Posted: Yesterday 7:13:28 PM EDT
|
Getting tired of the car. (Scat pack challenger) The old Ramcharger is dead. (username) The original lean burn ignition has finally given out and I don't feel like working on it. Not sure it is worth paying someone to get it running. Have thought about a wrangler but they don't have the best reliability. Just realized they made a diesel version, that sounds cool. Then read they might suck more. Any first hand experience? I'm driving 45 miles round trip to work 4 or occasionally 5 days a week. What else should I look at <$35k used low mileage? 4 door, not the gladiator type. Of course the ducks are stupid and would go in the trash. Wonder how many people won't read this far and mention ducks. 
|
|
Originally Posted By GlocksareGood: Hmmm. Combine a shitty jeep with a diesel engine. What could go wrong? I would do it OP! Plus, the diesel will burn extra good when your jeep catches fire driving down the highway |
I don’t like making plans for the day. Because then the word "premeditated" gets thrown around in the courtroom.
Joined:
Jun 2023
Posts:
559
EE: 100% (1)
FL, USA
|
Originally Posted By Aimless: I bought a gladiator used this year. I wouldn't want one for commuting. They're loud and unreliable. They're great off road. Why not a Camry or used Lexus ? https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/14563/IMG_2627-3831373.jpg Small. I'm big. I know, challenger. Still it's the smallest thing I can get in/out of. I'm also old. Really don't need or want a car. ETA Just noticed the picture. I'm interested. I acknowledge most of the internet BS is just hate. Haters never win. |
|
OP spelled shitbox wrong. I’m actually in a similar situation, seems your choice is a shitbox, boring vehicle or some expensive, highly complex vehicle. The practical side of me leans shitbox but man does it suck driving them. Mostly reliable though and that in itself can be exciting. |
|
Originally Posted By DirkericPitt: First of many to comment about how reliable my jeep wrangler has been. 2018, no reliability issues. New battery, paint issues repaired under warranty. Just drove it 20 hours in 2 days. Was a good trip. 3.6 This is what I have been thinking. As far as the noise, I've worked almost 40 years in aircraft manufacturing and can barely hear. The ride is what will be a deal breaker. Lot's of body damage from youth and family history of arthritis. |
|
Originally Posted By MattR: I have a jeep. It isn't a commuter. I have a diesel (f250). With diesel prices and maintenance, it's also not the best commuter. I have a 4runner. It's a commuter, and is pretty Ok offroad I traded a 4Runner for my Jeep. The only advantage it had on-road was that it was quieter. |
When doubt returns, may it be
That faith shall permeate our scars
When we're seduced, then may it be
That we not deviate our cause
That faith shall permeate our scars
When we're seduced, then may it be
That we not deviate our cause
Member
Joined:
Apr 2022
Posts:
315
EE: 0% (0)
USA
|
Originally Posted By GlockCamper: What is wrong with Jeeps specifically? Is it all jeeps or just the wranglers? The 3.6 pentastar is a long running and well proven engine generally. They had head issues initially and some really dumb QC problems - one in particular that I know of was lack of thread locker and proper torque on cam sprockets causing them to literally fall off of the cams. They seem to be pretty solid now.. When I rented a JL a couple years ago it had the turbo I4. I really liked it. It had way more power than my old 4.0 did. It felt more like a small diesel than a gas engine. The JL rode much better and way quieter than my old TJ but it's still very clearly a Jeep. If you know how they behave on road there will be nothing surprising about it. Though frankly if you ever drove a solid front axle 4x4 there is nothing about the Jeep that will be way different. It made me miss my TJ and want another Jeep. Maybe in a few years. |
|
Originally Posted By GlockCamper: What is wrong with Jeeps specifically? Is it all jeeps or just the wranglers? The 3.6 pentastar is a long running and well proven engine generally. I should stick with the 3.6. One of my last friends still alive lives in Colorado but he is a 12 hour trip from the Tulsa area. Would really like to get out and see him more. He lost his wife a couple of years ago and then remarried. Problem is that is a 2 day trip one way for me. So it's 4 days just to say hi. I can fly into Alamosa instead. |
Member
Joined:
Apr 2022
Posts:
316
EE: 0% (0)
USA
|
Bought my first Wrangler last year, I bought my wife one first and had enough fun with it I wanted one. I’ve always had trucks for work, and don’t need one anymore. So I got something fun. Mines a V6 h=gasser. No issues so far, other than the dual battery set up being dumb. Research what years to avoid. No experience with the diesel, but with the price of fuel, I’d stick with gas. |
Charlie Kirk lives on in all of us!
