Tell me about your first Jeep.

[2nd 392]

That's amazing you have kept it in the family all this time. We put Mustang tail lights on mine and the 12 volt upgrade. It's all coming back!

Plus, most parts are still available. How many 72 year old vehicles can you say that about? Oh yeah, it could almost do 55mph with the Studebaker overdrive but the short driveshaft was problematic in certain off road situations and it was removed ( still have it)

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[failsafe306]

‘07 JK X. 35” Trail Grapplers, cheap steelies, Rock Krawler 2.5” Flex lift. I miss this one!

 

[Jeepsmashin]

My first jeep was way back in 2018, I was in the market and wanting a 4x4 vehicle, I was thinking of a full size truck, looked at the Tacoma and Colorado but they were kinda small for a truck, then I started researching about Jeeps (JK), used youtube and Google, I went to a jeep dealership and test drove a new 2018 JK with 3.5 inch lift, 37s MT's and it felt kinda stretchy to drive but badass, it felt like a mini tank/monster truck, I was hooked.

I didnt know crap about Jeeps and I heard of a new model coming out (JL) so I waited and joined this forum December 23rd 2017, I would stay late at night reading posts in this forum, people would see spy JLs driving around and test mules, finally Jeep did a press release on the JL and I definitely knew I had to get one.

Jeep invited some press and youtubers to the Rubicon or moab trail? To test the new JL . I watched TFL too. So in January memebrs started seeing them pop up at dealerships so I started contacting a crap load of dealers and going to my local jeep dealers. Nobody had one in yet, I talked about ordering one, Lake Elsinore Jeep wanted to charge me a $3000 mark up to order JLUR lol, temecula would order one at MSRP but the members in here said to wait and hold out, 5% or under invoice was my goal.

I stopped by riverside jeep and they actually just got a JLUR in, I test drove it and was amazed by it, they wouldnt go down more than MSRP and they tried to add BS options like GPS and crap. So i Walked out.

I found out about Jim Marah Las Vegas dealership honoring 5% under invoice and contacted them and placed a order for a JLUR, put my deposit in, and every other day chated with jeep chat to see the status of my JLUR, i saved most of the chats, the dealer got notice that my jeep was going to be delivered so it took 43 days from the time i put my deposit to delivered at the dealer, I even asked them not to remove any of the plastic that comes all over the interior and to send me pics right when it came off the truck, they were great and didn't BS like every other dealership out there I also got a $500 Jeep rebate check.

So it's been an amazing adventure owning my first Jeep, I keep thinking I should have got one before and now after owning one I don't see myself ever jeepless

 

[IdahoJOAT]

I saw this thread and went, man what a great idea! Then got a little sad as this is only my third Jeep. I suppose one would say a bunch of off-roading experience, but third Jeep.

That led to me thinking, there should be a "what got you into wheeling" thread, but that made me feel bad cause it's essentially a hijack of this thread. So my thought was to give the gamut of history LEADING to the Jeeps.

First real experience was the 1998 Grizzly that has since been handed down to me. Plans to really restore it to it's former almighty glory. Don't get me wrong, it still runs and refuses to die, but it needs love($$$).

Then the '66 T-Bird which was always breaking down that my father said was mine but wasn't, normal teenager stuff. But I did get the cops called on me after we took it on a ditch road, so technically we went off-road

After that was the '89 Ramcharger, old forest fire truck with a 318/727 combo and a spotlight to boot. Man some good times in that rig. From the border collie mutt Milo hopping through the drivers window(my shotgun rider), to getting to - whatever base - for the first time, to almost rolling it on a sandy section of a BLM road. Caught the bug.

'98 Dakota that went to Michigan and back after senior year. Gutless, thirsty V6 "magnum".

Couple cars.

'79 Scout: bought sight unseen from Iraq while we were all getting our WA trail running rigs. Buller got a 98 TJ. Gonzo an XJ. Manion a LJ. English a 2 door manual XJ. Shep a white 1500 stepside regular cab.

But I had a family. A normal CJ/YJ/TJ was too expensive AND didn't have enough room for the camping trips we wanted to do. Then as I was perusing Craigslist I spotted a Scout II. A few months after we got home I spotted another, way better one. And that's a story in and of itself.

But long story short, orders to Hawai'i made me get rid of the '71 Scout II because I didn't want it to rust away. However, we still needed a second car as the military was only going to ship the one, our 2004 Avalanche.

So we bought our first Heep- I mean, Jeep. A '91 YJ, 4.0 auto. It had no top other than a ratty bikini top, half doors with piss-poor uppers, 29" swampers, no front driveshaft, and only the trip and temp gauges worked. And we LOVED it. Even after we lost a driveshaft on the H1 and it broke the output shaft cone, which made us realize we had a ZJ transfer case in it, hence the lack of a fitting front driveshaft.

We sold it when we left island but the pull was ALWAYS there after that.

Fast forward from 2014 to 2020 and a family friend had a birthday parade, going to all of our houses for the little tikes' big day. And they'd just gotten a pure white JKU.

As they pulled away my wife turned to me and said, "Oh man I miss the Jeep."

A few months later we bought the 2020 Bikini Pearl JLUR with the 2.0T. In 18 months we put 39k on it and tons of memories.

When Tuscadero was released I didn't even see it, Household 6 mentioned it off hand...

