1JK's*

Ok, I was on the way to work the other day and noticed an 07 black 2dr Rubicon for sale at a local used car lot. I have been debating on upgrading to a Rubicon, and this one caught my eye.

So, today I stopped in at the dealer to take a look at the Rubi (had Rubicon stickers on the hood). Of course I was quickly greeted by a salesman who stated that he knew everything there was to know about the Jeep.

We made our way over to the Jeep and I noticed something a little funny. There were no fog lights on the front bumper. Ok, no big deal. Salesperson said it had 8,000 miles on it and was in pristine condition (which it looked to be). It obviously had a few mods on it to include a lift (which the salesman did not know the size or manufacturer), 305/65/17 Procomp Extreme AT's, Procomp 8179 17" Rims and a few other small mods. He said the vehicle had about $5,000 in mods, but didn't know exactley what was done to it.

As I looked closer, I noticed that it had the Teraflex sway bar disconnects on the front. It also had aftermarket Mopar side steps, but no rock sliders. The final capper, was the front axle was a Dana 30. I took a look inside and there was no toggle switch for the disconnect or a toggle switch for the lockers.

I asked the salesman if he was sure it was a Rubicon, and he assured me that they had the Carfax report and it was a Rubicon.

I proceeded to tell him all of the things that this Jeep did not have that a standard Rubicon would have and let him know that he was trying to pass a Wrangler X off as a Rubicon.

Amazing how fast he tried to tapdance. He said that they bought it as a Rubicon and must have been taken. Funny, because this particular dealership dealt in off-road vehicles only. I told him I doubted they were taken based on their type of vehicles, to which he stated they don't normally deal in Jeeps. He quickly stated he had other customers and quickly walked away.

Long story short, be careful of what you buy. If not for this forum and all of the information in it, I may very well have bought what I thought was a Rubicon when in actuallity it was an X. As for now, I will keep my eyes open for a REAL Rubicon.

By the way, they had it priced at $22,000 which would be appropriate for a Rubicon.

JeepinMass

the switches is a dead giveaway.

If you're going to upgrade to a rubi make sure it's a brand new one not a used one.

Frog Rubicon

Be careful, the seller can buy the sway bar/axle lock switches for 40$ at Quadratec
http://www.quadratec.com/products/52446_110.htm

It's very easy today to be dishonest

j33per

Why do you say that? When I come to sell mine, someone will be able to get a very nice Rubi that's well looked after and totally genuine.

Frog Rubicon

I agree with you!

1JK's*

I disagree. My point is that as a consumer you need to educate yourself on what you are buying. This forum, along with other off-roading magazines, has helped tremendously in educating myself on Jeeps in general. If I do upgrade, it will probably be a used Rubicon unless the stealerships offer a major incentive.

jasruby

I own a medium duty truck garage. I see this all the time, and not with just Jeeps. People trying to pass their base model for something else.
Anytime you are buying a used car, truck or JEEP you should check carefully to see if you are really getting the trim level the seller is selling.

Anyone can walk into the parts dept of a dealership and order the graphics/logos that came with the upper trim level.

As far as buying used in general...sometimes you can get screwed but if you are very diligent you can get a better deal than new. I'm sure everyone knows the most depriciation takes place on a new car in the first few months/miles.

HAHA.... "stealerships"...good one!

bly109

Several years ago, my uncle's wife bought a brand new Saturn Vue. She thought it was 4wd and the salesman never said a word to her that it wasnt. She thought FWD stood for Four Wheel Drive *pause for laughter* So it was partially her fault, but the salesman never corrected her even though she kept refering to it as "a four wheel drive car" during the sale. My uncle never let her buy a car by herself, or with her mom, again...

jasruby

seller: "Yes, this is a 4 wheel drive, no...I don't know what a transfer case is...but I drove it in the snow one time...uphill both ways."

pearl-drum-man

I wonder how many naive buyers have been burned by the sticker thing?