Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT-8

blkhemi · December 2005

I figured it was time to make discussion topic specifically about the SRT-8 and let the SRT vs. SS be just that.

Anybody received their SRT-8 yet? Getting mine Friday. Can't wait.

stever · December 2005

And for those who missed the review (I know you didn't Blkhemi):

SRTGR8

Steve, Host

megamike · December 2005

Very Jealous!! But very happy for you. I can just imagine your ear to ear grin waking uo on Friday

Anyway, mine was orderd Dec 8th here in South Fla, and I was under the impression that all vehicles were beginning shipment in mid January. But now I'm thinking I may get mine early January - yay!
Here's a nice pic in Black

megamike · December 2005

Some new JGC SRT-8 pics by WK Jeeps here:
link title

Some good undercarriage shots. Looks like there's plenty of room to work with the exhaust. I might send them out to the side and have just the hitch come out the middle cut-out

blkhemi · December 2005

Right again Steve-O

clarkkent · December 2005

Don't forget a smallish hitch to bring all the Hondas and Acuras you find stuck in the snow, back to town.

But a word of warning. Don't tow them to the Honda dealership, cause their warranties are not worth the cost of your fuel to pull them into town! :lemon:

I never did have the Yen for any Honda auto products anyway!

Had one new Honda in my life and spent more on it in 5 years than I paid for it. Honda covered nothing!

I have had over 15 Jeeps! I spent more on that Honda in 5 years than I have spent on all the Jeeps I've have in the past 30 years! Honest to God's truth!

ON THE OTHER HAND!!!??? I have two Honda Motorcycles and have never had one problem with them in 10 years! Go figure?

Moral of this story----Ride Honda --- Drive Jeep!

socalboy1 · December 2005

I'm very interested in purchasing the new Grand Cherokee SRT8. What are people paying out there? Sticker? Over?

clarkkent · December 2005

FLASH!!!! As a super hero, I get all the news first!

Santa will be driving his new Grand Cherokee SRT-8
This Christmas Eve!

No Present left behind!

Can't you just see all those little kids crying their eyes out if Santa had to drive an Explorer? Not only would he get stuck in the snow, but he wouldn't be able to get up those steep roofs!

For a job like that, only the Jeeps 6.2 Hemi and Qudradrive will save the day!

Merry Christmas. If you Explorer drive are very very lucky (and have a great wife) you may just get a Jeep for Christmas.

megamike · December 2005

blah blah blah

megamike · December 2005

For the most part, if the vehicle is already in the dealers posession, then expect to pay at least $5k over sticker. One dealer down here in South Florida told me to expect a $10k premium. That's the price for not having to wait for it.

If you order it, definitely don't pay more than MSRP. You're looking at probably 3 - 5 months before delivery.

If you find it too frustrationg, I'd go with the Trailblazer SS. More int room, more tow capacity, tougher looking (IMO), and much cheaper. I've heard people are getting from $2k - $5k under MSRP.

clarkkent · December 2005

Mgeamike, Hmmmm, one lump of coal!

ricks62 · December 2005

Anyone have any reliable production number estimates for the SRT8? I can get one at MSRP now, but I figure that if Diamler cranks them out in a significant volume, the price has to drop below MSRP in the not too distant future. It just seems wrong to pay msrp.

megamike · December 2005

Well you can't get the Chrysler 300 SRT-8 for under MSRP (actually I've only seen them at $5k or highr OVER MSRP at dealers), and they've been out for a year.

From what I've understood, the won't make more than 1500 of the Jeep SRT-8 per year.

ricks62 · December 2005

Good to know - I also heard from a couple dealers that the 300 SRT8 is still selling over sticker. So MSRP might be the best deal for the GC. I can also see that even if they ever sold for under msrp, it wouldn't be much (you can see I'm rationalizing here pretty fast). Thanks.

subden · December 2005

I think it is generally true that 300C SRT is still generally going for MSRP or over since there are no discount programs applicable to it or other SRT-8's.

I just ordered a Jeep SRT-8 ($500 deposit) last week from a smallish dealer in Boulder, CO for $1K under MSRP which I think is a decent deal for right now. The Denver dealers I talked to either didn't know much about it or were demanding $5K deposits and well over MSRP.Plus they throw on $400-$500 dealer handling while Boulder dealer was "only'
$200.

