[fixmy59bug]

So in light of the TDI Buyback, I have been pondering what I should do with my passat...

I love my Passat but if it is financially smarter I have no objections to letting Vw buy it back.

Recently I have been looking at a Jeep Wranger Unlimited Rubicon.

Naturally, TCL came up with "Dont do it, its too loud" "Dont do it, fuel economy sucks" "Dont do it, you wont be happy" "Would you REALLY be OK with taking your $40K jeep offroad?? (Well... HELL YEAH, that's why I would buy it)" blah blah blah.

I have been living low to the ground for almost all of my driving life (with the exception of a 98 Suburban K3500 that I had up on H2 wheels & tires, but that was a tow rig), but I think I really want something a little bigger. Since I moved to the desert from So Cal, there are a lot more opportunities for off roading and I want to do some exploring.

So I think a better consensus of what to do would be this forum.

Here are my two options (If you have another, Fire away)

1) Let Vw buyback the Passat for $27K and pay off the $11k remaining on the loan, buy a new Wrangler Unlimited for about $40k with $15k down.

2) Let Vw pay me for their indiscretions to the tune of about $7k and continue paying off the $11k, use (most of) the $7k to buy a used Jeep (or other off road capable vehicle) and have a daily driver (with a value of >$15K) that gets good mileage and an off roader that I dont mind beating up.

With those options in mind, here's what I need/want of an off roader....

I need a 5 seater. Rear seat can be a little tight because 5 people would only be riding in an "End of days, Bug out of town" scenario. At most it would be Me, My brother in law, and POSSIBLY my two nephews doing some light off roading. There wouldnt be any real off roading chassis scraping, fjording any rivers or anything of the like. Although, that could change if I get more into it. It would also need adequate room in the back for guns and targets for when we go to the range.

Removeable hardtop would be nice, but I dont really want a permenant hardtop like a suburban or 4 runner.

So what do you guys think?

 

[bnkrpt311]

Go for it and don't look back. Besides, it's only a car. If you end up not loving it then move on and try something else. I was always a car guy but once we got our 4Runner I have really no urge to drive anything else. :thumbup:

 

[Hufeisen]

Go for it :beer: I had a two door soft top and loved it. My friend had an Unlimited with a hardtop and never had any issues. He added some sound proofing material to the panels and intends to keep the the hardtop on permanently. Since I knew I was in a Jeep, I didn't really keep the gas pedal pinned to the floor and would average 20 mpg on highway drives. Town driving would dip, but I didn't mind.

I always wanted a Wrangler, so for me I loved it. If you are open to different SUVs, test them all out. My buddy loves his 4runner, on his second one. His first one he drove until 250,000 miles then only replaced it because his work required he have something newer.

 

[DanG]

I wanted one forever, convinced my wife and went for it. I've got a 2 door soft top and am looking now to upgrade to a 4 door because trying to get a baby seat into the back with the top on... lets just say it's good that I have long arms and am pretty flexible.

There's lots of room in the front seats, ride is a lot better than the Wranglers of old, the 2012+ come with the pentastar engine, 285hp/260 ft-lbs, it's not slow, passing on the highway is easy enough. If you drive it like a racecar, you will pay at the pumps. I'm pretty good about how I drive and I'm getting about 17MPG in the city. If you lift and go with bigger than stock rubber, that will go down.

If you're looking for comfort, look at the Sahara. If you want hardcore offroad and full warranty (limited mods), go with the Rubicon. These vehicles are incredibly capable in bone stock form, so you may not need to go Rubicon as a Sahara with some better tires than the factory Bridgestone Desert duelers, something like the goodyear duratrac or BFG K02, both are great AT tires and also carry the mountain snowflake symbol.

The 2016's are starting to wind down now in prep for the 2017's and you should be able to find a solid deal on a 2016 on a lot. I think the window has closed or is very close to closed for custom order. There's nothing major announced for the 2017, 2018 is where the big change comes.

 

[BSuk]

People just don't get Jeeps, I guess. I love my 2 door Wrangler. Sure, it's loud and rough, but that doesn't bother me. It's slow, but not too slow. You're not really going to get busted for speeding in a Wrangler, so that's good. It provides a whole different kind of fun, even though I rarely take it off road.

I'd get one if you're even remotely interested. If you don't like it, the resale vale is ridiculous, so you won't lose much money. But be warned: once you get the itch, it's over. You'll be buying out Quadratec parts until your wallet is empty. Buying that one winch because it looks badass...sure, you won't ever use it, but don't let that stop you.

The only reason I'm kind of looking at another SUV at the moment is lack of space to cart my dog around. I'm tired of her riding shotgun, and I don't have any space to put her in the 2 door. I'd like something with space behind the seats so I can put her back there. Not really a fan of 4 door Wranglers. Maybe a used 4Runner or Xterra?

 

[BSuk]

Also, ordering one from the factory is super easy, and you should be able to get below invoice. It's pretty cool.

Don't buy a used Jeep, unless it's pre-2006 with the 4.0. Otherwise you're just spending way too much on something you can get newer for around the same $$.

