sunset
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
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Here is some of my earlier research:
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...ch-terms-rubicon-392-2-0l-sot-hardtop.120071/
TLDR: I ordered today the 2024 Rubicon 392, Anvil, SOT, Warn winch.
The long story for those who want to read the ramblings of an insane mind:
Had a late-life crisis, decided I didn't want my heirs to spend my money on a new car when why not me? I wanted something different than before. A Jeep. But what's top-o-the-line? A Jeep Rubicon, brand spankin' new, higher profile than my Camaro and with bigger tires too, maybe get into off-roading as something new for me. Was debating Rubicon X 2-dr versus 4-dr for a long time, kept going back and forth. Wanted Firecracker Red for visual shock value. Saw the 392 but initial reaction was why pay 20k for 2 more cylinders and the chance to buy premium gas. That's the sensible me, always in control. Been fighting that recently. Plus, a visceral reaction to the red seats. Ketchup red? Who does that?
Living in Seattle with the rain, I thought hardtop was the only way to go. Sensible me, again. But, really necessary? I needed to research. So I did. Test drove in each top, asking questions here, there, and everywhere. Played with the Jeep online Build a zillion times, almost every day, seeing if, when, and how my mood changed on anything. Saw the anvil color, just another shade of boring old grays that everybody does? Saw how the red exterior color showed up in many places inside the Jeep, not crazy about that. Saw YT videos where the anvil and the sarge green looked better than the Builder.
I finally let go of the 2-door idea because if this became my only vehicle, I'd want the space in the 4-door.
Saw @Ratbert's list of dealers. Saw how the further away from Seattle the dealers were, the higher the percentage discount. Sigh. Driving the Jeep back home is too far for me for most highest-discount dealers. Where is the balance. Granger in Iowa offered 6%+1% (tread lightly) and driving home from there would take me through my old stomping grounds in Cheyenne, might be worth that. Love to show off in front of my old HS buddy there who was and is still into cars. Doable, but would the Jeep become ready in the middle of a Wyoming snowstorm, ha. If I went with a dealership who offered 7%+1% (tread lightly) but who was 2000 miles away, the cost of transporting the vehicle back to me is at least $1700 open shipping or $2650 enclose shipping (per Roadrunner and Stopwatch). That cost eats into the discount.
Washington State dealerships are not on his list, tho. Unless I ask them too, I'd always wonder. So, I made a spreadsheet of all of the Jeep dealers in my state, wrote up a nice form letter and, over a period of weeks, sent each dealership the letter, explaining I am contacting all dealers in the State for best prices. Some did not respond, one "invited me to shop elsewhere", a few said they could not compete with out-of-state, one offered 5k over MSRP, some said MSRP only, one offered to do at invoice as an exception to their rule, and one offered at invoice plus credit me their holdback which I did not know what that even was and they estimated it would equate to 1.5% for the Rubicon X and 1.2% for the 392, plus 1% tread lightly. All below invoice. That was the best offer I got in the State of Washington. Seattle wants 10k over MSRP for the 392, didja know. During this process, I revised the letter to stop mentioning the 8% discounts of out-of-state dealers. In fact, dropped any mention of them at all. Not sure, but I think it helped get responses.
During this time, I got caught up in the idea to get half-doors or forever wish I had. That led to the logistics of getting them back home, either miserably filling up the entire inside of the Jeep, or shipping them which the cost of shipping eats into any dealer discount. Shippers wanted to know the quantity of boxes, their dimensions, and weights and I was on this site trying to gather that info, not wanting to tow a trailer. An entire side investigation that never reached its end.
While still formally undecided between Rubicon X 4-door and Rubicon 392, I see I was leaning towards the 392 more and more. I've always loved the V8, why kid myself, and do I really need to be penny-pinching the premium gas thing at this point. I saw the handwriting was on the wall for the 392. By this time, the seats in real life looked less ketchupy and more maroon-ish, a shade quite nice actually, and a great-looking combination with anvil. Less so with Firecracker Red, I thought.
