Wavin from TX

B

bear996

Member
Been a lurker here for a while, and watched just about every video I could on YT. Not a Jeep owner yet but we're in the hunt. Should be purchasing November or December so I'm researching everything I can to get ready. We're looking at 2013-2015 JKU Rubicons and I'm a bit torn between buying one with a lift and after market items or just buying one stock and upgrading as I go. My concern is the time it would take to upgrade as I go instead of buying one modded already and being able to wheel some. Buying used I'd make sure the lift and such was done with quality parts as best I could, but that'd be a risk. Kind of rolling the dice as far as good or bad. Eventually we'd replace lifts and such as needed anyway. We won't be doing any crazy wheeling or crawling like you boys do to the west of us, we'll be taking it on trails and it'll be a daily driver. In the years to come I plan on putting at least 37's on it with a solid lift and suspension and start upgrading a bit over time to make the rig Moab worthy, but that's gonna be bit by bit as overtime allows. First obstacle is getting the Jeep intermediate trail ready and getting her paid off. So, glad to be here and enjoyed reading so far, looking forward to learning all I can and checking out the awesome trips ya'll are taking until I can join in on the action later this year.
 
:standing wave: from Houston

... a stock JK is VERY capable offroad right off the showroom floor, ESPECIALLY a Rubicon... just food for thought.
 
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DWiggles said:
:standing wave: from Houston

... a stock JK is VERY capable offroad right off the showroom floor, ESPECIALLY a Rubicon... just food for thought.
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The more I look in to it the more I wanna go this route. Buy as low mileage and as new as I can and slowly build it up over time. I really appreciate it.

And I appreciate all the welcomes.
 
Welcome to WAYALIFE from California [emoji112]
When I was looking I ended up buying new (16 JKUR) as the price difference for that or a few years old with mileage on it wasn't huge I also wheeled mine stock for a time to determine what I felt I needed to make it what I wanted


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I'm new to the forum as well, but I was in your shoes two years ago in trying to decide what to buy for my first jeep! I ended up going with a 2014 JKUR used with 31k miles. Personally, not worth the depreciation of buying a new vehicle, even a jeep despite being one of the best vehicles to hold their value. Off the lot depreciation still sucks. So the guy I bought mine from had never taken it off road... Not even sure he knew how to put it into 4wd lol and the thing was spotless as it was coming out of a lease. So I was confident in the quality despite being used.

I started with a Rubicon so I wouldn't have to do hardly any mods to it off the bat to still be able to wheel it and have fun, and could eventually build it up how I wanted it. I agree with DWiggles, the capability of a stock Rubicon will blow you away. And it's fun to build it exactly to your spec as time and money allow.

Good luck!

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I reckon another option we're having is 2dr or 4dr. Ultimately we'd be happier with a 4 door I think, but we could get so much more Jeep in a 2 door, even buy brand new if we wanted to at the prices. Off road wise for trails and some light rock crawling, from what I've seen in the videos (which it's highly unlikely we'd be doing many trips that require the level of skill and equipment) but it seems like maybe the wheel base of the 4 doors help a lot of times, but the 2 door are still more than capable. With the extra storage space in newer 2 doors I don't think we'd miss much cargo space since it'd likely just be the wife and I on trips, occasionally a kid or 2 (no car seats).

Another question would be the 3.8 vs 3.6 VTT. I've read several complaints on the 3.8 engines spitting oil and failing long before they should, and with the 3.6 having more power and better reviews so far (even though it's still a young engine) I'm thinking 2012 or newer, any thoughts on that?

Sorry for all the questions in this thread, can delete if need be, just trying to get all my ducks in a row before pulling the trigger on something. I know ultimately it's up to us, our finances and personal needs, but with all the experience and knowledge here I'd like some sound input on the mechanics of the vehicles, if one is absolutely better than the other etc. Thanks in advance.
 
bear996 said:
I reckon another option we're having is 2dr or 4dr. Ultimately we'd be happier with a 4 door I think, but we could get so much more Jeep in a 2 door, even buy brand new if we wanted to at the prices. Off road wise for trails and some light rock crawling, from what I've seen in the videos (which it's highly unlikely we'd be doing many trips that require the level of skill and equipment) but it seems like maybe the wheel base of the 4 doors help a lot of times, but the 2 door are still more than capable. With the extra storage space in newer 2 doors I don't think we'd miss much cargo space since it'd likely just be the wife and I on trips, occasionally a kid or 2 (no car seats).

Another question would be the 3.8 vs 3.6 VTT. I've read several complaints on the 3.8 engines spitting oil and failing long before they should, and with the 3.6 having more power and better reviews so far (even though it's still a young engine) I'm thinking 2012 or newer, any thoughts on that?

Sorry for all the questions in this thread, can delete if need be, just trying to get all my ducks in a row before pulling the trigger on something. I know ultimately it's up to us, our finances and personal needs, but with all the experience and knowledge here I'd like some sound input on the mechanics of the vehicles, if one is absolutely better than the other etc. Thanks in advance.
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Do a 4 door. I love my 2 door, don't get me wrong. But I've never heard anybody in a 4 door say they wish they had a 2 door.

Even the convenience of folding down the rear seat in a 4 door as opposed to removing/reinstalling the seat in a 2 door is worth it.

