Bronco fad?

[Mr.Wilson]

Is anyone else starting to think that the Bronco was a big hit but has turned into a short lived fad? When they came out everyone went crazy and were scooping them up as fast as they could. I have two friends that waited 2 years for their order to arrive. Since then they’ve both sold them. I just don’t hear too much buzz over the Broncos anymore. Is it just me?

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[CarbonSteel]

Just you...lol

 

[Bulletbill]

I think there were the people that wanted it because it was new and no one had one, not because they off-roaded or thought it was better than Jeep. This was made worse due to the supply issues coming out of COVID.

I think now that manufacturing has become steady, those same people dislike the number they see on the road and are unwilling to live with its short comings over any other equivalent CUV.

…..Edit…..

As long as it’s in production, I can see it taking a bite out of Jeep sales. Different strokes for different folks. It’s descent vehicle for what it is. I have gone out with several on different occasions and they had no issues keeping up, or catastrophic failures. Would I trade my Jeep for one? Nope, Bronco feels like a tank on the trail, more truck-like, while my Jeep feels nimble.

 

[At Risk Ute]

My brother is selling his Code Orange Braptor, but then again he also sold his two 392s. Would still like a 78/79 someday.

 

[Stetson]

I think a lot of it is the cost. Not everyone has the ability to swallow a payment that starts in the mid $700s for a big bend (new base model). Bronco.

I just checked the Ford/Bronco website and the big bend model is the new base model. Looks like they dropped the original base model. The big bend starts at $39k and the ford calculator showed a payment of $735 or something like that.

I know you can have a bigger down payment and get a loan through a credit union for better rates or whatever, but that is still a LOT of money. I gave it the automatic transmission and the Sasquatch package and the payment jumped to $950 (close too).

I think really Jeep is going to struggle with sales in the new year too as wranglers are really expensive too. I think affordability is going to be an issue. A Sport S 4 door now starts at $40k.

Stetson

 

[roaniecowpony]

If I wasn't using my suspension in rock crawling situations where a SFA has a small advantage, I'd rather have a Bronco. Jeep JL steering has cost me well over $1000 to get to acceptable. But, hell, I'm past $30k in mods and climbing now anyway. $1 - 2K Seems like small potatoes. I don't know if I'll keep the Jeep, but for now, it satisfies my itch for rock crawling.

But if I were looking for a hunting vehicle again, disregarding rock crawling, I'd prefer a Bronco over a Jeep, for a lot of different reasons. My idea of a hunting vehicle is the ability to go down a 2 track road with the occasional mild obstacle.

 

[AcesandEights]

4Runner>Bronco
Tried and true / Fad

 

[XtremeRetard]

There were quite a few early on in sand hollow. But after all the recoveries for broken tie rods you don't see them much any more.

Though i did see one last week. A guy from Matt's offroad recovery in one.

 

[CarbonSteel]

I have had my Wildtrak since October after 4 years of Jeep ownership and heavily modding my 2019 JLUR, then subsequently dumping it. As others have stated, it is different strokes for different folks.

Internet amplification of issues (no matter what brand) is ALWAYS going to trump the good experiences. Had I listened to 1/10 of the things posted on this forum back in August of 2019, I would have ran away from a Jeep as fast as the AMG that I sold to buy it would let me. The EXACT same could be said for the Bronco forum where the 0.1% of issues appear to be 90%.

There will always be things that different form factors (SFA vs IFS) can handle better. My Bronco colleagues will argue that a Bronco can do everything a Jeep can. Not true--it can with a but...you are likely going to break something unless you upgrade and even then there are limitations. The same can be said for a Jeep depending on the use case. You will have to upgrade many things to accomplish certain use cases, or you will break something. A Jeep will never ride as well as the Bronco and for the vast majority of us, despite our penchant for offroading, we all spend a VERY high majority of the time just driving them.

There are countless things that FCA should have crammed up their posteriors from a design perspective and while I will not lament them here, we all know what they are. Ford has some of the same issues. BUT, guess what? All OEMs will. It is the balance of cost/profit that will forever cause decisions to be made that cause us as the ultimate end user to scratch our heads and say WTF.

