Did Our Bubble Burst?

[CapeArt]

My point was just that Jeeps are “different” than cars (an acquired taste?). Living with a Jeep as your daily drive is a completely different thing than your typical BMW/Audi/whatever. I’ve driven one for years and I like ‘em, BUT they are definitely NOT for everybody. I Personally know non Jeep people who bought new JLU’s, had them for a few months and absolutely Hated them (and quickly unloaded them for a more typical SUV -specifically a Range Rover, a Teleride, and a Tahoe).

All have made comments to me about “how can you stand to drive a Jeep all the time”. I like my Jeep, and for many years my old TJ was MY DD-however, the wife always had a much more civilized vehicle for her DD and for our road trips?. Even today if I’m heading out on a long trip the Jeep is the last choice, way after my Ram PU or the wife’s Touareg. (Jeep makes a dandy toad for the motorhome though?)

Most cool things are "not for everybody." I hear ya, but about 6 weeks ago I did a 1200+ mile RT to PA & back in my JL and still don't know what people cry about when thinking of driving a Wrangler on a "long trip". I thoroughly enjoyed the drive and found nothing to not like about driving the JL on a trip. Yes, the JL doesn't like wind, and I was in the midst of a mega wind/rainstorm for hours... Miraculously I survived somehow ?. I would much prefer advice to people considering a Wrangler who have never experienced one to be more like, "go and drive one for yourself and see how it feels to your style of driving" versus the negative "how can you stand to drive a Jeep all the time." My trip to PA was to interview realtors to sell my late Mom's house. One of the realtors arrived to our meeting driving an Infiniti QX-80. He saw my Jeep with MA plates, assumed correctly it was mine and said somewhat smugly, "You drove all the way here in a Jeep?" He didn't get the gig. ?

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[MorrieC]

Roberson Jeep in Salem, Oregon has 30 new 2023 Wranglers in stock. Not "tons", and nothing like pre-COVID inventory, but their inventory appears to be climbing by a unit or two every month.

This is just what most of us predicted and discussed at great length in threads where some younger members were talking about Jeeps as "investments" and expecting to be able to make money trading for the newest model every year.

I just checked there webside and they do have quite a few 2 door Rubicons listed on the Web site. I have never been to this dealership but know where they are and they do seem to have good inventories most of the time. I like your statement and agree totally Vehicles of any kind are not an investment.

 

[yokramer]

Most cool things are "not for everybody." I hear ya, but about 6 weeks ago I did a 1200+ mile RT to PA & back in my JL and still don't know what people cry about when thinking of driving a Wrangler on a "long trip". I thoroughly enjoyed the drive and found nothing to not like about driving the JL on a trip. Yes, the JL doesn't like wind, and I was in the midst of a mega wind/rainstorm for hours... Miraculously I survived somehow ?. I would much prefer advice to people considering a Wrangler who have never experienced one to be more like, "go and drive one for yourself and see how it feels to your style of driving" versus the negative "how can you stand to drive a Jeep all the time." My trip to PA was to interview realtors to sell my late Mom's house. One of the realtors arrived to our meeting driving an Infiniti QX-80. He saw my Jeep with MA plates, assumed correctly it was mine and said somewhat smugly, "You drove all the way here in a Jeep?" He didn't get the gig. ?

Yea I dont mind driving my JLR on long trips. Its been to Florida on 2 trips so far since December, one to just south of Daytona and another all the way to Key West and I wouldnt hesitate to drive it anywhere.

 

[Whaler27]

I just checked there webside and they do have quite a few 2 door Rubicons listed on the Web site. I have never been to this dealership but know where they are and they do seem to have good inventories most of the time. I like your statement and agree totally Vehicles of any kind are not an investment.

I get around Oregon a lot for work and I pay attention to Jeep inventories when I go by the dealerships. When I bought my JLUR early in 2019 Roberson had more than 70 new Wranglers in stock. At the same time the Jeep dealers in Corvallis, Albany, Eugene, and Cottage Grove had fewer than 40 new wranglers between all three of them. I assume some places just don’t sell enough to justify maintaining large inventories, but I prefer to shop where there’s a lot to look at. It’s also nice to be able to drive several back-to-back to contrast differences.

Today, all the Oregon dealers seem to be recovering Jeep and truck inventory, as they always do. New Bronco inventory is building too.