|
Originally Posted By Ramcharger_pilot: I'm not going anywhere rougher than a forest service road. I'm not sure about OK, but a Corolla can handle the forest service roads around here in N GA. An awd Rav4 would give you a solid mix of efficiency, reliability, comfort for your commute, and some slightly improved off-road capabilities. Widely available for under $35k. |
|
Originally Posted By TriggerM: Never forget my dad's jeep. The coldest I'd ever been. Heat didn't put out. Soft top. Nope. I once had a traffic ticket in another county and I contested it. I was assigned a court date. Come the day of my traffic court appearance, it was a crisp mid winter day, but the sun was out and the skies were clear. It was beautiful. I didn't bother checking the weather for where I was headed. I got the great idea to take down the top and pull the doors for the 2 hour drive in the TJ to the next county over. By the time I was about a quarter of the way there I had hit a cloud bank and the temperature tanked. I cranked the heat on high but it just got blown right past me. I thought about turning back to get my doors but I would miss my court date. By the time I arrived at the courthouse I was beet red, red eyes, with snot running down my face and frankly looked like I just walked in from a drunken ice fishing trip. My ticket did get thrown out though so it was worth it. |
|
We bought a new '18 Durango when we had all five kids still home. Eight years later with almost no issues whatsoever, we decided to turn back the clock and buy a '26 before they dropped the V6 and redesigned the vehicle. We had 140k on the ticker. We upgraded from the SXT to a GT. Love it. 
|
Grandfathering weapons only puts off until tomorrow what tyranny cannot accomplish today.
The only people made safer by gun control are criminals and tyrants.
The only people made safer by gun control are criminals and tyrants.
| I prefer diesels to gas or electric. Always wanted a jeep, esp close a couple years ago when the last diesels were available at $30k new. But they rarely were available, and a jeep and 5-sp don't make any sense for my current vehicle use. I've had a couple '13-15 MB GLK250s. Yeah, sure, MB maintenance is costly, no doubt, but I live in area w 3 dealers and 2 excellent non-dealer MB specialty mechanic shops (ine of which has a diesel 'specialist' mechanic), so it works. Interiors are very nice, ride is nice, quiet inside. 40 mg hwy, 26 around city/ major metro area. At 6'4", 225, I fit in it fine though nobody is likely to be comfy behind me. I dont have stop 100 feet behind stop line to see traffic light. My 5'3" wife can reach everything and see well from her driving position, too - that's a pretty rare combo in a single car. Small wheelbase, near 400 lb-ft torque, translates to pretty easy to zip around town for the short trips I do. Good manners on hwy, too. They're getting harder to find under 70k miles, but usually sell under 20k all included, I watched all the sites nationwide for years til we bought a 2nd one 2 yrs ago (1st was totalled, running great w/ 135k miles). Not for everybody, for sure, but for my driving and foreseeable situation for next 8 yrs, it's been a surprisingly good choice. Wife visits the Nat'l forest sites (work-related), drives it to all of those that are near eniugh she doesn't have to fly, no issues navigating to any of the facilities on them. |
|
Originally Posted By Wobblin-Goblin: We bought a new '18 Durango when we had all five kids still home. Eight years later with almost no issues whatsoever, we decided to turn back the clock and buy a '26 before they dropped the V6 and redesigned the vehicle. We had 140k on the ticker. We upgraded from the SXT to a GT. Love it. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/3241/2026DurangoDay1-3827291.jpg Had a 2000 R/T Durango years ago and loved it. Didn't think about them. |
|
Originally Posted By SouthernGunHand: Jeep for a DD sucks, and jeeps in general suck. Off road toy, fine. DD, no. I've had 3. 3 Jeeper here as well. They aren’t horrible to daily until you start messing with lifts, bigger tires etc. But you still have the less onroad manners of a solid front axle. I’m driving a Bronco now and it’s so much better. Seats are more comfortable, either engine choice has more power and better mpg than the jeep. And the IFS makes on road driving just like driving any other modern vehicle. It’s like having the best of both worlds. OP is just doing fire roads as most challenging off-roading then even the base model or BigBend will be plenty. |
|
I was really interested in the 'new' Broncos, was set on buying one, disappointed with all the delays, anticipation...then sat in one - too small inside. On new Wranglers, the roll bar is less than an inch from my head in an otherwise comfortable driving position...gave me an uncomfortable sense that I'd be goose-egged every time I hit speed bumps at 80, or jumped curbs, logs, off-roaded in general, which of course is more ideology than likely real-world use for me. Was considering a 396 as a mid life crisis til i sat in it. They sound nice, though. |
Joined:
Dec 2022
Posts:
5047
EE: 0% (0)
MI, USA
A lot of people buy Jeeps, do things cause problems with them, then complain that Jeeps have a lot of problems. They also have a lot of issues related to the fact that the top and doors come off. They're obviously not problem free, and there are some known issues, but overall they get a bad rap. I've had quite a few over the years and no real issues. At least not ones I didn't cause myself.
