Would like some input on trade vs upgrade

[Steph1]

Whether you trade axles on your Sport or trade on a Rubicon, you’ll need to regear for 37s, unless the rubi axles you wanna put on your Sport already have 4.88s

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[mikem20]

I’m in agreement with opus. My buddy bought his ‘21 eco diesel used and modded just like that on 37’s and low mileage. They’re super happy with their Rubi and it’s been a good Jeep for them.

Plus, there would be a day when you trade or sell your Jeep. A Rubi would net a bit more than a sport, especially on a trade.

 

[CptFloridaMan]

Whether you trade axles on your Sport or trade on a Rubicon, you’ll need to regear for 37s, unless the rubi axles you wanna put on your Sport already have 4.88s

37s are more than I need and I’d consider selling them to downsize to 35s assuming it’s running stock gears. For me to comfortably run 37s on rubi axles I’d want at minimum chromo shafts for it. There’s a thread on the 392 forum with a rear end that got eaten alive.

 

[Punkn89]

If one of my friends were asking -

People will say YOLO, and I’m all for it 90% of the time, but this younger generation really needs to learn how to save. You say you want to buy a house? When lenders and underwriters look at your debt, they will take that into account. If I were still living at home, renting or saving for my future, I’d buy a used TJ or JK and just have fun with it.

Do you want to own the Jeep or do you want the bank to let you borrow it? Just because you’re making $500 payments currently, doesn’t mean you should continue that pattern.

Have fun, but don’t pile on debt and forget about other life goals. I know most people on here will encourage you to always get the best Jeep you can buy, after all this is a Jeep Forum. Do what’s best for you.

Hell, maybe if you save up a ton you can get an even better Jeep with a better rate and a lower monthly payment because you’ll be able to put more down, especially as you put more equity into your current one.

 

[rkwfxd]

Money wise, paying monthly for a rubi won’t be any different than what i’m paying now assuming rates and downpayment and trade in value. I deposit anywhere from 50-70% of my
income into my savings or brokerage and keep my monthly bills pretty much $2k. I also already have axle money set aside from this month. It was more of a question of well if i’m spending this much money, what else can this money go into instead.

Now the thing is if I don’t follow through or the numbers don’t make sense(rates are nutty and the fed isn’t gonna drop them anytime soon), i’m still planning on keeping this jeep for a minimum of 7 more years or at least until the next shiny new jeep comes out.

Goals wise since you’re asking, end of the year, I’d like to have deposited a minimum(past fews it’s been around $30k) of $24k YTD from January to January. And in 5 years I’ll want to put money down on a house without the need for a PMI with my girlfriend; wife in the future. We’re both saving pretty heavily thankfully.

Now, do I need rubi axles for what I do now? Not really I can get by and turtle my way over things like I do now. It’s more a thing for peace of mind and more trips planned while still on 35s and being able to not worry about the clutch packs in the rear diff. I could also regear and add a rear locker possibly front since I’d be paying for the labor.

Sounds like you can meet all of your financial goals and buy the Rubi.

In that case I am fully into buying the Rubi.

FWIW I had a well built and very capable TJ. Sold it and eventually bought my 21 Rubi.

Money/cost wasnt a consideration but this Rubicon is so much nicer than my old TJ as one would expect. Good chance I’ll keep it until I can no longer drive so that adds to the personal value for me.

Might be true for you as well, buying a Rubicon now might scratch all future jeep itches for many many years and save you money in the long run.

 

[entropy]

Money wise, paying monthly for a rubi won’t be any different than what i’m paying now assuming rates and downpayment and trade in value. I deposit anywhere from 50-70% of my
income into my savings or brokerage and keep my monthly bills pretty much $2k. I also already have axle money set aside from this month. It was more of a question of well if i’m spending this much money, what else can this money go into instead.

Now the thing is if I don’t follow through or the numbers don’t make sense(rates are nutty and the fed isn’t gonna drop them anytime soon), i’m still planning on keeping this jeep for a minimum of 7 more years or at least until the next shiny new jeep comes out.