I also found the Chrysler dealer in Topeka KS with a loaded 300C SRT asking $3K over MSRP, but my feeling was he would deal "a little".

blkhemi · January 2006

from the Rose Bowl today(GO HORNS). I finally got the chance to open up this thing to see what it can do. Long story short, I still have the WOW factor on my face. There are very few cars(besides Corvette) in this price range that can beat the SRT-8. Maybe none. I got quite a few gawks and stares as I was returning home. One motorist at the fill station asked the dumbest question of '06: THAT THANG GOT A HEMI? I told him he could find out. I guess he was little antsy driving his Mach 1 Mustang, but then decided to stand down after his friend told him that his Stang was no match for the HEMI.

Just crossed over 700 mile mark, and the 6.1L is really loosening up. It's not quite as tight wound as before, which brings more flexibilty into the motor. I'll post more updates

megamike · January 2006

Post some pics!
Unless, of course you're full of fluff

.

Yeah, screw USC - GO UT!!

cuppy1 · January 2006

I just ordered a GC SRT8 from a dealer in central PA for $360. over dealer invoice [37,474]. Sticker price is $40,220.

blkhemi · January 2006

Cuppy, that's one heck of a deal. What color combo did you go with?

cuppy1 · January 2006

Inferno red/medium slate gray

blkhemi · January 2006

YOU"VE GOT MY JEEP!!!!!!! Except I went with the parchment interior. Keep us posted on your new ride.

subden · January 2006

Hey, blkhemi;

how did you get a "parchment" interior? The only one I saw on the dealer order form and elsewhere was the slate grey.

Maybe it was offered when you ordered yours, but not now?

On a related note, the steel blue exterior is now listed as unavailable according to the dealers..

Thanks..

blkhemi · January 2006

I specified that I wanted the JGC's Limited "tan" interior color scheme. I now understand that DC is allowing parchment, slate, and matching interior/exterior color combos for the special order SRT's. I do believe that the steel blue is "unavailable" to the dealers, but I chose to do my own foot work and get my SRT on my own, just like most of my previous Jeeps.

subden · January 2006

Interesting..have to try a couple of dealers to see if I can get a different interior color on a special order. Would like to do the "tan" too..I've already got mine ordered, but could kill the deal easily..

tl767 · January 2006

What is the name and location of that dealer? I'd like to order at that price as well!

chessibay · January 2006

Cuppy1, Since I live in PA, would like to know dealer for your price............ nice deal!

chessibay · January 2006

Cuppy1, Since I live in PA, I would like to know the dealer where you bought your SRT8..... nice deal!

cuppy1 · January 2006

New Holland Dodge,Chrysler,Jeep 501 East Main St. New Holland,PA 17557. 800 772-4411

tl767 · January 2006

Thank you very much, I'll give them a call. Did they give you a time frame for delivery?

sbeck · January 2006

Can 420 HP take me to the front?? After I driving a friends 2006 Porsche Cayenne turbo (450 HP)I have my doubts. What about adding a twin turbo to the new Jeep?

cuppy1 · January 2006

No.

subden · January 2006

well, the road tests I've seen clearly show the Jeep is significantly quicker...but there is the new Turbo S Cayenne available for 2006 which should be quicker than the "standard" turbo, but god knows what the price will be on the Turbo S.

The upcoming Mopar perf upgrade kit should be way more feasible than twin turboing a SRT-8.

blkhemi · January 2006

Since the Jeep has a big-bore motor, putting a turbo on it may not be the best option as it takes a while for turbos to spool up. Supercharging seems more deemable in this particular application. Vortech has a supercharger out now for the 6.1L and it said to take the power up to "around 500-550hp". But I'd be hard-pressed to put more stress on the engine versus waiting for Mopar's performance upgrade that'll give it virtually the same power in a more cost effective and less time consuming package.

My SRT is making in the neighborhood of about 450hp. Cold-air intake and custom Bassani free-flowing/low-restriction exhaust has turned this thing from a drag-racer to a rocket ship.

New 0-60: 4.87 sec
Upgrades and about 1200 miles of driving: 4.56 seconds that I posted this past weekend. My friends, that is fast for a car let alone a 4800 pound SUV. I'm currently am waiting on the Brembo brake upgrade that order. The brakes that are on the SRT are great by all means, but come on guys, you can never have enough, right?

