CJ & YJ owners Would you buy a JK?

Gilaguy23

YJ Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 12, 2021
Messages
972
Location
Q town New Mexico
Nothing but curiosity here. Wife always asks me if somebody handed my a 100K and I had to use it to buy a new vehicle what would I get. To that I respond I really dont know. I gotta say reading thru the forum years there is no doubt IMO the newer the more problem/failure prone they have become. CJ & YJ looks to be mostly restoration questions, The TJ crowd is mods,mods and some electrical and beyond that it seems to be 90% vehicle manufacture problems. Im not on the team of DC or FC building anything of stellar quality but they do make some cools stuff. So would ya spend $60K ++ for a decked out Jeep product?
 
When I was first looking for a Jeep I was looking at the JK 4 doors. I didn't think looking for a 5 to 7 year old vehicle would cost that much, but boy o boy was I wrong. I couldn't fit one anywhere in my tight budget that I have and I for damn sure wanted to take it off-roading. After researching the costs for potential upgrades, I just thought it was silly to dump that much and then take it off-road. About every one I looked at was $25,000+ and was barely equipped with anything.

Covid hit. I was bored looking for movies to watch with the lady. She never really saw any of the Jurassic Parks, so we watched the original OG. About 10 to 15 minutes in.. I said out loud... babe....she's the one.
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I now no longer would consider a JK, even if I had the money.
 
I'd maybe spend that on a Gladiator, but would be a bit scared of the potential electrical issues. I would also consider a JL Wrangler, same deal on the electrical though. I would not spend any money on a JK. Nothing about the JK line ever appealed to me at all. They have a lazy 5 speed auto, sloppy 6 speed manual, the V6 is decent but not all that powerful, they really need gearing to move. Granted that is a problem in the JL/Gladiator too. Overall I just felt the JK was a very boring option personally and not worth the money everyone wanted for them. They exploded Jeep's sales, so no doubt they were a success, but I personally did not see the appeal. The V6 also has plenty of cylinder head problems and those don't seem to have been solved even by 2018.

I really like the JL/Gladiator platform but wish to see better reliability. That is why I drive a Nissan and not a Gladiator, and why I'm building my YJ to have some of the modern type of things I wish for in a Gladiator.

If I lucked out and landed 100K I would probably get a Gladiator or a Bronco and hope for the best.
 
Spent 42 on a Gladiator for my wife and we are really happy with it. Took her off road and she performed great and kept up with the jeeps that had lifts and 35's. We were bone stock. Some obstacles our longer wheelbase made things a breeze, others made us clench in anticipation the bed would drag but that didn't happen. After that trip we hauled a skid steer 3hrs going 65 with no problem and decent fuel mileage. I was really impressed

After that trip we were hooked and threw a 2" lift + 1.5 leveling kit and 37's
She turns heads like crazy lol.

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Spent 42 on a Gladiator for my wife and we are really happy with it. Took her off road and she performed great and kept up with the jeeps that had lifts and 35's. We were bone stock. Some obstacles our longer wheelbase made things a breeze, others made us clench in anticipation the bed would drag but that didn't happen. After that trip we hauled a skid steer 3hrs going 65 with no problem and decent fuel mileage. I was really impressed

After that trip we were hooked and threw a 2" lift + 1.5 leveling kit and 37's
She turns heads like crazy lol.

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I love the gladiators. They are certainly capable and the aftermarket is already insane even just 3 years later. I'd love to get one but the price is just too high for me. It doesn't help that I insist on the expensive packages like the LEDs, and won't really budge on the manual transmission. They barely build the manuals with the packages at all, let alone me coughing up the money to actually pay for it. And then I'd probably spend 50K in mods knowing me.

Cool truck, looks good. Most that have them really like them.
 
NO! Some family members have JK JL & JT’s, not my cup of tea. They don’t leave the pavement because of the amount of money tied up in true mall crawlers. The bells and whistles take away from the true Jeep fun. The guys of the family envy my junk Jeep, the wives hate it.
 
Gotta say that Gladiator is pretty nice ;) To bad CJ8's are like hens teeth or I grab one up. Be perfect for scouting firewood and pokin around in my neck of the woods.
 
Nothing but curiosity here. Wife always asks me if somebody handed my a 100K and I had to use it to buy a new vehicle what would I get. To that I respond I really dont know. I gotta say reading thru the forum years there is no doubt IMO the newer the more problem/failure prone they have become. CJ & YJ looks to be mostly restoration questions, The TJ crowd is mods,mods and some electrical and beyond that it seems to be 90% vehicle manufacture problems. Im not on the team of DC or FC building anything of stellar quality but they do make some cools stuff. So would ya spend $60K ++ for a decked out Jeep product?
My 95 YJ was my first and I loved it from the beginning, still do. That said when the TJ's came out wasn't really interested, was happy with my YJ. Even though it was joked that YJ stood for "Yuppie Jeep" compared to the CJ's, I thought the TJ's were just too "fancy" for my taste with it's added comfort, of course when compared to a CJ or YJ. Bottom line I preferred my rough and tumble YJ. Then came the JK(U) and JL(U), and while I was intrigued with the upgrades and the possibility of a 4 door + more cargo aspect, I pretty much felt the same as I did with the TJ's. Only until the JT's came out did I become interested in something other than a YJ or XJ, and that was only because I've wanted a Jeep truck for so long. Missed my time with the Comanche, but now I have a Gladiator with my Wrangler. Now talk about comfy and fancy. The Gladiator is a very posh ride fer sure...but there are some whiners on the Gladiator forum, some about how loud the Gladiator is, others about how uncomfortable the seats are, how it's not a very comfortable ride, MPG's, the size of the FOB, problems with this and that. Not all JT owners, but despite all the comforts, tech and upgrades of the JT, when compared to the CJ or YJ, there is always someone who's gonna whine about something.
Well, one they've never owned, driven or appreciated a CJ or YJ if they complain about road/wind/tire noise. And two, when that much tech is involved, the more things that can go wrong. Don't get me wrong, I love my Gladiator, but I'm also aware of how much can go wrong and if one thing goes wrong it tends to cascade and affect the entire vehicle. i.e. the door connectors when removing the doors, if installed wrong may bend the pins which in turn could affect the radio, dome light, power mirror, power door locks etc. My YJ on the other hand, one connector for the floor lights and door buzzer, and easy enough to plug/unplug without damaging.

But to answer your question, yes I did spend a pretty penny (over 50K) on a decked out Jeep product, but it was something I really wanted (JT) and not just because it's a Jeep (TJ, JK, JL).