Jeep Liberty

soccmom1

Hi I live in Ma. also and it took 8wks. to the day for my Liberty to be delivered. So it might be Ma. It is hard to wait, but worth it. I ordered the Silver with tint windows and the CD,cassette,etc. Thats all the options I wanted and it still took that long.

richardcoulson

LadyLiberty, are you sure the dealer submitted the order right away? Did your dealer have allocation issues that caused DC to not start the build process for yours?
I ordered my Liberty Limited with everything but the engine block heater on November 19. I received it December 17. I would call up DC and ask when the dealer submitted the order and why it has taken so long.

Maybe you should cancel your order and check the inventory of other dealers to see if they have one with the options you want. You can check inventory of other dealers on the Jeep website.

Good luck....

vin_weasel

http://www.jpmagazine.com/

It shows in a tongue-in-cheek way what most of the 4x4 Jeepin crowd thinks of the Liberty. The videos are the best part.

rsholland

hate the Liberty. I think they're wrong, but trying to convince them otherwise is like talking to a brick wall.

Bob

stevek18

Sorry for the delayed response (holidays...)
I also live in MA and ordered from Bill DeLuca, Haverhill. (FYI, it's been a very good dealer experience so far). It took around 8 weeks, but it was built in 6. I don't know if the extra options (ABS, Sun, seatwarmer) took longer (don't think it affected build time by more than a day). Hang in there....!

gypsy116

When you call DC ask them for the date the order was submitted. If it is not when the dealer told you, use that as leverage for getting the best deal(when it comes in). I would suggest calling DC to see what the hold up is. When I ordered my Liberty Limited on Sept. 17th and it arrived on Dec 1st. Now that was a horrible wait. The reason mine took so long is because there was a hold on the sunroofs.
Hopefully you will receive your baby very soon.
--gypsy--

ladyliberty

Hi, Thanks for all the responses. I have called DC and all they could tell me there was a delay for some unknown reason. The order was in the system Nov 12 exactly a week after I ordered. The dealer said there was no allocation problem & DC confirmed that. They said maybe there was a part held up. I only ordered tint glass,tow pkg,heated mirrors and the security grp. I think someone is full of snow! Oh well, I know it will be worth the wait. I just want out of my Camry!!!
I really am starting to dislike the thing. Probably because I am over my lease mileage by about 5000-! Ouch.
Thanks again & I will keep you posted.
Hey I did see a White Limited on Monday and it was sweet. So that made me feel a little better. I seem to need a Liberty fix every once in awhile to remind me it will come eventually!
Happy New Year!

cheryl15

To those with questions about the warranty for cars under order, I just recieved the following e-mail response:

My Question: Is the Home for the Holidays 7 Year/100,000 Powertrain Warranty Special valid if you order a car by 12/31/01?

Their Response:
The 7/100 Limited Powertrain protection has been extended through
March 31, 2002. Please see your dealer for program details.

Thanks for your interest.

cdkelly23

Can someone please explain to me the benefits of this extended warranty from Jeep? Is it a good deal, and should it factor in the decision to buy/lease a Jeep?

What does it cover?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

jeffkiel

From what I understand it is a powertrain warranty (engine, transmission). I think it is a good deal and it did play a role in my decision making process. Having not owned a 4wd before, I don't know of the issues involved. Also, I am not normally a big fan of automatics, so having that extra piece of mind helps a lot.

cheryl15

I used the credit from the special to get an extended warranty for cheaper than what is listed on the Jeep web-site. I saved about $800.00 on the cost of the 7 Year /75,000 mile Better Protection Plan. The web-site list the cost at $1670, and I got the dealer to price it at $820. This was after I settled on a price for the Liberty.

I know some people think that extended warranties are a bad investment. I personally like the peace of mind I get when I have one.

chuckaboom

After waiting 12 weeks for my factory-ordered limited to arrive, I finally set eyes on it Wednesday. It was love at first sight -- but short lived.

I went with the F package, with many features and essential among them was Selec-Trac. After giving the car a quick once-over and going through the drill of signing all the papers I finally set off for work in my new Liberty. I was riding high. But the buzz quickly turned into a hangover when I studied the 4x4 shifter and could not find the full-time 4-wheel drive option.

My salesman goofed and ordered me Command-Trac, which I expressly did not want after having it in my old Cherokee. (I prefer not to shift-on-the-fly while weaving between dry pavement and slushy, snowy lanes.)

