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There are jeeps in the employee parking lot and two are Rubicons... one has a lot of added equipment.
The owners live for the outdoors... mountain biking and back country all the time.
They really enjoy them so Jeep must be in tune with their market?
For me it is my Samurai that I bought for $1,000 fifteen years ago... use it around the ranch and it really amazes me how capable it is and except for a battery and oil and filters... I have not spent anything on it... can anyone say stop and smell the roses because mine is not going anywhere fast.
Popularity, demand, hype and image. Same as anything else. Look at ford superduty trucks. They sell a TON of them. I bet most don't get used as anything more than a daily driver.
Image will outsell actual need anytime.
I have a "relatively original" 1986 Jeep CJ-7 (the last year before Chrysler took over, changed the styling and named it Wrangler) with just a little over 100k miles on the odometer and I am always flabbergasted at the attention it attracts and the offers it draws. It is not uncommon to receive offers of $12k to $15k dollars for it. I removed the windshield wipers many years ago just to discourage notes and business cards.
It is definitely a FUN VEHICLE and I baby the crap out of it but there's gotta be some type of a "Cult Following" or worse.
they are almost bulletproof (at least they used to be)
their parts are highly coveted even after the vehicle dies
they are the ultimate convertible - i used to remove the top in early spring and replace it in late fall - if it got wet, it got wet.
THIS ^^^
Quote:
Originally Posted by Checkered24
Wranglers are consistently near or at the top of the lists of vehicles with the lowest depreciation year in and year out. This is because the demand for them, even as they age, remains extraordinarily high
So yes, that means it is hard to pick one up cheap. On the flip side, the true cost to own remains low, because you will get your money back out of it when you sell it.
I have also found both of the Wranglers I have owned to be very reliable mechanically. I sold my last a few years back when gas hit $4 a gallon, and with my commute I was paying over $400 a month at the pump!
How many vehicles out there can you look at and know exactly what make/model it is? Jeep Wranglers--you know it right away.
They are very reliable, and very safe vehicles, contrary to popular opinion.
And there is a tiered market for them at all levels:
--lately yuppie type folks have been buying them as cool looking 'grocery getters'. The have insulation inside them to quiet the noise, and all sorts of creature comforts. All of this 'stuff' drives up the cost, and puts them into a different cost class of vehicle.
--once these folks take them off lease, or they get a couple years old, the used car buyer/teenager group snaps them up.
--then, when they start to get worn out, the off road/modified group buys the bones and goes to work.
--and finally, when there is nothing left but parts, there is huge demand amongst the modified crowd for original parts and pieces.
It's a Jeep thing. You have to understand it to understand it. The look. The wave. The relatively few of them which are around. The statement they make. It all creates demand, and higher prices.
My original wrangler cost me abut $15,000. I shudder when I see them in the mid thirties. But my Nitro is getting worn out, and nothing has a cooler look than a Wrangler, so even at these prices, count me in.
Wranglers are so expensive because people want them for off-roading and going to the beach. I live in Florida, and people love there Wranglers. Trying to find a used one is next to impossible for a decent price.
Status. Culture. People pay to say "It's a Jeep thing, you wouldn't understand"
I do, however, understand that there are vehicles of the same capabilities or better with a much smoother and safer ride for far less $.
Status. Culture. People pay to say "It's a Jeep thing, you wouldn't understand"
I do, however, understand that there are vehicles of the same capabilities or better with a much smoother and safer ride for far less $.
Care to name one of these more capable less $ vehicles that could drive the Black Bear switchbacks in the thread about scary roads?
Location: The Circle City. Sometimes NE of Bagdad.
24,451 posts, read 25,987,852 times
Reputation: 59813
Quote:
Originally Posted by PokerMunkee
I'd love myself a Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon. But $40k fully loaded, which doesn't even mean a power seat? Just ridiculous. Wonder how much margin is in that price, surely can't cost as much as other $40K premium cars. They can't even make them fast enough at the factory, the demand is crazy.
Drove my dad's '97 Sport 5 speed back in high school a lot. There is nothing more fun than driving a Wrangler with the top and doors off on a summer night. Not a car I want to drive on my 50 mile round trip commute, too rough and loud.
I only wish mine was a good as a Toyota. Mine has an under powered injected 350 / Auto with posi front and back, and I'm sure a Toyota gets better than 20 mpg.
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