Unfair!
I admit I’ve had a couple of expensive problems with my Cherokee in the last couple of years, but that’s mostly because of non-use in a wet environment. Jeeps are very reliable overall. Mine has around 230,000 miles on it since I bought it new in 1999.
Screw Jeep!
For 2 years my wife whined how she wanted a Jeep Wrangler. We had cars, we didn’t need a new car, but [spoiled little kid voice] “I want it I want it I want it!”.:rolleyes: She was intrigued by having an SUV that was also a convertible.
I finally bought her one in 2008.
Now she freaking hates it! A bunch of shit has gone wrong with it from the tire pressure monitors to the engine, we got recall after recall after recall notices for 3 years straight. And we fell victim to the dreaded DEATH WOBBLE.
I hate it too. Not only is the warranty too short making me pay for this shit, it sucks to drive. Uncomfortable and stiff. Like I told her, beware of what you wish for!
I have to agree with you on that pkbites. A Jeep Wrangler is never going to grace my household after I drove a few of them belonging to friends and one as a rental. It is like driving a fucking beach ball on a windy day. The handling is the worst I have ever encountered in a modern vehicle by far, the interior is poorly designed and they aren’t even that good as an all-around SUV unless you are seriously into one of those rock climbing contests that they have with them. Extreme thumbs down from me. I will take my Rav4 Sport any day over a classic Jeep model. OTOH, I hear they are cool in frat boy circles so, if you are in that demographic, go for it but otherwise, stay far away.
A Jeep Wrangler, or the earlier CJ-series, is a special purpose vehicle; not a minivan. It designed and intended to do certain things very well – things that other cars cannot do. There’s nothing wrong with a vehicle, just because it is used for purposes for which it was not designed.
Hmm…I can’t remember if my Mom’s Wrangler (TJ) has ever had any major recalls. The only massive problem it has had was related to the air conditioner…that only took a couple of trips to the shop to sort out though. It drives great, and handles just like it should.
I understand your point but I do expect any modern vehicle to have basic, good handling and those Jeeps do not. If is fine if someone wants to compare them to high-end of the ATV market but they are marketed as consumer vehicles and they do not qualify for that especially for the purposes they are actually used for the vast majority of the time. They aren’t even that good in the niche SUV market. Get at a Range Rover or even an old 4wd pickup truck if you want to go mud riding and you will be happier and better off. If you want to climb boulders while tilted, maybe they are the best choice but I have never known anyone that ever actually did that with them.
I have. I talked to a guy who does back road and off road rescue with a volunteer group of Jeep owners. In his spare time he takes his highly modified Wrangler up “roads” that are actually ledges along the sides of cliffs. These people are certifiably insane and the stories he told me made me weak in the knees.
If that is your thing, that is definitely the vehicle you want. For anything else I can thing of, no.
I love my Jeep. It’s comfortable and handles just fine, but it’s a TJ and I don’t know about the newer JKs. I don’t really like them and haven’t driven them enough to say how well they handle. I haven’t heard any complaints from the people I know who have them.
I’ve had mine over 10 years and the only problems are that it needed a radiator and water pump in the past couple years. It had a couple minor recalls that I didn’t bother with.
I used to take it offroad a lot but then I had a kid and I’m not cool anymore. She’s finally at the age she likes the top down and doors off though.
I’ve owned 4 Suzukis (1 Sidekick, 1 Vitara, 1 Grand Vitara, 1 XL) and though they drive a bit truck like, their value and reliability kicks the crap out of our Wrangler.
Plus, the humble Suzukis 4 wheel drive plows through snow and water much better than Jeeps Command Trac system does.
When we first bought that Wrangler I thought I’d really like it. I don’t. I am thoroughly unimpressed! Now my wifes whining that she wants something else. But this time I agree with her.
Command Trac just refers to the NV241 transfer case that puts it in 4 wheel drive, it isn’t going to make it do better or worse at anything. If you had the stock tires, yeah, they’re probably terrible in snow. With better tires it’ll go anywhere.
I used to head to the mountains and drive in a foot or two of snow all day long with barely any slipping. It actually does so well in snow that it gets boring. You think you’ll attempt a snowy trail that looks iffy, then just drive up it like it’s paved. On the road with slushy snow is a bit different, but that’s more of a hydroplaning type thing where you get one side in thick crap and it pulls you to the side. It’s the downside of having fat tires. I hate that crap, give me a foot of virgin snow over an inch of road snow any day.
