MrJeepNut
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Scott
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2017
- Threads
- 4
- Messages
- 177
- Reaction score
- 174
- Location
- Denver, Colorado
- Vehicle(s)
- 1980 CJ-7, 1997 TJ, 2018 JKU
- Vehicle Showcase
- 1
- Thread starter
- #1
Since the JL pricing numbers started trickling out back in December, a number of forum members, including myself, have been debating the question "is the JL worth the extra money?". The initial pricing that was announced back in December put me on the fence-- I wasn't sure which way I would go. The recent increases in base price plus destination charge finally pushed me over the edge, however. I decided it was time to take serious look at the 2018 JK lineup, and do a side-by-side comparison against the JL.
One of the nice things about the 2018 JK is that special editions are already available, and a couple of the 2018 special editions have some option combinations that I really like. When I searched for these packages in my local area (Denver), I found some surprisingly low prices on JKUs that had all the options I wanted, and very few options I didn't want. I picked out the one I liked best (a Freedom Edition), and headed to the dealer to do some test drives.
Since I had already taken a very short test drive in a JLU when they first started hitting the lots, I decided to drive the JKU first. My 2014 JKU was also a Freedom Edition, so the appearance was very familiar, but they've added a few new features that distinguish it quite a bit from the vanilla Sport upon which it is based: Granite Crystal wheels, Goodyear Wranger Silent Armor tires, an HD diff cover, and most importantly: tubular rock rails, a steel, winch-ready bumper in the front, and a steel bumper in the rear. Options included Max Tow package, auto trans, Trak-Lok rear diff, black hard top, and remote start, which brought the sticker price to $38,520. The asking price was $35,101, which is about 5% under invoice.
I don't know if it was just the newness of the car, but the 2018 felt smoother to me than my 2014, and maybe a bit quieter. The doors opened and closed more precisely also. Outside of that, as you might expect, there was not much difference from the 2014.
I then moved on the a JLU Sahara for my next test drive. Now I realize that comparing a Sport-based JK against a JL Sahara isn't really fair, but I feel that with the body-colored flares, fancy wheels, and leather interior, the JK Freedom is pretty much on par with the JK Sahara, maybe better, for my purposes, at least. I crawled around the JL Sahara quite a bit, and of course loved everything I saw. The new interior is sweet, and the new grille and fender flares are an improvement on the outside. The sticker on this Sahara had fallen off into the back seat, but I found it and took a look: $49,600. I asked the salesperson if they were dealing at all on the JLs-- he said no, pretty much sticker price at this point. That's on par with what I've heard other dealers in the Denver area, i.e. they're selling like hotcakes at sticker price. A few dealers are advertising small discounts in the $1k - $2K range, but how much does that help on a $50K vehicle? If I were going to go JL, I wouldn't order one off the lot, but my trusty spreadsheet tells me that my minimally-acceptable set of Sahara options still tallies to about $45K. So I'm looking at $35K for the JK versus $45K for the JL. Is it worth it? Hell no! I didn't even do the JL test drive, I just bought the JK on the spot.
Here is the result of my afternoon's work:
One of the nice things about the 2018 JK is that special editions are already available, and a couple of the 2018 special editions have some option combinations that I really like. When I searched for these packages in my local area (Denver), I found some surprisingly low prices on JKUs that had all the options I wanted, and very few options I didn't want. I picked out the one I liked best (a Freedom Edition), and headed to the dealer to do some test drives.
Since I had already taken a very short test drive in a JLU when they first started hitting the lots, I decided to drive the JKU first. My 2014 JKU was also a Freedom Edition, so the appearance was very familiar, but they've added a few new features that distinguish it quite a bit from the vanilla Sport upon which it is based: Granite Crystal wheels, Goodyear Wranger Silent Armor tires, an HD diff cover, and most importantly: tubular rock rails, a steel, winch-ready bumper in the front, and a steel bumper in the rear. Options included Max Tow package, auto trans, Trak-Lok rear diff, black hard top, and remote start, which brought the sticker price to $38,520. The asking price was $35,101, which is about 5% under invoice.
I don't know if it was just the newness of the car, but the 2018 felt smoother to me than my 2014, and maybe a bit quieter. The doors opened and closed more precisely also. Outside of that, as you might expect, there was not much difference from the 2014.
I then moved on the a JLU Sahara for my next test drive. Now I realize that comparing a Sport-based JK against a JL Sahara isn't really fair, but I feel that with the body-colored flares, fancy wheels, and leather interior, the JK Freedom is pretty much on par with the JK Sahara, maybe better, for my purposes, at least. I crawled around the JL Sahara quite a bit, and of course loved everything I saw. The new interior is sweet, and the new grille and fender flares are an improvement on the outside. The sticker on this Sahara had fallen off into the back seat, but I found it and took a look: $49,600. I asked the salesperson if they were dealing at all on the JLs-- he said no, pretty much sticker price at this point. That's on par with what I've heard other dealers in the Denver area, i.e. they're selling like hotcakes at sticker price. A few dealers are advertising small discounts in the $1k - $2K range, but how much does that help on a $50K vehicle? If I were going to go JL, I wouldn't order one off the lot, but my trusty spreadsheet tells me that my minimally-acceptable set of Sahara options still tallies to about $45K. So I'm looking at $35K for the JK versus $45K for the JL. Is it worth it? Hell no! I didn't even do the JL test drive, I just bought the JK on the spot.
Here is the result of my afternoon's work:
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