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bear996 said:
I reckon another option we're having is 2dr or 4dr. Ultimately we'd be happier with a 4 door I think, but we could get so much more Jeep in a 2 door, even buy brand new if we wanted to at the prices. Off road wise for trails and some light rock crawling, from what I've seen in the videos (which it's highly unlikely we'd be doing many trips that require the level of skill and equipment) but it seems like maybe the wheel base of the 4 doors help a lot of times, but the 2 door are still more than capable. With the extra storage space in newer 2 doors I don't think we'd miss much cargo space since it'd likely just be the wife and I on trips, occasionally a kid or 2 (no car seats).

Another question would be the 3.8 vs 3.6 VTT. I've read several complaints on the 3.8 engines spitting oil and failing long before they should, and with the 3.6 having more power and better reviews so far (even though it's still a young engine) I'm thinking 2012 or newer, any thoughts on that?

Sorry for all the questions in this thread, can delete if need be, just trying to get all my ducks in a row before pulling the trigger on something. I know ultimately it's up to us, our finances and personal needs, but with all the experience and knowledge here I'd like some sound input on the mechanics of the vehicles, if one is absolutely better than the other etc. Thanks in advance.
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We went through all these questions as well. We decided to get a 4 Dr 3.8l but set enough money aside for mods we wanted and even the potential of an engine replacement. It was a higher mileage jeep, but had a good price on it. It was amazing the difference in price for a 3.8 vs a 3.6. We're really glad we went with the 4 door now that we look back on it.
 
Kyle7R said:
Do a 4 door. I love my 2 door, don't get me wrong. But I've never heard anybody in a 4 door say they wish they had a 2 door.

Even the convenience of folding down the rear seat in a 4 door as opposed to removing/reinstalling the seat in a 2 door is worth it.

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Leaning hard towards a 4 door, 2 door price is nice but yeah a little extra space wouldn't hurt I guess. We backpack quite a bit so loading up would be simpler and easier managed in a 4dr. I drive an Excursion right now, I'm thinking a 2 door may be too much of a shock to drive every day.

WJCO said:
We went through all these questions as well. We decided to get a 4 Dr 3.8l but set enough money aside for mods we wanted and even the potential of an engine replacement. It was a higher mileage jeep, but had a good price on it. It was amazing the difference in price for a 3.8 vs a 3.6. We're really glad we went with the 4 door now that we look back on it.
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There are some older, lower mileage (60,000 or so) 3.8 JKUR's out there that I'd be happy with, and I've discussed with the wife the possibility of an engine swap but I'd be hoping we wouldn't see that problem until at least 150,000+ miles.

What would be a decent cut off for mileage on a used JKUR? We have it set at 60,000, but there are a few nice looking rigs in that 70,000 mile range (those are 3.6's)
 
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bear996 said:
Leaning hard towards a 4 door, 2 door price is nice but yeah a little extra space wouldn't hurt I guess. We backpack quite a bit so loading up would be simpler and easier managed in a 4dr. I drive an Excursion right now, I'm thinking a 2 door may be too much of a shock to drive every day.



There are some older, lower mileage (60,000 or so) 3.8 JKUR's out there that I'd be happy with, and I've discussed with the wife the possibility of an engine swap but I'd be hoping we wouldn't see that problem until at least 150,000+ miles.

What would be a decent cut off for mileage on a used JKUR? We have it set at 60,000, but there are a few nice looking rigs in that 70,000 mile range (those are 3.6's)
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The cutoff to me is circumstantial, 50k on a 2016 is different than 70k on a 2013.

And a well maintained and cared for 60k is different than an abused 30k

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bear996 said:
There are some older, lower mileage (60,000 or so) 3.8 JKUR's out there that I'd be happy with, and I've discussed with the wife the possibility of an engine swap but I'd be hoping we wouldn't see that problem until at least 150,000+ miles.

What would be a decent cut off for mileage on a used JKUR? We have it set at 60,000, but there are a few nice looking rigs in that 70,000 mile range (those are 3.6's)
Click to expand...

We bought ours with 150k on it knowing there was potential of engine issues and are prepared if that were to happen. We've put about 10k on it with no issues so far. We knew it was a gamble but we found one at a decent price and took the risk.
 
WJCO said:
We bought ours with 150k on it knowing there was potential of engine issues and are prepared if that were to happen. We've put about 10k on it with no issues so far. We knew it was a gamble but we found one at a decent price and took the risk.
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We'll keep it under 100,000 per the bank or they jack the finance rate up, under 100,000 keeps our rate around 1.5-2%. Know it's a risk but there are some who have zero complaints on the 3.8's and some that do. I'm thinking a 3.6 with at least under 70k that looks good, doesn't look abused may be right in our wheel house. I'm really going to have to do some homework on what to look at on buying used Jeeps with lift kits. I'm hoping to find a nice reasonably driven mall crawler that's been taken care of but has a good quality lift. May be a unicorn but...just maybe.
 
bear996 said:
We'll keep it under 100,000 per the bank or they jack the finance rate up, under 100,000 keeps our rate around 1.5-2%. Know it's a risk but there are some who have zero complaints on the 3.8's and some that do. I'm thinking a 3.6 with at least under 70k that looks good, doesn't look abused may be right in our wheel house. I'm really going to have to do some homework on what to look at on buying used Jeeps with lift kits. I'm hoping to find a nice reasonably driven mall crawler that's been taken care of but has a good quality lift. May be a unicorn but...just maybe.
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I'd go stock, if at all possible. Buying anything modded is a crap shoot, especially into the somewhat uncertain world of preowned vehicles.

So many half assed kits, shady shops, etc. who knows.

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