jeep wrangler reliability question

[Trigger Mike]

my wife found a 2008 jeep wrangler hardtop with 102000 miles on it for 16k .  how reliable are they once they get to that age and miles?  4x4 6 cylinder

[Yul Lose]

My 2008 had transmission and axle problems at about 85,000 and then dual catalytic converters went out at 102,000 I believe it was. I sold it shortly there after. 

[Eyesa Horg]

Be ware of the death wobble in the front end, replacing the steering stabilizer helps. Can probably Google info on that issue. It's really bad when it happens and doesn't stop until the vehicle stops. JMHO

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

I drive a 32+ year old CJ7 that I bought new.

It all depends on how well it was cared for.

I do ALL of my own work/repair/maintenance.

See if the seller has a maintenance log and service receipts. Otherwise, take a pass......

Also-How much wrench'n do YOU do?

OLG

[Chili Ron]

Howdy,

Im just going to go ahead with this weird layout.

Im darn tired of this nonsense on the wire.

Check out Edmunds ratings on the year you are interested in and the two years before.

Chrysler products seem to have weak trans.

Only trans I ever had worked on was a Dodge van.

Then more work had to be done because they put in the wrong part.

NO test drive I guess they were too busy repairing thans.

Best

CR

 H

[Matthew Duncan]

My Mechanic says, Jeeps have a high resell value.  He also said he wouldn't own one because he thinks they are low quality. 

[Henry T Harrison]

That sounds like a lot of money for a 9 year old vehicle with that many miles. I don't have a wrangler but I do have a 2011 Jeep Liberty. It developed an oil leak at 80k miles. It has electric problems with the power door locks to the point I won't get out of the car even to get gas without taking the key with me. The air bag warning light keeps going off and on along with the annoying chime. The estimate to fix that is almost $300. The fuel economy is pitiful

[Bo Dacious]

2007 Wrangler Unlimited. 135000 miles, bought it new and changed only tires and oil. I have been lucky and have avoided the death wobble.

I drive it everywhere but it is like driving a billboard, no aerodynamics, about 15 mpg.

[Utah Bob #35998]

Generally, Wranglers are not well rated although some owners like them.

I would not buy one.

 

[Utah Bob #35998]

I cant imagine the. Blue Book price is anywhere near that high.

 

 

[Loophole LaRue, SASS #51438]

One of our cars has been a Jeep (8 total) since 1984; all Cherokees until 2013, when we bought a Wrangler Unlimited Sahara. 

 

Most of the Cherokees had the straight 6 - an unstoppable power plant, and easy to work on.  The last few we bought with V8s, given our trailering needs.  Never had a significant engine issue, or any other big problem, EXCEPT for transmissions.  Two of the Cherokees blew theirs on the way to the dealer; the last one had to be driven in reverse when the dealer took it around back to swap the plates.  But I had no issues with the other 6, which were flawless.  We put at least 150K on each, some more; full dealer service at recommended intervals, including transmission filter changes.  Oil changes every 12K miles by yours truly.  I always felt well treated by those cars and by the dealers.  Current Jeep has a V-6 - decent power, 19 mpg average on a mix of highway and town driving.  I did not buy it expecting a Prius.

 

So far so good with the 2013 - about 70K miles and she still looks and runs like new.  We keep after the nagging small issues, and get them fixed before they become big ones.  No major repairs yet.

 

If you expect the comfort of a Cadillac or the performance of a Ferrari, don't buy a Jeep.  It's primarily designed for off-road use, but very few people use them for that around here.  It is rugged, and can handle the worst road conditions, snow, mud and pot holes without hesitation.  It can haul a decent load in the rear, and can pull a utility or boat trailer up to around 3500# if properly equipped. 

 

Resale values are VERY high.  I'd second Lumpy's comments; ask to see maintenance records; if there are none, move on to the next ad.