|
|
I just got a CX-50 Hybrid. Wasn’t on my radar but found out its Toyota Gen 4 Hybrid drivetrain for less than a Rav4 and more available. I have a short office commute but cover a territory of about 150 mile radius. Efficient reliability was top of my list and I quite like the vehicle for my needs. |
| Favorite new to me truck i ever owned was an '02 F250 super duty V10 set up for plowing...I enjoyed everything about that truck. Full size truck makes no sense for my driving needs these days. 70s-80s K5 blazers were always favorites, had several of those through early 2000's. Now they're commonly being built or preserved and command high prices. OP didn't mention a budget or whether he had time / space tools to wrench on a vehicle, other than not wanting to work on current truck's issues, so, another consideration, I suppose. |
|
I still don't understand what is wrong with a jeep for daily driving. I do it everyday. I have never once in my life drove a car and thought about the "ride". Do bumps hurt your butts or something? I do not notice anything different between my wrangler, my wives palisade, my fils f150, my mom suburu. |
| That answers what I've wondered/ imagined for years. Jeeps have very high resale value, but are consistently rated terribly for reliability/ satisfaction. I figured it was likely about folks who like the cool features (top/ doors removable, 'go-anywhere'), but soon tire of the road noise, rattles, squeaks, the on-road ride quality in an off-roading vehicle, big tires generating noise. Or start modifying and don't anticipate that changing ride height, weight/ distribution, enormous wheels and tires is likely to require ongoing maintenance, reduce gas mileage, be expensive beyond initial cost of parts, and impact practical daily driving. They're not Priuses. |
|
Originally Posted By GlocksareGood: Hmmm. Combine a shitty jeep with a diesel engine. What could go wrong? I would do it OP! |
Originally Posted By CplRick:
The line of credit on the Race Card is maxed out, sorry.
Originally Posted By refurb:
Your life isn't actually longer if you don't drink. It just feels like it is.
The line of credit on the Race Card is maxed out, sorry.
Originally Posted By refurb:
Your life isn't actually longer if you don't drink. It just feels like it is.
|
Originally Posted By GlockCamper: What is wrong with Jeeps specifically? Is it all jeeps or just the wranglers? The 3.6 pentastar is a long running and well proven engine generally. I have seen several late models still eat cams and rocker arms. That engine has always been prone to a number of head issues since inception. It’s good so far as a fiat chrysler engine, but in no way is it a tank. |
|
Originally Posted By Szilagyi-hpg: I have seen several late models still eat cams and rocker arms. That engine has always been prone to a number of head issues since inception. It's good so far as a fiat chrysler engine, but in no way is it a tank. Originally Posted By Szilagyi-hpg: Originally Posted By GlockCamper: What is wrong with Jeeps specifically? Is it all jeeps or just the wranglers? The 3.6 pentastar is a long running and well proven engine generally. I have seen several late models still eat cams and rocker arms. That engine has always been prone to a number of head issues since inception. It's good so far as a fiat chrysler engine, but in no way is it a tank. |
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
|
Originally Posted By SouthernGunHand: Jeep for a DD sucks, and jeeps in general suck. Off road toy, fine. DD, no. I've had 3. I enjoy DDing my manual-transmission Wrangler. They're not for everyone, though. |
A winner never quits, and a quitter never wins. Get comfortable being uncomfortable.
|
Wrangler diesel is a VM Motori A630 DOHC, it's the same EcoDiesel in a number of FCA models. We've done a bunch of threads on Wrangler and EcoDiesel from '20-'23z For a bit I thought I missed out not biting on a FarOut local offered to me. After seeing reports, hearing some experiences first hand and reflection Pentastar was fine. The Hurricane doesn't seem bad either. But long highway drives seem to suit it so you'd be a better candidate than I. We've got a few member who own. Maybe some will check in. Maybe search some of the earlier threads for opinions. Plenty out there on the CP4.2 (more than likely remedied w recall), and some of the other soft spots. JL Wrangler Forum's ExoDiesel subs a good start. Others out there https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/forums/3-0l-6-cyl-turbo-ecodiesel-engine-exhaust.26/ |
Tertium non datur