

JLUandCJ-7

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I drive about 850 - 1,000 miles a month. The extra $60-$70 a month hasn't made an impact. ($2.65 vs $4.00, 18.5 MPG). If it did, I probably shouldn't have bought a Wrangler.

That being said, if we took my wife's Ford Edge everywhere (24 MPG), it'd be an extra $40-50 a month ($2.65 vs $4).

$20 a month extra to drive my Jeep vs her Edge, priceless.

The good news is the last time prices were this high, inflation adjusted the prices were about $6.00, and the Jeep Wrangler got about 20% worse mileage. So prices would have to hit about $7.20 before being on par with 2008's gas price peak based on inflation and fuel efficiency. Not to say that we may still get there. I hope we don't. I like keeping my money.

That all being said, I can't wait to get away from fossil fuel. My next vehicle will be an EV. Likely six to eight years from now, but by then batteries will be silicon-lithium, which will be 20% smaller (lighter, cheaper, and the same range), take less than 8 minutes to charge, and we'll have a decent charging network.
 

Jtclayton612

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I bought my Jeep in March 2021. Gas was pretty affordable (for here) at around $4.x a gallon. Yesterday I just filled up for $6.69 a gallon. The Jeep pretty much doesn't get driven at all anymore, unless it's for a pre planned trip. No more spur of the moment exploration trips. The gas budget in our home is pretty static unfortunately, and with both our employers holding back any form of raise, bonus, or COL adjustments, we have simply had to drive less.

Luckily we also have a Miata RF to flog around that never sees under 30mpg. The bikes are definitely getting more play these days too with 45+ mpg on them all.


I guess I should be happy I'm keeping more miles off the Jeep? trying hard to coin that a silver lining. Everyone paying $4.x still is living the fucking dream.

I'll add I considered a 4xe trim, but with gas being reasonable at the time of purchase, I didn't wait for it to be available. Now I'm thinking I should have. I'm not a Jeep flipper like many seem to be here, trading in one after another; some on their 3rd JL in a single year. So I'll be keeping this 3.6L, especially since I've put substantial work into it, but damn a 4xe sounds reallllllllllll nice right now.
I feel for all you guys with the ridiculous prices, we finally went back over $4/gal we had been holding at $3.69/3.79 for a few weeks before it started to rise again.
 

SlickRickMotoADV

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Fuel prices are irrelevant, that is not enough to stop me from driving. I regularly take ~600 mile round trips, which currently costs me all of $90 in fuel. That same trip would easily quadruple if flying.
$268 here for 600 miles in comparison. I'm jealous as hell.
 
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Naylia

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If you don't have a Costco membership, it's time to get one. Gas is a full $1 cheaper at my Costco compared to other local gas stations.

You may have to sit in line for a few mintues...but that time is usually spent on my phone...in this forum...looking at Jeep mods
 

SlickRickMotoADV

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If you don't have a Costco membership, it's time to get one. Gas is a full $1 cheaper at my Costco compared to other local gas stations.

You may have to sit in line for a few mintues...but that time is usually spent on my phone...in this forum...looking at Jeep mods
In the "bay area" that's probably true. Up here a bit more north there's a handful of Native American owned stations that are FAR cheaper than anything else. Luckily one on the way to one of the OHVs we go camp at, as well as another on 101 on the way to "real Northern California" lol.

Costco is a good option too though.
 

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I have a few friends from college that currently reside in the "cocoon of snobs", in the CA Bay Area.

One of these acquantainces mocked me like I was a 3rd world hick for driving a gas Jeep. "I mean, are you still in 1982?" was his exact comment.
Some time ago, I had similar snark directed at me, for [very] mildly related reasons.

I don't use that tone with others, and I didn't appreciate it being used on me, so I replied, "Yeah, I sometimes wish I was", followed by a pointed comment that I won't repeat here. The recipient didn't like hearing that, but he opened the door, so...
 

av8or

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Travel cost is roughly half in an EV when compared to similar gas vehicles. And the charge network is really starting to get much better. Yes charge time is definitely more than fueling up, but we are retired and plan accordingly. If gas continues to rise adoption of EVs for road trips will be the norm.
Jeep Wrangler JL Are us middle class Jeepers going to be (fuel) forcefully priced out of enjoying our Jeeps? [CLOSED DUE TO POLITICS] 92F85048-F290-4DFF-82E3-FEE081AF961B
Jeep Wrangler JL Are us middle class Jeepers going to be (fuel) forcefully priced out of enjoying our Jeeps? [CLOSED DUE TO POLITICS] CC96CFDC-0C49-44FB-92C2-2C60CDA6107D
ABRP can give an estimate of cost and while its not perfect it’s fairly close. I gave these 2 examples because they kinda compare to my wrangler my wife’s car.
 

Slev

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Come to Canada where we are paying $1.879 a litre or $7.12 a gallon and says going up again next week. Cann’t worry about gas prices just need to enjoy life and rock and roll a long
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