Ordering my first Jeep

[EvanH84]

With one year left in undergrad at Ohio State I am looking to place an order on my first Jeep through Criswell at 8% under invoice. I will be ordering either a black Sahara/Rubicon with the LED pack, 8.4” w/premium audio and a body painted hardtop. I’m on the fence about going with the Rubicon since I likely will not off-road it. I’m also up in the air about other options so any advice or suggestions would be appreciated!

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[TJ2018]

With one year left in undergrad at Ohio State I am looking to place an order on my first Jeep through Criswell at 8% under invoice. I will be ordering either a black Sahara/Rubicon with the LED pack, 8.4” w/premium audio and a body painted hardtop. I’m on the fence about going with the Rubicon since I likely will not off-road it. I’m also up in the air about other options so any advice or suggestions would be appreciated!

You're likely to get a wide variety of answers to that question. But here's my take...

If you're not using the Rubicon for off-road, it becomes and expensive appearance package. Your money would likely be better spent on a Sahara if you like all that the Sahara offers. If you like the more aggressive look of the Rubi you might check out the MOAB package with has a lot of the Rubicon appearance pieces with Sahara luxury. The only potential downside to a MOAB could be the mud terrain tires... but many who've gotten the MOAB haven't minded them.

You have 2 of the most popular packages already in the LED and the 8.4 premium audio. There's a host of other options but that's really a personal choice. I like the advanced safety stuff so I'd probably go with the active safety and adaptive cruise packages. Others have raved about the cold weather group for colder climates. Personally I don't care about remote start or the proximity key packages.

The best advice I have is be sure to get the Jeep YOU want, not what anyone else tells you you should get.

Good luck!

 

[HealthRebel]

With one year left in undergrad at Ohio State I am looking to place an order on my first Jeep through Criswell at 8% under invoice. I will be ordering either a black Sahara/Rubicon with the LED pack, 8.4” w/premium audio and a body painted hardtop. I’m on the fence about going with the Rubicon since I likely will not off-road it. I’m also up in the air about other options so any advice or suggestions would be appreciated!

Lots to choose from. Every additional option costs you, but it will cost you more down the road if you’re not pleased with your Jeep and you ultimately sell it or trade it because it doesn’t have what you want on it.

Do your research and take some time to decide. I ultimately went with a pretty well loaded JLRU, even though I may not fully test the Rubicon’s capability. No regrets!

 

[Kyanche]

If you're not using the Rubicon for off-road, it becomes and expensive appearance package. Your money would likely be better spent on a Sahara if you like all that the Sahara offers

The difference is surprisingly small! In my case, it'd be <$2k if I chose selec-trac and the anti-slip differential. With those, it's a $3k difference. I hear that some dealers will give a better deal on Saharas, but in my case it didn't change the discount.

If you're ordering a 2020, keep in mind that if you get an automatic transmission, the Saharas will have the BSG (mild hybrid that uses a watercooled 48V battery to start/stop the vehicle) and the Rubicons will not (they still shut off the engine at stops, but start it with a traditional starter). The selec-trac system is only available on the Sahara, and if you live somewhere snowy, you might want that. The Sahara also comes with side steps, if you need those (but they are cheap to add later)

As far as I know, aside from the lockers and the sway bar disconnect, the Rubicon also has more skid plates(?) and stronger front+rear axles. It also has 17" wheels and higher fender flares than the Sahara does. Other cosmetic differences are inside: The Rubicon has red stitching and red plastic dashboard pieces, while the Sahara has white stitching and leather-covered dashboard pieces. The Rubicon has those funky front seatbacks with the straps on it too, none of the other models have that.

In my case, I'm going with a Rubicon this time around. Not only am I not interested in a BSG engine at this time, but I like all of the other things the Rubicon has to offer.

 

[TJ2018]

The difference is surprisingly small! In my case, it'd be <$2k if I chose selec-trac and the anti-slip differential. With those, it's a $3k difference. I hear that some dealers will give a better deal on Saharas, but in my case it didn't change the discount.

If you're ordering a 2020, keep in mind that if you get an automatic transmission, the Saharas will have the BSG (mild hybrid that uses a watercooled 48V battery to start/stop the vehicle) and the Rubicons will not (they still shut off the engine at stops, but start it with a traditional starter). The selec-trac system is only available on the Sahara, and if you live somewhere snowy, you might want that. The Sahara also comes with side steps, if you need those (but they are cheap to add later)

As far as I know, aside from the lockers and the sway bar disconnect, the Rubicon also has more skid plates(?) and stronger front+rear axles. It also has 17" wheels and higher fender flares than the Sahara does.

Good points!

Lockers, sway bar disconnect, skid plates and axles don't really come into play unless offroading (that the OP says is not likely).

Selec-trac is optoinal on the Sahara, and standard on the MOAB. The MOAB also has body colored top and fenders (OP wants body colored hard top). Had locking diffs and sway bar disconnect not been on my needs list, the MOAB would have been my go-to package.

 

[Kyanche]

Sadly, it's not available for ordering on 2020s or I'd consider a Moab myself! The few that exist out here are not available exactly how I'd want one. Truth be told, at the end of the day I'd happily fork up the extra money to get exactly what I want :D

 

[EvanH84]

Here is what I plan on going with! 2020 Sahara Altitude with 8.4”, Cold weather, V6, Auto, LED and a katzkin kit I can hopefully have put in going through production..

 

[TJ2018]

Here is what I plan on going with! 2020 Sahara Altitude with 8.4”, Cold weather, V6, Auto, LED and a katzkin kit I can hopefully have put in going through production..

Nice! Be sure to post pics once done!!!

 

[apb]

With one year left in undergrad at Ohio State I am looking to place an order on my first Jeep through Criswell at 8% under invoice. I will be ordering either a black Sahara/Rubicon with the LED pack, 8.4” w/premium audio and a body painted hardtop. I’m on the fence about going with the Rubicon since I likely will not off-road it. I’m also up in the air about other options so any advice or suggestions would be appreciated!

I have nothing of substance to contribute to your post other than this: O-H!

 

[fjrrider]

I don't think that particular Katzkin can go in during production.
Good call on the cold weather package if you're going to be staying around Ohio. Also consider the remote proximity keyless entry so you don't have to take your gloves off or fumble with the umbrella while you're digging for keys.

 

[EvanH84]

I have nothing of substance to contribute to your post other than this: O-H!

I-O!!

 

[EvanH84]

I don't think that particular Katzkin can go in during production.
Good call on the cold weather package if you're going to be staying around Ohio. Also consider the remote proximity keyless entry so you don't have to take your gloves off or fumble with the umbrella while you're digging for keys.

Heard from Criswell and Jeep can’t do the interior at the factory but I am still happy with the leather included with the Altitude Edition

 

[Thill444]

Well done OP. Sahara/Altitude is a nice vehicle based on your needs.

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