Congrats!! Glad you got the deal that worked for you - Nice looking Jeep!!Thought I was looking for a truck... I needed to be up higher off the ground because of both the oncoming headlights and tail-gaters blinding me. I've had a 4x4 truck before and I loved it, but just could not afford to the overall costs. So, other than the seat height I have been enjoying a 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour.
We were just looking - seriously! Cruising the dealer lots of Ford, Chevy, CDJR on Sundays (in cold weather they are all closed) - it is amazing how many vehicles (especially used) are unlocked - which allowed us to try out the seating position. My back has issues, so that was always the first issue to try out, and a lot of vehicles were eliminated simply by sitting in them. And I was avoiding Wranglers because all the ones I had been in (many years ago) rode too rough.
Fast forward to several months later in March. This Ocean Blue 2018 Wrangler JLU with only 6900 miles on it caught my wife's eye, and despite my objections she insisted I try it on since it was open. THAT was an eye opener - it fit beautifully and better than anything else I had tried on! But it was more than I wanted to spend (aren't they always?)
After that, I started researching Wranglers and found that since they came out the 4 door, and especially the JL, there seemed to be unanimous opinion that the ride improved significantly. But the cost was a factor. I was trying to say under $20,000 and I wanted low mileage and possibly certified. Yes, you can laugh now...
So, we went back to this dealer where they had 3 used Wranglers. I was interested in the other 2 because they were less expensive. The least expensive one was sold. The next one was being negotiated as we spoke, so (somewhat reluctantly) I agreed to take this last one for a test drive.
It had been a while since I had a manual transmission, and while I have had many over the years and enjoyed them, I was not looking for one again. Again - I was pleasantly surprised! The manual seems to "fit" the Wrangler. And my wife loved riding it in. We were hooked!
But there was that price... damn. I told them what I could do, and asked for their best offer (not expecting them to be close).
They weren't close. It was late on a Saturday, so I thanked them for their time, and we left - bummed.
We continued looking at ads and visiting other lots on Sunday and did not find anything comparable.
Monday morning - the sales person called and left a voice saying the general manager was willing to go up on our trade, and was confident enough that they could meet my price that they requested I fill out a credit app. I called her back and said, "Seriously? I don't want to take a hit on my credit report if this isn't possible." She assured me they understood that. So, I did, and waited...
And waited.
Hours later she called. Best they could do was $60/month too high. I said no. She went back to see what they could do. I waited...
And waited. We had begun to think that maybe it was worth it - considering everything else we had found. This was the lowest mileage, and was certified for 7 years / 100,000 miles. Maybe we need to compromise... MAYBE...
The call came. We had a deal!
So, 6 weeks and 4000 miles later we LOVE our Jeep! We are hooked! It is a very basic Sport, and about the only thing I truly miss are remote locks. Manual windows are fine and I really enjoy the clutch. Bonus? I am getting 23 mpg combined with a light foot.
That's my long story, and I promise to try not to be so long winded on future posts. There is a TON of very useful information here, and I look forward to continuing to discover more "stuff" that we absolutely need, lol!