Fortunately, I had the paperwork to back up my original order and the features I paid for. The dealer was cool and took back the car, giving me a loaner and offering to re-order.

So be very careful when picking up your brand-spanking new Liberty that you're not blinded by new-car lust. And never assume your dealer correctly ordered all those features you payed for. Check each one against the invoice before signing on any dotted lines and leaving the lot.

chuckaboom

To follow my last post, now that I am involuntarily faced with a second-crack at re-ordering my Liberty I have pondered whether to go with the fancy G package and get the heated leather seats.

While briefly owning and driving my lmtd. F Liberty, I loved the look and feel of the slate gray cloth seats. And I always felt the "utility" should remain in SUV, which it loses with leather upholstery

However, while I've never liked leather seats while wearing shorts in the summer (hot and sweaty), the heated seats are nice for us contact wearers (cutting down on eye-drying vented heat.) And the leather bucket seats do look pretty sharp.

Do any Liberty owners out there have some helpful thoughts on the pros and cons of cloth and leather? Which of the two are more durable and less of a hassle to clean? And as a whitewater kayaker who often has to drive a short spell in wet gear, which of the two will hold up better to water exposure from damp towels and the like?

rsholland

cloth seats. Leather is cold in the winter, hot in the summer, and doesn't hold you in place as well more because it is more slippery than cloth.

I also like heated seats. Unfortunately Jeep doesn't offer a cloth/heated seat combo.

Bob

stevek18

I have to say that the heated seats are awesome if you live in a cold climate. I use them *all* the time. They even have two temperature levels which is a great feature. I splurged on them at the last minute and have been grateful ever since.

I find leather seats are comfortable, and not slippery... "it's like sitting in a baseball glove" as one Liberty reviewer wrote. They are similar in color & contour to my wifes car-seats, which have held up great for 3 years in all kinds of weather and wear & tear. She hated leather before (for the temperature reasons) but practically made me get them on the Liberty after really growing to like them on her car.

I (too) had always liked cloth better, that is, until I spent some time on leather. I haven't found (tan) leather to be uncomfortable with shorts - the seats seem to breathe well. Nor are they cold in the winter, even without the heaters. And the leather seats in the Liberty offer really good lateral support.

At the same time, I'm not sure how the leather holds up to a significant amount of water/moisture (other than some incidental snow & rain which don't seem to do any damage), you should try and get some more input on that.

But I can almost guarantee that if you live in a cold climate, you will come to love the heated seats.

rsholland

leather (in an Explorer), and cloth with 2-level heated seats (in a Forester). I'll take the Forester's seats any day of the week.

Bob

icecreman

If someone wouldn't mind posting what they paid for their Liberty, I would appreciate it. I went to a dealer last night and was stunned to find out that they wouldn't even budge off of MSRP!! I realize this is a hot car, but, MSRP?? I will wait before I buy one... by the way, I tried to offer this dealer $500 or so over invoice and he wouldn't even look at it.

Thanks!!!

cdkelly23

I negotiated a price with a Jeep dealer last week on a Liberty. They came off MSRP by about $800. I still haven't pulled the trigger, but I'm using it as leverage when I visit another Jeep dealer tomorrow.

I'll eventually buy a Liberty, but it will be on my terms.

Stick to your guns. This failure to not budge from MSRP is not a Jeep directive. Go to another Jeep dealer and negotiate a better price. If they want to sell the SUV to you, they will budge.

Remember, YOU -- not the salesperson -- control the sale. Walk if they won't negotiate in good faith. There are other Jeep dealers for you to do business with. Might not be a bad idea to remind your salesperson of this.

icecreman

Thanks for the reply! I am planning on visiting a few other Jeep dealers around the area to see what they say... I am glad to hear that you got them to come down... atleast I know that the Liberty can be had for less than MSRP.

Thanks again....

paulag3

Hi,

Got my Patriot Blue Liberty Sport around Thanksgiving. I am almost at 2000 miles now. So far I love it other than it being a little too thirsty at the pump. I know the sticker predits 16mpg city & 20mpg hwy, but even if I use all cruise on the highway, I haven't gotten near 20. Getting more like 14-16 around town & 17 on the hwy. I know she is still a new car, but I was wondering how others were faring with mileage & if you noticed any spike up at any point in time (like after 2 or 3 or 5 thousand miles)? I'm not doing any radical driving, offroad or towing or anything & I'm pretty smooth about things (no jackrabbit stuff, etc.).