For me, there are a few things that I miss on the Jeep. The instrumentation (Off-Road Pages) in the Jeep are far better than Ford's rendition--even in the BRaptor. The LED headlights on the Jeep are better as is the internal lighting. G.O.A.T. mode is nice, but I miss the second lever on the console.

With that said, none of that is enough to cause me to move back to a Jeep platform. My lifestyle has changed (wife has 2 bionic knees) and so rock crawling no longer has the allure it once did. I also struggled immensely with the lack of power in the Jeep and just decided to cut my losses versus adding a supercharger or a hemi swap. Oil coolers, auxiliary batteries, lack of heat control were just additional straws on the proverbial camel's back.

Again...different strokes for different folks and neither choice is wrong.

 

[driventoadventure]

I think a lot of it is the cost. Not everyone has the ability to swallow a payment that starts in the mid $700s for a big bend (new base model). Bronco.

I just checked the Ford/Bronco website and the big bend model is the new base model. Looks like they dropped the original base model. The big bend starts at $39k and the ford calculator showed a payment of $735 or something like that.

I know you can have a bigger down payment and get a loan through a credit union for better rates or whatever, but that is still a LOT of money. I gave it the automatic transmission and the Sasquatch package and the payment jumped to $950 (close too).

I think really Jeep is going to struggle with sales in the new year too as wranglers are really expensive too. I think affordability is going to be an issue. A Sport S 4 door now starts at $40k.

Stetson

This is the answer. The buzz around them hasn't really died, it's that money is so expensive right now that any big ticket item is down in sales. Look at things like Furniture, Appliances, RVs, Houses. Things are still selling more/better/faster than the average of the last couple decades; but items which require multi-year loans aren't going as fast or as 'big' as they were in 2019-2022 because interest rates add significant cost to these items.

 

[CarbonSteel]

This is the answer. The buzz around them hasn't really died, its that money is so expensive right now that any big ticket item is down in sales. Look at things like Furniture, Appliances, RVs, Houses. Things are still selling more/better/faster than the average of the last couple decades; but items which require multi-year loans aren't going as fast or as 'big' as they were in 2019-2022 because interest rates add significant cost to these items.

Agree; this plagues all new vehicles especially when combined with the MSRP "minimum" pricing model.

 

[roaniecowpony]

Anyone that has bought anything lately feels the pinch. Yesterday, I saw a post about Reid Racing knuckles costing $995. They were $650 ish about 2 years ago. 50% inflated. Where's the inflation rate they tout on TV? I want some of that.

 

[NWJeepr]

A lot of people jump from new vehicle to new vehicle every few years.

The early adopters and gotta-have-its have moved through Bronco territory already and now it’s just another expensive SUV option next to Wrangler and 4Runner.

 

[desertdude59]

I think a lot of it is the cost. Not everyone has the ability to swallow a payment that starts in the mid $700s for a big bend (new base model). Bronco.

I just checked the Ford/Bronco website and the big bend model is the new base model. Looks like they dropped the original base model. The big bend starts at $39k and the ford calculator showed a payment of $735 or something like that.

I know you can have a bigger down payment and get a loan through a credit union for better rates or whatever, but that is still a LOT of money. I gave it the automatic transmission and the Sasquatch package and the payment jumped to $950 (close too).

I think really Jeep is going to struggle with sales in the new year too as wranglers are really expensive too. I think affordability is going to be an issue. A Sport S 4 door now starts at $40k.

Stetson

There is a basic 2023 4 door Sport S Wrangler by my house for 55k. They must think its special.

 

[Dusty Dude]

There is a basic 2023 4 door Sport S Wrangler by my house for 55k. They must think its special.

I walked into my local dealership two weeks ago and saw a 2024 Sport 4xe for 55k. If it hadn’t been for Ratberts dealer invoice pricing sheet, I probably wouldn’t have ordered a new JLUR last April. Seriously considered cancelling altogether after waiting for 6 months, but decided to hold on as the price increases on everything else wasn’t any better.

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