I drove a Suzuki Samurai. Its chassis was tough, but its motor, tranny and transfer were not up to snuff. After the third motor rebuild, I sold it off. It was small enough to go on a lot of trails for which other vehicles were too wide. It’s heater was marginal, so driving in the winter required being bundled up and staying covered with a winter sleeping bag. Even then, it was simply too cold to travel on the highway on a cold winter night. It had a fairly low top speed, and could barely tow a light utility trailer
I later drove a four door Suzuki Vitara (aka Chevy Sidekick). I would have preferred another Samurai, but the CAMI agreement kept them out of North America. It was a lot roomier than the Samurai, and had more power, although it still was underpowered. It’s suspension was not as tough as the Samurai’s, but its heater was better, although still not warm enough for winter highway driving on cold -40 nights. It had an ongoing progression of problems, with the most common being front boots and timing chain, and the most serious being a blown motor that sounded its death knell. Its ride was a bit rough, but a lot more comfortable than the Samurai. As a cheap run around town soccer mom type of vehicle, it could recommend it (along with any number of that type of vehicle), but as far as off-road, logging road and trailering went, it was not powerful or tough enough, so my next vehicle was a JK, which has exceeded my expectations in every respect. Love the JK’s reliability, durability, power, ground clearance and approach angles, comfortable ride, sleeping accommodation, and awesome heater.
Put 150+ on all of mine and I never had a single problem with any of them, but the ones with 4 bangers in them are seriously under powered. The 6 isn’t bad with a stick.
Mine were 4 bangers. The Samurai’s motor was tiny. You’d look into the engine compartment and wonder where the motor was. The block only weighed about a hundred pounds. It pumped out 66 hp after re-builds, but then gradually crapped out to something more resembling a couple of horses limping to the knackers. To put this in perspective, a good Sears riding mower is 26 hp, the Samurai was 66 hp on a good day, my Jeep JK is a tad over 200 hp (not a particularly powerful motor, but more than enough to get the job done), and the current JK models are more powerful yet. In other words, the Samurai would have made one hell of a good riding mower.
Damn, waxing nostalgic about the Samurai. Best watch the Top Gear boys have a bit of fun with one.
This thread got me thinking about picking up an older Jeep Wrangler (or CJ I guess) for putting around town and taking out in the woods (no heavy offroading, just dirt-roading). Are there any years or models that are better, or ones to specifically avoid? Price range would be under $10k.
Or…is this a huge mistake!
CJ - 44-86 - There are a lot of variants but most are either rusty beaters or fixed up nice enough that they’ll probably cost as much as a YJ or TJ
YJ - 86–95 - Sort of an 80s update to the CJ7. Crappy plastic interiors that scream “80s”, square headlights, weird wipers. Still great vehicles, they just got caught in between classic and modern Jeeps. Most are beaters now too.
These are all good vehicles, but they’re old. There’s not a heck of a lot of them for sale, and they’re like any vehicle that age, there’s beaters and there’s good used ones, but the used ones are going to be in the price range of the TJ…
TJ - 97–06 - Plenty in good condition to be had for under $10k. They have coil springs, airbags, better rollbars, a comfortable and modern interior (comparatively anyway, it’s no Lexus). There was a minor update in '03 that causes a lot of 97-02 parts and accessories to not fit 03-06 models.
There’s only one thing I would avoid, and that’s the Dana 35 rear axle. The TJ came with either a Dana 35 or a Dana 44 and the 44 is stronger. You can tell by looking at the rear differential. If it has a plastic/rubber plug, it’s a Dana 35. If it has a metal plug, it’s a 44.
Either would be absolutely fine for dirt roads, but if you ever feel the need to do a little offroading, the Dana 35 doesn’t like to be abused and might break an axle shaft if you stress it the right way. Also if you want to get larger tires, it’s not a good idea to go very much larger than 30-31 or maybe 32 inches with the Dana 35. The good news is that people replace the 35 a lot and will sell you axle shafts for cheap, if not give them away for free and if you’re a little handy you can carry an extra pair with you and replace them on the trail if you need to. Of course, that’s not much fun. The 44 is the way to go.
Thanks for that! It’ll certainly help if I decide to move forward with this purchase.