TommyG

I love my Jeep and would definitely buy another one in a heartbeat. They are one of the greatest vehicles ever. I do understand where you're coming from though and agree with you. I paid $30,000+ for mine and the rusting hinges and screws annoy the sh!t out of me. There is no reason why any vehicle made in the USA or anywhere else for that matter should have problems like leaky roofs, rusted hinges, radios not working, catching fire, etc when they are not even a year old. We all work hard for our money and should expect to get what we pay for, "Jeep Thing" or not. I bitch to my dealer and use the warranty that comes with my Jeep for things like that. When all is said and done though, the dealer fixes the little annoying problems. What it all comes down to though, every single time I get into my Jeep, see another Jeep on the road, talk about Jeeps or am asked a bout my Jeep, I get a feeling that is undescribable. I think thats what "its a Jeep thing, you wouldn't understand" is all about.

davidwm71

I didn't read all the responses but, if it wasn't said earlier.... Alot of JK owners that are on these forums really put there JK through the test. In general I would say most people probably have no real problems.

Ge99ne

Jeeps aren't practical. On the other hand your GC is supposed to be one of the buggiest suv's out there. So you may get lucky again & get one like mine that really hasn't had any issues worth mentioning.

As some have pointed out, people gripe when something goes wrong. That's probably putting it too kindly. People gripe.
Some if not many of the problems are owner induced. Jeeps are made to be taken apart. That drives the level of finish in some areas, it allows for damage to roof panels. It puts the hinges outside of the body, where they will be rained on and salted too if you live in the right area. The sheet metal is thinner than it used to be.

At the minimum buy a used jk. They are out there. You don't have to take the depreciation hit like us early adopters. I figured mine would be sold to the junk yard by the time I was done with it, so I didn't mind paying full price as soon as they showed up on the lots back in 2006.

FlameRed

My last vehicle was a 2001 Grand Cherokee and I loved it. Loved the heated leather seats, the nice steiro, the smooth quite ride, the V8 engine, the speed.

When I decided to finally live my dream and buy the Wrangler. I love it so much more than I thought was possible for the exact different reasons. I love how cold and wind blow it is with the doors off, I love the bumpy ride, I love how absolutely fun it is.

So different kinds of cars but definatly made the right choice moving towards the Wrangler.

By the way, when I sold the Grand Cherokee at 138,000 miles the rear end and the transmission were both going out, and from what I hear that is a pretty common occurance with the GC. Have fun with that when it starts happening to you!

Family-JK

Most complaints are due to wanting perfection or just being anel. I'll admit I'm one for wanting my ride working good with out much hassle or cost. Every vehicle has it's down falls and usually when your wheeling outside of your limit you might cause some damage. I have had a CJ-7 and now my 2007 4 door JK. Although the power in the engine is a little on the lacking side, I am very happy and would do it again in a heart beat. Just my opinion.

BigJeschke

DO IT!!I bought my JK used with 43k on it. I just noticed that the diff's are looking a little wet around the covers at 51k. I can't wait to open em' both up and reseal them. I could let little stuff like this get me down, but this is half the fun of owning a jeep in my opinion. FWIW, I have no other problems with the jeep other than the lack of altitude

BLACKSTONE

I've heard of a lot more problems with Grand Cherokees than JK's but that is just me. I wheel the hell out of my daily driver 07 JK and I have never had to take it in for service and have not had any issues. I also have lots of aftermarket crap on it too. I also drove it to and from Colorado only stopping for gas. Then wheeled it all week in Colorado. Put over 3,000 miles on it in a week. NO over heating, no leaks, I've never had any ESP issues even putting aftermarket sway bar systems including the Currie Anti rock. I also wheel it at our local ORV park. Superlift in Hot Springs.
With Jeeps the key words that come to mind are common sense. A lot of people, especially new people hop in and think they are in a freaking army tank. Well, a Jeep is far from it. On top of that they see the commercials with stock Jeeps including Cherokees sitting on top of Mountains and all of the other BS advertising, but they leave out the part about how this can and will break things. Another reason why there is probably over 100 companies that make aftermarket upgrade parts for Jeeps. Its kind of like the commercials with bone stock Subaru's racing through the trails and mud.
Its like another poster said, wheeling or offroading or whatever you want to call it is an expensive hobby. The more experience you have, the better skilled driver you will be and the less stuff you are going to break. But in order to gain that experience and driving skill, you will break stuff.
I think a lot of people are content with blaming a vehicle when it breaks rather than themselves for the decisions they make.
If I were you, I would get one. It won't be any worse than a GC. Especially if you are keeping it on the pavement.

bluerubicon08

Dude! You have GOTS to get you one. Nothing is more fun to drive, especially with the top down and doors off!!

Kodiak864

WOW! I love it! I'm currently not a JK owner, but by '01 XJ will have a new brother in May or June of 2010, wish I hadn't got the bug this early, the wait is killing me.

I read all the complaints on this site, and maybe one other.....(don't tell anyone) It's the same thing I heard when I bought my first XJ, either you get a good one, or you don't. I was lucky enough with my '96 XJ that I traded my '04 Ford Lariat for the '01 XJ, But I still love it enough to keep it and buy a JK when the time is right.

You may have problems:
The paint may bubble, but what if you scratch it on a trail?
The door hinges may rust, but who needs doors anyway?
The top may leak, but why are they removable? Leave it off.
It may light on fire, but, nevermid, that would suck.

Bottomline, like most people have said,
Just buy one, or don't. That's easy, right?

Atl JK

You'll like your JK a lot better then the XJ. I liked my XJ at the time, but looking back, it was an inferior vehicle.