Started to appreciate anvil a lot but by then I test drove an SOT and decided I had to have that. The Builder would not allow both anvil and SOT. So, Firecracker Red it would be, even if my desire for shock value had waned. Sarge green was out, too reminiscent of military for me.
Then, last week, the Builder allowed anvil to have the SOT. Great! But, anvil cannot have half doors. I was wavering on half doors, knowing I had no real room in my small single-car garage and would I really use them anyway, knowing me? That's another reason why an SOT was preferable over a removable hardtop because there is no room for me to place a removed hardtop anywhere. Plus, the whole shipping idea for the half doors was an unresolved hassle.
And now the UAW strike is over? Do I have time to wait for half-doors to become available in anvil? How long will that be, as the prices rise? So, I dropped the half-doors idea. Gonna be anvil with SOT. Gonna be 392.
I wrote back to the one dealer in my state who had offered the 1.2% below invoice for the 392 plus 1% tread lightly. I told them, in the interests of transparency, I was going to explain where I now was then ask them a question at the end of the email. It was down to them or an out-of-state dealership, explaining that Granger in Iowa was offering 6%+1% (tread lightly) but are required to collect Sales/Use taxes based on Seattle where I live which is a whopping 10.55% while this in-state dealership, who is outside of Seattle, only has to charge 8.5% Sales tax so there is a 2% difference right there to close the gap between them and Iowa. I advised that even after factoring in gas in driving the Jeep home from Iowa, by my estimations Iowa comes in at $3000 less than if I bought from them in-state. I gave them my exact build, now that I knew it, and asked them to give me some actual dollar amounts to replace my estimations and, if possible, maybe they can do anything to close that $3k gap and make this a no-brainer choice to buy in-state.
Their numbers came back for my build showing MSRP, the invoice amount (was 3% less then MSRP, btw), their holdback dollar amount which equated to 3% not 1.2%, then added in the 1% tread lightly, the doc fee, the 8.5% sales tax, and finally the bottom line. Because of the 2% less in Sales Tax, that was adding up to be 5%+1% for this in-state dealership compared to Granger's 6%+1%. I soon got Granger's dollar amounts for the 392 and the two dealerships were only $1100 apart. The in-state dealership is 94 miles down the road and my brother will drive me there to pick up the vehicle should I buy it from them. To fly to Granger looks like a $250 1-way ticket, plus approx $700 in premium gas to drive it back to home, plus one (or more) hotel nights along the trip at minimum $100 a night. All that negates the $1100 difference right there.
So, I chose my in-state dealership. I mean, God Bless Granger whom I'd always figure I'd go with, but that's how the numbers fell once I investigated in-state, something I had to do or else always wonder why didn't I try. I'm surprised it turned out this way, actually, but glad too.
I contacted the in-state dealer to accept their offer, apologizing at the same time that I forgot to add the Mopar All-weather floor mats and the Mopar windshield tie-down to the build, small amounts but could they recalculate their offer to include them. They replied back that they added them to the build but for the same bottom line price as before. A nice little gift from them, that was.
Just think, all of that in-depth research I did on being in a CARB-compliant state while buying from a non-CARB dealer, so I could wrap my head around making sure I did not fly anywhere to discover a non-CARB compliant vehicle was waiting for me and ineligible for registration in WA, came to naught. Except, I'm smarter for it and can help the next guy who was like me.
One emotional bonus is that Washington State and New Jersey are rated the best two states in the nation in terms of their Lemon Laws. You have to buy a vehicle from a dealer in Washington State in order to benefit from it. And I did that.
https://www.autosafety.org/lemon-laws/
The in-state dealer told me my order has been placed and I have the "Configuration Preview" to salivate over. They required no deposit, just my Driver's License scan sent over their secure private link.
And now the wait begins....