 

[CT_LFC]

I took our JL on a long trip to Canada and it was completely fine, but last summer my wife got a XC90 which took over as family hauler. Very comfortable and obviously better ride than the Jeep. If we got rid of the Volvo tomorrow i would have no problem making the JL the family hauler. It is more comfortable than non-Jeep people may think

 

[SoK66]

Those bronco numbers are a bit skewed cause stock was finally available for a bit. Until you can just buy or order a bronco without a year wait the numbers have to be taken with a grain of salt.

They still took a bite out of market share no matter the background mess Ford created with their Bronco launch. I doubt there will be free supply of Bronco until 2025.

 

[Powelligator]

My own personal barometer of Jeep sales / incentives / production constraints / etc. is rental car lots. I travel a lot for work and rent vehicles from Avis. Last three trips the default cars I've been given were Wagoner, Sahara 4xe and Rubicon 4xe. If Avis is handing those out as rentals then they got a really sweet fleet deal from FCA/Stellantis, which tells me that regular customers might not be buying as many as they'd like. Add in that FCA/Stellantis wants to produce as many 4xe's as possible to keep the CAFE numbers up.

All of 2022 I don't recall seeing a single Wrangler on any rental car lots.

 

[Shark01]

Sad how bad Houston dealers are. I had one tell me last year that wrangler wasn’t making 2 doors anymore.

Sad indeed…. Makes you wonder if they are really that stupid or just following the manager’s agenda.

 

[rikity]

Here is what looks to be available in the US by powerplant regardless of trim or other options. News says that they plan to start building 2024's in July:

EC1 - 2.0L I4 DOHC DI Turbo Engine w/ ESS (0/3,853)
ECX - 2.0L I4 DOHC DI Turbo PHEV Engine (2/13,845)
ERC - 3.6L V6 24V VVT Engine Upg I w/ESS (0/52)
ERG - 3.6L V6 24V VVT eTorque Engine Upg I (0/10,558)
ESG - 6.4L V8 SRT HEMI MDS Engine (0/461)

If I just wanted the 3.6L v6, there are only 52 of them so its pretty obvious they are phasing that out for 3.6L + etorque. The diesel must have been pulled from the list, but it has a stop sale recall on it with the parts to fix not available until 3rd quarter from what I hear. So there are a mountain of 4xe's on the ground, which isnt hugely popular. The number of units as a whole is a little less than 3 months supply

 

[Deleted member 59498]

This comes up once a month, someone will drive by a Jeep lot and next it is a post about Stellanis going bankrupt and moving Jeep production to China.

 

[rizion]

This comes up once a month, someone will drive by a Jeep lot and next it is a post about Stellanis going bankrupt and moving Jeep production to China.

go new vehicle shopping for fun this weekend and see what's out there. your area might be different than mine but from what I experienced, we can get almost any configuration of a Wrangler from the lot less than a mile from my house. Zero new X3 or 330i's were available to even test drive. Maybe Jeep just has a different philosophy for sales than other manufacturers, but rebates and dealer mark downs tell me otherwise.

And to the don't buy a jeep as an investment crowd, I'd say anything that cost $35k or more is definitely an investment, albeit a bad one. I didn't expect to make any profit on a wrangler or any other car i've ever had. I did pay sticker price last April but got what I wanted for my trade in so was a wash to me. Not great at negotiating anyhow. I don't mind people making their fair share. I was just wondering if other's around the country were noticing the same with Jeep dealerships.

best part is even if I wanted to trade in my JL I don't think I could. Manual Transmission gang....

 

[3TV]

My local dealer had about 15 new Wranglers and Gladiators on their lot a month ago. I drove by this morning and they have 4 on the lot now. So they still appear to be selling in southern Utah.

 

[rizion]

My local dealer had about 15 new Wranglers and Gladiators on their lot a month ago. I drove by this morning and they have 4 on the lot now. So they still appear to be selling in southern Utah.

I image the time is now for Jeep sales near Moab. Enjoy life surrounded by beauty.

 

[Shibadog]

Sad how bad Houston dealers are. I had one tell me last year that wrangler wasn’t making 2 doors anymore.

No doubt while he was sitting on a bunch of 4drs he needed to move?

 

[entropy]

Whatever insanity happened during the pandemic years drove prices up too much. I guess Jeep didn't get the memo corporations did not raise people's salaries to match the rate of inflation. Jeeps became way too expensive for what they are, especially since they are impractical for most people.

The "cool factor" that had people buy wranglers before is just not enough to make up for the crazy price hike.

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