Searching for my first Wrangler. A few questions

[Yolobaggins]

Hello all

I am in the market for a 2018-2019 JL Wrangler 4 door, the main reason because I want the Mojito Green badly and they don’t make it anymore

Because I am so set on the Mojito Green, I am having a hard time finding one with everything I want for a price I can afford

I mainly want the Cold Weather group and the Technology Group, with premium soft top but that is easier to buy later

My question is, since I am new to Jeep, is it plausible to buy just a base Wrangler just to get the color I want but buy aftermarket heated seats, a new head unit, etc and just slowly upgrade it to what I want?

Or is it better/more economical to get everything I want at the beginning?

Any tips would be appreciated!

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[Notorious]

Welcome to the forum!

You live everyday that you’re here on this earth. You die only once.

If you’re buying the Wrangler only for color you may not realize what you’re getting yourself into. Many people read about others doing significant upgrades to the vehicles after purchase and there are those who follow in their footsteps.

Nothing wrong with this.

Given the options that you want, I’d advise you to skip the color, order from the factory and then address the color needs later.

What’s more expensive: doing the upgrades you want that could all be had from the factory or a vinyl wrap? I believe people should spend less time wrenching and more time driving and enjoying their rigs.

But that’s just my opinion.

 

[Dkretden]

Welcome!

is it “possible” to add heated seats, new head units, etc? Maybe, most anything is “possible.” But do you really want to spend your weekends ripping your new Jeep guts apart? Or, would you rather be driving it?

to me, it’s kinda like buying a sport and adding new axles, suspension, lockers, sway bar disconnects, etc, etc. while some might really find that fun and enjoyable, it will often cost more than buying a Stock Rubicon and getting the warranty for it all.

for the head unit, this video might help you


assuming that this is all true, you are looking at:
1) $1600
2) pulling your dash apart and likely having to solution a few things.
3) still going to the dealer for reprogramming.

is that worth it to you?

or, would you rather be driving it?

 

[Punjabi New Yorker]

Hello all

I am in the market for a 2018-2019 JL Wrangler 4 door, the main reason because I want the Mojito Green badly and they don’t make it anymore

Because I am so set on the Mojito Green, I am having a hard time finding one with everything I want for a price I can afford

I mainly want the Cold Weather group and the Technology Group, with premium soft top but that is easier to buy later

My question is, since I am new to Jeep, is it plausible to buy just a base Wrangler just to get the color I want but buy aftermarket heated seats, a new head unit, etc and just slowly upgrade it to what I want?

Or is it better/more economical to get everything I want at the beginning?

Any tips would be appreciated!

If you have money in hand, I would recommend to get everything at the beginning from the Jeep factory. Reason? Jeep made material will be backed by a factory warranty for three years. Something you may or may not get aftermarket. But if you are short on cash and may need to make incremental upgrades later on the get a base model or used Jeep. Then add upgrades as you get the money for them. A lot of members here do that too.

for the colour, I would recommended ditching the Mojito Green. It is a relatively rare colour. This means that down the road, a paint job (If needed) can be very expensive versus a more widely available colour such as black, white or yellow. I love the colour options in a Jeep but prefer to keep it simple due to that issue. Other members may disagree and may have their own perfectly valid reasons for choosing the colour they wanted.

 

[RagTopDeluxe]

I am the same with regards to color—I *had* to have orange.

If you can wait and order new, Gecko is coming back. It’s a bright green that looks awesome on the Wrangler. I was able to get the same discount on my ordered Jeep that the dealer was offering for in-stock Jeeps.

Good luck!

 

[mwilk012]

Unless you just really dig the Mojito color, it would be easier to order Gecko.

 

[aldo98229]

OP: it depends what you plan install afterwards. Certain things are relatively easy, like leather seats, hardtop, steel bumpers, LED headlights, although they are not cheap.

Other things, like swaybar disconnect, can be both stupidly expensive and quite involved.

I am finding that adding things to these JLs is more complicated that it appears at first. For instance, I got a JL with everything I wanted but was missing leather seats and LED headlights. Adding the leather was relatively straightforward but set me back $1800, installed. The Mopar LEDs were $800...but after I installed them myself I discovered that the halos weren’t plug-and-play; that was an additional $200 in installation + $300 for a Tazer Mini to activate them. Now the fender turn signals don’t match; they are another $200 for a pair of LEDs...etc. It never ends.

