[jlstyle]

I finally settled my heart on Jeep Wrangler as my DD for now.
I looked into Cayman for a while but with upcoming baby, I think it would be safer to have another truck as a back up.






These are my inspirations.

Is there anyone driving JW as a daily driver?
How's the reliability?
Is it cheap to mod? - I don't plan to mod anything off road related. Only purely cosmetics like the picture above.
How much discount can I expect when purchasing it?

Thanks in advance.

[Viffermike]

If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.
If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.
If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.
If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.
If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.
If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.
If you don't have anything ni -- :: scribble ::

[bdkinnh]

I have a 2D Wrangler and I love it. I actually drive it more than my car (although once I get my M4, we'll see).

I'd have no problem using it as a DD, and would take long highway trips (if I didn't have the doors and the top off). It takes a little getting used to, but once you do it's no problem.

I have a 2015, and the reliability has been great - no problems at all - although I only have around 7K miles on it so far.

Modding is a lot cheaper than with BMWs, for sure. I like the fact that they can be taken apart easily. They're basically adult Legos.

If you sign up with Tread Lightly (Google it) you can get 1% over invoice easy. Without that, it depends on the dealer.

If you're going to use it as a DD, get the Sahara over the Rubicon.

[KingOfJericho]

http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1285173

[Fundguy1]

I love Jeeps. I had a GC Hemi overland summit. I've had a love affair with the wrangler for 40 yrs. I'd never get it as a DD especially with a baby. Good luck with that.

[SSJTrunks523]

Great 3rd-5th car in the garage

[jlstyle]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1285173

Oh thanks!

[BMB063]

I have a 2005 Grand Cherokee as my "beater" not really a daily and it does the job well. The wrangler isn't the best on gas, but if you're look for a fun car you can mod and isn't expensive to fix, the jeep might be a good choice. Reliability is not exactly Chrysler's strong points though, but you never know.

[BloomRunsDubs]

Good choice. I love my wrangler except when I have to drive it on the freeway lol

[ridin135]

I would wait till the next gen wrangler which gets released early next year.

[bdkinnh]

Originally Posted by ridin135

I would wait till the next gen wrangler which gets released early next year.

If someone wants the next generation, I'd wait at least three years - they're going to be making a bunch of major changes to the platform.

[Poleposition]

Originally Posted by SSJTrunks523

Great 3rd-5th car in the garage

This!

Its the 4th car in my household. Fun to mod and kids love it. Great to have a car you dont think twice about when driving in weather or bad roads or all the kids crap. Fun on beach. All around awesome vehicle. Different driving style than a BMW though. You have to drive slow. Its not meant to whip turns at 80 like our BMW's. Keep that in mind and youre fine.

[jlstyle]

Originally Posted by BloomRunsDubs

Good choice. I love my wrangler except when I have to drive it on the freeway lol

Is it due to the low top speed? I mean I rented a wrangler in Hawaii for a week and I think it hauled us ok except the excessive noise from the tire. Any other concerns I should be aware of?

Originally Posted by ridin135

I would wait till the next gen wrangler which gets released early next year.

I thought Jeep was a Jeep. Do you think I should still consider a newer model even if I won't be using the car for off roading? I'll be using it 95% for my point A-B driving only.

Originally Posted by Poleposition

Its the 4th car in my household. Fun to mod and kids love it. Great to have a car you dont think twice about when driving in weather or bad roads or all the kids crap. Fun on beach. All around awesome vehicle. Different driving style than a BMW though. You have to drive slow. Its not meant to whip turns at 80 like our BMW's. Keep that in mind and youre fine.

Yes this is the main reason for considering the wrangler. Relatively cheap, good resale value, a car to go for rough weather, kid mess friendly.

[KingOfJericho]

Originally Posted by jlstyle

Is it due to the low top speed? I mean I rented a wrangler in Hawaii for a week and I think it hauled us ok except the excessive noise from the tire. Any other concerns I should be aware of?

I thought Jeep was a Jeep. Do you think I should still consider a newer model even if I won't be using the car for off roading? I'll be using it 95% for my point A-B driving only.

Yes this is the main reason for considering the wrangler. Relatively cheap, good resale value, a car to go for rough weather, kid mess friendly.

Pretty much every on-road driving attribute is terrible. It's loud, slow, squirrely under braking, and gets poor gas mileage. That said, I also want one as my DD since it's only four miles.

A Jeep is a jeep but they will be adding a diesel as well as a panoramic roof option. I wouldn't hesitate to get a JK. They're great cars and I would MUCH rather have the last year of a model cycle than the first, especially with an FCA product.

[omgboost]

Originally Posted by jlstyle

Yes this is the main reason for considering the wrangler. Relatively cheap, good resale value, a car to go for rough weather, kid mess friendly.

Have you looked at a 4runner? It is pretty much all of the above and you get 3rd row which is why I'm seriously considering one. If I ever have another kid, and then haul around parents/inlaws/guests/friends, the 3rd row would be great for them.

