Cost

[That One Guy]

People like Wranglers for a multitude of reasons. You should just be thankful that niche vehicles like it and the mustang, beetle, miata, mini cooper, fiat 500 are still made. Soon none of these cars will exist because everyone wants a crossover.

These types of vehicles bring people to a different place in time or to an area which they can't drive every day. You buy a wrangler because you WANT to be offroad or in Hawaii on your daily commute. It's an escape that you'll never get with a mainstream car. The fact that the wrangler is actually such a monster offroad is just the huge cherry on top.

And you know what, cloth 4runners go for 38k or more easily, so why bag on the jeep?

The fact is that the jeep wrangler nearly owns its own market so they can charge whatever they want.

FCA should be thankful a few hundred thousand people a year buy the massively profitable Wrangler.

I did notice creeping 4Runner and Tacoma MSRP's recently. Everything is getting expensive!

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[ThirtyOne]

I, like most other people on this forum, am pretty hard set on getting a JL. Heck, I am looking to get the Rubicon and will likely be one of those people that won't use the vast majority of the capabilities. So, I full well understand the desire to own a Jeep. But I'm not going to put my blinders on and say that my future purchase is justified or a smart one. I'm about to drop 50k on a vehicle that's comparatively not very useful. Perhaps the biggest bright side is the extreme resale value that I will get in the future. I hope.

This is the part I don't understand. The Rubicon is a purpose-built offroad vehicle.

But people here just treat it like a "rugged" premium trim.

But can you really complain about the price on it when you admit you don't value things like the transfer case, lockers, sway bar disconnect, big brake package, bigger axles, higher gear ratios, off-road pages, etc? That is what you are paying for.

I honestly have a lot more sympathy for the argument the a Sport is now overpriced. Or that the LED group should be standard on the upper trims. But these $50,000+ builds are either for the Rubicon or include options that have never been optioned on a Wrangler in the past.

If you accept a $40,000 Sport S than a $48,000 Rubicon is a good value.

 

[That One Guy]

I am buying a STRIPPER Rubicon. 2 options only: 1) LED lighting package, 2) Premium Soft Top. I really waffled on upgrading the soft top but I gave in to the claim of less noise - now I am paying $34.4k for a 2 door Rubi. Not bad and it will be a low mile 3rd vehicle. So, I am thinking re-sale will likely be good for me. Regardless, that is not why I am buying it.

God, some days I want to consider a Rubicon instead of a base Sport with anti spin

I'm gonna be wheeling the thing hard anyways

 

[citzen z]

if fca did not have jeep to subsidize their other lines they would be in trouble

 

[se7en]

I did notice creeping 4Runner and Tacoma MSRP's recently. Everything is getting expensive!

Coming from a Tacoma, I'm fully aware of their price. A Tacoma PRO is $46K, fully loaded. Now, the question is...is the PRO worth it and would you pay $8K on a Rubicon over it? Is the Tacoma any less capable? If so, $8K less capable?

Just food for thought...

 

[That One Guy]

if fca did not have jeep to subsidize their other lines they would be in trouble

Truth. Almost makes it annoying to know that purchasing a Wrangler helps subsidize a near-incompetent collection of other brands.

I prefer to ignore Jeep's relation to any other brand until I have to, lol

 

[dwoodwo1]

Honestly, taking this back to the power seat... If I could never have another power drivers seat, that would be fine. I have never had a car hit the 100k mile mark with a fully functioning drivers seat.

 

[That One Guy]

Coming from a Tacoma, I'm fully aware of their price. A Tacoma PRO is $46K, fully loaded. Now, the question is...is the PRO worth it and would you pay $8K on a Rubicon over it? Is the Tacoma any less capable? If so, $8K less capable?

Just food for thought...

As a side note, a Tacoma TRD PRO is, yes, significantly less capable offroad than a JLUR. There's no replacement for good crawl ratios, solid axles front and rear, good wheeling angles (breakover, departure etc), lockers, suspension articulation (flex), and a size that makes sense. Tacomas don't function well on tight trails, hitting that bed everywhere.

Just depends on what you want out of the rig. Any sensible Wrangler buyer should be aware that the topless nature of a Wrangler carries a cost of thousands. It's the main reason I even want one. I'm of the opinion that those wanting supreme luxury, that don't care about topless driving, should really choose another vehicle.

 

[Chicago]

Lemme start by saying I dropped almost $80k on an SRT last year (second WK2), so spending $$ on a Jeep is not foreign to me...But...I cannot get my arms around almost $55k for a decked out Sahara though. I just do not see the value in it. Too many things missing for that kinda scratch, Probably my biggest issue? The seats, or lack of features in the seats. For that kinda scratch, I believe the passenger seat should do more than just slide back and forth aka a 1980 Camaro...Just me, but someone else might get our business...

