Sold my 07 FJ Cruiser to lease a JL

[Nmarco32]

Hey Guys,
I’m moving from South Florida to Fort Collins Colorado at the end of summer. I am selling my 2wd FJ to lease a 4 door JL. If this goes through I will be leasing a 4door sport S with a manual transmission. I come from Toyota and my FJ has been nothing but reliable and I am sceptical about getting a Jeep but it’s time for a change of scenery! I want to do modifications such as wheels, tires, lift, and lights to start. I know the mopar lift won’t void the warranty but is there a cheaper alternative to fit bigger tires with keeping the warranty? Also I plan to do all the wiring for the lights myself. Will that also void my warranty? I want to put on a lot of aftermarket parts but I’m afraid it will void the warranty. Somebody please shine light on what can and cannot be done.
Thanks,
Nick

Sponsored

 

[Hootbro]

When you return the lease, expect to put everything back to stock before turn in. That is the downside of leasing a Wrangler and wanting to mod.

 

[ThirtyOne]

Keep in mind you don't have to turn in the lease. You can sell it yourself right before the lease is up or trade it in. Then you don't have to pay the fee to turn it in and you don't have to return it to stock.

But it is good to have a plan to turn it in in case the resale goes down or it gets wrecked and it is not worth the residual.

 

[old8tora]

Hey Guys,
I am selling my 2wd FJ to lease a 4 door JL. my FJ has been nothing but reliable . Somebody please shine light on what can and cannot be done.

Where to start ? Selling a reliable FJ for an unproven first year JL model ? You canNOT be serious ! And I speak as a Jeep owner . I guess you want to give a gift of reliability to whomever buys your FJ ? Very generous of you . Your mods may void your Jeep lease turn-in , later on . Much better idea to keep your FJ , and when in Colorado , rent a Jeep for a while . Keep your skin on the reliability side , and you'll have no regrets later on .

 

[BWWJL]

It’s a lease ... who cares about reliability? I lease my BMW, but I personally wouldn’t own one out of warranty.

I’m looking at leasing a JL as well, but plan to keep mods minimal so I’m not throwing a bunch of money into a Jeep for 3 years.

And, Unless really off roading, it’d do an inexpensive spaced lift.

 

[old8tora]

It’s a lease ... who cares about reliability? I lease my BMW, but I personally wouldn’t own one out of warranty.

I’m looking at leasing a JL as well, but plan to keep mods minimal so I’m not throwing a bunch of money into a Jeep for 3 years.

And, Unless really off roading, it’d do an inexpensive spaced lift.

Good , thoughtful post ; but a BMW is just not in the same ball park as an FJ ; German Bosch poor electronics reliability for one thing . In places where driving is hard and winters are rough , a used FJ will sell immediately ; and a used BMW will be rightly ignored . I mean to be cordial , because I do respect your sincerity and good intentions . Just trying to give the OP some realism .

"Who cares about reliability ?" OP might care while enroute to Colorado in a new JL . Keep the FJ . The FJ was one of the best vehicles ever sold in US and Australia .

 

[sbmitch2000]

Where to start ? Selling a reliable FJ for an unproven first year JL model ? You canNOT be serious ! And I speak as a Jeep owner . I guess you want to give a gift of reliability to whomever buys your FJ ? Very generous of you . Your mods may void your Jeep lease turn-in , later on . Much better idea to keep your FJ , and when in Colorado , rent a Jeep for a while . Keep your skin on the reliability side , and you'll have no regrets later on .

His FJ is 11 years old and no info about mileage or condition. Yes it is a first year model, but his lease will be under warranty. And it is a Jeep, it’s own animal. If he is leasing it, then it should be covered under warranty the whole time he has it.

 

[old8tora]

His FJ is 11 years old and no info about mileage or condition. Yes it is a first year model, but his lease will be under warranty. And it is a Jeep, it’s own animal. If he is leasing it, then it should be covered under warranty the whole time he has it.

His FJ 11 years old is exactly my point ; thank you for that . I would have predicted that when the FJ was new .

