Which one to buy?? As you can tell from my recent posts, I am in the market for a new Jeep. I have never owned one before. There is obviously a huge price difference between the different trims of Jeeps and I wanted to know your opinions on it. I am all for paying for quality up front, as I believe it pays dividends in the long run. But I also know that people tend to modify the heck out of their Jeeps, and I don't think I would be any different, so is it better to use that money for mods?

Basically, I would use the Jeep for getting to and from work, taking the trails to get to ranges on base, and for expedition-type travel, camping, etc. Would it be better to go all out and get the Rubicon and do fewer modifications, or would you suggest going with the Sport, and using the money I save to put into modifications. While I can afford both, I am all for making fiscally sound decisions. Any and all opinions are welcome.

Thanks in advance guys (and gals).

 

Tough question. I've often thought about what it would have been like to have bought a Rubi versus my X (Sport) and I think the only 2 things I would have been happy with on the Rubi that my X didn't have was the gearing and sway bar disconnect.

Others might say shocks, taller springs, lockers, etc... but that didn't matter much to me. Now, having modded my Jeep to my personal liking, I am glad I got the lower end Jeep and modded it from the ground up.

I do 25% wheeling, expedition style and the remaining 75% is commuting 60 plus miles to work every week. I have different tires, wheels, a 2.5 inch Teraflex lift and their sway bar discos.

So my ONLY advice is if you get a Sport and want to lift it, do it sooner rather than later. I did mine after 93,000 miles and had a few issues with worn out links and ball joints. Best to do it as soon as you can.

 

If you have the cash on hand to mod a sport I would go that route if not then a Rubi is a great way to "finance" the mods upfront. I have owned both a Sahara and a Rubi and I would go the Rubi route again so that I had a more capable rig out the box.

 

Apple to apple the diff is 3100.

Do not buy a Rubicon if the jeep is mostly to look cool.

 

What?

That's the only reason you should buy a Rubicon......haha.

I got the sport, figured I was going to replace everything anyway

 

It sounds like your Jeep is probably going to end up on 2.5 inches of lift and 35's. In that case I would go Rubicon.

 

The Sport is capable out the door. The lockers, gearing are a plus and seems the only thing people seem to keep unless going all out. IMHO owners that modify Rubi's usually change out tires, wheels, springs, shocks. You can get some money back by selling...not much. On the other had it is easier and cheaper to get add ons from factory that later such as lockers. I have a Sport and slowly modifying on a tight ass budget. I do not rock crawl which I can see the point in having different gearing in transfer case. I wll add locker down the road and I have a TF leveling kit I need to install. With all the mods I have done including Rubi takeoffs, 4dr Rubi springs and shocks, 1.5" spacers, and Teraflex leveling kit all slightly used and I am into it for less than $1300 and I have done all the work myself. Way cheaper and glad I went this route.
Before

After

 

You have to explain, I run a 2.5 with 35's and have had no problems.

 

i went with the rubicon. Personally i dont plan on running any thing more then a tera short arm 3 inch lift and 35's and other general mods bumpers / lights / winch etc etc. So i bought the rubicon i get a d44 up front and rear with 4.10's and the 4 to 1 xfer case and lockers and front swaybar disco all stock and ready to go all of which should work perfectly with the moderate lift and tires i want to run.

AND they are all covered under warentee : )

 

I mean exactly what I said. It sounds like his style of wheeling and use is going to put him on 35's and 2.5 inches of lift. It is a good direction to go, i'm not saying it's not. But if that is his end game then I would start with a Rubicon that way he already has the lockers, axles and t-case. Whereas if it sounded like he wanted to eventually have a nasty rock crawler on 40's, coilovers and and atlas I would say start with a sport.