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Sell my Willys for a Rubicon???

Mike8194

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I bought a 21 Willys in December. I settled on a Willys b/c it seemed like a great compromise on appearance, performance, and price. I also didn’t think I needed more for light off-roading, and cruising around town on the weekend. Fast forward six months. The Willys is super capable compared to my previous JK, but I still got the bug. Looking at a small lift and tires and realizing I might should have just bought a Rubi. Got a pretty good deal on the Willys (and 0% financing), and Carvana just offered me roughly what I paid 6 months ago new. I am debating selling the Willys and ordering a Rubicon from Gupton. I have a work car, so no worries with waiting 4-6 weeks. So far, the Willys has been great but the LSD issue on the Dana44 makes me nervous, and this crazy market just feels like a freebie reset from the universe. Am I crazy?

Talk me in or out of this!

Jeep Wrangler JL Sell my Willys for a Rubicon??? 1F327A41-DFD4-4845-9631-CCB3A0FF754C
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MonopoliJLUR

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I personally think the rubicon looks a lot better with its different hood, and standing a little taller, plus the red interior

but it’s all your personal opinion, I just ordered a JLUR because of the better axles and gear ratio, it’ll save me money in the future with regearing and stuff when I go with 35s, and rubicon’s can hold their value better as well, for me it saved me work and money making the Sahara or sport the same as the rubi

but if none of the extras matter too much to you I’d probably leave it, your willys is just as great of a Jeep, just less off-road focused, do what you think suits your needs
 

Alex01

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If you want 37 one day or plan to climb rocks then a rubicon is a great choice. If you're not interested in either of those things then the Willys will be great and will be plenty of jeep for 99% of the trails most people go on.
 

SoCal

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funny, I got the bug a few months ago and like you thought the Willys was my sweet spot, but once I saw the deals Kent was doing , I decided I didn't want any regrets like you are having right now and just stretched the budget a few bucks and got the Rubi....

I think you got that itch right now and nothing is going to scratch until you get your Rubi....
Take the offer and get the Rubicon
 

AlexJeepVB

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I would agree what was said above. If you want 37's or you are going to start rock crawling then the Rubicon would make sense. If not the the Willys im sure is more than enough Jeep. I would not worry about problems you may have down the road since you have a warranty and can't lose sleep over an issue that might never happen. All that being said at the end of the day do what makes you happy is what I always say. I bought a JL sport first and ended up trading it in for my current Rubicon 6 months later. I had a 2013 JK Rubicon before that and even tho the sport was a nice Jeep I missed having a Rubicon. It also helped that at the time I did the trade I got a crazy deal. Good luck with your decision!
 

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aldo98229

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Vroom offered $43,650 for my Sahara with 6,500 miles; I paid $38,000 18 months ago.

But this is a terrible to buy.

My local dealer has a lot full of Jeeps; tells me with a straight face that all their Wranglers and Gladiators have a $10,000 markUP. The salesman is downright unpleasant. I get up and leave.

On my way out I see two smartly dressed young fellows test driving Rubicons; I think to myself “they must be nuts to be willing to pay a $10,000 markup.”

I go to the next dealer, 30 miles down the road; it “only” wants a $1,500 markup. Regardless, they only have 1 JL a 1 JT left. The salesman says factory orders are taking 3-4 months. I think he is full of shit and say my good-byes.

The only dealer in a 100-mile radius willing to discount at all is offering 0.5% off MSRP. At least the salesman sounds like a straight shooter.

I do a 1,000-mile search and spend hours going through the inventory with a fine tooth comb. Dealers known for upfront discounts now show full MSRP or even markups.

I decide to look into 4Xe; the $7,500 tax credit is enticing. The test drive disappoints, however.

Vroom can keep its money. I am keeping my Jeep.
 
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Mac

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What is the issue with the LSD?
 

Pegleg

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It is crazy out there. I paid $49780 for my Sahara last October. It has 6800 miles on it. Carvana's offer yesterday was $53300. (I checked because I heard the prices were crazy so I was interested in how crazy)

Buddy of mine got a Gladiator Rubicon last Friday. He wouldn't tell me if he paid over MSRP which means he probably did.
 

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CT_LFC

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I think Jeep did a great job with the Willys. A key reason i got a Rubicon is because of how bad ass it looks out the box and i think the Willys looks great as well. Had it been available in 2019 when i ordered i may have gone for one. However, if you got the itch the only way to get rid of it would be to get a Rubicon and i can tell you it is not something you would regret doing.