 

LL

 

PS:  A Jeep is like a boat; you don't NEED it - you just WANT it.  In some ways it's like belonging to a secret society - you wave to oncoming Jeep drivers, you add an assortment of toys and goodies all over it, and you meet up in parking lots, compare vehicles and talk about adventures and dreams.  It's a life experience. 

 

And if you believe all that Commie BS in Consumer Reports, then I suppose the practical thing to do is to buy a silver Prius and live a life of safe, cookie cutter conformity.  If, on the other hand, you like to get wild now and then, drive through big puddles, honk at young ladies, and put your top down (and take your doors off) in the summer, grab a Jeep and head for the beach or the mountains or somewhere else that Prius' don't dare to travel.  I guarantee that your lady will love it; my wife LOVES this car, and I already see a new version on the horizon. 

 

LL

 

Blue Book values run around 11K-15K, depending upon model, options and condition.  Exceptional vehicles may bring more.  And Spring prices are typically high in the used Jeep market.

[Trigger Mike]

i checked kelly blue book they say the price is around what they are asking.  they were lacking on substantial revues though.  The salesman sold me a new chevy truck a while back so he called me out of the blue to sell me this one and even brought it to the house without me knowing he was coming to convince us.  that sent a red flag to me as he kept saying that they would sell it by the next afternoon and yet the next afternoon he brought it to my house.  my wife drove it and wanted it but my warning voice said no.  so i thanked him for bringing it but said i'd let the car go on by.  he seemed disappointed.  he'll get over it.  

[Chili Ron]

Howdy,

Check out a similar Honda Pilot.

I have two friends who love theirs.

Local dealer sold his dealership and the last thing he did

was buy a Pilot for himself.

Best

CR

 

[Badlands Bob #61228]

Jeep Wranglers are popular with the RV crowd because they are easy to tow 4 wheels down behind those big Class A busses.  If I was going to get one, I would certainly see if I could find one with low mileage that was not owned by a teenager.

[ShadowCatcher]

My 1999 Wrangler Sahara is running strong at 260K miles - now in my sons capable hands.  The straight 6 is the bomb.  Bought a new 2015 Wrangler and love it even more.  Agile as a cat on ice, love the improved ride.  My wife will never allow us to not have a Wrangler, she loved our Mercedes SL, likes our Ram 2500, and agrees we need a BMW 4 series.  But we have to keep the Wrangler for her.   Never argue with SWMBO!

 

SC

 

ps. - they have weaknesses - so does any vehicle invented by man.  But they also have a fan base that will take you to the end of the world and back, they're quirky, they're fun, and they're good enough to get you into trouble, and home again.

 

[Linn Keller, SASS 27332, BOLD 103]

Bought mine new 3 years ago.

Just now had the first repair issue.

Turn signal bulbs.

That's been it.

The wife's is a year older.

She's had even less trouble.

The WORST mileage I got was during heavy snow running 4 wheel drive to work and back, and that was 15.5, generally (routinely) get 20 to 21.5 MPG.

Mine's a 2014 model and couldn't be happier.

Actually I could, if the dealership provided a lifetime supply of chock'lit chip cookies.

[Chili Ron]

Howdy,

I have remembered askin a similar question of a local mechanic.

HE said that there are two kinds of jeeps.

One kind runs and runs, hardly ever breaks down.

The other one falls apart at almost any chance.

Good luck on finding the first.

Best

CR

 

[MAYOBARD SASS #13025L]

Almost all of the friends I have known that had a Jeep hated owning one.  They told me they were unreliable and always need to have something fixed.  The only exception that any of my friends owned was a 1942 Ford Jeep that a bunch of us did a ground up restoration.  My friend loves that one.  But, he is constantly tinkering and adjusting stuff.

