Do I get a 2007-2010 or a 2013-14 for a DD? Why are used Jeeps so expensive?
02-26-2014, 09:07 AM
#11
Drove A Jeepster As A Kid
Working the farm is hard work.. as a kid I drove around in my pops old 70's Jeepster/comando.. We worked hard on her adding a few things our self home made stuff really. Old washing machine winch.. mounted a gas can on the side.. you know jeep stuff.. But my first car was a 63 Bug.. So even thou he has a lot of years to think about it.. and if he shows signs of being able to take things apart and put them back together.. then I'd get him a toy.. maybe an old TJ or YJ.. then let him decide if he wants to continue the Jeep wrangler tradition.
02-26-2014, 12:19 PM
#12
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The reason used Wranglers cost so much is because people don't get rid of them; or at least that use to be the case. Guys would rather let them rust in their front yard then sell them. So just the basic supply and demand law take effect. There arent that many used Jeeps for sale so they cost more.
I have learned a very important thing in life, never sell or get rid of a gun, guitar or Jeep Wrangler. You will not be happy until you replace it.
I have learned a very important thing in life, never sell or get rid of a gun, guitar or Jeep Wrangler. You will not be happy until you replace it.
02-26-2014, 02:06 PM
#13
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I agree with rvator. Trade in your current ride for a new JK. It doesn't need all the bells and whistles. Use it as your DD, and in three years the warranty will be up and if you take care of the vehicle for another 2 years, you can give your son a good, proven vehicle that I'm sure he'd be proud to own. And then, after making your son happy, go make yourself happy and buy a new Jeep.
02-26-2014, 05:32 PM
#14
JK Super Freak
My advice, and if the situation was mine... keep your commuter and drive it until the wheels fall off. Keep your current JK, wheel it to death with your son. It only gets more interesting as the Jeep gets older, you care less about the small stuff and minor damage. Teach him how to wheel it.
When the time comes for him, and if he's earned it, and you're willing to pay for it, let him pick out what he wants. It might be a Jeep, it might be a car. If he's into Prius' and Miatas, love him anyway. You probably deserve a brand new Jeep at that point, if that's the case
My dad like to race british cars when I was growing up. I thought it was the coolest thing, until I found out I really actually hated small cars in my mid teens. It was right about that age when I discovered I liked BIG cars, with ridiculous power. That's all I could think about was getting a Camaro or Mustang someday. My first car was decidedly neither of those, but dad did pay for it, so I loved it. I bought a Camaro later on.
When the time comes for him, and if he's earned it, and you're willing to pay for it, let him pick out what he wants. It might be a Jeep, it might be a car. If he's into Prius' and Miatas, love him anyway. You probably deserve a brand new Jeep at that point, if that's the case
My dad like to race british cars when I was growing up. I thought it was the coolest thing, until I found out I really actually hated small cars in my mid teens. It was right about that age when I discovered I liked BIG cars, with ridiculous power. That's all I could think about was getting a Camaro or Mustang someday. My first car was decidedly neither of those, but dad did pay for it, so I loved it. I bought a Camaro later on.
02-27-2014, 04:37 AM
#15
Super Moderator
When I purchased my JKU, I noticed the same things as the OP. I was used to the fact that on most of my previous used car purchases, I could purchase one with low miles and was 1-2 years old and save about $10K when comparing to a new model. When I went shopping for a JK, I found the same laws of depreciation didn't apply. The best I could find after shopping around endlessly was about $2K less than new on a low mileage JK, and up to about $4K less for a high mileage JK.
After I did the financing math, of APR of new vs used and length of loan terms available on new vs used, I found my monthly payment would be higher on a used JK in most cases as well.
The next thing you then need to consider when buying used is the unknown history of the vehicle. Sure it may have low miles, but you have no way of knowing where those miles were driven. Then additionally taking into consideration that the JK is built to be an off road vehicle, you don't know if or where that JK might have been driven off road. Was it driven off road and took on water and that's why the original owner sold it? So now you're the one possibly taking on the responsibilities of having to deal with a vehicle with potential engine, electrical, and interior mold/stink problems? Was the vehicle a borderline lemon and there's something that's just not right and may have to be fixed on a regular basis or needs major work to repair?
From there, you now start considering the factory warranty angle to make sure you're covered in those cases and find out a lot of the new warranties get lost when you're the 2nd or 3rd owner of the vehicle. As an example, my JKU has a lifetime power train warranty. If I sold my JKU, that warranty no longer applies to the next owner. Will the factory warranty apply if they find the failures are due to water damage from the previous owner? Most likely not.
