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Jeep snobbery - RANT

Fonzilla85

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This happens all the time, People think that more expensive is better, sure most of the time it is. My take is buy within your means. Ain’t no sense in buying a Rubicon if your budget is more long the lines of a Sport. I think all Wranglers are cool, I could care less what trim they are, what matters is the enjoyment they bring to the user.
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SecondTJ

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and I don't remember any negativity towards the less expensive models. Maybe you're on to something with the snobbery, but I think it probably really started with the JK.
Agree with this 100%

While it may be getting worse with JL now that they can be $60k+, it absolutely started with JK
 

blnewt

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Just ask @cosine he knows!
By the Way Love your Avatar, He was a GOAT! Will miss him....
Lost my goat drummer in neil peart too, 2020 has been a rough one in countless ways
 

timn1984

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Lost my goat drummer in neil peart too, 2020 has been a rough one in countless ways
Yea, either we are getting old or..... Wait.... NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
 

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TheGreyWolf

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I sit back and think about my first Jeep, a 92 3speed auto wrangler, and shit, that thing needed the ebrake to not roll down a hill. 20 years later I finally got another Jeep and I feel it is what we want it to be, a convertible, a rock crawler, a beach trip, a mall crawler, etc etc. we buy these because we love ‘em... if people are offended by how we use our Jeep’s, they just don’t get.
 

JLA_Mo

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You don't have to justify shit!
You are driving what you want and it's doing well for you, frick them!
Agreed. I honestly feel sad for the insecurity of people who question how someone else spent their money. I will never buy a classic vinyl record, doesn't mean you shouldn't. I bought a Jeep so I could go skiing with my hard top off. I love some of the looks I get.
 

Chief_Dan

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Well, here is my 2 cents...
I learned to drive when I was 10 in my dad's 1949 Willys, have wanted a Jeep ever since. But, in 1990 I bought a Toyota 4x4 Extra Cab with 4cyl, 5 speed, A/C, full instrumentation, styled steel wheels, & that was about it. No Power anything except PS & Power Brakes. I took this truck EVERYWHERE. Been stuck who knows how many times, used it to haul wood, pull up stumps, load it down with barn yard (cow crap) to use for fertilizer, towed the boat to go on vacation with my wife, 2 daughters, & sometimes even my aunt would tag along & we would drive 6-8 hours to a lake, camp out & fish for a week or 2. Have had numerous dead animals in the back, I eat what I kill, for the most part. Sometimes nuisance animals have to go away. Anyway, a lot of what I mentioned was to feed the family, keep us warm, or make some extra money. I have worked 2 & sometimes 3 jobs since I was 10 & started mowing yards. I have owned some nice vehicles & some crappy ones.

But, I enjoyed them all & the people I met because they were driving the same vehicle or doing the same thing I was. Such as autocross, with my MR2, or just hunting, fishing, offroading, camping, working etc...

The one constant besides my wife (33 years now) & my family & my career, has been my Toyota truck & I still have it. But, after 5 years of research & looking at aftermarket support, because I can't leave well enough alone, I decided to buy a Jeep. Nostalgic, heck YES, I miss my dad & that old Jeep. But, the 2020 JLUR I bought had everything I needed & wanted. Fully loaded? Nope, but it is just what I want. For my need the Rubicon made the most sense. But, I will admit that a Moab & Sarah almost made the cut. I just didn't want to have to build another vehicle. So, the most I'm going to do is bumpers, winch, sliders with a step, better shocks & 35s. Other than a few interior items, that's it & I will have what I want. But, we all know, this can & probably will change.

I must admit, there is some snobbery around for sure. But, it won't be from me. I wave at all Jeeps, even the angry bird grills, just because I love people. I love meeting people & talking about their passions & interests & there isn't much out there that causes this more than cars, trucks, & especially Jeeps. So, I get a real kick out of talking Jeep & cars & just walking with folks & talking with them. So, no snobbery here. Heck, my chosen profession, which I absolutely love doing-PTSD & all, I have always been willing to put my life on the line to save/help another. So, I just don't see the need to argue or act a fool.

Sorry for the long rant, but I really like my Jeep & I love the folks I have met because of it. Even when I had my JLUR covered in mud, it started a lot of great conversations!

Everyone be safe & keep it rocking on all 4 wheels. But, lifting a wheel here in there is okay too.

Oh, being here in the South, sometimes we just wave to be waving. I think it's cool!
:like:
 

Punjabi New Yorker

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I could have bought any jeep I wanted (cash) and ended up with my yellow JL Sport S. It had what I wanted/needed and I like it.

I'm guessing at some point people might laugh at a guy with a yellow Jeep but I don't care.

Being happy in your own skin is what it's all about in this world for me. :jk:
I wanted my JLUR to be Yellow. Wife put an end to that. She said she is not driving a big fat Bumblebee around town. Instead she gave me only two choices: White or Black. I cried inside when I custom ordered it in White.
 

DaltonGang

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This is going to ruffle some feathers, but here it goes nonetheless.

