Looking at Jeep Gladiators
 

First off, I hate dealing with most dealerships. Why is it always such a pain most of the time. Just tell me a price, tell me what you’ll give me for my trade, and we should be able to work from there.

And know more about what you are selling than I do after researching on the web for a few days.

And don’t tell me what I want, make all the suggestions you want, but don’t tell me I don’t want a particular color just because you don’t have it in stock. Of coarse the color you have is best.

And if your giving me such a great deal why pressure me to make a decision today. If the next guy that walks thru the door buys it, what do you care.

And don’t run off with my damn keys, does this really make me want to deal with you?

I’m went to 3 dealerships, the first one I went to I’m going back tommorow to look again. They let me drive whatever I wanted, never pressured me, offered the best deal and told me to look around.

But they really didn’t have what I think I want. After doing some research I think I’d be happy with a basic model with the max tow package. But the only one they had was in black, and I just don’t want a black truck. The other dealers had a few more favorable colors, but with their price I can buy a Mojave or Rubicon for 4K-5k more and get leather seats and fancier touch screen dodads.

Colors are Nocho, sarge green, or gator. Or at least the colors the wife liked.

Or they said I can just order one, but that could take 4 months. I’m not very patient when I want a new vehicle.

IT ALL MATT’S FAULT!!

And my current Jeep Wrangler for having such a good resale value. Not like my wife’s BMW.

And when did mid size Jeep/truck start costing 40k and up. Mostly Up.

Is there a Hellcat version coming?

I have what sounds like the exact car you looked at. Black sport S with max tow and a few options.

I purchased it march 30, 2020 online, when all local dealers were closed due to Covid. It was an incredible deal since everyone was spooked. To be blunt, it was the best dealership experience. I never set foot in the dealer and they flatbedded it to my house. I only wish every interaction was this simple.

I'm 20k miles into it and really love it.

Super improvement over wranglers of the past. I've towed up to 8k a couple times with no drama. 20mpg at 70mph when not towing.

I didn't think I would like it as much as I do

I expect you will like it as well.

Vin

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

You’re welcome!:D

I drove three hours for the reasons you stated, our local dealers are terrible and didn’t have anything even close to what I wanted. We bought at a small dealer in MO just outside of KC. They had the Jeep clean, full of gas, and the paperwork pre—filled out. Including a test drive it was about 40 minutes. Heartland Jeep in Excelsior Springs MO, great experience.

If you have a local dealer you like they should be able to transfer in what you want. Or at least something very close that’s sitting on another dealer’s lot. They prefer to sell what they have, but that should be an option. I love mine, it’s getting ceramic coated this weekend!

I ordered from ram. Was never going to find the options i wanted. So special order. Why plop down all that cash and not be 100% happy with the purchase?

I have bought four Jeeps on line without dealing directly with a salesperson until I picked them up, other than paying the deposit.

For example, with my last Jeep (2019 Rubicon) I first do the build I want online, then forward it to the dealership internet sales person, she and I then agreed on the bottom line price. Then I gave them a $500 fully refundable deposit and I received a pending sales order. To do a build used to take around 2-3 months, but not sure these days with chip shortages, etc.

Of course, you can just do on-line searches and then email the internet salesperson too if you see one you like.

Every year they've been going up, 8% or so.
Supply and demand.
But there's many different models, not everyone needs a Rubicon. You can get a stripped wrangler 2-door Sport for around $28,000

Sadly the average price of a new car is just a touch over $40k.

When I was looking for a Challenger, the dealers were difficult and seemed unwilling to run a search and trade for a car. If you "Build" one on the Jeep website, you search inventory at the bottom of the page. I did this, but had to keep changing the zip code to keep the top results good. I finally found an excellent match in southern CA and flew down and drove it back. I could have just had it shipped to me, but I opted to go fetch it. Fortunately, the dealer that had it had good starting discounts on their website, so it didn't take much back and forth to be satisfied.

A good broker would probably pay his own way. You could probably find an effective one on Leasehackr.

I would not trust any dealer delivery dates being offered right now. Factory shutdowns are not going away, in fact the problem has moved upstream to raw materials and purchased goods needed for factory upgrades.

You can order and wait, but be prepared to wait longer than promised.

The grandkids liked the green. Fancier than I was planning on buying, but I’m done now.

I bought from the same dealer that I purchased my wrangler from. It was 30 miles out in the sticks, but they were much easier to deal with.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1621711325.jpg

Very nice. The color is great.

I wish I had been in the market for your Wrangler, I'd have bought it on a picture.

I need to get in a Gladiator for a test drive. I want long term reports, People: You, too, Crusty:cool:

My wrangler was nothing special, and while the exterior looked nice the interior was pretty scratched up.

When I was remodeling my house I was hauling all kinds of trash to the dump, and hauling a lot of building materials. I was shoving lumber between the front seats and out the back window.

And if this doesn’t work out, I’m blaming Matt.

What I mean is that you take care of your machines and would have been fair about the blemishes. I still may get a Wrangler when we move to SC.

Trust me, Matt deserves it; he had the temerity to sell me a 4Runner that ran flawlessly for 15 years and over 250k miles. Rat Bastard.