Goals wise since you’re asking, end of the year, I’d like to have deposited a minimum(past fews it’s been around $30k) of $24k YTD from January to January. And in 5 years I’ll want to put money down on a house without the need for a PMI with my girlfriend; wife in the future. We’re both saving pretty heavily thankfully.

Now, do I need rubi axles for what I do now? Not really I can get by and turtle my way over things like I do now. It’s more a thing for peace of mind and more trips planned while still on 35s and being able to not worry about the clutch packs in the rear diff. I could also regear and add a rear locker possibly front since I’d be paying for the labor.

why not buy the house now instead of throwing money into a Jeep?` PMI isn't the end of the world. I bought my house in December 2019 with 10% down because prices here are pretty insane. I got a loan through a credit union and my PMI was only $200 on a 900k house. After a year or so, I got the offer to refi for a lower rate + remove PMI because of my equity from the credit union. And so I did.

I look back at 2017 when I had money to buy a small house and I really regret not doing it then. If I was going to buy my house today, I could barely afford it or not even. Buying with 10% down is not the end of the world and on the long run, PMI is meaningless.

A Jeep is a depreciating asset. A house is an appreciating asset.

I just learned to enjoy my budget built Sport S. I wouldn't trade my house for a Rubicon lol. You have a very nice Jeep. Throw a $400 front locker on it and youll be surprised how damn capable the thing is.

 

[entropy]

So I thought about it again and I realized you mentioned you have a "girlfriend". Build the shit out of your Jeep right now before "girlfriend" becomes "wife", or buy that Rubicon whatever.. YOLO 100%

 

[Punkn89]

why not buy the house now instead of throwing money into a Jeep?` PMI isn't the end of the world. I bought my house in December 2019 with 10% down because prices here are pretty insane. I got a loan through a credit union and my PMI was only $200 on a 900k house. After a year or so, I got the offer to refi for a lower rate + remove PMI because of my equity from the credit union. And so I did.

I look back at 2017 when I had money to buy a small house and I really regret not doing it then. I'd be living in a 2.5million dollar house right now if I would've bought in 2017. If I was going to buy my house today, I could barely afford it or not even. Buying with 10% down is not the end of the world and on the long run, PMI is meaningless.

A Jeep is a depreciating asset. A house is an appreciating asset.

I just learned to enjoy my budget built Sport S. I wouldn't trade my house for a Rubicon lol. You have a very nice Jeep. Throw a $400 front locker on it and youll be surprised how damn capable the thing is.

PMI can be negotiable too. I actually opted for a .5 interest rate hike instead of the PMI and also later refinanced when rates were at 2%.

 

[Tredsdert]

I didn't even think about credit unions. We got 7.5ish last month right before Christmas on a Grand Cherokee

Oh man, my wife's Subaru Forester we got in August of 2020 with a 1.9% interest rate. And we got my Wrangler a year and a half later with a 4.5% interest rate. Mind you I have a really really really good credit rating. I was kind of blown away cuz I've never gotten a rate that high before. Even my 2016 Patriot had a 3.4% interest rate back when I barely even had credit. Rates are so ridiculous right now! I was thinking about refinancing both of our cars this year, but it's better to keep our rates as they are, then getting a joint loan for both vehicles with a ridiculous rate of interest. Smh

 

[The Last Cowboy]

I'm going to guess that the Rubicon you want to look at still has 4.10 gears and the bare minimum to get it on 37s. The owner was probably not satisfied with it's driveablility or it's performance afterwards.

For your Sport, you only need the front axle. Put TruTracs in both the front and rear when you regear. Do you really even need the Steer Smart set up for the 35s. Are you trying fix fix things that don't need fixing?

If you want a Rubicon, that's fine. Trade for a stock one and build it right and for your needs.

Finally, there's nothing like the satisfaction of a job well done. Figuring out exactly how you want to design it, and then the wrenching to make it function exactly how you want. There's a phrase for it, Built Not Bought.

 

[BDinTX]

I'm going to echo what some others said and be cautious of a trade in with such low miles. I've unloaded turds vehicles before, I'm sure several of us have.

I also think the time of houses being an appreciating asset are coming to an end and it's going to become something you can't get rid of at some point. Demographic projections indicate we're going to have a flip, with more older/less younger in the next decade.