I have owned 9 Wranglers over a 12-year period; a mix of Saharas and Rubicons, 2-doors and 4-doors, soft tops and hardtops, manuals and automatics. I have taken them to the beach, to the mountains, to the desert, to work, to the mall and to National Parks. I have driven them in snow, in the rain, over ice, rocks and sand dunes; in July 120 degrees in Death Valley and in -25 degrees in January in Colorado.

Eight of those Wranglers were JKs. My first one was a 2008 Sahara I bought used: it was a base with a 6-speed manual and a soft top, but I was hooked. At one time I owned two of them side-by-side: one was a 2-door Rubicon for the trails; the other was a 4-door Sahara for long road trips in winter. What I love about Wranglers is that I can pack and go at any time, any time of year, without concern for the terrain or the weather; I just know my Jeep will get me there and back.

My last JK was a top-of-the-line 2018 JKUR Recon. It was the most expensive Wrangler I ever bought but it was a complete disappointment: the assembly quality was terrible; it rattled and squeaked; the body panels were grossly misaligned; the ride was harsh. To make matters worse, my local dealer was a total dickhead with the warranty. Hardly what you would expect from a $52,000 price tag —even after having owned several JKs before. In hindsight, it was a mistake buying that last Rubicon.

When I shopped for a JL I test drove a dozen of them; a mix of Rubicons and Saharas, 2-doors and 4-doors; manual and automatic. I had relocated from California to Washington so I found myself doing less extreme off-roading, but more extreme weather. The availability of Selec-Trac was more appealing than a swaybar disconnect or lockers; and after the harsh ride on that JK Recon, comfort gained importance.

I found a sweet deal on an unsold 2018 Sahara sitting 1,000 miles away. I picked it up almost a year ago: the Selec-Trac is just awesome in the snow; the drive and ride is refined and comfortable; it can tackle the off-road trails around here with ease; the fit-and-finish is excellent, and it’s been totally trouble-free so far. I am tickled happy with it.

However, I find something’s fundamentally changed in the Jeep community with the advent of JL. Perhaps the steep new prices make JLs more “precious.” Or JL is attracting a greater proportion of first-time Jeep buyers who don’t know the Wrangler “code” yet. Or FCA has gone a bit overboard with all the “Jeep imagery” and turned Wrangler into a bit of a status symbol. Whatever the reason, I find it is now common to be looked down upon for not driving the “right” type of Wrangler. I now have to justify at every turn why I drive a Sahara. Some may not even realize it, but Sahara owners regularly get accused of being poor drivers, bad off-roaders, mall crawlers, even poseurs, all because we drive a Sahara. Ironically, half the time we get lectured by Rubicon owners who never even take their Jeeps off-road. I try not to be over sensitive to it, but it is a bit weird.

Do Sport owners get this too?

One of the nice things of being part of the Jeep community was the feeling of close camaraderie, no matter what Wrangler you drove. I never felt I had to justify to anyone that I drove a Sahara or a 2-door. A Wrangler was a Wrangler and that was that.

Feel free to reply, agree, disagree, joke, flame, share your hypothesis, but please let’s keep it civil.
Dont worry young lady, plenty of women drive Sahara models. You shouldn't feel like you are looked down upon, ever. Stand up for yourself, and don't let those testosterone burdened apes intimidate you. :bandit:
 

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DaltonGang

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Dont worry young lady, plenty of women drive Sahara models. You shouldn't feel like you are looked down upon, ever. Stand up for yourself, and don't let those testosterone burdened apes intimidate you. :bandit:
Btw, I was joking. A Jeeps, a Jeeps, a Jeep. Just don't put those silly Angry Bird grills on it. Those just look silly.
 

Oncorhynchus

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My Sahara was $10k less than the least expensive JLU Rubicons among the dealers within driving distance. I needed to keep some money on hand for all those repairs that Jeeps need ;)

Why a four door? Can hang a fully strung fishing rod inside a JLU.
 

Chomper

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I previously owned a 2008 Nissan XTerra OR, which had a rear locker. Any of the campsites I go to, I never needed the locker. So I didn't feel like I needed a Rubicon. I planned out a Sport S, but discovered in financing, I actually would get a better interest rate buying a Sahara that had all the options I wanted from the Sport S. The interest rate difference between the models made payments only within a couple of dollars a month. So I went with the Sahara.

Interesting fact I learned about financing. Higher trim models have lower interest rates due to typically higher resale value.
 

RedundanT

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This is my 3rd "wrangler" and my 7th Jeep. I don't "wave" at every jeep I see, sorry, you don't know me, and I don't know you. I didn't "wave" at every jeep when I was driving a lifted JK, I didn't know to "wave" at other jeeps when I owned at flathead CJ3. Get over it mall crawlers. If I see a lifted jeep wave at me I may return the favor, if I see a soccer mom in her stock jeep she don't get a wave. Snobbery? Maybe, but I'm old, grouchy and set in my ways, GTF over it.
 

Jdsmoke

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I think the drivability of the new JL opened up Jeep to a broader customer base. I count myself in this bucket where I didn’t like the ride of the JK but I liked the ride of the JL which I then purchased. I was on a budget and got a sport. I would have loved a Rubicon but $50k wasn’t in the cards. Had they had the select trac in 2019 I would have tried to get it since love the full time all wheel drive.
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