I have been looking for a two door JK fpr a little while and at the dealship today there was a 2012 flame red two door with 33 miles for $21900. "red tag" sale.

Comes with a soft top only and is a 6 speed. Just courious about it still being at the dealeship. They said they got it recently from auction.
Should I take advantage of the price?
Do I really need a hard top? (Haven't own a Jeep yet)

 

if they just got it from another dealership trying to sale off older stock then ide say get the best price you can and go for it.
I have a 2012 and love it. i have the hard top. not a huge fan of the soft top but its just personally prefrence.

 

If you're in a snow climate, I'd recommend a hard top. Sometimes you can find used hard tops, but they're scarce, and usually just as expensive as ordering one from the factory. Aftermarket isn't cheap, either. The added benefit is that you can get a hardtop with glass windows, a rear defroster and wiper, and the hard top offers additional security against opportunistic theft.

$22k feels like a lukewarm price on a leftover (and auctioned) stripper 2012 2-door. It's now almost 2 model years old since the 2014's are arriving shortly. If it was ever titled, remember, the warranty applies to the "in-service" date, which could have been almost 2 years ago. You need to do your homework on why it's been floating around auctions. Do an AutoCheck or get the Carfax to see where it came from, if it was ever titled, etc. People do very, very unscrupulous things with vehicles. At $22k, that feels very much within striking distance on picking up a new 2013, probably similarly optioned, with full warranty and no question about its origins.

It's also possible it's an ugly duckling of sorts. Base model Jeeps are just a hard sell in some areas, and especially in a slack economy, they would sit on dealer lots. I purchased a Jeep very similar to yours...It was a 2009 base model X with only 900 miles. I found it in January 2011. Everything checked out and it ended up being a great vehicle. Like yours, it had been to auction, story was it was stale inventory from a neighboring dealership.

If this Flame-Red auction rig checks out and you like it, definitely hit them hard on price, especially if it's been chillin on their lot for a while.

 

The heater works amazing. Yes you will be without a rear window defrost but if u point the middle two vents that way and crank up heat it def clears up rear window.
Go for it and I agree. Give em hell on the price.

 

I agree with the other posters. Live with it for a while, if you really want a hardtop you can always find one. If the dealer won't budge enough on the price, let them provide a hardtop as part of the deal. There's always a way...

 

My concern with getting the 12 is like you said that there may be an underling reason why a 12 is still on the lot. Even though it came from the auction it still seems odd that it only has 33 miles on it and its been around this long. She asured me that they would have to tell me if there was a buy back on it and says the carfax is clean(which I will look at).

But buying this appose to a 13 for a couple thousand more I worry that if I do trade it in for another in a few years that I won't get the same amount in trade as a 13 with the same millage. Correct?

 

I'd worry less about residual value and more about the selling price of either the 2012, or the 2013, today.

In general, the Wrangler is more Toyota-esque with regards to resale, so a 1-model year difference probably isn't as significant $$$-wise as you'd think in terms of a future trade. Especially since there were no notable styling or feature changes 2012-2013.

If it were my deal, if I could get the red 2012 at a discount and if I was willing to live with only the soft-top, I'd do it. So long as everything checked out clean.

 

Look around some more. There's a dealer in Georgia selling a brand new 2013 JK 6spd for $19k I found when browsing the other day.

 

Thank you very much everyone for the feed back. The 13's around here are going for about 23500 for the bare bones. This 12 does have the upgraded wheels though which is on reason I think it's a good opion to concider. Gonig down tomorrow to see it again and talk with them about the price.