Any feedback much appreciated

Thanks
-Paula

bluejeep42

Greetings All...purchased a Patriot Blue Sport for my wife the second week in December. She's loving it. Thanks to all who post here, much of the positive feedback nudged me toward the Liberty.

As far as cost, I paid $100 over actual invoice ( not MSRP!!!). I contacted 4 dealers, 3 of which
made the offer of pick of the lot or order for $100 over once they saw that I knew what the car was ACTUALLY costing them. Being just before Xmas probably had something to do with it but...the Liberty is not selling THAT well where dealers can demand MSRP.

One or two people here at this site recommended a couple of websites, carbuyingtips.com and fightingchance.com. I ended paying the $26 for a packet of info from fightingchance.com and I can
honestly say, it was the best $26 I ever spent. I saved almost $1500 and not one dealer was
willing to argue once they realized I was ready for them. In fact, the dealer we purchased from in Medford, Ma was actually a very pleasant experience with no BS.

Good luck, icecreman. Let us all know how you make out.

Buddy

cheryl15

I was able to order my Liberty at Invoice. My dealer does Internet sales at invoice price. I priced it out through e-mails with their on-line rep. I only went to the dealer to get my trade-in amount, and then ordered the Liberty. The only surprise was the advertising fee, but I found out that all of their cars have that.

I enjoyed not having to haggle face to face with a Sales person.

jeffkiel

I got my Liberty Ltd, 27G, ABS, Side Air Bags, Roof, and Heated Seats for Inv+$250 (about $1400 below MSRP). I would say you should be at least in this ballpark, if not a little closer/at invoice. When I first talked to the sales drone, he of course quoted MSRP and how well they were selling, but once I got to the sales manager, he quickly worked with me to get a reasonable price.

mad0865

Leather vs Cloth: In my Liberty, have the cloth. It's now winter in the North East part of the country, and let me tell you about the heaters. They are powerful. I put the heat control all the way to hot when 1st starting up, and have to put in it the middle, perhaps over to the cold section 5 minutes into driving. It's that hot.

Had leather in our Mountaineer, hated it in the summer time, cold when starting out in the winter. Tough to clean all year round (7 year old, parents know). Save your money, get the cloth and get some of the other options, like tinted windows and stereo. Enjoy! BTW, 5,500 miles, running awesome. Getting about 20 hwy, 17 city in mileage.

-mad

nebulas

My Liberty is getting the same mileage that you are reporting. I have 3,200 miles on it and started off with a city average of 14.4. On a recent vacation (with a Thule cargo carrier on top) I've managed to get 17 - 18 on highway (when it had 2K miles on it and I averaged 75 mph). My overall average now is 15.2 (practically all city miles) but my chart shows it's climbing slowly as the engine is breaking in. Judging from previous posts we should be getting better mileage when we put in an additional 3 to 5K miles. Keep in mind also that gas mileage drops slightly in the winter. Enjoy your Liberty!

lyngo

Haven't heard of anyone paying MSRP but maybe as it becomes hotter, they will?? I bought mine in August and did it all through the internet till it came time to sign papers and pick it up. Definitely work with the internet sales manager. They will give you the very best deal. I paid $500 above invoice and feel like I was ripped compared to some here.

Have you tried car buying sites like stoneage.com, autobytel, etc?? What you do is put in your request (what you want to buy) and then they'll send you a name/# of a dealer in your area to hook up with. From mine and other's experience, it will be the Fleet Manager/internet guy who is used to dealing with net saavy customers. Very important to not deal with the lot rat...the sales guy that is slithering through the lot looking for victims. Sorry if that's so negative but I've had some awful car buying experiences...this last purchase with the internet was the most painless. I left feeling I got a deal. Enjoy your new Lib....I definitely do...no problems at all!

mf15

As a Grand Cherokee driver for the past six years it is time for the lease on my 1999 to expire. I was at the dealer the other day and checked out the Liberty, also checked out many dealers inventories on the web. What I notice is that just about all of the Liberties come with command track, this is not a full time four-wheel drive transfer case. Why do I care. When driving in the rain I always use full time four-wheel drive on the GC. Here is why. When in the rain and at a stop sign when you have to pull out into traffic either making a left or right turn, the rear wheels will spin creating a dangerous situation even with new tires. So get selec trac if you are ordering a Liberty much safer in my opinion.
Also I notice if you option up a Liberty they can get near the price of a base GC, interesting. I have also been researching the other mini suv's like CRV,escape, nothing compares to a GC, in comfort,refinement,ect, of course the price for a GC is higher. By the way have had minimal problems with both I have owned. Have Fun Mike

cdkelly23

I just submitted my information to autobytel.com, and should be hearing from a dealership on Monday. Can someone please tell me what to expect from this?

