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Which Wrangler???

P

prljeep

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Toledo, OH
Choices choices:

I went looking at Wranglers today- Which one would you buy and why?

Unlimited- extra room is a bonus- but I can't find a 2005 stick and I hate waiting for them to ship one to the dealer. So can I deal with an automatic? Is that too girlie???

X Model- had a ton of choices with all the options I want- stick, cruise, sound bar, full metal doors, etc. and $2000 less than an unlimited.

Willys (the one that is fashioned after the old army jeeps)- very sweet model- dark green, camo inside, not anymore expensive than the other two models, BUT it looks like they put 13/14 inch tires on it!!!.

Also- do I want the hard top or not??? I have seen the hard tops through JC whitney for like $800, but can I get a soft top with metal hardware somewhere if I buy one with a factory hard top?

TIA-PRL
 
Man, for 2000 clams I'd take the Unlimited and wait however long it takes.

However, although I know it's fake and rather hokey, I kind of like that Willys model, and it includes a lot of stuff standard that's optional on the X. I think I'd go with that.

If you saw hardtops in JC Witless, turn the page -- they also sell soft tops.
 
when i bought my 99 TJ new, it took me 6 months to find the right dealer with the right one on the lot.... do tons of research and decide what you want.. go to the dealer with exactly what you want written on paper.. and order it.... its not a commuter "box", it's going to be YOUR JEEP!!! order it like you want it.. anything else will be "settling for less" ..... i'm diggin the unlimited Rubicon....
buy a hard top model and get a JC Junkey soft top....
 
Are you going to wheel this jeep, or just daily drive it. If it is going to be a wheeled jeep then,WAIT FOR THE SIX SPEEDN RUBICON UNLIMITED. I think these are bad ass. The wheel base over a TJ makes it worth the money no questions asked in my opinion. I wish I had the cash to pick up one of these.If you need a hard top buy a factory one and get a cheap soft top as soon as the aftermarket supplies them. The soft tops tend to get worn very quickly if used off road with the top on.
 
Here is how it kinda works, Two type of doors, full and half, two tops, hard and soft. Usually the soft top comes with half doors though full doors can be ordered. With half doors you need the corner pieces to get the soft top to seal. Best bet and way to make it work correctly is order the hard top, full doors and the soft top, called a dual top option. Then you can pick up a set of 'safari' doors for the summer, the safari doors are open steel frames that you can put a soft cover over. Also, cardinal rule, 'you never ever lock a soft top' and even then scumbags sometimes will slash the soft window before they will check to see if it's unlocked....
Unlimited is the way to go, if you look at the 'features' it comes STANDARD with a LSD rear :D The 'extras' $1800 package only addes a bunch of security and electronics that cost mucho dollars to fix. About the only add on I plan on ordering is A/C.....

The downside of nor ordering a factory soft top is you then have to buy all the hardware cause it only comes with the factory ordered soft top, aftermarket tops don't come with hardware, thats extra.
 
prljeep said:
Willys (the one that is fashioned after the old army jeeps)- very sweet model- dark green, camo inside, not anymore expensive than the other two models, BUT it looks like they put 13/14 inch tires on it!!!.



TIA-PRL
Click to expand...

There is a willys model out?
 
yea, they take a base SE, and give it a $3,000 OD paint job and a couple of $2,000 white stars...oh almost forgot the two $500 "WILLYS" stickers... :D
 
RichP said:
yea, they take a base SE, and give it a $3,000 OD paint job and a couple of $2,000 white stars...oh almost forgot the two $500 "WILLYS" stickers... :D
Click to expand...

Hey! You forgot to mention the camo interior! And my personal favorite- the 13 inch Ford Festiva tires. I think it would be a sweet jeep with the Rubicon package (or at least tires). I did see one without the $2000 white star on the hood. It was about $21k.

It sucks cause I have zero patience- as soon as financing is complete- I WANT the JEEP! No waiting.

All the Wranglers I looked at had the options I wanted- except the 6 speed in the 2004 Unlimiteds. Back to doors- I thought from looking online that all X models came standard with the half doors, but I did not see a single new Jeep in Toledo, OH that had the half doors. They were all full w/ glass.

As this would be a daily driver (I have my MJ to wheel), I am not that concerned about any major offroad options until it reaches a more "mature" age.

