Hey everyone,
I've wanted a Jeep Wrangler for years. Lately, I have seriously considered buying one, while I can afford it. To those of you who own one or have owned one, what are your impressions? Has it been worth the money? How much is the upkeep on it? Soft top or Hard top? How hard is it to take off the tops and doors?
I am leaning more towards getting a new one, because I can't seem to find a used one with the stuff I want. I test drove a 4.0 liter 6 speed Wrangler X and loved it. I know the gas mileage is an issue, but I am buying this vehicle as a toy, not a daily driver. (Daily driver is my CRX, it just got 37. 7 MPG!!! I also have my Cavalier to fall back on)
The only thing that is holding me back is I don't know if I want to take on the debt.
soft top, half doors. once you master it, you can have the roof off in 3 minutes and on in 5.
^He pretty much hit it with top times...
As for top and doors up to you, but I say you MUST have a soft top if you get a hard top too.
Try to full doors and then buy some soft doors. Full are great for winter or and longer drives when you want less noise... Soft take off and store like nothing else...
Those are the soft doors, they cut in half if you want to run the lower portion only...
I currently own a 2004 Wrangler X. That is good to know that you have a CRX and Cavalier to fall back on for a daily driver because Wranglers are horrible on gas. I drive to work 80 miles a day in mine and I rack up around a $130 bill for gas a week.
I didn't mind it at the time that I bought one new but sometimes I wished I would of looked around and found a used one cheaper so I can afford a car for my daily driving to work. I am kicking myself now since the Wrangler is my only driveable vehicle.
What I got on my X was:
-Soft Top
-Half Doors
-Vinyl Seats
-No A/C
I walked out the door paying around $17,000 for it.
Since I bought it, I am at 85,000 miles on the odometer and *knock on wood* it hasn't given me any problems at all. As long as you keep routine maintenance on these things, they will treat you well.
The soft top can be a little problem when it is your first time taking it down, but once you get the hang of it, like
Ian said, you can have it down in minutes. The doors are ridiculously easy to take off too. You only have four bolts to take out then the door slides right off.
One big thing I would reccommend if you are deciding to buy one new, is to look for a Wrangler with a
Dana 44 Rear Axle. The X's don't come with one so you might have to look around for a Sport model. I know at the time, it might not make a difference what axle you have, but if you have any intent on doing some off-roading and upgrading to a bigger lift and tires, having a Dana44 would help you out a lot.
Hope that helps somewhat.
Have a good one,
Justin
In june I will of had mine for a year. I have a soft top with half doors ( thought full doors looked goofy with the top down). The gas thing sucks especialy after I put the 31in mud tires on (pics to come after I get this damn lift kit on). I got a used 2002 Apex edition. Which is just really an X modle with goofy decals, redish orange leather seats, and a center subwoofer. It had 30k miles on it and I paid 17k for it. I will say it hasn't gave me any trouble at all. Well besides a dead battery but that was my falt for leaving the light on. I removed doors and the door defeat fuse so it didn't ding and let me know they were on.
I will say try to find on with a dana 44. Also I wouldn't buy anything that is already modded. Cause you don't know if the parts were installed correctly and most likely someone probaly ragged the @!#$ out of it.
As of taking on the debt I say if you can afford it, go for it. You will not be sorry and the jeep comunity has some of the most friendly people I have met. I will say that modding a jeep will put a big hole in your wallet. Also once you get started it is hard to stop. But good thing is there is a really HUGE aftermarket for wranglers. So unlike most cars you really won't find many that look alike.
VID GOD wrote:The gas thing sucks especialy after I put the 31in mud tires on (pics to come after I get this damn lift kit on).
ooooooooooooooooooh, you caught my curiousity. Hurry up and put your lift on and post some pictures.
Have a good one,
Justin
i have a 95, hard top hard doors. im a decent sized dude and i can take the top off and on by myself in 10 minutes or less. my hard top in my YJ is louder than my dads soft top in his TJ, the older the louder.
definatly get a 4.0, definatly make sure it doesnt have 3.07's, v8's are fun. im building a 5.3 vortec for mine right now because the 305 is the suck
When i went about purchasing my wrangler i did it all wrong...I was in a hurry to get a new winter daily driver/beater after my cavy was totaled...I didnt do much research and ended up with a high mileage 1989 wrangler aka YJ...it has a dana 30 in front which i heard is relatively strong but a dana 35 in the rear which is apparently quite weak...and yes it has 3.07's...with the 32's I have on it now it is geared pretty tall i wouldnt want larger tires without changing the gearing. It came with a hard top full doors and a bikini top...and it has the carburated 4.2 liter inline six with a whopping 115 horsepower...however....it still will go places most vehicles won't...the motor is impossible to kill....im going to change out the axles and gears anyways....and it takes a hell of a beating without blinking an eye....and i got it for $3,000 without a single spot of rust anywhere...which around here is really rare....so even though i didnt get the best jeep set up "out of the box" (u know what i mean even though it was used) it still is a great vehicle...its like being in a club owning one...and it turns heads for sure
Supercharged 95 BMW 540i M-Sport
learn about the Jeep wave
What kinda gas milage do these get? ive got an opportunity to pick up a 97 with a 2.5 5 spd?
My best friends 05 4.0 6spd gets 15mpg highway. Thats why I don't have one anymore.
2012 HD VRSCF
2010 Ford Explorer
2006 Ford Ranger
2004 Chevy Cavalier
Hey Guys,
Thanks for all the responses. I test drove a few this weekend, but I don't think the salesperson was completely honest with me. When I asked about taking down the top, I was told "We're not allowed do that on Saturdays, because it gets too busy." Sounds like
to me. I was the only one looking at the Wranglers and there were plenty of other sales people milling around.
He also told me that it would cost $2000 to go from half doors to full doors and that a new soft top was 1800. I haven't checked the price of those too closely, but I remember seeing the invoice on the doors being $110. Do these prices sound normal?
On the way back I stopped at my local bank and asked a loan office about interest rates on used vehicles. I told him where I had just come from and he and his buddy both had unpleasent experiences with them, so I will be looking elsewhere.
you can get a top-of-the-line Bestop replacement roof for less than half price from
Quadratec. The price for the doors is probably the cost to buy two brand-new OEM full doors and have their body shop prep and paint them. You can definitely find them elsewhere for a lot less. I'm telling you, though, half-doors are the way to go if you're going to have the roof off a lot.
Xx Licher xX wrote:that a new soft top was 1800. I haven't checked the price of those too closely, but I remember seeing the invoice on the doors being $110. Do these prices sound normal?
$1800 for a new soft top is the biggest load of crap I ever heard. Like Ian said, check on Quadratec or even 4wd.com and check out some of their soft tops. My friend just bought a full replacement top off of eBay for around $400. The manufacturer was Pavement Ends and the quality isn't too bad. It does the job and that is all he was worried about.
You could also search around on some Jeep forums and see if anyone is selling their full doors. You could pick them up for a decent price and it would be great if you could find them in the same color (save you some time with painting them).
Have a good one,
Justin