When I added all those things up, the answer was obvious for me. I won't be buying used and I ended up shopping for the best price I could find on a new JKU.
So, based upon all those things and if I were you, I would recommend the same to buy new.
Additionally, what I found out is the best time to buy new starts at the end of July through the beginning of October. The reason being is that the new model year JKs start hitting the lots around the end of September and dealers are willing to negotiate more on price to start clearing out their current model year inventory. No one wants to buy a 2014 when there's a 2015 on the same lot for equal the price.
If your primary objective in buying the JK is reducing the costs and monthly payment, then I would recommend the following.
Getting the best price on a new JK tips guide:
1. Buy the bottom of the line base grade JK, X or Sport package. These are still great JKs and can be moded just the same for off road use.
2. Buy new, and shop around for the lowest APR and longest term you can find. This is easily done using the internet in finding banks/credit unions offering the lowest APRs.
3. Start shopping for you JK near the end of July.
4. Get pre-approved from that bank with the lowest APR you found for an estimated amount of financing you will need before you go to a dealer. If you're able to find a JK for less than your pre-approved amont, then that's less money you will need to finance.
5. NEVER use the dealer's financing, it will always be higher (ie they're making money through a bank when offering you this financing option and going to a bank directly cuts out that middle man.) They'll try to sell you on, since they do so much financing through their particular bank, they can get you the best deal on financing available. Don't believe that....it's B.S., they're building something into that financing to make it seem attractive where you'll find out about what they built into later.
Tips on getting the lowest price possible from the dealer sales person.
1. Don't tell them up front that you're pre-approved for financing through another bank. They may offer you a lower price on the vehicle based upon taking into consideration that they may be able to make up that money through using their financing.
2. Never tell them any specific must have items. Tell them you're shopping for a "Jeep Wrangler". That's the ONLY specific you need to give them to get on the right path to see what they have to offer you on their lot. Act dumb, like you don't know what comes on a Jeep, and the different packages, make it their job to show you what's on their lot. Say, "I think the Wrangler looks cool" and that's why you're considering purchasing one. Again, continue the dumb act, don't go in and act like you're an expert on Jeeps. That can only work against you in negotiations. This includes the color. When you give them specifics of must have item information, this can only hurt you during price negotiations and only helps the sales person in providing them leverage in the negotiations. It has no benefit to you in price negotiation.
3. Let them know, you're considering waiting until the next model year JK comes out before you decide to buy (remember it's July and October is just around the corner). They want to sell you something today, and something they have on their lot. They don't want to take the chance that you might come back in 2-3 months to buy a next model year from them. You might end up going to another dealer within that time also is what they're thinking. They're trying to figure out, what it's going to take to earn them a pay check this week, not a paycheck in 2-3 months.
4. If you have a Chrysler discount available, it's ok to let them know this. This does not come out of their pocket. This comes out of corporate's pocket and therefore, can be part of the % of the total sales price they end up giving you.
5. Whatever they show you on the lot and you're interested in, you're ALWAYS only mildly interested (even if it is exactly what you want). You are ALWAYS "settling" for what they have on the lot. "It's alright, but I'm not sure it's EXACTLY what I want, What can you do on price?" should be your response if you're interested.
6. Once they give you a price, ALWAYS walk away and say, "I'm going to talk it over with the spouse and get back to you." That may trigger an even lower price offer from them, to keep you from walking out the door.
7. Still walk away, after you've done the above. Go to another dealer (dealer #2) and do some more shopping. Take the VIN# and price you got from the 1st dealer with you. Keep this information in your back pocket. While at dealer #2, do the same as steps 1-6, but remember now you're armed with a Price and a reference VIN# that the other dealer can look up in their system and see what options it has when it gets to the price offer part. They will most likely offer you something similar for the same or lower price, but has a few more options....thus, increasing the value to you. Walk away and say thanks, "I'm going to talk it over with the spouse and get back to you." Again....they may go lower to keep you from walking away. Still walk away with your new price and new Vin# in hand.
8. Call up dealer#1 sales person and here's what you say. "Hey, I really want to buy a Jeep from you, but this other dealer gave me this same or better price on a similar or better Jeep and it has more options which I now decided I really like. Do you have a comparable model with those options for the same price, or can you come down any further on the one you showed me?" Dealer #1 will most likely ask you for the price Dealer #2 offered you and the Vin#. If they don't give you a better price or offer you a better JK at the same price then go back and get the one at dealer #2, but most likely you're going to either get a lower price or a JK with more options at a lower price.
After I did the financing math, of APR of new vs used and length of loan terms available on new vs used, I found my monthly payment would be higher on a used JK in most cases as well.