Thanks for the discussion on the soft/hard top. I did see a cool after market targa style top (part above the driver/passenger comes off)- anyone have that? Next time I go look- I will keep the dual top package in mind.

PRL
 
Last edited:
RichP said:
yea, they take a base SE, and give it a $3,000 OD paint job and a couple of $2,000 white stars...oh almost forgot the two $500 "WILLYS" stickers... :D
Click to expand...


Anyone have pics of this? Sounds like a cool jeep execpt for the tires.
Your going to be spending a lot of money just to get the jeep, make sure its the one you want.
If later on in older age of the jeep you wheel it, it might have been a good thing to get the wrangler with the 4:1 transfer case and dana 44s with a 4.11:1 gear ratio, simply so you wont have to worry about it later on.
And hey if later on you dont think thats good enough, you could sell those for a preatty penny and put some stronger stuff underneath.
 
Last edited:
iI sell Jeeps in Dallas...

If your going to wheel it and do a lot of custom work to it, buy the cheapest one you can find with a 4.0L.

Then re gear it and lift it etc....

If you want an off-the-lot-crawler buy the Rubby or the unlimited Rubby.

I personally would buy the Unlimited rubby and wheel the shit out of it.

OH....I have a 6 speed Unlimited on the ground here in Dallas TX.

Jerod Smith
800-653-6603
 
Z22_Z33 said:
Anyone have pics of this? Sounds like a cool jeep execpt for the tires.
Click to expand...
http://www.jeep.com/willys/index.html?context='+context+'&type=newscopy
 
prljeep said:
I went looking at Wranglers today- Which one would you buy and why?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't buy one today - I'd hold off for the Unlimited Rubicon. It's closest to what you've got in an XJ, plus some really useful stuff you'd need to add to any of the other models.

As for the question of the top, I'm hoping they have the same dual-top group as with the regular Rubicon - both hard- and soft-tops included. The soft top is fine nine months out of the year here, but I wouldn't want to live with it in the snow.
 
The soft top works fine in the snow, about the most useful 'add on' for the half doors though is the sliding upper windows. One of our TJ's has them the other does not but will around xmas time.... The zipper windows are a PIA when dealing with toll booths and such.
 
I test drove a 6 speed Unlimited the other day and it was surprisingly refined. It actually rode slightly better than my XJ and it was very quiet too. The only complaint I had was that the factory upraded 7 speaker stereo was terrible. I wouldn't normally complain about a factory stereo since thats normally on of the first things to go but on a SWB Jeep the factory stereo is important due to theft concerns on aftermarket stereos. Oh, yeah, 1st gear on the new 6 speed was surprisingly low for stock. The reason I went with an XJ as my DD vs a SWB Jeep is because the Wranglers don't make a very good DD, but with the Unlimited's longer wheelbase and added insulation I could honestly see myself being happy with one as a DD.
 
Danno said:
What was the price for the Unlimited? I lust for one!
Click to expand...

All the ones that I looked at were between $25-27k. I did not see any 2005 MT models, nor do I remember a hard top.

Insulation?? How is the insulation any different from a regular wrangler?
 
As of right now the Dual-Top Option does NOT exist for the Unlimited. I test drove one about 30 miles on Saturday (Impact Orange), and the salesman kept insisting that they could find one that I want.

It turns out after he did some checking that NO dealer in Chicagoland was scheduled to get a white Unlimited with a hard top and an auto at least through the first week of December. Now he may have told me that to push what he had on his lot. I also asked the internet sales rep at the dealership we bought the WJ from to run the same inquiry. Same results...coincidence? Or could it be true?

I guess that I have to wait... :smsoap:
 
The dealership that I checked in Toledo had one hard top unlimited and about 7 soft tops- all auto. I am going back there tomorrow to find out exactly what I can expect to pay with the DCX discount.
 
As I am the type of person that will take a month to decide what I want- I went to 3 more dealerships today. A salesman at one said the unlimted should ride better and smoother. Does the longer wheel base make it that much better?

He didn't really have much of a clue about Jeeps (IE he knew nothing of the 05 six speed unlimited).

However, I saw a new package- the Rocky Mountain edition. It came stock with some jazzed up seats (JEEP embroidered in them), Alcoa rims (which I did not know Alcoa made), and the diamond plate strip under the doors like the Rubi's have, and a Rocky Mountain decal on each front fender. I think they were all X models- but without an X on the fenders.
 
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