Will I be able to save money on a Liberty? Can I haggle with the dealership?

Any help on this would be appreciated.

Thanking you in advance.

jondavid

cdkelly23 - I contacted Autobytel when I was requesting quote pricing. They sent me email contacts with participating dealers. I asked for dealers who would quote for $100 over invoice, and requested that I not be contacted at work, but by email at my home account. I then listed the exact options and base model I was interested. I did all the research first, and knew the actual invoice pricing. This is what I received from the 3 replies:

1. Dealer #1 - I was insulting them and being hostile by not wanting to discuss price via telephone. They then offered to sell me the vehicle I wanted at MSRP plus $500 and extra cost delivery as they were 100 miles away.
2. Dealer #2 -quoted me MSRP, plus $795 for a special brand of paint and fabric protection system, mandatory. Hope they could expect my business!
3. Dealer #3 - said the dealer holdback was too small to sell at invoice. Promised a quote via fax. Never did.

So much for Autobytel. I filled out their survey on how disatisfied I was - never heard a reply from them. Never again will I contact them.

CarMax
I looked at www.carmax.com and found one closest to me that sells new cars (and Jeeps). Called them, described what I wanted. Said they didn't have it out of their 150 in stock (I ordered the limited with off road, tow package, 27G, and heated seats),but would be happy to order it and would fax a quote. 5 minutes later I had the quote, invoice plus 99 doc fee. I ordered it, it was delivered 4 weeks later and I drove to their Atlanta store and picked it up. Very pleasant salesman, no pressure, just an extremely enjoyable experience. I requested a VIN at 3 weeks, they provided it and a ship date as well. I am extremely happy with the buying experience I had at Carmax. I did not know that certain cities sell new cars. If you find one on their lot, they sometimes sell below invoice.

stever

Online Car Buying Comes of Age!

Steve
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meanolddad

Greetings all,

My wife and I spent an evening at a car show here in Omaha, looking at replacements for our Chevy Impala (Great car, love it, just too hard to carry stuff with two kids under 5) when the lease comes up, and found that there were two vehicles, the Liberty and the Rendezvous, that would fit the bill.

Since this is our first look at an SUV, I was wondering whether anyone had compared the Rendezvous and the Liberty and what their reactions were to each. Here is what I know so far...

The RDV will carry seven, while the Liberty will only carry 5 (course, if we need to carry more than 5, there is always our Montana...)

The cargo capacity of the RDV is almost 1/2 the cargo capacity of the Liberty.

The Liberty, comparably equipped to the RDV, is several thousand cheaper.

The RDV is not really adept at off-roading, which we don't do today, but might in the future.

The towing capacity of the Liberty is up to 5K, the RDV is 3500.

So, there we have it. Anyone care to share their opinions comparing the two?

Thanks,

Bruce

bjfrank42

If you live near South Carolina, Stokes-Craven prices all Jeeps, Chryslers, Dodges, and Fords at $49 over invoice.

paulag3

I didn't use Autobytel for my Liberty purchase (though I used it successfully & was satisfied in the past when I bought a Civic). I did get quotes ($100 over invoice plus another $100 to get one from another dealer). Their invoice includes the delivery charge (around $500) & advertising fes (like $450)...so keep that in mind. I didn't pursue this guy much further because I had another non-Autobytel deal with the car on the lot. I used my Autobytel pirce, however as a bargaining chip quite successfully.

Hope that helps

djasonw

Hi folks... I've been lurking lately and haven't been adding too much to the conversation. SORRY.

Someone recently wanted a comparison of the Buick RDV compared to the Liberty. These are two different types of vehicles but I don't think the Liberty would be good for a family your size. Once you put four people in the vehicle the cargo area does't provide that much space for luggage. Personally I would not even look at the Rendev... since it is basically a Pontiac Aztek with a different body. It's still ugly... SORRY. For the money you would spend on a that SUV, there are many others to choose from that would be better.

We had close to 15 inches of snow up by place in the Poconos (NE PA). I left the house at 11 PM for my trip back to Long Island. The roads were not plowed in many places and the Liberty was amazing. One thing that I wished it had was a stability system like the Ford Explorer has. It still felt great driving it, but would have liked that extra dose of protection.

