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Need advice on buying a used Rubicon

Spank

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I'm not a fan of the 3.8 but I do see higher mileage models up for sale. So it's not like they stop working. The issues with the 3.6 mentioned are for the model years 2012-2013.
The 3.8L probably wouldn't have gotten so much flack if it hadn't been mated to two terribly geared, unreliable, awful transmissions. I always faulted them more than the engine itself, not that that excuses all the other flaws with the early JKs.
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aldo98229

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My JKs with the 3.8 were all 6-speed manual transmission. That combination made for a pretty acceptable performance on and off-road.
 

SecondTJ

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The 3.8L probably wouldn't have gotten so much flack if it hadn't been mated to two terribly geared, unreliable, awful transmissions. I always faulted them more than the engine itself, not that that excuses all the other flaws with the early JKs.
The NSG370 gearing wasn’t terrible. It’s actually better than then the current D478. The 42RLE was in fact awful.

The manual w/ 4.10 gears made the 3.8 “acceptable”
 

SecondTJ

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When I was shopping for mine a year ago, I found a 2018 JL Sahara with 17,000 for $27,000 at Carvana. That was the lowest price I could find for a well-equipped Sahara.

It had leather seats, 8.4” & Alpine sound, LEDs, Cold Weather Group, Safety Group, proximity door locks, body-color hardtop, Selec-Trac, 3.6 V6 and 8-speed automatic. But it only had the remaining half of the 36,000-mile warranty.
Wow, that’s some pretty hefty first year depreciation.
 

aldo98229

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Wow, that’s some pretty hefty first year depreciation.
Yeah. There was a flood of ex-rentals on the market back then. I doubt that’s the case any more.
 

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Spank

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The NSG370 gearing wasn’t terrible. It’s actually better than then the current D478. The 42RLE was in fact awful.

The manual w/ 4.10 gears made the 3.8 “acceptable”
The gearing wasn't terrible, but I never thought it belonged in the JK, especially after they replaced the 42RLE with the WA580. Both my JKs had issues with TOBs that eventually made me give up on manual transmissions in the Wrangler. I didn't much care for NSG in the TJ, either. Nonetheless, paired with 5.13's on 35s with the 3.8, it was very tolerable.
 

AuroraStanley

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Yea after getting some feedback here. She does not need a Rubicon. I’m going to try and steer her towards a Sport S then throw some nice rims and tires and she’ll be set. Plus she’ll have a warranty which is 60k miles or 5 year i think. Which is great for me since i’m the one always fixing the cars in the family if i can lol
Glad to hear you've gained some insight here. This forum has helped and taught me a TON.

& on a last note; two things to consider.
1- If she plans to do any offroading at all, maybe consider a Willys or Willys sport with only the upgrades she wants/needs. They have slightly upgraded suspension & a nicer wheel/tire set up. (Plus, I'm just partial to the Willys, now.. :like: Especially for the money.)
2- If you do go with a Sport S, some dealers will have some on their lot with upgraded tires/wheels already installed.. & if they don't some dealers are willing to do that for you and roll it into the purchase. Having some basic knowledge of what those upgrades cost beforehand will help with determining whether or not it's worth going that route.. Sometimes it is absolutely worth doing it that way! Just a thought to keep in the back of your mind when yall go shopping.

Most importantly :: HAVE FUN! & test drive several before yall decide!
 

AlamoDawg

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I got my 2018 JLU Rubicon with 30k miles on it for $34,000. Dealer was asking $35,000. It had everything I was looking for 8.4 monitor, alpine system, trailer/tow hitch with aux switches, the safety group and a manual transmission.
I live in San Antonio and did a nationwide search and found my Jeep at a Toyota dealership in Kentucky. Pictures looked good and placed a deposit down so I could get an inspector to come in and give me a detailed inspection report. Nothing wrong and all recalls had been taken care of. I had it shipped and got it a day or two after my birthday in June. I know I got a steal of a deal!

Jeep Wrangler JL Need advice on buying a used Rubicon F3FA966F-6D96-47A2-BCDC-C150D9809A85
 

RowdySouth

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so I could get an inspector to come in and give me a detailed inspection report
Hey, can you expand on the inspector? Did you find someone local in that market or use one of those nationwide providers? How accurate was the report compared to the delivered jeep?
 

AlamoDawg

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Hey, can you expand on the inspector? Did you find someone local in that market or use one of those nationwide providers? How accurate was the report compared to the delivered jeep?
I used a nationwide inspector that had great rating and his inspection report was spot on. No issues with the Jeep at and report was spot on. Only thing missing was antenna and a visor was broken on passenger side. But Jeep dealership replaced the visor under warranty and I bought an antenna as previous owner took his bullet antenna with him when he traded it in.

I used Aim Certify. They came out quickly and got my report within days.
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