Has anybody ever regretted buying a Wrangler?

[daveprice7]

... I wonder if you know anybody who bought a Wrangler and regretted it?

I purchased my first Wrangler 18 months ago. I have some regrets about that specific Wrangler...(soft top, manual locks, manual trans problems, steering problems). But after about a year with it, I purchased a second one for my wife, which has been regret-free!

I think to really answer your question; I'd never go back to a regular car or truck unless I had no other choice. It's a Wrangler or maybe a Gladiator from here on out for me. Similar to you, I had an '03 Mustang, which I loved at the time (I still have the shift knob!), but if I still had it, I'd choose to drive my full-of-regrets Wrangler over it any day of the week.

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[Heimkehr]

I purchased my first Wrangler 18 months ago. I have some regrets about that specific Wrangler...(soft top, manual locks, manual trans problems, steering problems).

It's makes sense to be concerned about the steering & transmission problems, but why have regret regarding the soft top and manual door locks? They're right there to see, and experience, before the sales order is signed.

 

[old mike]

No regrets... And, I do Just Expect Every Problem. It will be a painful hassle as each expected component and system failure occurs at the wrong time in the wrong place; but, I look on the bright side.

Each of those failures has an expensive but "cool" upgrade available and each failure will be my excuse to tell my wife that I have no choice other than to "reluctantly" install that next more reliable, expensive, but "cool" upgrade. The electrical system goes out... Redarc. The radio and speakers are subpar... Stinger. The steering is wobbly... PSC. The FAD or diff sensor goes out... Dynatrac. The ride seems rough... EVO coiler conversion. The beauty of it all is that none of this will be my fault; I'll just be reacting to somebody else's poor engineering and quality control and doing what I have to after being victimized by the bad old car company. Right? Who could regret this kind of "door to adventure" mistake?

 

[daveprice7]

It's makes sense to be concerned about the steering & transmission problems, but why have regret regarding the soft top and manual door locks? They're right there to see, and experience, before the sales order is signed.

Oh, you know.. seeing it and living with it can be two different things right? On paper, manual locks, who cares! In practice, going around and manually unlocking the tailgate, passenger door, and driver's door regularly is a drag. The top part of the soft top is just fine, but dealing with the window panels suck (for me) - that's not really something you would know until you deal with it a few times. I think it's especially bad on a 2dr because of the lack of anywhere to put them in the vehicle (with the seats in), so it's like - if I have to take this stuff off and leave it in my garage, I might as well have a hardtop.

 

[Nomod]

If you buy it for the right reasons and get a good unit, you'll like/love it. Otherwise, probably not so much.

 

[scottijohn63]

Nope! Love myJeep! Didn't expect problems, and haven't had any! 14,000 miles!

 

[WreckEm711]

I'm sure someone has regretted it, but not me. I did my research ahead of time and got what I wanted and have been very pleased with everything!

 

[Gee-pah]

Hi Jeep Lovers!

I know this question might sound a bit silly, but I wonder one thing - as A Wrangler is a sort of a "love it or hate it" car, I wonder if you know anybody who bought a Wrangler and regretted it?

I test-drove Wrangler a bit before the order and am still scared and thrilled at the same time. I would like to keep myself being thrilled after the pick-up, not scared.

Tom, I continue to love my Wrangler since its purchase in 2018.

I think, compared to other vehicles it *tends* more towards a "love it/hate it" paradigm, while at the same time I think you're apt to find owners who will find both good and bad things to say about their choice in such comments like "well it doesn't ride like my sedan, but that's a good thing when it snows."

Of course, in fairness, reasonable people know a [stock] Wrangler is not going to ride as smoothly as a sedan, much that IMHO the JL rides for more like any other SUV than did its JK predecessor, which to me was bumpier.

I am sure there are people who wish they had not bought their Wrangler, I say in no way to disparage the brand.

The "laws of large numbers," given the sheer numbers sold, near necessitate that some owners regretted their decision, for reasons that span anywhere from "they got a lemon," (which could happen with any brand), to gas mileage, or the aforementioned non-sedan ride.

If you take anything from this please have it be this. The Wrangler is not a perfect vehicle. The question to ask is if it's perfect for you. And I think the factors that would have you leaning towards the answer being "yes" have to do with your own like or dislike of its features and aesthetics, as well as it's less than strong suit such as gas mileage.

Good luck!