06blksrt8 · January 2006

I just wanted to point out, I work at a Jeep & Chevy dealership, and even with the SS cheaper price, it doesn't even compare with the SRT. I ordered my SRT on Dec. 4th. The nice part is it also shows up as a regular Jeep VIN
# so insurance isn't to ridiculous. The only colors it is available in are black, silver and red. The only interior color available is dark slate gray. The steel blue is supposedly a late availability color. I have no idea when mine is coming but can't wait.

minicoopercat · January 2006

That's very interesting about the insurance. I was considering ordering the SRT-8 until I did an online insurance quote and it was higher than my current car which costs more than the Jeep. I didn't use a VIN though, so maybe it would have been lower in that case. Is that the same with the other SRT models?

blkhemi · January 2006

If you love your M3, then you are going to go absolutely nutz when you get a chance to crack the SRT at full tilt. I have nothing to say short of astonishing for the way the Jeep seamlessly and effortlessly drives. My SRT is probably in the top 5 of all of the performance cars I've ever owned. And to go with that the versatility that it provides, it's a winner.

The BMW, Porsche, and RR Sport are very nice performance SUV's, but the got quite a ways to go to catch the HEMI.:shades:

m3power · January 2006

that is for sure. my friend has the new land rover lh3 and it is so slow very nice inside but so slow.

when we test drove the srt in the rain i was very impressed to say the least and that was in near freezing conditions the wait is killing me. when another dealer gets one in I will try to schedule a road test on a nice day.

I love the m3, the sound, the handling and the engine sound especially when i rev it up to 8,000 and the funny thing is that my wife loves the m3 too .when i'm in the passenger side i often see her grin sometimes when see punches it.

at first my wife did not like the m3 then see got pregnant. then see said we need a car that an infant seat will fit. fortunately for me it did. the next thing was if the kid does not like it or it becomes to difficult then we need to get rid of the m3. to say the least the baby loved it, and cried anytime we were in any other vehicle besides the m3.

when we found out a second one was on the way I looked at x-5 and the porsche, did not test drive just look, but if i was going to spend that much money I was going for the M5 but I want sure how I would react to the SMG being a stick guy and all. alot of people love it and other people hate it. I wasn't going to order a 95K car not knowing how I would feel about it and the stick version is not coming out until next year.

now the second one is on the way and i feel it would be difficult to travel with two car seats in the back of the m3. but my wife, you is understanding, said we will try to manage it knowing how much i loved the m3.

my brother who has a 20003 jeep cherokee mentioned to me a couple of months ago that an srt version is coming out. then out of curiosity wanted to see if any dealer had any to test drive last week after the third call a dealer said we just got one off the truck. when i went there is was love at first sight.

06blksrt8 · January 2006

It appears to me that the 300c RWD and the SRT 300 seem to have almost identical VINs, the ones that I have and the SRT on order only have 1 letter different in the VIN. I still have another SRT to order for a customer. If anyone is interested let me know. Thanks!

m3power · January 2006

Hi to all this board. I current own a 2003 M3. I test drove the SRT-8 the other day and it simply amazed me - not only the power delivery, the handling and the breaking. I was able to test drive for a good 1/2 hour the first 10 minutes was used to get use to the truck the next 20 minutes was for fun. I scared the the salesman from going in and out of lanes and braking hard. I have to mention that the test drive occurred near freezing conditions and rain. I could only imagine what this jeep will do in great conditions. Best of all the wife loved it and she was riding in the back seat.

I might say that if you like the regular jeep or you go off-roading alot you will not like the srt.

The salesman wasn't going to allow me to test drive at first until I showed him the m3.

The fit and finish of the srt-8 is very nice. The seats were much supported. Black looked unbelievable the rims and brakes were beautiful. The sound when you turn the key was amazing.

I would definitely recommend the SRT1 group package and the nav (which was easier to use than the M3's). The only complaint I had was that the entertainment system was ceiling mounted and it obstructs you rear view. I would recommend after market either on the headrest or a floor mounted system.

To make a comparison of the test drive. Last year on a beautiful day I was able to test drive the Volvo x90 v-8. To put it mildly it did not compare. The braking was o.k., the handling o.k. power deliver long lag. I have not test driven the BMW x-5 4.8 or the Porsche turbo so I can't make a comparison there. Since I'm keeping the m3 and the wife likes the srt-8 (which I think looks better than the Porsche or the X-5) and we don't do any off-roading it seems like a steal at the price that there offering it.

I got quoted $1,200 for insurance thru allstate - 100/300 and a $1,000 deductible.

all the ny dealers are asking 2,500 -5,000 over msrp for an order to buy one 10-12 week wait. if you want one off the floor 5-10K over msrp easily. I for one will never ever pay for a vehicle over msrp that is why I ordered my srt $2.5K under msrp and I don't mind to wait. If your patient and go thru the internet you will find a dealer who will give the srt8 for msrp or lower.