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...ch-terms-rubicon-392-2-0l-sot-hardtop.120071/
TLDR: I ordered today the 2024 Rubicon 392, Anvil, SOT, Warn winch.
The long story for those who want to read the ramblings of an insane mind:
Had a late-life crisis, decided I didn't want my heirs to spend my money on a new car when why not me? I wanted something different than before. A Jeep. But what's top-o-the-line? A Jeep Rubicon, brand spankin' new, higher profile than my Camaro and with bigger tires too, maybe get into off-roading as something new for me. Was debating Rubicon X 2-dr versus 4-dr for a long time, kept going back and forth. Wanted Firecracker Red for visual shock value. Saw the 392 but initial reaction was why pay 20k for 2 more cylinders and the chance to buy premium gas. That's the sensible me, always in control. Been fighting that recently. Plus, a visceral reaction to the red seats. Ketchup red? Who does that?
Living in Seattle with the rain, I thought hardtop was the only way to go. Sensible me, again. But, really necessary? I needed to research. So I did. Test drove in each top, asking questions here, there, and everywhere. Played with the Jeep online Build a zillion times, almost every day, seeing if, when, and how my mood changed on anything. Saw the anvil color, just another shade of boring old grays that everybody does? Saw how the red exterior color showed up in many places inside the Jeep, not crazy about that. Saw YT videos where the anvil and the sarge green looked better than the Builder.
I finally let go of the 2-door idea because if this became my only vehicle, I'd want the space in the 4-door.
Saw @Ratbert's list of dealers. Saw how the further away from Seattle the dealers were, the higher the percentage discount. Sigh. Driving the Jeep back home is too far for me for most highest-discount dealers. Where is the balance. Granger in Iowa offered 6%+1% (tread lightly) and driving home from there would take me through my old stomping grounds in Cheyenne, might be worth that. Love to show off in front of my old HS buddy there who was and is still into cars. Doable, but would the Jeep become ready in the middle of a Wyoming snowstorm, ha. If I went with a dealership who offered 7%+1% (tread lightly) but who was 2000 miles away, the cost of transporting the vehicle back to me is at least $1700 open shipping or $2650 enclose shipping (per Roadrunner and Stopwatch). That cost eats into the discount.
Washington State dealerships are not on his list, tho. Unless I ask them too, I'd always wonder. So, I made a spreadsheet of all of the Jeep dealers in my state, wrote up a nice form letter and, over a period of weeks, sent each dealership the letter, explaining I am contacting all dealers in the State for best prices. Some did not respond, one "invited me to shop elsewhere", a few said they could not compete with out-of-state, one offered 5k over MSRP, some said MSRP only, one offered to do at invoice as an exception to their rule, and one offered at invoice plus credit me their holdback which I did not know what that even was and they estimated it would equate to 1.5% for the Rubicon X and 1.2% for the 392, plus 1% tread lightly. All below invoice. That was the best offer I got in the State of Washington. Seattle wants 10k over MSRP for the 392, didja know. During this process, I revised the letter to stop mentioning the 8% discounts of out-of-state dealers. In fact, dropped any mention of them at all. Not sure, but I think it helped get responses.
During this time, I got caught up in the idea to get half-doors or forever wish I had. That led to the logistics of getting them back home, either miserably filling up the entire inside of the Jeep, or shipping them which the cost of shipping eats into any dealer discount. Shippers wanted to know the quantity of boxes, their dimensions, and weights and I was on this site trying to gather that info, not wanting to tow a trailer. An entire side investigation that never reached its end.
While still formally undecided between Rubicon X 4-door and Rubicon 392, I see I was leaning towards the 392 more and more. I've always loved the V8, why kid myself, and do I really need to be penny-pinching the premium gas thing at this point. I saw the handwriting was on the wall for the 392. By this time, the seats in real life looked less ketchupy and more maroon-ish, a shade quite nice actually, and a great-looking combination with anvil. Less so with Firecracker Red, I thought.
