JL Sahara Altitude or Rubicon

[chaynech1]

Hi Everyone,

I currently have a lifted 2013 Jeep Wrangler Sahara Unlimited and am looking to upgrade. With the great financing and deals going around I am now deciding between a Sahara Altitude or Rubicon. Is it worth getting a good deal on Altitude and adding larger wheels, steel bumper and aev lift? The Rubi is more, but offers so much in value. I never use my Jeep for rock crawling or anything, but love the hood, bigger tires, bumper etc of the Rubi. Maybe it is an easy choice, but I have loved my Sahara for so long I dont know.

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[Notorious]

The Rubi is more, but offers so much in value. I never use my Jeep for rock crawling or anything, but love the hood, bigger tires, bumper etc of the Rubi

If you don’t use it, is it really offering you more value? Said differently, you’re going to pay for something you aren’t going to use. If you like the looks of a a Rubi you should probably get one.

 

[chaynech1]

If you don’t use it, is it really offering you more value? Said differently, you’re going to pay for something you aren’t going to use. If you like the looks of a a Rubi you should probably get one.

Totally. I guess it just works out to what kind of deal I can get. A lot of dealers aren't honouring the employee pricing on the Rubicons due to short supply from Covid. They also aren't trading with other dealers, so you basically have to deal with whoever has the product.

 

[Notorious]

so you basically have to deal with whoever has the product

Happy to sneak you over to this side of the border so that you and I can deal with whoever has the product. We can convert your Canadian dollar into Pesos, then into Dinars and then into American dollars. This will take some time but the goal is for somewhere along the conversion line, your money gets broken evenly.

 

[limeade]

Only you can decided what you want vs. need and how much you want to pay for all of that.

But if you're debating a Sahara (which you want to lift, add bigger tires too, steel bumpers, etc) vs. a Rubicon, then here's my advice:

The Rubicon already comes with everything you want to add on to a Sahara (steel bumper is an option though). You get the lift, 33" tires, and 4.10 gears (lost of other stuff, but focusing on what you want to add to the Sahara). So what would it cost to add those things to a Sahara? $5k? $10k? A lot of that amount depends on the quality, size, options, and if you can do the work yourself or have to get it installed.

If it's going to cost you an additional $10k to get a Sahara to where you want it, wouldn't it be better and more cost efficient to just buy a Rubicon in the first place? It has everything you want to add to the Sahara, plus more (lockers, 4:1 transfer case, special hood, ELD sway bar, etc) and it is ALL covered by the FCA warranty and extended warranty if you choose to go that route. Plus you can automatically fit 35's on a Rubicon with very little detriment in performance due to the 4.10 gears and 4:1 transfer case.

Additionally, if you ever decide to sell, the Sahara resale value is not as good as the Rubicon's, even with all the add ons you put on. No one who adds on any parts to their Jeep ever gets close to full reimbursement when they sell or trade it in. They're lucky to get %50 back in their parts investment.

So my argument is you will be way ahead on resale value if you stick with a stock Rubicon and you can immediately off-road it without spending any more money.

I've said this before and I'll say it again: I've never heard anyone who's bought a Rubicon say "Wish I would've bought a Sahara. But I heard plenty of Sport/Sahara owners say "Wish I would've bought a Rubicon".

 

[chaynech1]

Only you can decided what you want vs. need and how much you want to pay for all of that.

But if you're debating a Sahara (which you want to lift, add bigger tires too, steel bumpers, etc) vs. a Rubicon, then here's my advice:

The Rubicon already comes with everything you want to add on to a Sahara (steel bumper is an option though). You get the lift, 33" tires, and 4.10 gears (lost of other stuff, but focusing on what you want to add to the Sahara). So what would it cost to add those things to a Sahara? $5k? $10k? A lot of that amount depends on the quality, size, options, and if you can do the work yourself or have to get it installed.

If it's going to cost you an additional $10k to get a Sahara to where you want it, wouldn't it be better and more cost efficient to just buy a Rubicon in the first place? It has everything you want to add to the Sahara, plus more (lockers, 4:1 transfer case, special hood, ELD sway bar, etc) and it is ALL covered by the FCA warranty and extended warranty if you choose to go that route. Plus you can automatically fit 35's on a Rubicon with very little detriment in performance due to the 4.10 gears and 4:1 transfer case.

Additionally, if you ever decide to sell, the Sahara resale value is not as good as the Rubicon's, even with all the add ons you put on. No one who adds on any parts to their Jeep ever gets close to full reimbursement when they sell or trade it in. They're lucky to get %50 back in their parts investment.

So my argument is you will be way ahead on resale value if you stick with a stock Rubicon and you can immediately off-road it without spending any more money.

