I went looking at the new Jeeps today. Have to say, overall, they were pretty nice. I found the one on the lot that I have pulled the window sticker from online that had the stuff on it I was looking for. Test drove it. Here's my final question................................................................................
WHY IN THE H@LL DIDNT SOMEONE TALK ME INTO BUYING ONE OF THESE THINGS SOONER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OMG. It is sitting in my drive way. Not only is it an absolutley killer 4x4, drives and handles great, but I accomplished my goal and got into it for $100 a month less than what I was paying for my truck. They even gave me an extra $750 cash down rebate for being former military. When the guy came back with the deal, my wife and I about passed out when we saw the payments. This is really going to help us out. Its a great vehicle that we both love, but it freed up a nice chunk of change each month that we can use to take care of some other things we have on our agenda. Now comes the fun part of fixing it up. As someone else said, Jeeps are like AR15's. There are a million and one ways to fix one up just like you want it.
I loved my Dakota, and I will miss it. It filled a very important need and roll in our life and I will always have a soft spot in my heart for it. As to the one I brought home today....
Its a black 2003 Wrangler Sport. Has all the standard options and option stuff such as the larger tire/wheel group, 4 wheel disc brakes, auto tranny, 3.73 gears, trac lock rear diff, dana 44 rear axle, AC, cd player, premium speaker setup. Basically, this one has everything that a Rubicon does, minus the front Dana 44, air lockers, and the 4:1 t-case. I prefer the LS rear over the locker, and can add an ARB to the front eventually. Next things to go on are a 2 inch susp lift and some 32x11.50 BFG MT's. Oh yes, this will be a NICE companion to my AR's. Bring on the bad weather, let the SHTF, muwahahahahahaha!!!

Never fear, long time off roader. Upgrading to better parts as things break is all part of the fun.
Mine has the 4.0 in it.

No pics yet, as I dont have a digi cam. Going to try and get a friend to take some tomorrow sometime.

NoVa, I wouldnt say the Rubi was overkill, just not quite the right setup for me. The t-case mine has will work better for me, and while I like Goodyear MTR's, I really prefer BFG's. When all is said and done, mine wont be much different than a Rubi, but setup a little more for my area and terrain.

The Rubi wouldnt have saved me any money really. I dont need the 4:1 t-case, since there arent many rocks here in FL to crawl. The standard 2.7:1 will work fine. The 4:10 gear would have been nice, but I got 3:73's which will work fine with the 32's (maybe 33's) I plan on putting on. I got the D44 rear, and I think the D30 up front will be fine. I prefer the trac lock limited slip (which I got) in the rear over the locker of the Rubi. I can add an ARB up front later. There was a $4000 diff in price between mine and the Rubi's, and it just wasnt worth it to me for my uses. The Rubi's are great mind you!



Kar, that is mine exactly.


Zardoz, I am planning on adding a front and rear Trailready bumper. Nice big solid steel.

Everyone that I know that has them has raved about the reliability overall. One of my best friends is a manager for DaimlerChrysler at the parts distribution center in Orlando, which covers the SE US. He said that Jeep parts are one of the lower requested/shipped vehicles. If they arent shipping lots of parts, that means dealers arent having to do a lot of repairs. We had really good luck with out 97 Cherokee we had.

No, I wanted to get in a vehicle that would [b]lower my monthly payments[/b], that would still be able to pull my small utility trailer, and be an effective off-road vehicle.
The Jeep is MORE than capable of pulling my tailer, me, the wife, and my two sons fit in it fine (in fact, my boys LOVE it), and it is saving us [b]$100[/b] a month. That is money that we can put back in order to get my wife into the new Expedition that she wants (and we need for traveling as a family) later this year. That was our #1 primary goal.