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Comments
-Alee
I would look at buying instead of leasing. At the end of the lease you should have 12,200 in it and you give the jeep back. A new one cost around 15,000. You would be close to owning it with that much money in it. I know the monthly payments would be higher but I would definitely consider it. I am not an expert but just my thoughts. I think in some cases it is better to lease but in most I think you lose out. I think there some good websites that can compare the leasing and buying.
jacorob
Some places are better than others with the jeep wave. I don't get many wave backs here either.
I doubt it has much to with your jeep being stock. Sounds like you have the right attitude toward your jeep also.
saenzski
Take it to the dealer and have them fix it under warranty. They have a problem with some of them having lose connections in the instrument panel.
tsjay
Get the black on black. My opinion maybe a little biased though. Don't forget it does show scratches and dirt easier. I don't care though, I still love the way my jeep looks.
Soft tops can be nice going 75mph but on real windy days you will know it is there. The '01 soft tops are suppose to have 50% less noise. The full doors should also help out on wind noise.
I think my jeep rides great on the highway. You can pull your back seat out and use it for storage when traveling. I have the high back seats which I think are comfortable. It may be worth the extra money if you find them more comfortable. I get around 15 or 16 mpg but I have a heavy foot. I have heard of people getting 20 on the highway. Gas mileage is not a good selling point for a jeep.
I think the salesman may be trying to pull one over on you with the upside down trade-in on a lease. He probably thinks it is better just because you will have lower monthly payments that way. I would say screw it if you are upside down on your trade in and really want a jeep. If it is driving you nuts it may be worth eating the cost difference. I don't how much money we are talking about though. You should have not problems getting a new jeep below or right around invoice.
Weatherdog
Good move, I would get cold feet ordering a yellow TJ also.
dragonfly03 I really don't see how someone owning a black jeep could be jealous of yours.
I am glad you like yours though and I am glad people like different colors so I don't only see one or two different colored jeeps on the road.
Sorry for responding to everyone's post but I had to give my two cents. Hope it helps
Dave
www.hometown.aol.com/dpage35925
Dennis
It has not stopped working since then, but I will have them check it out. Are you a member of a Jeep Club? I just joined JNT today.
Just curious...
Alex
can you please explain what chicken grips are? I don't know what they are but I am pretty sure I want them.
Al
The dealer figured a four year lease on a Wrangler Sport, and with all the extra miles I needed (22,000 to 25,000 miles per year is what I normally drive) and with the debt carried over from the Grand Prix, I was looking at $700 per month vs. my current $550.
They apparently weren't even going to call me today like they were supposed to. I had them appraise my car last night, and they were supposed to locate me a Jeep like I wanted today and figure a deal. They were supposed to call me at work, but after not hearing from them by 3:00 pm, I called them and found out about the payment. I asked for details on the deal and the salesman said he would have to call me back, but he never did. I guess they figured I was wasting their time.
Don't feel too sorry for me, though. I have a real nice practically new Grand Prix GT, so I can survive. Sure wish I had a Wrangler though.
tsjay
You sound like you really want to be driving behind the wheel of a wrangler! I have to agree with texasjeep about the leasing issue, its not worth it.
btw Thanks texasjeep for the recommendations for the aftermarket bumpers!
I have sold every car I ever owned this way and got top dollar. Its all in the detail. But like I said before, I just don't know anyone who drives that much on business who uses a Wrangler, so perhaps it's a blessing!
Remember, it's just a car (or Jeep). Not going to make or break you in the grand scheme of things, so don't let it get you down.
Weatherdog
I have just traded too often the last few times, and I have carried-over debt from each vehicle to the next one. I AM A NEW CAR NUT! It doesn't matter how much I like the vehicle I'm driving: I still get the trading bug for a new one.
I think I would be better able to hang onto a Wrangler, though, because they look like they are so much fun to drive, and, of course, they never go out of style. Maybe it would be the same with one of those, though.
I had a '92 Jimmy two door four wheel drive that I dearly loved, and if there was ever a vehicle that I would have been satisfied with, that would have been the one. It was medium gray metallic, and looked like a new one when I bought it used. It just seemed to fit me like a glove, but I totaled it when I was passing a backhoe with a bush hog on the back and a bucket on the front. The guy never looked, and he just started making a left turn as I was going around him. The bucket on his backhoe caught me just behind the right front tire and put me into a spin. That was a wild ride. The guy on the backhoe was not hurt, and I just had a few stitches, but my poor Jimmy was a gonner.
I'll have a Wrangler some day, Good Lord willing.
Catch ya' later
tsjay
I have never heard of chicken grips. I will be willing to bet they are "oh sh$t bars". jcwhitney.com and quadratec.com sells them. They are called roll bar strap handles. I like your name better.
Dave
-Gil-
hee hee
Peter.