In my area they are building houses as fast as they can and it's only a matter of time before there will be more houses than buyers. It's going to affect everything from home values to hamburger prices.

You're probably in the same boat as me. We'll never be able to retire like we planned to because the Gov't will end SS and/or confiscate/tax your 401k to take care of everyone else that didn't or couldn't save responsibly.

I vote order a NEW Rubicon and enjoy life (and lockers) while you're young.

The Graying of America: More Older Adults Than Kids by 2035 (census.gov)

 

[Deleted member 59498]

Go get your jeep or better yet order your own Rubicon.

I bought a 2020 Rubicon before I knew they had the diesel out in the Wrangler. Well I didn't ask anyone's opinion here on what I should do when I found that out, I ordered the 22 with Diesel.

 

[CptFloridaMan]

I'm going to guess that the Rubicon you want to look at still has 4.10 gears and the bare minimum to get it on 37s. The owner was probably not satisfied with it's driveablility or it's performance afterwards.

For your Sport, you only need the front axle. Put TruTracs in both the front and rear when you regear. Do you really even need the Steer Smart set up for the 35s. Are you trying fix fix things that don't need fixing?

If you want a Rubicon, that's fine. Trade for a stock one and build it right and for your needs.

Finally, there's nothing like the satisfaction of a job well done. Figuring out exactly how you want to design it, and then the wrenching to make it function exactly how you want. There's a phrease for it, Built Not Bought.

For my sport, if I keep it, and the front axle, swapping to steersmarts parts would just be replacing worn oem parts. And if i swap to Rubicon axles, I’ll need new steering linkage either way. Gotta find the price on the OE tie rod now that i think about it

The bigger thing is something feels sloppy in the front end, and i’m assuming it’s balljoints. But do i wanna pay labor for balljoints on a sport axle? I’m not too sure tbh.

4.10s and huge 37x13.50r18s that are on that rubi is insane. The black rhino amory wheel weighs 40lbs, and those nittos weigh 89lbs. That’s an insane amount of weight for that rubi. So it wouldn’t surprise me if it rode poorly.

As for truetracs, with the FAD, and axle being disconnected I was reading a thread saying that once the spider gears turn enough it might start spinning the whole carrier cause of the lsd. And the built not bought is kind of the thing that my gf has been saying cause she’s sentimental about my jeep now lol. Adding to that, i’ve been loving working on the jeep cause I do it with my dad, so it’s been a very nice way to spend time with him.

 

[The Last Cowboy]

Ball joints are kinda easy. If you can't fix those on your own, then you need to step back and rethink this whole thing.

I get where you head is. But I'm concerned about your rationale about being better off with this trade. Keep you emotions in check and evaluate it with a clear head. You could easily put another 10k into that particular Rubicon to get it where you want (and where it needs to be).

I used to justify reasons for making decisions that I knew in the back of my mind weren't good. If you need to justify this to yourself, then take a day ot two to weigh the pros and cons. Sometimes justification works when something truly requires more work than it's worth, but that's not the case here.

 

[CptFloridaMan]

Ball joints are kinda easy. If you can't fix those on your own, then you need to step back and rethink this whole thing.

I get where you head is. But I'm concerned about your rationale about being better off with this trade. Keep you emotions in check and evaluate it with a clear head. You could easily put another 10k into that particular Rubicon to get it where you want (and where it needs to be).

I used to justify reasons for making decisions that I knew in the back of my mind weren't good. If you need to justify this to yourself, then take a day ot two to weigh the pros and cons. Sometimes justification works when something truly requires more work than it's worth, but that's not the case here.

Sorry, I was typing kind of quickly. I meant to expand on the labor, if I’m regearing or doing anything to the stock axle i’m adding the balljoints at the same time.

I totally get you on the emotion aspect, and that’s where i’m finding the line now. While I could make it work, i’m not sure if i’m really gonna help myself. Which trading a depreciating liability that has 3 years left on the loan vs a new 6 year loan is the iffy part. I’m 25 which means I’ll be done by 31. If my jeep was paid off I think the decision would be easier.

Dealing with the wheels and tires on that jeep is going to be a pain imo. I’ve driven some poorly set up jeeps, and it’s hard to steer etc.

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