Do the numbers, though and make sure it makes sense. When i ordered in 2019 the difference between a similarly-built Sahara and a Rubicon was $3-5K and to me that was worth it and could afford it, so the decision was easy. I just went to Jeep.com and priced out a Rubicon the way i got mine and a Willys as close to what i got mine (plus full time 4WD) and it was a $6K difference. Even though Carvana is offering you what you paid 6 months ago, you would still be out the sales tax you paid on it that you will have to pay on the new Rubicon, so with the price difference between the 2 ($6K), plus the sales tax you have to pay on the Rubicon + the sales tax you have to eat on the Willys you'd be paying >$10K to get into the Rubicon.
 

Oldbear

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As noted, unless you are really doing extreme stuff like rock crawling regularly, you’re probably better off with your Willy’s. Rubi is carrying a lot of weight and different gearing that most folks don’t ever need. I personally love the limited slip, and wouldn’t have bought one without it-adds a ton of capability with few compromises and will be better than lockers on snow/ice.. a Rubi is incredibly capable but is overkill for most folks in real world situations, and that’s where most folks live. Also, right now is the worst time I’ve ever seen to try and buy a new vehicle, esp a Jeep. If the Rubicon “look” is really that important to you, you really should wait until this time next year when things have settled back down. The simple fact that used Jeeps are selling for more than they did when new is a pretty good indication of how goofy things are now..
 

The Last Cowboy

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Why worry about what isn’t broken? These forums do that I guess. How much more debt will the Rubicon put you in?

As for me, If my rear diff breaks sometime down the road I figure that the Trutracs should be out for the new gen Danas by then. I would rathe have Trutracs front and rear the E lockers anyway. A stock Rubicon has open diffs in 4 high anyway, and 4 high is where I am the vast majority of the time off road.

The choice is yours, opinions here will be all over the place.
 
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Mike8194

Mike8194

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I think Jeep did a great job with the Willys. A key reason i got a Rubicon is because of how bad ass it looks out the box and i think the Willys looks great as well. Had it been available in 2019 when i ordered i may have gone for one. However, if you got the itch the only way to get rid of it would be to get a Rubicon and i can tell you it is not something you would regret doing.

Do the numbers, though and make sure it makes sense. When i ordered in 2019 the difference between a similarly-built Sahara and a Rubicon was $3-5K and to me that was worth it and could afford it, so the decision was easy. I just went to Jeep.com and priced out a Rubicon the way i got mine and a Willys as close to what i got mine (plus full time 4WD) and it was a $6K difference. Even though Carvana is offering you what you paid 6 months ago, you would still be out the sales tax you paid on it that you will have to pay on the new Rubicon, so with the price difference between the 2 ($6K), plus the sales tax you have to pay on the Rubicon + the sales tax you have to eat on the Willys you'd be paying >$10K to get into the Rubicon.

Def good points, and I agree with @TheLastCowboy too about worrying about what could happen. The Willys is super cool and gets lots of compliments. I have also had fun off-roading in it. In looking at a lift and a tires, I think I am going to spend more than if I just bought a Rubicon. If my math is right, it cost me about $600 to drive the Willys for 6mos.

Carvana is actually offering me more than my selling price new and close to my total out the door price after tax and fees. Carvana offered $43,976 yesterday. My total OTD price new was $44,569 in December. I would loose about $600 and my 0% financing, but get into a Rubicon for about $2,400 more than I paid for my Willys. My only real concern, is how long the wait would be from the factory these days.


My Willys:

MSRP - $45,730
Discount - ($2,650)
Doc - $449
Tax/tag - $1,524
Rebate - ($500)
—————————-
$44,569 OTD and 36mo @ 0%


Rubicon from Gupton:

MSRP - $51,460
Discount - ($6,579) 8% under invoice
Doc - $499
Tax/tag - $2,058
Rebate: ($500)
—————————
$46,938 OTD
 

SurfJeep

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I have crunched a lot of numbers and determined it’s right for me to keep my Willys.

With that said, I’ve never seen a Rubicon for that price around here. Any of the Rubicons I’ve seen on lots that are under $60k are missing things I wouldn’t want to go without. If I could find one that satisfied me for the price you’re looking at, I’d probably do that deal.
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