-Alee
Good Luck,
Kevin
Eric
Where did you buy your hoist from? I saw one in J.C.Whitney and it stated " not for use with Factory Hard Top". I was wondering to myself, Who would want this thing if you cant use it on the factory top? Is there any other place to purchase one that will work with a factory hard top? I am ordering my Jeep, Jeep today if everything go's as planned with the dealership I have been dealing with, and a hard top is a must for me.So Giddie up!!
The soft top is easy to work after a few trys. It takes me about 2 minutes down and 5 up. The hard top is a little tougher. You need to bolt everything down. I have a 2000 with both tops. Best of both worlds. Right now I have the hard top on with the tinted windows. Its great!
Cya on the trial
(o|||o)
Secondly, to anyone with an opinion, I am having a difficult time deciding between a loaded Sport and a Sahara. It seems as if I get by a few hundred $ cheaper if I load up a Sport...I may be doing the math wrong (?).
Also, any opinions on the tire/wheel selections? I won't be a constant off-roader, but I'd like to see some dirt every now and then. Most of my seat time will be sitting in traffic on my way to/from work. Any particular recommendations?
Thanks in advance, Gil.
I'm just a Wrangler owner wannabe, but I think you should go with the Sport.
It is purely personal preference, I know, but I like the interior of the Sport better than that of the Sahara. I also am not crazy about the looks of the palm tree logo on the Saharas.
Now don't get mad at me, Sahara owners. I would gladly take a Sahara if someone wanted to give me one.
tsjay
Anyway, good luck and happy Jeepin!!
I have been reading your posts on dumping your Grand Prix for months now. Suck it up and sell the car. If you trade it you will get raped. Try to sell it privately. You cannot avoid a loss. If you really want a Jeep you won't be happy driving the Pontiac.
Gilbus:
I really don't like the Sahara. Green seats and plastic is the ONLY difference. Just above the side steps are some plastic molding. I have a 3 month old Sport and it has every option that the Sahara has, for $1,000 less. As far as the tires goes, I like the look of the 30" option. The rims are great looking and they are work horses in the mud.
Just my $.02
0|||0
I would love to take you up on your suggestion, my friend, but how do I pay the difference between what the person pays me for the car and what I owe the bank to pay it off? Maybe you are assuming that I could get pay-off by selling the car outright rather than trading it in, but, sadly, this is not the case. I have made too many consecutive "upside down" trades, and am WAY in the hole on the Grand Prix. I am really surprised that the bank was even willing to finance that last trade, but I guess my perfect credit (have never been even one payment behind in 30 years of borrowing) had something to do with it. Don't mean to sound cocky- I know some people just have some bad luck and get behind on payments, and I have just been fortunate enough to keep good health and a good job.
Anyway, pal, I am nearly $10,000 upside down compared to trade-in value! The stupid GM rebate of $2000 on left-over 2000 Grand Prix's is hurting me on trade-in, but I can't believe there are all that many 2000's left right now, and that factor will soon disappear. Obviously, I would still be hurting, even without that working against me.
Know anybody that wants a 2000 Grand Prix GT for $25,800?
I know I ought to be embarrassed by this, but what the heck, you can't take it with you. I am a new-car-aholic.
Salesmen have probably been seriously injured trying to beat each other through the door to get to me when I pull up on their lots. There are a lot of college-educated children of car salesmen thanks to me.
tsjay
BTW, one way to avoid getting in this situation is to stick with brands that depreciate slowly (Jeep, Honda, BMW etc). Wranglers are wonderful in this respect, since the trade-in value on my '98 Sport is still 80% of what I paid for it new and I am almost done paying it off. Aside from my own personal views on GM products (they make a few good engines inside generally shoddy, ugly vehicles), almost every GM product depreciates horribly, and the fact that they always have to use rebates to sell their new cars makes this worse. My father "helped" my sister buy a used Grand-Am a few years ago, although I told him to steer her towards a Civic. She has been inverted on the payments/value ever since.
What I will probably try to do is trade for a used Wrangler of more or less equal retail value so that I don't go even further in debt, but still end up with a Wrangler. I'll have to allow for dealer profit, so I will have to be willing to go a little deeper in debt, but then I should have a vehicle that will depreciate much more slowly, like you were saying. Another thing that will hurt me even doing a more or less even trade is the interest rate. I am currently on a GMAC incentive finance package at 5.9%. I don't know what the going rate is on used vehicles, but I'm sure it is substantially more than that.
I'm probably stuck with the Grand Prix for a while, but it "ain't no bad car to be stuck with."
I really like the Grand Prix, goducks, but I just want a Wrangler real bad.
tsjay
And what should we look forward to on one of these? Also, any gear we should look into getting. He's putting 31" on his jeep, and I have 30". We both have fog lights and soon we'll both have "offroading lights". I have tow hooks and he'll be getting his soon. Anything else we should have?
Thanks
Alee
-Gil-
I attended my first Jeep Jamboree this year ... what a blast.
As far as equipment goes ... the first element of a Jamboree is a vehicle inspection that will determine which trails you can ride.