[JudgeBagodonuts]

Every current and past Cherokee owner I've known who had the 8 cylinder engine had transmission problems. Those who had the 6 had no problems whatsoever. Friends who had Wranglers and took them off road lauded over how great they were. The owners who only drove on paved roads complained about how loud they were. My own experience with Jeeps ends with the Wagoneers, which were ridiculously bullet proof, except for the rear window tracks rusting away...

[Trigger Mike]

GUESS WHAT!  yesterday he came by the house and would not entertain counter offers citing it was too good a car to use kelly blue book or any other book when i started to mention what kelly says it is worth.  He  left and called me back when i said go ask your boss for his best price and he said out the door was 17,600 after taxes.  i said no so he countered again yesterday with 17000 out the door.  today he texted me that today's price is 14,800 out the door after taxes etc.  i figure by tomorrow it might be even less.  the first time he told me about it he said it would not stay on their lot for a full day.  that was Wednesday afternoon.  

[Eyesa Horg]

10 minutes ago, Trigger Mike said:

GUESS WHAT!  yesterday he came by the house and would not entertain counter offers citing it was too good a car to use kelly blue book or any other book when i started to mention what kelly says it is worth.  He  left and called me back when i said go ask your boss for his best price and he said out the door was 17,600 after taxes.  i said no so he countered again yesterday with 17000 out the door.  today he texted me that today's price is 14,800 out the door after taxes etc.  i figure by tomorrow it might be even less.  the first time he told me about it he said it would not stay on their lot for a full day.  that was Wednesday afternoon.  

Just amazing isn't it!

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

Why is this salesman pushing so hard to dump the Jeep? 

YOU are be'n feed BS buy a used car salesman. You keep ask'n for another help'n.......

The Jeep's VIN# will tell you what it had, when it left the factory. Get that VIN and start a GOOGLE search.

Go to that stealership and write down the VIN# on this Jeep. Don't trust'em to give you the correct one over the phone!

Do you have a local Jeep club? Go talk to the members, and maybe one of them will go with you for the test drive if you go that far.

Somedangthing just ain't 'rite', about a car salesman just showing up at the door like you say this clown has. 

 

OLG

 

[Sedalia Dave]

2 minutes ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

Why is this salesman pushing so hard to dump the Jeep? 

YOU are be'n feed BS buy a used car salesman. You keep ask'n for another help'n.......

The Jeep's VIN# will tell you what it had, when it left the factory. Get that VIN and start a GOOGLE search.

Go to that stealership and write down the VIN# on this Jeep. Don't trust'em to give you the correct one over the phone!

Do you have a local Jeep club? Go talk to the members, and maybe one of them will go with you for the test drive if you go that far.

Somedangthing just ain't 'rite', about a car salesman just showing up at the door like you say this clown has. 

 

OLG

 

 

+1000

[Eyesa Horg]

Ask to see the RO  (repair order ) for the "Used Car Check" from the Service Dept. from when they took the vehicle in. It will show everything the techs found in need of repair and which ones they actually fixed. You'd be surprised how many may not have been repaired! Safety items usually are, however.

[Dantankerous]

Jeep Wranglers are a crap shoot. I know. I've been a Jeep guy for decades. I love 'em but routinely cuss 'em. I expect to work on them.  I can go on and on about the 2007 to 2011 JK an JKUS. But I won't here. 

 

Death Wobble is real and is easy to diagnose and fix. Generally it is the result of Jeep using too small a track bar mount bolt on the axle side causing wear and usually this has lead to the hole wallering out. Still an easy fix. Google Plan Man Death Wobble on youtube. 

 

Jeeps are a different beast. They suck on long road trips, especially if soft top equipped. But whatever... they ARE a Jeep, not a luxury vehicle. If I did not go to the Colorado Rockies and 4 wheel and camp all the time, I would own something more practical. 

 

Maybe. 

[Charlie Plasters, SASS#60943]

So I have a 2008 Rubicon Unlimited that I bought new. About 99k miles on it. Only real big failure was a front brake line that sheared  while I was 10 miles into the back country and 50 miles from home. Apparently they don't have dual brake fluid reservoirs cause I had no footbrake only emergency brake to get me back. The engine is real puny for highway driving with wind or hills.Also wind noise and the rear hatch/door doesn't seal worth a crap.

