chez323

Been tossing the idea around of selling/trading in my 2 door JK 2011 for a 4 door variant.......... my kids are getting to the age it's not as easy to fit them in the back seat and it would be nice to have a little more room. I love my 2 door but have to think about what's best for the family. That said, what should i look for in a 4 door? I like the soft top on mine, easy to remove and the noise level is very low...... hard tops I would assume would be better on noise but not as easy to remove. Mileage/years to avoid? My 2 door is a 2011 sport with just shy of 120k...... not really had any issues other than some heat related and a dag nabbed squeak that I'm trying to track down. Also, a friend expressed interest in my Jeep when I mentioned going to a 4 door Wrangler. Thoughts on how to price it? I paid $13000 (had 91k miles) and replaced the soft top,universal joint, rear brake pads and rotors, undercoated aong with a Rough Country body lift, new shocks and tires (Goodyear Duratrac 33's). Plus it as a touchscreen bluetooth/navigation head unit that was professionally installled. I've looked at KBB and Cargurus along with Craigslist and even Facebook marketplace. Hard to pin down an average price. I know, lots of questions. lol just looking for some input.

resharp001

@rob_engineer just went the other direction, from 4dr to 2dr, and might have a good comparison thoughts for you. @jadmt has had both as well and always has some good commentary from real-life use.

I've had my 4dr for 6.5 years. My kids were never in the jeep a huge amount of time, but enough for me to form the opinion they just aren't great family vehicles to begin with. Even completely ignoring the safety aspect, that rear seat sucks. Combine that with car seats and we can call it functional to the point of barely acceptable in order to justify being able to have a jeep. Also, those rear seat belts are terrible. I always had to use a belt extension to get the seatbelt to lay on their shoulder rather than neck, both with booster seat or with the older kids. IMO, this is due to where the belts mount on the rollbar.

You mention the thought that hard tops are harder to remove. On the contrary, in the right situation, I find them easier to deal with. If you have a garage and a lift, that top is on/off in a few minutes, even your Sunday best. Soft tops are the pain to me.

I'm in the camp of keep the jeep as a toy, and pick up a small commuter car that the family can fit in. Everyone's situation is different, but don't underestimate some older/cheap gems you can find on the road still. My most recent commuter car is a 2001 Infiniti I30 I found on my local NextDoor app. 215k miles, $1500. I put $350 in it to fix the a/c system and that car is a gem. Almost pristine condition and should run for 300k miles! I've bought 2 salvage-titled Fords, a '12 Focus and a '10 Fusion, for my 16yo twins to drive around. I'm in both cars for ~$3500 each, and they were in good shape with ~130k miles on em. Mechanically sound with a couple small dings. That said, I'm pretty savvy when looking around, and capable of a lot of repairs myself should anything pop up, but often the commuter/extra car idea is an overlooked.

rob_engineer

Yes, I went from 4 door to 2 door recently. I had my 4 door for almost 8 years and 108,000 miles. I absolutely loved it. In fact, if it was an automatic trans I would have kept it forever. I had a need to go auto, so therefore opted to go to 2 door. I'm very happy with the 2 door. I can say that with kids the age of your kids, you will absolutely love the 4 door. Mine are grown and out of the house. I see tons of 2011's on some local lots. You should absolutely get a 2012 or newer.

chez323

thanks for the input......... usually I use the Jeep as my toy with just one of the kids or my wife with me. Usually though its just me going to and from work. My wife has been driving my F150 since we sold her Mazda CX-9...... looking to pick up a 3rd car (looking at used Volvo XC90's) as we miss the 3rd row option we had with the Mazda. Never gave it much thought as we always had 3 vehicles and the Jeep was for fun. But with my boy reaching driving age and our oldest (22) has 2 kids that we get alot I have used the Jeep to pick up kids more often. And the car seat is a pain to get in the back seat. Still want the Jeep for fun but need more room.

I do have a garage, no lift but my buddy has one in his......... doesn't look to hard to set up. I find the soft top easy, but in looking for used 4 doors most have hard tops. I guess my thought process was to stay with what i know.

resharp001

I've never owned a 2dr, so can't compare the soft tops, but I do think the 4dr soft top is a bit cumbersome, and when it's down it's so much mass sitting on the tailgate. That said, tops have come a long ways and they are easy to change. If you bought one with a hard top, you could probably sell the top on Craigslist for $1250-$1450 and buy a soft top you liked. That is what the going rate is around my area at least. Seems like the Bestop Trecktop NX Glide was a good idea when they came out. Reviews seemed mixed at first, but maybe something to look at as they appear to alleviate a lot of the issues about a soft top on the 4dr that I find annoying.

rob_engineer

I have a garage. For the entire summer my hard top sits suspended from my garage ceiling. Because it is a spare vehicle for me, I can take the tundra if it's raining. Top stays off from May through September and is replaced with an alien shade to filter the sun. I love this arrangement.

Rednroll

I'll mimic what's already been said. If you have a garage with a lift, I find the hard top is easier to remove. It's unscrew a total of 8 bolts, unplug the rear wiper connection, lift it with the lift and drive out. The only thing I prefer with the soft top, is that it gives me the option to fold down the top on nice sunny days when I get out of work but if I'm totally honest....when I get out of work, I'm often tired and talk myself out even messing with it, since it's too much of a hassle taking out the windows and unfastening the sides. I have a 4 door but I got the dual top option, so I can speak to the different tops with the 4 door. I like the space inside my 4 door, even when no one is riding in the back. I'm often throwing whatever crap I'm buying from the stores in the back seat. I picked up a new fridge last weekend. Put the fridge on top of a hitch basket, secured it with straps to my spare, but all the glass and plastic shelves from inside the frig rode in the back seat and rear seat floor area.

user 729872082

I have had both 2 door and 4 door. We had a 2 door and loved it but it got totaled. We got a 4 door to handle more people but would not consider it a family vehicle for trips etc. just from the comfort POV. We are back to the 2 door because we enjoy it so much more when playing. We have a Grand Cherokee and my RAM 1500 for hauling more people around. The 4 door soft top is a bit of a pain but liked just pulling the front back. We thought about hard tops but prefer the looks of the soft top.

jrichbrew

You probably purchased you vehicle 'bout now, but thought I'd throw in my 2 cents. I bought my 4-Dr in April, mainly for the extra storage space as I do a fair amount of fishing and want to store my gear. But I found that when we are with other couples, they always want to take my Jeep, so it works well when 2 other adults ride along (kids out of the house so that's not an issue). Additionally, did some off-roading at Rausch Creek in PA and took some non-Jeepers along for the ride, they loved it! So for my purposes, I like the 4-doors of the JKU. Also mine is a soft top and the two people I know with hard tops do not take them off, what a waste!

chez323

not even close to buying yet, still trying to figure out a good price to ask for our 2 door and looking for a good 4 door. lol Christmas/New Years is keeping us busy. Probably looking for do it after the first of the year. We have friends with Jeeps one of which is a 4 door and they sometimes bring friends along when we go out on a run. That's how my wife and I got hooked into getting one. We call it dirt roads and dive bars. lol just tool around taking in the sights and then find an out of the way place to grab a bite to eat. Good times.