06blksrt8 · January 2006

if you don't mind me asking, what dealership did you purchase the truck from @ 2.5k under msrp? just curious

m3power · January 2006

a dealership in pa

stever · January 2006

It's ok to name the dealer and location. No names of individual salespeople please.

Steve, Host

m3power · January 2006

I promised the sales person I wouldn't. the ny dealers are crazy I called and e-mailed about 20 dealers in the tri-state area. the lowest I got was $2,500 over MSRP and the highest was $12K. I made several calls to dealers in VA and all were giving it, if you order and don't mind to wait (I believe the wait time they estimated was three months), at MSRP.

I guess it all depends were you are located and if you don't mind to travel a little bit then you will find the srt ar msrp.

stever · January 2006

I've always considered the "this is between you and me" line to be a marketing ploy to convince buyers to do a deal today. Why wouldn't a dealer want more people knocking on their door? If they don't have a SRT-8 in stock, maybe they can flip a buyer to something on the floor. And if they don't want to match the price they gave you, they can just say that market demand has caused the price to change.

Steve, Host

m3power · January 2006

It might be that they don't get allocated alot of cars and if they get alot of orders they might not be able to deliver. He/she stated to me if I don't mind to wait 3-4 months then he would give to me at that price. I'm hoping that I will get the srt by march/april but I'm willing to wait. I'm not trying to say I got the greatest deal but if you look and be patient you will find the srt at msrp or below if you do a search you will see a couple of people on this board that got below msrp.

However, I'll say this, after test driving the thing its almost hard to say no for the price there asking, you really want to take that thing home with you.

06blksrt8 · January 2006

Unlike the trailblazer, the srt will be made in very limited numbers, i've heard from the DC rep b/w 1000-1500. The bigger dealers will probably get 2-3. I think mine will be getting 2, one of which I gladly jumped on, the other we're going to order for a customer. As far as pricing, it depends so much where you are, like it's been said the dealers in NY all seem to be wanting over MSRP but varies from each dealer, I for one honestly can't believe a dealer would sell one for $360 over invoice. But great deal for whoever got it for that #.

m3power · January 2006

this is a great website for information on the srt8 http://www.wkjeeps.com/wk_srt8.htm. this vechicle, I believe, will be produced for a couple of years. the majority of dealers will tell you half truths. that is, yes it might be true that DC will only produce 4-5K vechicles in '06 but I believe they will continue to produce for 07, 08 & 09.

megamike · January 2006

Not true at all. Just like they did with the SRT-4, they will produce for 3.5 years and move on to the next idea. However many they build in those years will be it.

This info comes straight from the SRT guys.

cuppy1 · January 2006

Take the time to shop around and hope to get two dealers who are willing to compete against one another for your business. I think its sometimes an ego thing with some dealers who will do anything to take a sale from another dealer, even to the point of sacrificing profit. Grand Cherokee SRT8 - A wolf in Jeeps clothing.

keithkaufman5 · January 2006

I'm on my 3rd GC, never owned anything else. I have the original hot rod Jeep, the '98 5.9L. I absolutely love this car and had no plans to replace it until someone made something worthwhile. Last yr I had thought about replacing with a FX, then I drove the thing...hard as a rock, felt every little road imperfection. My questions are this...with the 20 in wheels and sport suspension, how is the ride in the SRT8 compared to the 5.9 if you had it or compared to other sport SUV's currently? Also, what kind of mileage are you guys getting? Jeeps site says 14/20, but I've seen as bad as 12/15 reported on other sites. My 5.9 gets 12/18 and I'm hoping not to downgrade in the mileage department with the SRT. Can you tell when the thing shuts down 4 of the cylinders on the highway? Just curious. Thanks for any info you guys can give me, whoever has one already is one lucky fella, that's for sure. Anybody ever going to post pics of their new baby? I've been dying to see some fresh pics of the srt. Thanks.

2002svtf150 · January 2006

Having owned an FX45 I never did get the whining about the bad ride. It rides fine to me, in fact better than my Z06 or 911 and noone complains about them riding too rough, LOL. The 6.1 Hemi in the GC SRT-8 does not have Cylinder Deactivation, it's on the 5.7's. And you're not going to get superb fuel mileage with 420HP, weighing 4,700 lbs., & with 3.73 gears. The 5.9 is a unique & special vehicle, no match for the GC SRT-8 for onroad performance, but a killer combo for on & off-road use.

Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT-8

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