I was at the Northwoods in Wisconsin a few months ago ... I would strongly recomend this Jamboree ... very good trail guides for all levels of Jeepers
I am planning on Pittsfield, IL and Hazelton,PA and Crandon, WI for 2001
Additionally, buy skid plates. Nothing is a better investment.
I went out to the everglades with my friend who has a wrangler like mine. It was very muddy and some places the water was higher than the tires. It would splash onto the hood and I was quite impressed with my wrangler. We never got stuck and both had a blast. I liked going with another Jeep because if I get stuck he can pull me out. But what if we're both stuck or you go by your self.
So I went to Sears yesterday and picked up a "Mini-Mule by Deuer" for $44.95 www.deuer.com
Rated at 1ton lift and 2ton pull. It comes in a small box and I'll just keep it in the back along with my shuvel, 48" hi-lift jack, tow straps, and chains.
It's not like a Warn 9000 but it's better than nothing.
Good luck!
I noticed that the clutch had to be almost all the way out before the vehicle started pulling. Was this normal? It was a brand new Jeep. Are they all like that? I guess I could get used to it, but I kept over-revving the engine like someone who doesn't know how to drive a straight shift. I was doing better by the end of the test drive, but it still felt weird.
Other than the fact people are willing to pay it, why does the Sport cost so much more than the SE? As far as I can tell, there is no real difference in standard equipment between the Sport and the SE other than the engine, right?
Isn't the Sport about $2500 to $3000 more than an equally equipped SE?
tsjay
I would rather just keep my Grand Prix until I can get a Sport. I was thinking maybe I could get the SE in order to be in a Wrangler quicker, but I know better now.
No offense to you SE owners. Everybody has their own priorities, and I like a vehicle that has pretty decent power. I'd rather not have to downshift to fourth gear on a long hill, and I want some passing power for two lane roads.
I had a 95 Explorer, so I know what an underpowered (by my standards) vehicle is like.
What about my question on the clutch? Is it a heavy-duty clutch or something? Is that why it has to be let out almost all the way before the power hooks up?
tsjay
Next, I got my rig back today from the dealer. A panel just under the windshield on the left side was bad. In moist/rainy weather it turned filmy white. Has anyone else has this problem? They repainted it for me.
Thanks
I'll post some pictures tomorrow of the lights. Oh... I gave the Jeep dealer a plug on my Jeep web page. They passed the URL around the company. They really are good guys. They sent me a $50 gift certificate to a local restaurant and called to say thanks for the recommendation.
tsjay - Here is another angle. You have good credit so get an unsecured loan for the upside down part. Sell the "super detailed" car and pay it off with the unsecured loan. Find a really nice '97 or '98 and buy it. My 97' that my daughter borrowed has 12k and looks and drives like new. There are lots of Jeeps that were "2nd" cars and did not get 4x4'd or driven a lot period.
Alee - I had posted a note to you about your new Yellow Jeep but accidentaly deleted it. I got a kick out how happy you looked and how much better you look in the Yellow than I would. "Delete Message" I understand. Who the heck came up with "Scribble"?
Weatherdog
http://www.bikeworld.com/jeep.htm
http://jeepsunlimited.com/ubb/Forum16/HTML/001854.html
Bob
I think they will be having that jamboree twice next year though. If you go to the 2nd one in Oct, you may have time to get some good experience in. You may want to get some mods done to your jeep also. I would start with a gas tank skid and you may want to get a steering box and engine skid.
You need tow hooks front and rear, a tow strap with no hooks. A CB, First aid kit and fire extinguisher are good to have. There is other equipment you could get but that is the basic stuff. Unless you plan on off-roading at night, you may want to skip the off-road lights.
Look forward to waiting around during the jamboree. It is a fun trip overall. You meet a bunch of Jeep people and can check out there jeeps.
I would look into Jeep clubs also. Most of them are cool and they can show you some good trails in your area and show you how to off-road properly.
Hope that helps
Dave
www.zoomnet.net/~kpowell/jeep.jpg
Is there any trick to replacing them, or is it just a matter of removing the bolts?
I looked at the picture of it on the link you posted. That gas mileage sounds encouraging to me, since I am definitely trying to figure out a way to buy a new Sport myself.
You have those "canyon" style wheels, and those are the babies I have been picturing my "dream Jeep" as having. They are by far the best looking wheels, although the "grizzlies" don't look too bad.
My dream Jeep is a Sport, 5-speed, white with a black hard top (maybe the soft top, since they aren't real noisy any more), canyon wheels with the 30" tires, tilt, cruise, and if the sound system becomes halfway decent with this option, the sub-woofer.
Your steel blue looks awful good, but I still think white is my color.
My problem is that I'm way in the hole on my 2000 Grand Prix GT sedan that is only seven months old. I wish I had had my Wrangler fever back when I last traded!
tsjay
Any know of a good rear bumper w/rec? I need to get a trailer to pull my ATV.