 

[0II392II0]

Still waiting on mine and wished I bought it years ago. Bought a 4runner a fews years back and the first time I ever hit a trail I regretted not getting a wrangler. Spend about 15k on it and by the time I was done with it; it creaked, swayed on corners, accelerated like shit and braked even worse. But I enjoyed it in its end factor way more than I did stock. I know exactly what I'm getting into and can't wait for mine!

 

[longlivethemanual]

It is deff a love/hate relationship with me. I love having a Wrangler, i love offroading my Wrangler and i love having the top and doors off in the warm weather. My one regret with buying a JL is the Manual Transmission. Looking back now i would have got the automatic.

I'm curious about the details regretting the manual transmission. I respect and understand there are preferences and use cases. For me I absolutely love my MT and spent a lot of time in a demo with AT trying to convince myself otherwise. I really like the simplicity, selecting my gear (I know you can button shift AT) and the connected driver experience. With that said, gears 5 and 6 are waaaaay too tall, especially in a Sport with the axle and t-case ratios. I could also understand the desire for AT if you do a lot of big rock crawling, but even then it's achievable in MT with the right gearing.

 

[Zandcwhite]

Interesting you find it humorous. I guess peoples sense of humor vary, drastically.

I never said a stock or modified Wrangler can't be a daily driver. I said I would never purchase one for that intended use, as there are a variety of safer, more reliable, more efficient, more practical choices for such applications. If your primary use is an off-road toy used to wheel 2 twice a month at off-road parks on blues and blacks and it doubles as your daily driver and only vehicle, you will find yourself exactly where I did. After 50k miles it breaks unpredictably every month, you end up having to rent a vehicle, you open your checkbook as they go through diagnostics for an open ended, no cost ceiling, unknown until it's fixed cost of repair.

37's on 410 gears is unacceptably sluggish for most and even less useful wheeling.

Blanket statements regarding axle ratio to tire size are pointless out of context. Early jk’s with an auto and 4.10’s had an 11.64 total ratio in 1st gear. They would need 6.78 axle gears to match the 19.27 ratio of a jl with an 8 speed, 4.10’s and 4.7 1st gear. The early jk is a dog on 27’s. Later jk’s were better, with a 14.71 1st gear drive ratio but would still need 5.38’s just to equal the jl With stock 4.10’s. The 8 speed transmission is a game changer with that 4.7 1st gear. As far as a money pit of breakage at 50k, we will see. We are only at 30k thus far but 100% trouble free so far. As far as useful for wheeling, add in the 4-1 transfer case and an early jk with an auto would need 10 to 1 axle gears to have the same crawl ratio.

 

[Traktor31]

Still waiting on mine and wished I bought it years ago. Bought a 4runner a fews years back and the first time I ever hit a trail I regretted not getting a wrangler. Spend about 15k on it and by the time I was done with it; it creaked, swayed on corners, accelerated like shit and braked even worse. But I enjoyed it in its end factor way more than I did stock. I know exactly what I'm getting into and can't wait for mine!

What did you like about the Wrangler over your 4Runner? Just curious if for some crazy reason a Wrangler just doesn't work out I may took a look at those as well. Actually just started notifying some dealers today to see what discounts I can get on a factory order I made.

 

[rickinAZ]

If you sold a machine that converted quarters to $100 bills, SOMEONE would regret buying it.

 

[Heimkehr]

Oh, you know.. seeing it and living with it can be two different things right? On paper, manual locks, who cares! In practice, going around and manually unlocking the tailgate, passenger door, and driver's door regularly is a drag. The top part of the soft top is just fine, but dealing with the window panels suck (for me) - that's not really something you would know until you deal with it a few times.

Fair points. I grew up with manual windows and door locks, so trading my power-everything Honda for the Jeep was a homecoming of sorts (thus my choice of User Name.)

 

[DHW]

Almost had regrets after battling the steering issues, but finally found a competent dealer that solved that. I daily drive my 2018 Rubicon which is modified, but not extensively (Mopar lift, 35" KO2s, bumpers, lights, track bars, and a few others) and have no complaints.

I have the 2.0, and coming from a 1st gen Raptor, it might as well be a Prius as far as gas mileage, even with the tires and extra weight. Like others have said, there are certain compromises to daily one, but I prefer off-road ability and ability to drive over curbs to luxury. I'm also a windows-down driver, so I love the roof options that come with having hard and soft tops.