[Dantankerous]

Front Dana 30 axles in these Jeeps even though they are called Next Generation are pretty weak. The Dana 44 in the Rubicon models share the same design flaw, axle tube thinness. No, there is no thickness. These axles have been known to bend and break. Sometimes with modified jeeps and sometimes with purely factory stock setups. If you're going to do any amount of modifications to your Jeep such as larger tires and a lift kit and do any real off-roading you should probably start thinking about getting rid of that front Dana 30 axle and replacing it with something much beefier. When my Dana 30 broke I was lucky. I was 3 miles away from home and it broke when I hit a pothole at highway speeds. The jolt knocked my transmission out of gear, jerked the steering wheel out of my hand, and sheared the axle tube in half. Interestingly enough the jeep was still drivable but I had lost all of my gear oil.

 

I replaced it with an aftermarket Teraflex Dana 44 axle and don't believe I'll have any more problems. At least my confidence level is much higher.

 

 

[Trigger Mike]

this salesman will sometimes bring a new car to the house to get me to buy it if i don't come see hi fast enough.  i purposely drag the sales process to not let myself get caught up in the sales pitch but this guy will bring out a new one to me if i don't get on out there to him.  i bought 2 new cars from him a suburban for my wife(which is why he now wants a small car, she needs the suburban but not on runs to town to pick up kids from school or groceries) and a pickup for me.  he was the same way he is just more aggressive on this jeep which does bother me.  he texted me again this morning.  to make it worse my 13 year old daughter revealed she wants her first car to be a jeep.  I'm thinking 4 cylinder lawn mower should be her first car.  i just can't bring myself to negotiate for it.  i enjoy haggling for a car but not this one.  i can't see buying a wrangler for just running to town.  but i live t the top of a hill on a red clay dirt road so if it is raining it will be hard without a 4 wheel drive to get home.  i may drive it myself at road speeds and then decide if he comes down a little more and replaces the foggy headlights and flood lights

[Eyesa Horg]

Check that service record B4 making an offer.

[Allie Mo, SASS No. 25217]

After owning a Grand Cherokee, a Wrangler, and a Liberty; I'm done with Jeeps. If you read car reviews, they aren't high on the list.

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

Do you have a mechanic you trust. Take the Jeep to him, and have him go over it with a fine-tooth-comb.

If the dealer baulks about this-WALK AWAY........

Tell the daughter, she will get a car when she gets a job to help pay expenses.

 

OLG

[Allie Mo, SASS No. 25217]

PS All of my Jeeps were on the bad list before 100,000 miles.

[Trigger Mike]

I'm still going with my gut that says let this deal go on by.  i don't have a mechanic around here i trust to check it out.  the service departments of the dealers in town are sometimes suspect as in the ford dealer was chaining the oil on my old ford one time and left the air filter out.  

[Chili Ron]

Howdy,

Kid ideas on first car will change faster than the weather.

I was darn happy with dads old ford.

27 cars later, Ive had a little bit of most everything.

Old beatup vans are great for running errands, camping and drive miserable.

Sports cars are a blast to drive but have no room and cops suddenly pay attention.

I would love to have my 64 Impala SS convertible back.

Best

CR

ps some girls do like suv.  Not the worst choice.

 

[Rattlesnake Slim]

22 hours ago, Trigger Mike said:

the first time he told me about it he said it would not stay on their lot for a full day.  that was Wednesday afternoon.  

 

He's right, a good Jeep Wrangler seldom stays on the lot 24 hrs. The fact that he still has this one for sale is all you need to know. I sold my 2004 Wrangler with 104,000 miles on it for $10,000. I was the original owner and it was immaculate. Either way it's way too much money.