I've said this before and I'll say it again: I've never heard anyone who've bought a Rubicon say "Wish I would've bought a Sahara. But I heard plenty of Sport/Sahara owners say "Wish I would've bought a Rubicon".

Thanks for all the info. I can and love upgrading so that isn't a big issue. I am leaning towards the Rubicon because it has everything already as you say. I guess right now it also comes to be able to find the right rubi. I hear if I order it is massively backed up, however that back up has delayed dealer stock.

If I can find the right rubi at the employee pricing price I will go that route. About an msrp of $65,000 cdn for about $58,000. I have had one dealer say they would do this, problem is they don't have the stock. I can get an altitude for $52,000 right now.

Hopefully I find something soon. Everything that comes close has the 1 touch roof, and I can't justify the $4,000 option.

 

[limeade]

I don't think the Sky One roof is worth that cost either.

Good luck with finding the right JL for you. At least in the states, there's still pretty good stock if you're willing to look outside of the local area.

 

[chaynech1]

I don't think the Sky One roof is worth that cost either.

Good luck with finding the right JL for you. At least in the states, there's still pretty good stock if you're willing to look outside of the local area.

Thanks. Yeah I hope to find something soon. Our stock is sad. Dealers typically only get 1 - 2 Rubicons. Would look to the states but the Canadian dollar is extra weak due to the covid shut downs.

 

[scottijohn63]

Hi Everyone,

I currently have a lifted 2013 Jeep Wrangler Sahara Unlimited and am looking to upgrade. With the great financing and deals going around I am now deciding between a Sahara Altitude or Rubicon. Is it worth getting a good deal on Altitude and adding larger wheels, steel bumper and aev lift? The Rubi is more, but offers so much in value. I never use my Jeep for rock crawling or anything, but love the hood, bigger tires, bumper etc of the Rubi. Maybe it is an easy choice, but I have loved my Sahara for so long I dont know.

Go with your gut. Get the Rubi. It's what you want.

 

[Dfideth]

Get the Rubi, I have owned 3 Rubi's, one TJ, 2-JKs. I bought a 2018 JL Sahara because hell it would handle better. I was wrong, steers worse than the JK Rubis.
I wish I got the Rubi just for the lockers.

 

[chaynech1]

Get the Rubi, I have owned 3 Rubi's, one TJ, 2-JKs. I bought a 2018 JL Sahara because hell it would handle better. I was wrong, steers worse than the JK Rubis.
I wish I got the Rubi just for the lockers.

Thanks. Yeah I have owned a couple of older cherokees XJ's and then my current 2013 sahara for 7 years. I think whats tough is I actually like the ride and steering on my jeep with the aev 2.5 dualsport lift haha. However, there is a lot to love on the Rubi.

 

[Covfefe]

You get more bang for your buck with the Bronco

 

[chaynech1]

You get more bang for your buck with the Bronco

Honestly that is in the back of my head, I just can't wait till next spring. Next spring assuming the factories don't get shut down again

 

[rubileon]

Hi Everyone,

I currently have a lifted 2013 Jeep Wrangler Sahara Unlimited and am looking to upgrade. With the great financing and deals going around I am now deciding between a Sahara Altitude or Rubicon. Is it worth getting a good deal on Altitude and adding larger wheels, steel bumper and aev lift? The Rubi is more, but offers so much in value. I never use my Jeep for rock crawling or anything, but love the hood, bigger tires, bumper etc of the Rubi. Maybe it is an easy choice, but I have loved my Sahara for so long I dont know.

Since you had a Sahara and if you always wanted a Rubicon, go for it but otherwise, as others said, it might not be the best choice.

If going for the Rubicon, get the luxury pack or it might seem backwards compared to your JK Sahara. That's what I did.

 

[BadAssBumbleBee]

Thanks for all the info. I can and love upgrading so that isn't a big issue. I am leaning towards the Rubicon because it has everything already as you say. I guess right now it also comes to be able to find the right rubi. I hear if I order it is massively backed up, however that back up has delayed dealer stock.

If I can find the right rubi at the employee pricing price I will go that route. About an msrp of $65,000 cdn for about $58,000. I have had one dealer say they would do this, problem is they don't have the stock. I can get an altitude for $52,000 right now.

Hopefully I find something soon. Everything that comes close has the 1 touch roof, and I can't justify the $4,000 option.

It might take some searching and a little patience, and you may need to expand your search criteria to National instead of local to find what you want.

The MSRP on my 2019 2 door Rubi was $61,590 CDN (very well optioned, just missing the Aux switches/HD Tow Package I wanted), but since it was a 2 door Rubicon and it had been sitting on the dealer lot here in Ontario for about 7-8 months with almost no interest in it, I was able to get it for $46,713 + Tax for an all in, out the door price of $52,786.

Granted, this was back in December 2019 before Covi-19 shut things down, and there was quite a bit more inventory out there to choose from.

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