notsoricer

Hey guys! this is my first post here and I'm loving the forum! i look forward to joining the wrangler family, i already had a few Cherokees. i plan on buying a '12 Unlimited Sport on Monday hopefully. just a few ?'s.. I am choosing between 2: both have the S package and are 6mt. one has soft top, side air bags and some other features with 3.21 while the other has has hard top with soft delete, no side airbags, but has 3.73's. I want the bags because i hope to have this car when i have children but i really want the 3.73 for when i put 35's and 4' lift along with towing a boat. Which one would you get? how hard/expensive is it to swap gears? will the 3.73 be adequate for the things i need it for?
also, i signed up for tread lightly less than a month ago, is there any way to have them activate my code early? i tried to call but the girl (Tracy) was out of the office.

deal: with bags, 3.21, soft
msrp: 30055
deal after TR: 28,793
incentive: -1K for competitive lease
total: 27,793

i hope to get another 1% due to the fact that there are 5 dealerships within 15 miles. then they have to roll in some negative equity from my current lease which I'm going to suck up because than money would have been in repairs anyway.

anyway, thanks for any input you have and opinions. again, i really look forward to getting into the Jeep community.

briaros6

While I was waiting for some work to be done on mine I test drove a '12 with a Sport S package and 3.73 gears and seemed to have quite a bit of power so I can only imagine with 3.21 gears. In saying that I'd definitely go with the 3.73 gears, but see if it also has a LSD rear because then I'd definitely go that route.

notsoricer

unfortunately there's no lsd. I haven't driven the 3.73 but the 3.21 really wasn't much faster than the 3.8's until 2k rpm. ill drive the 3.73 on monday and see how much more giddy up it has. i'm also going to try to negotiate a remote start. can they do that on 6mt at the dealership? ill install the tow package which is fairly simple.

f2fast4u

Hard top for sure (you can always put on a soft top later) and 3.73 gears as you will soon want to ditch the 3.21's.

Do a search for tread lightly, join them, then get a good discount.

notsoricer

i just noticed something funny.. all the cars say "soft top delete" but when i was at the dealership by be, all the hardtops had a soft top boxed in the trunk. anyway, ill prob go with the 3.73's. whats the cost and difficulty if i decide to move up to 4.10's in the future? and how much is it to install a LSD? my jeep is mostly going to be used for DD plus flat terrain off roading and beach access. hill climbing will be probably 1-3 times a year if that.

u2ecila

If you get the side air bags, the side impact rating goes up a notch. That was non-negotiable for me. Find one with the specs you want.

u2ecila

Actually, if u want 4.1s and LSD, why don't you just get a Rubicon?

notsoricer

im lucky that there are 2 dealerships out of the 5 that actually have 6mt's and more than 10 total in their inventory. I might have to order one, do you think they will keep the deal the same if its an order? also, if i want to tow should i get the max tow (automatically has 3.73's) or regular tow package with the tow dampers? what is the difference? i plan on swapping the suspension next spring either way so should i just go with max tow? ive sold cars, bough 6 cars in 5 years, and thought ive seen all the work involved in picking out a car but damn these jeeps have the most options out there! i guess thats why theres such a bond between the owner/jeep.

briaros6

In my years of owning vehicles if there's one thing I've learned it's get what you want right from the get go rather than wish you did afterwards like the 3.73 gears or the LSD rear or side curtain air bags, etc... It's worth it in the end and you'll be happier over time with the purchase. Looking at the spec sheets for the new 2012's the max tow package is the regular package but with the 3.73 gears, so yes go with the max package. Having the LSD rear end is going to help out in keeping you from having to shell out for lockers right out of the box so think of it that way. With my limited knowledge remote start is only available on automatics because the vehicle does not start in gear whereas a manual does, however with technology the way it is I'm not sure.

Candlemuse

Very good answer.