Started to appreciate anvil a lot but by then I test drove an SOT and decided I had to have that. The Builder would not allow both anvil and SOT. So, Firecracker Red it would be, even if my desire for shock value had waned. Sarge green was out, too reminiscent of military for me.
Then, last week, the Builder allowed anvil to have the SOT. Great! But, anvil cannot have half doors. I was wavering on half doors, knowing I had no real room in my small single-car garage and would I really use them anyway, knowing me? That's another reason why an SOT was preferable over a removable hardtop because there is no room for me to place a removed hardtop anywhere. Plus, the whole shipping idea for the half doors was an unresolved hassle.
And now the UAW strike is over? Do I have time to wait for half-doors to become available in anvil? How long will that be, as the prices rise? So, I dropped the half-doors idea. Gonna be anvil with SOT. Gonna be 392.
I wrote back to the one dealer in my state who had offered the 1.2% below invoice for the 392 plus 1% tread lightly. I told them, in the interests of transparency, I was going to explain where I now was then ask them a question at the end of the email. It was down to them or an out-of-state dealership, explaining that Granger in Iowa was offering 6%+1% (tread lightly) but are required to collect Sales/Use taxes based on Seattle where I live which is a whopping 10.55% while this in-state dealership, who is outside of Seattle, only has to charge 8.5% Sales tax so there is a 2% difference right there to close the gap between them and Iowa. I advised that even after factoring in gas in driving the Jeep home from Iowa, by my estimations Iowa comes in at $3000 less than if I bought from them in-state. I gave them my exact build, now that I knew it, and asked them to give me some actual dollar amounts to replace my estimations and, if possible, maybe they can do anything to close that $3k gap and make this a no-brainer choice to buy in-state.
Their numbers came back for my build showing MSRP, the invoice amount (was 3% less then MSRP, btw), their holdback dollar amount which equated to 3% not 1.2%, then added in the 1% tread lightly, the doc fee, the 8.5% sales tax, and finally the bottom line. Because of the 2% less in Sales Tax, that was adding up to be 5%+1% for this in-state dealership compared to Granger's 6%+1%. I soon got Granger's dollar amounts for the 392 and the two dealerships were only $1100 apart. The in-state dealership is 94 miles down the road and my brother will drive me there to pick up the vehicle should I buy it from them. To fly to Granger looks like a $250 1-way ticket, plus approx $700 in premium gas to drive it back to home, plus one (or more) hotel nights along the trip at minimum $100 a night. All that negates the $1100 difference right there.
So, I chose my in-state dealership. I mean, God Bless Granger whom I'd always figure I'd go with, but that's how the numbers fell once I investigated in-state, something I had to do or else always wonder why didn't I try. I'm surprised it turned out this way, actually, but glad too.
I contacted the in-state dealer to accept their offer, apologizing at the same time that I forgot to add the Mopar All-weather floor mats and the Mopar windshield tie-down to the build, small amounts but could they recalculate their offer to include them. They replied back that they added them to the build but for the same bottom line price as before. A nice little gift from them, that was.
Just think, all of that in-depth research I did on being in a CARB-compliant state while buying from a non-CARB dealer, so I could wrap my head around making sure I did not fly anywhere to discover a non-CARB compliant vehicle was waiting for me and ineligible for registration in WA, came to naught. Except, I'm smarter for it and can help the next guy who was like me.
One emotional bonus is that Washington State and New Jersey are rated the best two states in the nation in terms of their Lemon Laws. You have to buy a vehicle from a dealer in Washington State in order to benefit from it. And I did that.
https://www.autosafety.org/lemon-laws/
The in-state dealer told me my order has been placed and I have the "Configuration Preview" to salivate over. They required no deposit, just my Driver's License scan sent over their secure private link.
And now the wait begins....
Sponsored
Last edited:
Can always push the pedal a little less.
bad dragoneggs, Do not comply . Might as well save your money and get a squishy torqued V6– geeeez