You will find that used Wranglers are priced higher than new ones, unless you find one that is already out if warranty. This is especially true now that there’s a shortage of Wranglers.

I’ve seen a few new Mojitos still left on cargurus, but you may need to fly out to fetch it.

 

[nostatic]

Probably cheaper to find the options you want and wrap the vehicle in the color of your choice.

but depends why you want a Wrangler, and buying used isn’t necessarily a path to “getting a price you want.”.

 

[Yolobaggins]

Thanks for all the responses! I appreciate the community!

I guess I’ll add this will be 95% a daily driver and 5% weekend fun get away with the family (I’m having a kid on the way) so off-roasting won’t be in my future at the moment

It seems like a lot of people are saying I can the color I want later by doing a vinyl wrap but get the heated seats or infotainment system now and do the color I want later. The main thing I want is the heated seats and steering wheel because I have seen great aftermarket seat covers made for Jeeps I can get because I hate traditional cloth

How good are the vinyl wraps? Any experiences?

 

[aldo98229]

Thanks for all the responses! I appreciate the community!

I guess I’ll add this will be 95% a daily driver and 5% weekend fun get away with the family (I’m having a kid on the way) so off-roasting won’t be in my future at the moment

It seems like a lot of people are saying I can the color I want later by doing a vinyl wrap but get the heated seats or infotainment system now and do the color I want later. The main thing I want is the heated seats and steering wheel because I have seen great aftermarket seat covers made for Jeeps I can get because I hate traditional cloth

How good are the vinyl wraps? Any experiences?

I had an excellent local vinyl wrap guy that did work on my Tacoma and Fiat Spider. Unfortunately, I just found out his shop closed. He used to do a lot of custom work for the car dealers, but much of that business has dried up.

 

[scottijohn63]

Thanks for all the responses! I appreciate the community!

I guess I’ll add this will be 95% a daily driver and 5% weekend fun get away with the family (I’m having a kid on the way) so off-roasting won’t be in my future at the moment

It seems like a lot of people are saying I can the color I want later by doing a vinyl wrap but get the heated seats or infotainment system now and do the color I want later. The main thing I want is the heated seats and steering wheel because I have seen great aftermarket seat covers made for Jeeps I can get because I hate traditional cloth

How good are the vinyl wraps? Any experiences?

I used Auto Trader to find my used 2019 Sahara with all the options I wanted. It was work since I found it in New York and I live in Cali. I wanted the SOT, limited slip diff, Slect Trac AWD to name a few things. Had 7000 miles got a good deal. Cost $1200 to ship. Couldn’t be happier! Auto Trader let’s you get very specific on what you want! You can also restrict the search range if you don’t want to search nation wide like I did! Almost forgot! Make sure it has a clean Car Fax and a complete video walk around inside and out. Buy from reputable dealer. Mine was a Mercedes Benz!

 

[cosine]

i agree with what everyone here mentioned. it would be easier to order what you want except the color. i understand you are set on the mojito, but you should look into the other colors. you will be surprize that another color will look better than the one ou want.

at first i was thinking of getting the ocean blue color, but after looking at it, i decided to go with the granite color. because i like the granite and by luck it was on a base model 2 door sport that was sitting on the lot.

 

[nostatic]

I guess I’ll add this will be 95% a daily driver and 5% weekend fun get away with the family (I’m having a kid on the way) so off-roasting won’t be in my future at the moment

Don't be so sure. The Wrangler might meat your expectations and soon you'll be into cooking low and slow on the trails.

 

[Punjabi New Yorker]

Don't be so sure. The Wrangler might meat your expectations and soon you'll be into cooking low and slow on the trails.

Also this will be a vehicle you truly want to get involved in. In none of my vehicles before did I get down and dirty and do things like clean thoroughly, get underneath to see if there is any rust, use 303 Fabric Guard on the soft top, grease the door hinges against rust, add Grab Handles, replace tops every fall/spring, etc.

this is a rig that you will genuinely be interested to work on. I was never really mechanically inclined before this but now I am learning as I go. The more I learn the more I want to get involved! This is coming from a guy who didnt even know how to change his oil a year ago.

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