[KingOfJericho]

My brother has a 2014 SR5 4Runner and I was shocked by how cheap it felt. The doors felt Subaru-flimsy and the interior looks like they fired their entire design team and this is what they created out of spite on their last day. The Jeep is the way to go... plus TOPLESS.

[jlstyle]

Originally Posted by omgboost

Have you looked at a 4runner? It is pretty much all of the above and you get 3rd row which is why I'm seriously considering one. If I ever have another kid, and then haul around parents/inlaws/guests/friends, the 3rd row would be great for them.

Althought 4 runner is a great car but it looks too blend for me. I want something that stings when you look but not too loud.

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

Pretty much every on-road driving attribute is terrible. It's loud, slow, squirrely under braking, and gets poor gas mileage. That said, I also want one as my DD since it's only four miles.

A Jeep is a jeep but they will be adding a diesel as well as a panoramic roof option. I wouldn't hesitate to get a JK. They're great cars and I would MUCH rather have the last year of a model cycle than the first, especially with an FCA product..

I don't need any techy updates or panoramic roof but if the diesel is on a line up, I might want to wait. If I get a Jeep my plan is get new exhaust, head unit for the radio, red leather seats and some nice looking wheels. Their aftermarket parts are so cheap that factory options feel expensive.

[MightyMouseTech]

Quick question, are you an 18 year old sorority girl?

[Official NOCO]

I drove an 05 unlimited wrangler through my soph-senior year of college. It was my first car, and I just graduated and sold it.

Pros-

Fun to drive if you live in a nice area - I am in AZ so it's no roof for 8 months a year.
You can go almost anywhere offroad with stock setup
Timeless looks and a good "cult" community
Lots of mods available for used and new. It's like "lego" car, great if you're into creativity.
Unmatched resale value
Relatively safe, I got rear ended while I was stopped, the guy clipped my drivers side rear at 65 mph. I didn't feel a thing expect, my wallet did though.

Cons-

Had to spend 800-1000 on repairs every year I had it.
Loud on the highway/ uncomfortable for long trips (have a softop, JK models with hardtop is probably a huge improvement)
Slow, and underpowered. Hard to pass people, terribly slow going up mountains.
My 05 felt about 10 years behind when it came to comfort. My roommate had a 97 and it was practically identical. hand-rollup windows, plain interior, bad stock sound system etc.

Long post but I will answer your questions directly:

Is there anyone driving JW as a daily driver? I did, and never will again.

How's the reliability? God awful. Constantly broke down. However it's popular and domestic, so it's cheap. Easy DIY repairing as well.

Is it cheap to mod? - I don't plan to mod anything off road related. Only purely cosmetics like the picture above. Yes, there are a lot of Jeep owners. This means a lot of used parts available.

How much discount can I expect when purchasing it? Can't speak directly from experience on this. However, they are always popular cars and thus dealers don't have problems selling. I wouldn't expect much of a discount.

My PERSONAL opinion:
Cayman. Or another truck such as a Ford F150, Toyota Tacoma, or Toyota 4Runner. Maybe go for an older model year on a F150, and but an old TJ wrangler to keep for the weekend trips (if you are an outdoorsy person)

Sorry if this sounded negative, but I strongly believe Jeep Wranglers should be reserved for a "toy car" that you take off-roading and crawling. They aren't even good in the snow, because of the top heavy design.

[KingOfJericho]

Official NOCO - I think you caught the last wave of pre-modernized wranglers. Gone are the roll-up windows and shitty sound systems. Now they're fully equipped with bluetooth, nav, satellite radio, leather, Alpine sound , leather seats, etc.

[bdkinnh]

Originally Posted by Official NOCO

Loud on the highway/ uncomfortable for long trips (have a softop, JK models with hardtop is probably a huge improvement)

There are two soft top choices from the factory: basic and premium. The premium is thicker, so gives little more sound protection, but even with that I wouldn't want to be in one for more than a couple of hours on the highway. With the hardtop you can add more insulation, which makes it even quieter, and I'd be willing to do a long road trip in it (if someone else was paying for gas).

Originally Posted by Official NOCO

Slow, and underpowered. Hard to pass people, terribly slow going up mountains.

My 2009 was slow, but my 2015 has the 285 HP engine, and I have no complaints.

Originally Posted by Official NOCO

They aren't even good in the snow, because of the top heavy design.

Huh? Not sure what being top heavy would have to do with snow performance, but mine is a goat in the snow.

[wjones14]

Consumer Reports reviewed the Wrangler recently and the review was entertaining.

Plusses:

styling
snow/off-road ability
6 cylinder engine

Minuses:

pretty much everything else

Bottom line was they said it was "like driving a brick" down the road.

On the other hand, they sell almost 200K of them every year, so the plusses outweigh the minuses for a big segment of the car buying public. And off the road, they are the best.

I like them a lot. So iconic. There's something to be said for a car where you can remove the top AND the doors. And in the snow belt, they certainly make sense.