 

[BSuk]

I wanted one forever, convinced my wife and went for it. I've got a 2 door soft top and am looking now to upgrade to a 4 door because trying to get a baby seat into the back with the top on... lets just say it's good that I have long arms and am pretty flexible.

There's lots of room in the front seats, ride is a lot better than the Wranglers of old, the 2012+ come with the pentastar engine, 285hp/260 ft-lbs, it's not slow, passing on the highway is easy enough. If you drive it like a racecar, you will pay at the pumps. I'm pretty good about how I drive and I'm getting about 17MPG in the city. If you lift and go with bigger than stock rubber, that will go down.

If you're looking for comfort, look at the Sahara. If you want hardcore offroad and full warranty (limited mods), go with the Rubicon. These vehicles are incredibly capable in bone stock form, so you may not need to go Rubicon as a Sahara with some better tires than the factory Bridgestone Desert duelers, something like the goodyear duratrac or BFG K02, both are great AT tires and also carry the mountain snowflake symbol.

The 2016's are starting to wind down now in prep for the 2017's and you should be able to find a solid deal on a 2016 on a lot. I think the window has closed or is very close to closed for custom order. There's nothing major announced for the 2017, 2018 is where the big change comes.

What he said.

 

[psykokid]

I'm a rover guy, and i'll be the first to admit that they aren't for everyone. Pretty much the VW of the offroad world. That being said, for great performance out of the box from the dealer you can't really go wrong with a JKU. Sure they have their niggles that people will nitpick, but a stock JKU with a good set of AT's or MT's will get you 98% of places you want to go. And in CA there are a TON of places you can explore..

 

[rpmk4-2.0]

I miss my Jeep all the time. I had an 11 and then a 13 2 dr Rubicon. I will have another one day. If you're going to experiment, the JK is one to do it with since resale is so high.

 

[A.Wilder]

FV-QR

Jeeps are kind of polarizing in TCL. They have some valid points, jeeps kind of suck on the road, they are noisy, the do get ****ty MPG, they aren't as safe as a well built car, etc. etc. But if it's what you want then none of that matters. :thumbup:

 

[Gitcha Sum]

Jeeps are kind of polarizing in TCL. They have some valid points, jeeps kind of suck on the road, they are noisy, the do get ****ty MPG, they aren't as safe as a well built car, etc. etc. But if it's what you want then none of that matters. :thumbup:

Funny thing is, you don't really know if it's what you want until it's what you have.
Then you'll have it for a while, or swear to have another someday... or you'll be in something else pretty quick and never look back.

 

[Brake Weight]

2nd or 3rd gen Toyota 4Runner. OME suspension and wheels/tires and under your $7k cap. Freebie almost.


#CamBrady2017

 

[fixmy59bug]

Don't know if you guys care to know or not, but I made up my mind.

I just ordered a 2017 JKU Sport S. It's not quite a Rubicon, but it's also not $43k, lol.

I will be installing a mild 2 or 2.5" lift and better tires and will be good for now.

 

[Gitcha Sum]

Don't know if you guys care to know or not, but I made up my mind.

I just ordered a 2017 JKU Sport S. It's not quite a Rubicon, but it's also not $43k, lol.

I will be installing a mild 2 or 2.5" lift and better tires and will be good for now.

:thumbup:

Hope it serves you well.

Be mindful of the tire width, or plan on aftermarket wheels.

 

[DanG]

Don't know if you guys care to know or not, but I made up my mind.

I just ordered a 2017 JKU Sport S. It's not quite a Rubicon, but it's also not $43k, lol.

I will be installing a mild 2 or 2.5" lift and better tires and will be good for now.

That's awesome, congrats.

What colour did you go with, which options?

 

[Aonarch]

Don't know if you guys care to know or not, but I made up my mind.

I just ordered a 2017 JKU Sport S. It's not quite a Rubicon, but it's also not $43k, lol.

I will be installing a mild 2 or 2.5" lift and better tires and will be good for now.

Awesome!

Lifts are super easy to do!

Just go with a 2.5" and some 33s on stock wheels to start.

 

[fixmy59bug]

That's awesome, congrats.

What colour did you go with, which options?

Awesome!

Lifts are super easy to do!

Just go with a 2.5" and some 33s on stock wheels to start.

As mentioned, I got a 2017 Jeep JK Unlimited Sport S.
Granite Crystal Metallic
6 Speed manual
Black Cloth
3-piece Freedom Hard Top
Radio 430 with Sirius
Side Airbags
Max Tow with 3.73 gears
Connectivity
LED Lighting (an absolute must since I would upgrade the HORRIBLE lights anyways)
and Slush Mats

Total MSRP was $36,725, and I got it for $35,093 ($300 below invoice)

As far as tires and lift, I am considering the Mopar 2" lift (I can get it for about $1200) with stock Rubicon wheels & tires (I checked with the parts dept and they occasionally have take offs with tires for $650).

Sometimes I really LOVE working in "the industry".

 

[beermuscles]

If you can find a TRD Pro under $40k - get that and don't look back.


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[beermuscles]

Oops sorry - you already got the Jeep! My bad! Congrats!!


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[fixmy59bug]

In case anyone was wondering...

This is what it will look like when I get it. (Someone coincidentally has the same wheels and lift on the same color JKU on one of the JK forums).