And here we are with a JLURe, learning, loving and living every day.

Aloha, cheers, danke.

 

[DOOKEY]

My first Jeep. A 99 4 banger. SE. No radio. Soft top. As stripped down as you could get one. With aftermarket wheels and tires. I didn't know anything. Came over from the Honda world and after having a 93 Prelude totaled I wanted to go a different route. Who knew that would lead to all this?

How that Jeep ended up. LT1,4L60e, Dana300. 14 bolt and a Chevy Dana 60. I still have the same haircut.

 

[Killed by Death]

Really didn't know what I was buying and didn't do much research. Thought a Jeep was a Jeep and it had all the niceties I wanted.

 

[Hearhear]

My first brand new car EVER in my life was a Jeep. It was a brand new 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee, just like the one pictured below in the stock photo, but mine was white with gold trim:

I had it for about four years and then I had Honda’s for 20 years up until now, traded in my Honda Pilot for my brand new Jeep Wrangler 392. Again, white with gold accents and OH so much more fun than the Cherokee:

 

[fropappy]

My first Jeep was a Silver 2000 2DR w/ both tops.
Had lots of fun exploring offroad, but the 3 speed auto was a PITA.
Have a 2018 4DR JL now and love the 8 speed auto with 34" BFG shoes.
Tires are shot at 42K miles, so I'm thinking about Nitto Ridge Grapplers.

 

[Ruby Mike]

My first jeep was a 1973 CJ-5 with the 304 V8. Swapped out the springs, put on a winch and spoked wheels. That jeep was the best. I still regret selling it. Ahh the memories.

 

[BadAssBumbleBee]

My first Jeep was an '88 YJ with the 4.2L, 3 speed automatic and Carter Carb that I bought used in 1990. It was a pain the ass to keep running correctly and I finally sold it in 1996 and bought a 1 year old 1995 YJ with the 4.0L and 5 speed manual.

 

[Red Willy]

First was a '90 something YJ that was a wreck when I bought it around 2000 . Replaced the interior, suspension, and gave it a small body lift with new rims and tires, then sold it. Fast forward to 2012, got the wife a '13 JK Sahara and loved driving it so I traded my '12 Chrysler 300 SRT for a '14 JKU Altitude. In 2019, saw a 2020 Rubicon diesel at the dealer and traded my '14 for that and the wife was feeling the need to keep up, so she decided on a '21 JL Willys. The diesel is gone for a Genesis SUV, but now I'm in the 2 door JL and love it!

 

[LCW]

For me the story starts today. First time Jeep owner and first day of ownership.

 

[AC87]

Let's see, I'm 34 years old and since the age of 16 I've been into cars. I started with Honda's because at that age, a 1994 Honda Accord in manual was everything to me. Swapped the motor, transmission, addiction began. Car meets every Friday and the passion continued. Went through a Subaru STI, got engaged and married by 23, had 2 kids by 26, needed a truck. Went for a Tacoma, then 4 years later a TRD Pro 4runner. When I purchased the 4runner 2 of my best friends bought a Gladiator Rubicon and a Wrangler Rubicon. I went Toyota route.. for the last year and a half we have gotten into trails, camping, bringing the family out and what I have learned is that stock for stock, no modifications, I couldn't go some places or compete with the 33's and solid front axle and factory suspension and lockers the Rubicon's came with.

I went back and forth with my wife, bit the bullet and yesterday bought a brand new 2021 Sting Gray JLUR. I couldn't be more happy, I've driven my friends so many times and have had experience. I know about the hinge/paint bubbling issue, I know that it's domestic and has a chance of being less reliable and I know that it is way more expensive than my TRD Pro 4runner. However, I don't care, it is absolutely awesome. Summer will be unreal for family trips, roofs off, doors off. Hinges greased obviously after (haha). All in all, I want it to last 10-12 years. With regular maintenance and possible some help with any bubbling from the dealer, I can get past the imperfections. My wife and kids are super pumped, I'm excited. I plan to modify it slowly and enjoy it, I'm not going to go and dump 10k into the Jeep right now and make a business Instagram account for it. I will do a build list and mod as needed. I did save some money on not getting painted fenders, roof, plastic front and rear bumpers, and halogen lights. I'm fine with that because I want aftermarket fogs/headlights (led), steel bumpers, winch, in the future anyways. I'm going to enjoy the process.

First mod will be done next weekend though, going to buy a small roll of PPF and place it down on the foot sills and rear trunk. Anyways, that's my story. Take care, and I can't wait to hit the trails.

 

[Miloe]

2004 WJ.
Not without its gremlins, mostly electrical. Damn black wire going into the drivers door, lol.
4.7L with Flowmaster super 44 and a K&N intake, mommy wagon had a growl when you put your foot down, still slow but it sounded mean.
Should have kept it but oh well.

 

[Rubi SoHo]

For me the story starts today. First time Jeep owner and first day of ownership.

Wow, congrats. I truly love that color. It’s the closest thing I’ve seen to my Original CJ7, and if Snazz was orderable in Oct when I ordered my JL, I’d have picked it.

Maybe it was, since the online configurator often doesn’t reflect what’s available with exactness. I just went in to place my order assuming it wasn’t, dealer didn’t question what color I told them to order. Either way I ended up with Sting, and am content with that color too.

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