Ironically when I got back to Long Island (3 hrs in that mess), there was NO SNOW

Happy Motoring!

cdkelly23

I talked with a Jeep salesperson on Saturday, and made an offer on a Liberty. He turned it down, but offered me a price he says was "$1 above invoice."

He then showed me a sheet of paper he claimed was the invoice. I was skeptical.

Is this a trick, or could it have been the actual invoice? How can I tell?

Any help on this would be appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

stever

Just go to the main Edmunds.com page and click on "New" and drill down to the Liberty. We have invoice pricing, destination charges, etc. that you can compare with your dealer's numbers. Good luck.

Steve
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cdkelly23

Steve, Thanks for the advice. Glad I found you all.

cdkelly23

I heard this morning that Jeep has recalled the Liberty regarding a problem in the steering column. From what I heard, they caught the problem at the factory level, and are correcting it before shipping to dealers.

Has anyone else heard about this?

jeffkiel

The invoice on Edmunds might not be the current information. Edmunds invoice price on my Limited was $25,740 (whose MSRP matched my sticker) while carsdirect.com showed it at $26,021, which is what the dealer said it was, but their MSRP doesn't match my sticker. I paid $250 over this price.

stever

I guess you are talking about your Limited with various options to get to that price. I'll forward your comments to our data guys to investigate, but they would need to know what those options are (and which MSRP did you pay $250 over?).

If you don't want to post the laundry list here, please email me (stever@edmunds.com). Our data guys strive to be as accurate as possible. Many thanks!

Steve
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SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards

eric102

Carsdirect.com usually adds a few hundred to their invoice to cover the ad fee and some other things. I think there is a button near the invoice price that explains this and details the exact amount.

Eric

stever

That could explain it Eric102 (here's a link). Thanks.

Steve
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ladyliberty

Hi, Has anyone noticed that on the Jeep.com website it now states a $300 cash rebate on eligible vehicles and can be used in addition to other offers? It says to check with dealer for more details. Has anyone heard if the Liberty is one of those eligible?
My Lib is supposed to be shipped out next week on Jan 16th (we'll see) If it is. Could someone from MASS tell me how long theirs took to reach MASS?
Thanks a bunch. Hey I have been so glad to hear how well the Liberty is handling in the snow. We are finally getting a little bit here.
bye

gypsy116

So the time to take delivery is getting close...are you excited? When I found out the the delivery date on my Liberty I was trying to keep myself so busy, just so the days would seem to pass a bit quicker. From the time it was shipped to the time I took delivery was about a week and a half. I also kept track of it but calling DC. When I knew it was in my area I called my dealer to let them know. From there they contacted the railyard and DC to get priority on my Jeep. That part was only a day or two. I would have been waiting much longer if I did not keep track like I did. If I didn't make that call to my dealer they would have not known it was in the railyard and would have sat there until someone got to it. Just make sure you be a pain in the butt and call every couple of days to track you jeep.

jeffkiel

I have a Limited, 27G, Side AirBags, ABS, Roof, Heated Seats. I paid $250 over their invoice, not MSRP. I should have asked to actually SEE the invoice, but I didn't

icecreman

Thanks to all who replied to my request to post what you paid for your Liberty (or what you are negotiating to pay). I am going to check carmax and see if I can strike a deal with them.

Thanks!

I will post with my findings...

nanibelle

I ordered my Liberty in MA and it was in the system on 12/16/01, shipped on 12/21/01 and put on a truck on 01/07/02. I am still waiting for it, but after reading some of these posts, that is pretty common! I am really excited about it and wish they would call and tell me it's here! It's nice to read all the positive feedback from all the Liberty owners our there!

lukeboy

Has any one else noticed an odor when the defroster is turned on? I have noticed it lately
and just wondered if this was normal. It smells
like a damp or wet smell could it be a wet or damp filter in the heater? please help

Thanks lukeboy

psychonaut

Just wondering if anyone has come up with a reasonable explanation to the problem where the Liberty drifts to the right. The 1st one I test drove did it and even after the dealer took it in the bay and aligned it, checked the air pressure it still did it! The one I bought seemed fine but now I notice a slight drift to the right. Is this an Alignment or something more serious?

Thanks for your thoughts.

jeffkiel

I just checked my dealer's website and his new Liberties have a higher MSRP both on the base and eventual price. The base price for a LTD was $22,700 and is now $22,980, with the final MSRP being $27,925 vs $27,615 for the exact equipment on mine (27G, roof, ABS, heated seats, side air bags). My guess is that DC has upped the price and the dealer used the new price on my vehicle, which he probably shouldn't have...