breaksjm

UPDATE 6/22/2012:

So I bought a 2012 6-speed Gecko 2-door Rubicon at the end of May. This past week I had the dealer install the Teraflex Prerunner kit and Spacers. Leather is being installed Monday. I can't wait to pick it up and see how it handles. I had them take a few pics for me while it was in the shop today.

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Hi Everyone -

I am new to this forum. I'm not sure if this is necessarily the right spot for this thread, but I figured at the very worst I can use it as a placeholder. I want to share my story as well as my dilemma and hopefully some of you can provide some feedback along the way.

I purchased one of the first 2012 Subaru STis that hit our shores back in November of 2011 - yes it is only 6 months old. Well...I'm tired of it. Sure it is fast and sometimes fun, but it's not 'speaking' to me like I had hoped it would. With that said, prior to buying the STi, the Jeep Rubicon was very high on my list.

Since buying the Subie, I stopped looking at cars, but more recently, I have been contemplating getting rid of it for something else - perhaps a Ford Raptor. But even the Raptor is missing some of the personality I am looking for in a vehicle. Well the other night, I saw a 2012 Gecko JK and I fell in love. Some love it, some hate it. I think it's the best color Wrangler ever!

Needless to say I am going to pull the trigger and get one, however there are few issues:

1. You can't order them anymore - the 2013 models are coming soon (I don't think Gecko is going to be a color option)
2. There are none in the country that are configured exactly how I want it
3. I have a 14-month old daughter
4. I love to modify my vehicles

So here are my choices.

2012 Rubicon 2-door (or 4-door) Gecko PearlWhat is missing?or

2012 Sport 2-door Gecko PearlWhat is missing?I can remedy the Rubicon by adding leather (i'd prefer OEM leather though) and buying the color matched hard top, but that leaves little room to do mods.

The second option is sounding appealing because I can drop around $15,000 into the car to do mods. The downside is it won't have some of the appealing aspects of the Rubi (Front Axle, Climate Control, the Rubi Name, etc.).

The other issue is that while I know the 4-door is the practical car to buy, I would much rather prefer the 2-door. I tried the car seat in both and while its a bit of a pain in the butt to have to climb into the car to get my daughter buckled in, it is something I know I can live with.

I'm not quite sure what to do...

Does anyone have a similar experience or feedback? Can $15,000 turn the sport into a better vehicle than the Rubi? I plan on getting into the off-roading scene now that I live in Colorado.

Regardless of which direction I go in, I will use this space to post progress of my car purchase as well as my car mods.

Anticipated Mods (I'll update this list as I decide what modifications I decide to do):

Ssm2011

Just a side note, your daughter is 14 months old, in anoth twelve or so you might be able to move her to a booster seat. Reason i memtion this is, my daughter 3 yrs is also in a booster and i can reach her from sitting in the driver seat to bickle her up in my two door. Personally i would get the rubi, the Katskins are nicer than the OEM and Color Matched Hard Top is overater. My wife has a gecko JKU Sahara , and it's almost too much green , not horrible, but the black accent looks great on the geckos!

Slob

Ok here is what you do. Go to a dealer and ask him to search all Jeep dealers. I know they can do it. Some won't because they make less money if they don't sell whats on the lot.
Cowboy Dodge in Cheyenne Has a Gecko Green Sahara 4 door. You could look in to getting it (or one from another dealership) delivered to you. Very different color you have choosen but stands out. I wish you luck on what ever you do.

GOOD LUCK

newmango

if it was me prsonally i would go for the 4 door rubi, with the black top. color matching is nice, but to much green, i saw a 4 door rubi the other day with matching top and fenders, way to much green, need black to offset a little. i myself have a 2door mango, love the color,ok with it being 2 door. i have a 6 yr old daughter, while she LOVES climbing into the jeep on her own,i dont like the little foot prints all over my interior. i couldnt imagine having to try and but a baby in the back seat of a 2 door.

the sport would save you money up front, but consider how much you would have to sink in to it just to get it to the point of a stock rubi. gears,lockers,disconnects,dana 44 up front,more aggressive tires,better interior options right off the bat.

good luck with your choice, congrats on your new addition to family

jeep4life

I just ordered a Gecko Rubi two weeks ago, it was before the cut-off which I believe was May 8th

Collyn

We have a 2012 at my work that we are selling. Actually two of them. Both were basic sport models. We spent about 9000 on one and about 6000 on the other. I have a new Sahara. Loaded. These two jeeps on the lot are selling for less than I paid for my loaded Sahara and they are far more capable off road now.



This one is really cool. It has been line-x coated completely and color matched. 3.5" lift. Wheels. Tires. Bumpers front and rear. Winch. Lights. Very low miles. (I'm catching up fast). And less than what I bought mine for.

Collyn

Oh. Rock rails and flares. More than that. Just can't remember all of it.

breaksjm

Thanks for the feedback. I'm pretty much dead set on the 2-door - but the JKU with slant back looks pretty awesome. Spending time with my daughter and the 2-door yesterday helped me feel better. It wasn't that bad at all and I know within a year she will be front facing.

I think on the JKU, color matched Gecko is definitely way too much green. I saw a picture of the 2-door with the color match and it looked pretty amazing - which is why I am leaning in that direction.



Also, I've had Katzkins done in the past and wasn't all that impressed with the quality. It's been 10 years so maybe they are better, but they always seemed more like vinyl than leather. Needless to say I am a bit apprehensive about going down that path.

breaksjm

Slob - we did that yesterday. They looked in a 3000 mile radius (I think that is enough to cover the whole country) and there are plenty of Geckos out there, just none configured exactly how I want it -- oh well. Thanks for the suggestion.

cyclone.1983

did you spend all $9,000 on a sweet stereo and a radar detector?