The next thing you then need to consider when buying used is the unknown history of the vehicle. Sure it may have low miles, but you have no way of knowing where those miles were driven. Then additionally taking into consideration that the JK is built to be an off road vehicle, you don't know if or where that JK might have been driven off road. Was it driven off road and took on water and that's why the original owner sold it? So now you're the one possibly taking on the responsibilities of having to deal with a vehicle with potential engine, electrical, and interior mold/stink problems? Was the vehicle a borderline lemon and there's something that's just not right and may have to be fixed on a regular basis or needs major work to repair?
From there, you now start considering the factory warranty angle to make sure you're covered in those cases and find out a lot of the new warranties get lost when you're the 2nd or 3rd owner of the vehicle. As an example, my JKU has a lifetime power train warranty. If I sold my JKU, that warranty no longer applies to the next owner. Will the factory warranty apply if they find the failures are due to water damage from the previous owner? Most likely not.
When I added all those things up, the answer was obvious for me. I won't be buying used and I ended up shopping for the best price I could find on a new JKU.
So, based upon all those things and if I were you, I would recommend the same to buy new.
Additionally, what I found out is the best time to buy new starts at the end of July through the beginning of October. The reason being is that the new model year JKs start hitting the lots around the end of September and dealers are willing to negotiate more on price to start clearing out their current model year inventory. No one wants to buy a 2014 when there's a 2015 on the same lot for equal the price.
If your primary objective in buying the JK is reducing the costs and monthly payment, then I would recommend the following.
Getting the best price on a new JK tips guide:
1. Buy the bottom of the line base grade JK, X or Sport package. These are still great JKs and can be moded just the same for off road use.
2. Buy new, and shop around for the lowest APR and longest term you can find. This is easily done using the internet in finding banks/credit unions offering the lowest APRs.
3. Start shopping for you JK near the end of July.
4. Get pre-approved from that bank with the lowest APR you found for an estimated amount of financing you will need before you go to a dealer. If you're able to find a JK for less than your pre-approved amont, then that's less money you will need to finance.
5. NEVER use the dealer's financing, it will always be higher (ie they're making money through a bank when offering you this financing option and going to a bank directly cuts out that middle man.) They'll try to sell you on, since they do so much financing through their particular bank, they can get you the best deal on financing available. Don't believe that....it's B.S., they're building something into that financing to make it seem attractive where you'll find out about what they built into later.
Tips on getting the lowest price possible from the dealer sales person.
1. Don't tell them up front that you're pre-approved for financing through another bank. They may offer you a lower price on the vehicle based upon taking into consideration that they may be able to make up that money through using their financing.
2. Never tell them any specific must have items. Tell them you're shopping for a "Jeep Wrangler". That's the ONLY specific you need to give them to get on the right path to see what they have to offer you on their lot. Act dumb, like you don't know what comes on a Jeep, and the different packages, make it their job to show you what's on their lot. Say, "I think the Wrangler looks cool" and that's why you're considering purchasing one. Again, continue the dumb act, don't go in and act like you're an expert on Jeeps. That can only work against you in negotiations. This includes the color. When you give them specifics of must have item information, this can only hurt you during price negotiations and only helps the sales person in providing them leverage in the negotiations. It has no benefit to you in price negotiation.
3. Let them know, you're considering waiting until the next model year JK comes out before you decide to buy (remember it's July and October is just around the corner). They want to sell you something today, and something they have on their lot. They don't want to take the chance that you might come back in 2-3 months to buy a next model year from them. You might end up going to another dealer within that time also is what they're thinking. They're trying to figure out, what it's going to take to earn them a pay check this week, not a paycheck in 2-3 months.
4. If you have a Chrysler discount available, it's ok to let them know this. This does not come out of their pocket. This comes out of corporate's pocket and therefore, can be part of the % of the total sales price they end up giving you.
5. Whatever they show you on the lot and you're interested in, you're ALWAYS only mildly interested (even if it is exactly what you want). You are ALWAYS "settling" for what they have on the lot. "It's alright, but I'm not sure it's EXACTLY what I want, What can you do on price?" should be your response if you're interested.
6. Once they give you a price, ALWAYS walk away and say, "I'm going to talk it over with the spouse and get back to you." That may trigger an even lower price offer from them, to keep you from walking out the door.
7. Still walk away, after you've done the above. Go to another dealer (dealer #2) and do some more shopping. Take the VIN# and price you got from the 1st dealer with you. Keep this information in your back pocket. While at dealer #2, do the same as steps 1-6, but remember now you're armed with a Price and a reference VIN# that the other dealer can look up in their system and see what options it has when it gets to the price offer part. They will most likely offer you something similar for the same or lower price, but has a few more options....thus, increasing the value to you. Walk away and say thanks, "I'm going to talk it over with the spouse and get back to you." Again....they may go lower to keep you from walking away. Still walk away with your new price and new Vin# in hand.
