Had to drop my daughter off at the mother-in-law's house on Saturday to decorate her tree with her cousins.  My brother-in-law was there and showed me his new Jeep Rubicon Recon two door .  Granite grey with a black and red leather interior and completely loaded.  Very cool I thought of him to get the six speed manual.  I thought it odd to get one of these for a daily driver but to each his own.  It was.....sit down....$49k.

I know these things are the darling of the GD and Jeep owners in general are very passionate about them.  They can go just about anywhere and actually hold their value very well.   He tossed me the keys and I took it for a ride around town.

So here is my question and I mean this with all sincerity.  Are ALL Jeeps assembled by blind, meth addled, left handed monkeys or did I just get a bad one?  HOLY CRAP.  You can stick your fingers in the body gaps.  The doors sound and feel like they were made out of discarded coffee cans.  It has less than 500 miles on it and squeaks and rattles already.  The Alpine stereo is a must have option as I cranked Pantera to hide the noises.  And the ride.  That's why I was wondering about why a Rubicon when the only thing he will be climbing is a speed bump in the parking lot of Whole Foods.  4.10 Dana 44s and off road shocks and springs do not a pleasant commuter make.  Add uncomfortable seats and a gear shift that is like rowing a wooden spoon in pancake batter and this is one piss poor use of 50 grand.  THIS is what Jeep guys get all excited about?  If I drove this for a week, my kidneys would need dialysis.

Again, I bet these things are unstoppable off road.  I get it.  But Fairfield County is not exactly well.....the Rubicon.  But he loves the freaking thing and that's all that matters I guess.

I completely agree with your findings.  I was once infatuated with the concept of getting one however after week of driving one I quickly dismissed it as a viable option.  Wife picked up a Grand Cherokee a couple years back and we had a few QC issues right off the lot we had to have addressed with paint work.  Again not sure if this is normal for Jeep but It shouldn’t of left the factory that way.  Most of the wrangler owners I know have had paint peeling within the first year or two in the door jams.

Owned a Limited Grand Cherokee (ZJ) and got rid of it around 110k miles.
In that time it received, both, a new motor (318ci) and transmission.

I've owned 3 Toyotas since.

I agree for the money things should be better quality,paint being one of them.
But we love our JKUR

ETA
There's nothing else on the market like it so they charge what they want

If you are going to use a Jeep like a Jeep, the Rubicon package is worth it.  My Jeep club does rock crawling type wheeling up in the Berkshires.  To add the axles and transfer case set up the Rubicon comes standard with to a regular Jeep could cost close $10K.  We had a member with a brand new 2018 Rubicon on a trail ride this weekend and he handled all obstacles the bigger built Jeeps did.

ive owned a few jeeps and had no issues.... the rubicon hard rock edition i drove for a week while deciding was flawless. but like with anything mechanical and built by workers, you will always find flaws.  I could go to any car dealership with any of you on here of your choice and koolaid and find stuff wrong with a certain percentage of vehicles.....  car manufacturers are not what they used to be. if you search the GD on here, you will find numerous threads on pretty much every car company sucks and are junk.

I wish jeep still made the commander, they were great. My hummer was awesome with zero problems, but everybody and their mom says they are junk. same with land rover....... all you hear everywhere is they are junk but yet the $70,000 plus "junks" are still selling like hot cakes and holding great used values.....

sounds like he got 1 with some qc issues, but not all are like that......   My new Ram 1500 rebel is by far 1 of the nicest trucks ive ever owned. but keyboard tards will swarm on here saying rams suck and my nissan truck is better LOL...

** my wife has a rental at the moment, its a 2018 toyota highlander limited with less than 600 miles.... thing is worse than her ford escape . shit paint, blown speakers, interior is mismatch.... i know its a rental but had less than 600 miles on it when picked up......  buying a car is like gambling.

I'm in the same club as Jeepinmax.  I bought the very first model Rubicon and at sticker of 27k, but only paid 23k.  With the gears, lockers and 4 to 1 transfercase, it was a no brainer in 2003.  But now paying 50k for a bunch of B'S electronics is a waste of money IMO.  Is it capable, yes.  Do they rattle?  Yes it's a Jeep.  They would sell a lot more of them if they would strip down the Rubicon to what a Jeep is supposed to be.

Jeeps are for peasants.  Conndcj may be a lot of things, but he ain't a classless peasant.  He needs this.....

I couldn’t agree with you more conn.  They are very simple inside, very little trim, the carpeting is meant to be quickly removable, and the doors are meant to be as light as possible.

The stock ride actually feels like a Cadillac compared to a lifted wrangler with larger tires.

But there is nothing else like it on the road, hence the term you will see on bumper stickers or rear tire covers.....”it’s a Jeep thing”.  The Jeep wave is “thing” because you are waving to others who deal with the same issues as you just to have the pleasure of driving with no top and no doors, and if your ballsy enough, no windshield(don’t forget your goggles).

