Thread: Missus like Jeep Wrangler, any good?

Originally Posted by DeanoH

Several years ago I had a Jeep Cherokee, my brother had and still has a Grand Cherokee Laredo. Both were (are) great vehicles, well designed, well built and reliable. Can't comment on the Wrangler but no reason to think they weren't as good. From a 4WD perspective none of this IFS etc crap beats a good front axle, right ?

The downside was Jeep Australia's spare parts prices were absolutely poisonous, fair dinkum they made Land Rover genuine prices look good. At the time I remember the front axle price for my brothers Laredo was $2K each !!. It was far cheaper to buy genuine Mopar parts in Europe and air freight them to Australia which is what the Jeep forum members were doing. At the time Chrysler had fallen out of love with Mercedes and it was way, way cheaper to buy genuine Mercedes engine and transmission parts for Jeeps CRD vehicles that used Mercedes engines and transmissions.

Another issue was spare parts availability, this was in the aftermath of the GFC and Chrysler was in damage control mode and about to be gobbled up by Fiat or 'Fee-art' as the Yanks say. There was basically no (costly) spare parts holding in Australia, not even a Wrangler clutch plate. I kid you not, a forum member had to wait for one to be flown in from Singapore or Hong Kong or wherever Jeeps south east Asia spares holding was.

I'm not saying it's the same now but I'd certainly check on Jeeps spare parts prices before committing to buy.


Deano

Ditto. The spares are probably the highest in the industry, even above the Euro brands. The other thing that pees everyone off over here, is they hold no stock locally. So you get stung, after waiting for it. Do your research well !

Originally Posted by Tote

A couple of photos of SWMBO's jeep to stir the pot






Regards,
Tote

I dont like the jeep, I mean seriously the design is old fashioned, the sides are flat and square they still have round headlights, they are agricultural....

better the defender because THEY have a tradition and heritage in the design, the sides are smooth and without unnecessary snags or design that isnt needed. They have practical lighting that is all rounded so there are no snags .......They are very strong and usable, like a tractor with a body


Yep nothing alike...

Thanks guys, exactly the sort of feedback I was looking for especially stuff like the cost of spares. I was also wondering, how much is servicing for example and how often are they ie what is the service intervals for the diesel? What are the auto gearbox like, are they long lasting, how about the transfer case? What about the diesel engine is it any good? She wants a diesel car simply as we have farm diesel, but I also buy diesel for road use (another tank) in bulk around 3,000 liters at a time. I get a bit of discount, but mainly it is for convenience I dont have to remember to go for fuel, also it beats the price rise over the year. I buy when the prices are at the lowest like recently when they dropped to 1.22 a liter down from a recent high if 1.36, I ran my tank empty for a couple of months waiting for a good price now I am good for ages. So basically whatever she gets it needs to be diesel.
Thanks again guys
Chris

As has been said here go to local specialists or USA direct for spares, the diesel is supposed to be good , and makes a fair bit more power than the defender. 147kw and 460nm in the auto. They look good with a lift and 33in muddies+ winch bar.
Cargo capacity is lower, much lower, ( under 500kg for auto td) but if your buying new AFAIK it's cheaper to get the gvm engineered increased before first rego than after.
Go here , lurk and ask them, they helped when my father decided to by a grand cherokee. www.ausjeepoffroad.com

My missus purchased a 2012 Rubicon.
She was going to buy the wrangler version, but I pushed for the rubicon.
it is a 3.8 petrol with 6 speed manual.
The current versions have pentstar ...I think 3.2 petrol with much more torque.
It has been the most reliable new vehicle purchased.
Not one problem.
servicing is average cost wise....no price shocks.
It is straight forward to work on and much information and parts are advailable over seas if needed.
I wouldn't worry about the Diesel too much as the petrol will give 11 per 100 on the highway at 100 kph with a full load.
But if towing the thing will drink heavy and diesel is a better option.
My missis wanted a convertible.......so the rubicon comes with both hard top and soft top.
Rubicon comes with diff locks front and rear as standard, extra heavy front diff ,full tube roll cage, deeper reduction low range gearing.....about 78 to one , low,low and electric sway bar disconnect.
Off road is only fault is the transfercase sits abit to low, which is overcome with aftermarket lift if required.
The hard and soft tops have a set up of where you can fold back or partly remove the roof quickly for sunny days.
The vehicle is small on the inside and doesn't feel airy like a disco or landrover.
dirt road handling is not very good and the stability control cuts in early because of this,the ride is OK and steering is light.
Had water up over the bonnet fording rivers and the inside stays dry and the motor never stopped.
Ariel for the radio is unbreakable, floor self draining etc....lots of good stuff for off road.
Brakes work OK and discs last well.
I does the driving to work, shopping stuff well and has the something different thing about it which is what the women like.
Sound system is very good as is the air con, but is not high tech different zone stuff,auto lights if you want, cruise control works well.
just enough creature comforts for the missis to play with.
It is reliable unlike some of the other jeep models .
Plenty of accessories to do just about anything, roof racks, half height doors, up grades etc.

I have heard the diesels were doing in clutches early, may have been fixed by now.
Ron

I've got a diesel Grand and it's been pretty good over all. Personally, I prefer diesels because of the range, but if you are doing mainly short hops around town, the petrol is a better choice because the dpf will probably clog and throw it in limp mode unless you give it a run at highway speed regularly. I reckon servicing of diesels is a non issue these days. The service intervals are very generous. The 2.8 VM diesel is in my son's 2006 Cherokee and hasn't given him any trouble. It's the same basic motor that is in the new Holden Colorado's so it's been around for a while.
My experience with the brand, and my family has 2, is that they tend to give annoying problems, like limp mode occasionally, window winders breaking, heater/air con fans breaking, electrical stuff malfunctioning. Lots of little crap in general. They do really shine off road and make you smile. Unfortunately, I think there is a higher risk of getting a "friday" car. A friend bought one new from a dealer in Coffs Harbour and it broke down driving out of the dealership and again twice on the trip back to Sydney. This is not normal but does happen hence the warning.
I'm not sure if cost of spares is as much of an issue as it used to be. I saw a Nissan XTrail last week that needed a $3500 repair bill for a new clutch....ouch! Chrysler Jeep are robbers, buy the parts online and get it serviced by an independent.

maybe its time for a divorce

Jeeps are no better or worse than anything else,if you like it buy it.I shoot with a Jeep owner and we get on well,he recons Jeep stands for ''Just Empties Every Pocket''. Pat