I just received a price from a dealer I emailed on a loaded Rubicon with the turbo engine for 48900 tax not included

 

[wanderer]

Coming from a Tacoma, I'm fully aware of their price. A Tacoma PRO is $46K, fully loaded. Now, the question is...is the PRO worth it and would you pay $8K on a Rubicon over it? Is the Tacoma any less capable? If so, $8K less capable?

Just food for thought...

apples to oranges you should compare it to a chevy Colorado I the ing the chevy is the better deal iMHO

 

[Carlton_Banks]

Funny how some people get so butthurt when another person says the wrangler is overpriced. It's like someone called their kid ugly or stupid and they have to protect them...

The JKU became overpriced because people love them and Jeep took advantage of this by raising the price multiple times a year. Jeep decided to screw their customers with the JLU price even more so. Doesn't seem to be going over as well as they thought. My friend runs a large dealership and told me people come in for the JL and leave with a JK. He said many people flat out just don't like them and others don't like the price. They see a basic Sport S for 34k then the JLU Sport S at $40k+ and they say no way....

 

[wanderer]

I can see that........... but honestly the JL is a vast improvement over the jk and the jk was/is pretty awesome on it's own. The JL has a better frame, better transmissions, better axles, bigger brakes, better and in my view nicer dash and interior in general. Overall it is a very nice improvement while being a jeep to the core. If you were to swap out axles of JKU runicon to a built dana 44 it would cost about the same difference as a comparably equiped jl.

Or in other words how much would you have to put into a jku rubicon to bring to the same level as a JLU rubicon?

 

[VictorChampion]

It's simple inflation. Remember when a Wendy's dbl cheeseburger, fries and large drink was $5. Now $8-$9. Tacos at Taco Bell were .39 cents, now well over $1.29. F150 Platinum well into the 60's and well appointed Silverado LTZ Z71 in the high 50's easily before discounts. Saw where new Navigator is $100 large. Remember when they were $40,000 nicely appointed.

Personally, I see the value in the Wrangler and always have regardless of resale. My entry price into a 2 door JL Rubi is $39,216 out the door. Includes painted top and fenders, leather, heated group, infotainment, 4WD with lockers, 33's, convertible, backup camera, alpine sound and 4.10 gears. What other vehicle offers all of that at that price point? Also, cool factor - Priceless.

 

[That One Guy]

I can see that........... but honestly the JL is a vast improvement over the jk and the jk was/is pretty awesome on it's own. The JL has a better frame, better transmissions, better axles, bigger brakes, better and in my view nicer dash and interior in general. Overall it is a very nice improvement while being a jeep to the core. If you were to swap out axles of JKU runicon to a built dana 44 it would cost about the same difference as a comparably equiped jl.

Or in other words how much would you have to put into a jku rubicon to bring to the same level as a JLU rubicon?

I would say that's not something unique to the Wrangler. Pretty much all brands have improved all their cars over time.

Curious, I haven't read about frame improvements? What did they improve? Thicker gauge steel? Less rust-prone?

As far as better axles, they unforgivably dropped non-Rubicon rear ends to a "Next-gen Dana 35". I don't even care to see if that only resembles the old one in name. I'm spec'ing anti-spin with the D44.

I do have to give Jeep mad credit for still offering stripper models of this level--crank windows and no a/c. If they had announced a Willy's Wheeler JL, I'd probably wait for it.

 

[myfirstjeep]

This is the part I don't understand. The Rubicon is a purpose-built offroad vehicle.

But people here just treat it like a "rugged" premium trim.

But can you really complain about the price on it when you admit you don't value things like the transfer case, lockers, sway bar disconnect, big brake package, bigger axles, higher gear ratios, off-road pages, etc? That is what you are paying for.

I honestly have a lot more sympathy for the argument the a Sport is now overpriced. Or that the LED group should be standard on the upper trims. But these $50,000+ builds are either for the Rubicon or include options that have never been optioned on a Wrangler in the past.

If you accept a $40,000 Sport S than a $48,000 Rubicon is a good value.

Oh, I'm fully aware of the Rubicons benefits and can definitely appreciate them. But at the end of the day, it's not the Rubicon itself that is overpriced. It is the Wrangler platform in its entirety. I'm not going to sit here and be an FCA apologetic, claiming that the Wrangler is worth the price. It has rarely been priced right. The demand is so strong, the market has adjusted accordingly.

The JK was an overpriced vehicle. If any other mainstream vehicle had owners complaining about "death wobbles" and a LEAKING roof, they'd be skewered for quality control issues. With the Wrangler, us Jeepers just say "hey..." and usually end up turning a blind eye. Wranglers are one of the few vehicles where serious flaws are overlooked because we love our rides so much. Sure the JL is aiming to change all that, but those are things that should have NEVER been allowed to pass quality control in the first place.

Imagine if Toyota comes out with a Camry that has a leaking roof. I bet you won't hear their owners say "Ya, it's a Camry thing, you wouldn't understand".

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