8. Call up dealer#1 sales person and here's what you say. "Hey, I really want to buy a Jeep from you, but this other dealer gave me this same or better price on a similar or better Jeep and it has more options which I now decided I really like. Do you have a comparable model with those options for the same price, or can you come down any further on the one you showed me?" Dealer #1 will most likely ask you for the price Dealer #2 offered you and the Vin#. If they don't give you a better price or offer you a better JK at the same price then go back and get the one at dealer #2, but most likely you're going to either get a lower price or a JK with more options at a lower price.
Last edited by Rednroll; 02-27-2014 at 06:16 AM.
02-27-2014, 06:42 AM
#16
JK Freak
Thread Starter
Thanks for the advice. I didn't know that July was the best time for buying. I notice there is a few overpriced and overbuilt dealer modded 2013s in inventory that still are too much. I bought another car during this time of year when 06 and 07 were on the lot. Believe it or not, another dealer was able to make an 07 cheaper than any other 06. I drove that car few years and had equity in it when I traded it for another van for my wife.
The only options I really want is the 3.73 gears and not the stock 3.21s (to push 35s), hard top and AC. Most anything on the dealer lot has 2 of those 3 I'm noticing.
The only options I really want is the 3.73 gears and not the stock 3.21s (to push 35s), hard top and AC. Most anything on the dealer lot has 2 of those 3 I'm noticing.
02-27-2014, 06:48 AM
#17
Nov and dec are the best months to buy a car iv always heard. Its cold, sometimes wet, and people are not out shopping cor cars. Dealers want to make any sale in a slow period.
Sent from my iPhone while thinking of my Jeep
Sent from my iPhone while thinking of my Jeep
02-28-2014, 06:34 PM
#18
JK Freak
Thread Starter
Test drove a 2014 Sport Auto and Manual today. The Auto had the power windows/locks and some other upgrades, but 3.21 gears and was close to 30K with Rubicon wheels and tires. The 6 speed had nothing but 3.73 gears the 16 inch steel rims and I think the auto was quicker and drove better. I liked the 5 speed auto compared to the 6 speed manual....weird. The auto on the lot is out of my range as I'm not paying 1,700 to update to rubicon wheels and tires. I have a set in my back yard sitting.
There is a dealer on the north side with three 2013 Sport autos on the lot and they are only discounted 750 to 1,100 on each. All are around 26K-27K. What kind of price do you think I could get knocked off them if I went down to negotiate? For a 2013 in 2014 calendar year, I'm thinking they could come down 1,500 or maybe 2K.
There is a dealer on the north side with three 2013 Sport autos on the lot and they are only discounted 750 to 1,100 on each. All are around 26K-27K. What kind of price do you think I could get knocked off them if I went down to negotiate? For a 2013 in 2014 calendar year, I'm thinking they could come down 1,500 or maybe 2K.
02-28-2014, 09:41 PM
#19
JK Newbie
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Shalimar, Fl
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My first car was a Mazda 3 as well and I always said that putting me in a v6 or v8 would probably to a bad idea because I got 3 speeding tickets in the first year of owning it. I was a red ping pong ball in traffic. I drive a 2013 JKU manual and it has slowed me down. A lot.
03-18-2014, 04:12 AM
#20
Super Moderator
Test drove a 2014 Sport Auto and Manual today. The Auto had the power windows/locks and some other upgrades, but 3.21 gears and was close to 30K with Rubicon wheels and tires. The 6 speed had nothing but 3.73 gears the 16 inch steel rims and I think the auto was quicker and drove better. I liked the 5 speed auto compared to the 6 speed manual....weird. The auto on the lot is out of my range as I'm not paying 1,700 to update to rubicon wheels and tires. I have a set in my back yard sitting.
There is a dealer on the north side with three 2013 Sport autos on the lot and they are only discounted 750 to 1,100 on each. All are around 26K-27K. What kind of price do you think I could get knocked off them if I went down to negotiate? For a 2013 in 2014 calendar year, I'm thinking they could come down 1,500 or maybe 2K.
There is a dealer on the north side with three 2013 Sport autos on the lot and they are only discounted 750 to 1,100 on each. All are around 26K-27K. What kind of price do you think I could get knocked off them if I went down to negotiate? For a 2013 in 2014 calendar year, I'm thinking they could come down 1,500 or maybe 2K.
Last edited by Rednroll; 03-18-2014 at 05:18 AM.