Regarding Jeep as it's own animal , please refer to the Issues , Repairs forum here , with the many threads , which would be your point about bringing up the warranty twice ; thank you for twice bringing up the warranty . I purchased a lifetime warranty for my own Jeep , and hopefully I'll never need it .

If he is a huge risk-taker , and a master Jeep mechanic , he will sell the FJ and lease a JL . If he is hugely careful , he will keep the FJ , and be happy he won't have an unpleasant-surprise warranty issue . It will be up to him , regardless of what we say here . Good luck to him , and to everybody here .

 

[sbmitch2000]

His FJ 11 years old is exactly my point ; thank you for that . I would have predicted that when the FJ was new .

Regarding Jeep as it's own animal , please refer to the Issues , Repairs forum here , with the many threads , which would be your point about bringing up the warranty twice ; thank you for twice bringing up the warranty . I purchased a lifetime warranty for my own Jeep , and hopefully I'll never need it .

If he is a huge risk-taker , and a master Jeep mechanic , he will sell the FJ and lease a JL . If he is hugely careful , he will keep the FJ , and be happy he won't have an unpleasant-surprise warranty issue . It will be up to him , regardless of what we say here . Good luck to him , and to everybody here .

If you are so opposed to a JL, why are you even on the forum. Yes Toyota has great reliability trends, but if his car is 11 years old it will start to have problems. Every car with milage will have something.

 

[Torero]

i wouldn’t worry about the reliability of the Jeep on lease.

 

[COBill]

If you don't know the staff at the service department of your local Jeep dealer by name… you will.

(Owned a TJ Wrangler, now own an FJ, voice of experience. )

 

[tcadaniel]

I’m on my third Wrangler, and I also previously owned a FJ. The FJ was ultra reliable. It never required anything but oil changes. My first two Wranglers, not so much. You have a 2WD now, that won’t work for Colorado either way. I would suggest you purchase a low trim level Wrangler. This way you can mod the crap out of it. Maybe you can find a deal on a JK. We have about a million on the lots here in PA. If you’re really worried about Jeep reliability, which you should be, get an extended warranty. Also, FWIW, the Jeep is more fun to drive and offers things no other manufacturer offers.

 

[BlackRook]

Warranty will take care of you, but understand that reliability as we know it has changed over the past decade. Will an FCA product ever be built to the same standards as a Toyota? Doubtful. But will it give you problems like the TJ and early JK? Equally doubtful. Further, my understanding of Colorado is that Jeeps are part of the culture up there--you should have no problem getting help if needed.

Additional note, you may want to consider buying your Sport S rather than leasing, provided your current finances can cover it. Wranglers (Sport trim in particular) hold value so well that it'd most likely be cheaper to buy and sell after three years than lease for the same period. I've been leasing vehicles exclusively for years (non-Wranglers), and was shocked to find how much of a better deal buying really is: depreciated value is typically higher than the residual, and interest rates on loans are lower than the money factor equivalent. Not saying leasing doesn't have it's benefits, just do your homework...

 

[COBill]

Warranty will take care of you, but understand that reliability as we know it has changed over the past decade. Will an FCA product ever be built to the same standards as a Toyota? Doubtful. But will it give you problems like the TJ and early JK? Equally doubtful.

Read the trouble threads here in this forum:

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/forums/issues-repairs-warranty-tsb-recalls.49/

While not common, certainly many people have had issues with their JLs they should not have, including a number of people requiring tows.

 

[old8tora]

If you are so opposed to a JL, why are you even on the forum. Yes Toyota has great reliability trends, but if his car is 11 years old it will start to have problems. Every car with milage will have something.

OP asked a question and welcomed all answers from any Jeep owner .

If one reads the Issues and Repairs forum threads , one will read about JL problems with , like 500 miles . I am a Jeep loyalist , and my first M-151 was built to military spec , and the engines were manufactured in U.S. The military enforced quality control .

Quality control should be good Before raising the price . The JL raised the price Before quality control is good . They have it backwards .

Sponsored