Enjoy the Gladiator. I really hope they got it right because it is different. Different matters.

I was at a traffic stop on a busy highway today and there were 15 late model SUVs arrayed around me. I had no idea if they were a Hyundai, Audi, Toyota RAV or a Ford.

I think the Gladiator needs a lift, and wheels and tires to look its best. So ha ha you had to get them. Honestly, if I were to get one, I'd want it to look like the one you got. And the hood's a bonus!

Nice!!! You got the optional alloy wheels like mine which I really like, and the green is a great color. Seems very fitting for a Jeep. I liked it but my wife didn’t so in the interest of domestic tranquility I skipped that one. Other than the hard top what other options did you get? Also what did you think of the Mojave vs other models?

Here is the sticker.
https://www.chrysler.com/hostd/windowsticker/getWindowStickerPdf.do?vin=1C6JJTEG2ML567153

Main options are leather, auto, and radio. I’ve got all weather floor mats on the way.

I really didn’t need the Mojave package, a max tow would have been fine. But this was in stock and it was closer to what I wanted. This dealership only had a couple sport models, but several Rubicon’s and 2 Mojave’s.

The other Mojave was similarly equipped, but it was Nacho colored. The wife preferred the green, so of coarse I got the green.

We’ve been planning on taking a long vacation out west, seeing some of the national parks. So this may be the ticket.

"Sarge Green" - Chrysler sometimes comes up with great color names! The black grille is a nice touch, too.

Should have named it Mojave Green, like the super aggressive rattlesnake.

Imagine if someone in 1976 could have looked into a crystal ball at a Munroney sticker from the year 2021. They seriously would not believe it. Imagine them looking at the sticker of this Jeep...or a new F-150 Platinum for $80k. Pure disbelief.

I kind of can't believe it myself. :eek:

I'd own one. :)

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That seems to apply to a lot of things these days. Not sure if it’s rampant inflation or I’m finally morphing into my dad but I seem to have sticker shock daily. $30k for a new motorcycle, $80k+ for a 21’ ski boat...and don’t get me started on home prices, and my wife keeps talking about moving.

The old saying, “he who dies with the most toys wins” is becoming quite a challenge.

Dayum. How will I ever retire?

Looks like you got the bigger UConnect screen, that’s the only thing I wanted that I didn’t get. It’s a big difference in size and resolution over the base touchscreen. I plan to upgrade mine at some point but it’s about $1,200.

Wow. Best commercial I've seen in a long time!

I think it rides a little better after I dropped the tire pressure down to 37psi. That’s what’s on the door sticker. They were at 48psi.

I assume that’s where it’s suppose to be, I guess I’m going to have to pull out the manual.

I remember being at a car dealership in the mid seventies. There was a Jeep Renegade on the floor with a price of $6,000 or $7,000, don’t remember exactly. But I remember my dad saying who in their right mind would pay that for a Jeep. At the time I believe a vette was around $9,000.

Well crap, I bought the jeep at a dealership 30 miles away. I had to go back this morning because I forgot the spare key and hardtop bag for the trade in, no biggie.

Now I just got a call and I dated the check wrong, 2022, and they would like another. They offered to meet me and switch, but it was my fault so I’m heading back. I’ll have 300 miles on this thing soon.

It’s not like I have the funds in the account to clear. I did tell them to hold it for a few days till I transfer fund from my brokerage account to checking.

The dealer must not have followed the pre delivery checklist. Tires are overinflated at the factory. Mine were in the 40s as well

Mine too. Greatly reduces the wandering and vague steering when they are the correct psi. Supposedly upgrading the steering stabilizer helps too.

Wow, supposed to be 37, but were at 48? WHat monkey did that? That's 30% over the recommendation. I guess if you were trying to do some hypermiling, but then who would hypermile something like that?

Cars arrive at dealers sometimes way over the recommended tire pressure. Service departments don't always check the tires. Lazy, and saves them a couple of minutes. What's in the door jamb is the correct pressure.

A post-dated check needs to be replaced.

Tire pressures can change up to 5-6 pounds depending on time of day and in sunlight.

They also change going to different altitudes.

Best thing is to get a super overly accurate tire gauge. I got one for all my motorcycles but it works on everything and measures to 1/10th of a pound.

I especially like the "Whack a Mole" bit near the end... lol ;)

I added a 12 volt plug to the bed so I can run a fridge/freezer. It’s supposed to hold 40 liters, it’s the biggest one I could find that was not to tall. I’ve also added a hard cover for the bed. When I go shooting on Thursday I’m bringing popsicles.

I ran 10 guage wire and used a 15 amp fuse at the battery. The plug is rated at 20 amps.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627408375.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627408375.jpg

How long can you run that without killing the battery?

From what I understand, once cooled down they don’t draw much. And you can pick a setting on the fridge to keep from draining the battery to far. I am going to try it out with a portable battery pack I have. Also some use a solar panel with these.

I ask since we have an older one and it will draw enough to blow a fuse now and then even after it is cold. Maybe we need to upgrade.

Which model is that?

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627410040.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627410057.jpg