I’m on my 4th wrangler and I think I will always have a wrangler.  
I’m hoping to eventually restore an early 40’s Willy’s.  Now those are bare bones!

ETA: oh and there is almost no depreciation just by driving off the lot with a wrangler.  They hold their value so well, I’ve personally seen used wranglers go for the same price as new.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gceBgHjq_Oo

Jeeps are an acquired taste, especially Wranglers. They score consistently below average in quality and have for many years. Fit and finish is not their forte. Off-road prowess is. You sacrifice on road comfort for this.

Most people need 4WD for peace of mind in the winter. They think going to their ski chalet and driving down a country road in VT constitutes off road driving. For this any 4WD or AWD is more than sufficient.

I have own a bunch of old Garand Wagoneers and little Cherokees. Tried a CJ once and hated the road noise and horrible ride from the short wheelbase. Once AMC died and Chrysler took them over they went further down the poor quality rabbit hole. Now they are a glorified Fiat.

People say, “I had great luck with mine.” Many times when you drill down you find they equate “no problems” with out of pocket expenses. If things are replace under warranty then they don’t call that a problem.

Many domestic vehicles have severe problems with rust. Brakes lines are the first sign of corrosion related failures.

Just because something sells does not make it good. Many people are blindly brand loyal. Harley sells well but there are much better bikes out there. Windows sells but there are much better operating systems available. MTD power equipment sells but brands like Stihl are better.

I am with ConnDCJ. How do you get in some vehicles and on a test drive say to yourself “wow, got to have one”. I guess when you don’t know better.....

Edge....the trick is.....skip the test drive.  It’s unneccessary if you know what you want.  My latest I ordered from the factory how I wanted it, no need to test drive it.

As far as the rust, my advice to anyone that has or wants or has a wrangler, make sure it stays garaged, and make sure you rinse it off including the undercarriage weekly during our salty winters.  I run a hot water spigot through the winter just for this purpose.

Having a garage won't make much difference regarding road salt.

Hot water supply sounds nice, but with my setup the hose has to be unreeled at least 75' to get to the driveway.  Not only would the water be cold it would turn my driveway into a skating rink.  For that matter why should we have to spend anything to get this shit off our cars?  Until 10 years ago (or so), they used a combination of mostly sand.  Cars lasted ***MUCH*** longer

The only reasonable solution is to stop them from using this shit.  I really wish I could sue the state.

I do like Jeeps. Always wanted a WWIi Jeep. My favorite Jeep is a toss up between my ‘79 Cherokee with Quadra-trac or my Early 80s Grand Wagoneer. For my needs a CJ, and now the Wrangler, never did it for me.

My last house I had hot water plumbed to my garden hose. I would rinse my stuff off after each storm. That really makes a huge difference. My brother’s shop also applies Fluid Film. He swears by the stuff. Combine that with a good wash regimen and stuff should last longer.

I hate to agree with group8 but this liquid stuff is tough on cars and the damage to vehicles and infrastructure needs to be addressed. I do not want to go back to that mud they used to spread on the roads but there has to be a less corrosive solution.

Group-wranglers that sit out in the elements rust more(lot of flat areas for water to sit) and get badly damaged by the sun.  Never mind the leaks that occur during torrential rains( funny that I’ve never had a leak with a soft top, but did experience my only leak with my brand new hard top).

The JKs don’t seem to suffer from the rust as bad as previous models though.

The hot water is also helpful for your snowblower as well.   After each use i hose that baby down as well.  When you get to the end of your driveway, make no mistake your throwing that deicing stuff through your machine too.

I’ve been spraying fluid film every year and crossing my fingers.  I’m probably gonna do it again this week.  I was undercarriage washing with a home made wand with a dilution of salt-away once or twice over the winter too

I wasn't thinking of flat areas or sun damage.  Rather I was thinking of suspension, brake lines, fuel lines, etc.

Other than one snow thrower path to get to end of my driveway I do the road end of the driveway first.  Then after doing the rest of the ~150' of driveway of clean snow my snow thrower is completely clean of salt.

THE RAMBO LAMBO!!   that thing does like 140mph... V12 Countach engine in a 4x4 FTW

From the few people that I know that "off road"- you need to add a bunch more $$ to them to make the off roadable

Im on my 3rd one in the last 21 years. In the summer it comes out sometimes and in the winter it is stored. I drive a 2500 Pickup everyday so on weekends I prefer to drive my wifes Touareg, she drives it all week so she likes to take the Jeep, so in the summer its a toss up.

I thing they are like Glocks, not really refined but reliable  They used to be reasonably priced 2 but not anymore,

Built on a Friday or a Monday

Hold out for the Old School Broncos in 2020

Rumoured to have a 7 speed manual as an option

See the price of a nicely equipped pickup lately?

Jeep price ain’t too bad

Yes I have, the difference is my truck makes me money my Jeep cost me money.