otservice

Read this thread...lots of opinions https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-t...ubicon-166195/

This is my take on it though...

The smart ones are the ones who buy the sport, but put the rubicon payment in the bank. So if the Rubi would've cost $600/month and sport is $400/month, put that extra $200 in the bank and just keep saving till you can afford the mods and use monthly/yearly bonuses, tax returns etc for mods

I've put $5gs in my fiancee's JK last year and I figure I'll put another $5gs into it this year. We'll be into it for $10gs putting the total cost at $36gs and hopefully we can pay it off this year as well. The only thing missing from the build will be a new transfer case, which I may switch out down the road, but we have a lot of FSRs that require 4hi or 4lo going fast and I rather keep the 2.72 ratio for the high speed stuff. The 4-1 is nice, but not always needed. I'd prefer an aftermarket T/C but we'll see.

But for our $36gs we'll have a custom built JK just how "we"...eerr she wants it with D44 axles, 4.88 gears, lockers, flat fenders, 5" short arm lift with high steer kit, 37s, winch custom mounted in the stock bumper (she wanted to keep it stock looking), rocker guards, rock sliders, possibly a new rear bumper to carry the 37" spare...and I think that's it. I'm missing the small stuff like Dually's etc, but that's not anything major. Not much else to do except go up to tons and 40s except she doesn't want that as she's only 5' tall on a good day. 37s and 5" lift will be more than enough for her daily driver. If she did want tons and 40s I'd probably be into it for a bit more, but I'd be under $40gs total for this build. If you started with a Rubi, your overall cost would still be more to get everything identical, so obviously for a build it's cheaper in the long run to get a base model sport.

Now she did look at Rubi's back then as well (2010 year), but they were way out of her price range since they start around $35gs or so here. Now if she came along with a Rubi and I had to modify it, I'd probably tell her to trade it in on a new sport. Financially it just works out better for us to buy base model vehicles and build them ourselves. Obviously if we didn't have access to a full shop and the knowledge of custom building vehicles, it probably would've been financially beneficial to buy a Rubi with no options and run it stock.

Each to his own, I don't hate Rubi's despite what a few Rubi lovers here may think. I've been into 4x4s, customs, classics, bikes etc for a long time and being buying, selling, building all of them and it's fun to do. I also know it's a forever ending money pit and we'll gain nothing from this JK build lol We're losing money every time we buy something vs me building our '64 Caddy which will only increase in value when I buy stuff for it.

If you can afford either one and honestly know or believe you'll modify it to how you want it, then get a sport and don't waste your money. If my fiancee had a Rubi, we'd be into for a toltal cost of $46gs vs $36s and we'd have the exact same Jeep EXCEPT we wouldn't have the stickers hahaha

You'll get a ton of Rubi owners come in here and preach the Rubi is the be all and end all, but the majority of modifed sports will own a stock Rubi and cost less or near the same as a stock Rubi. If you don't plan on modifying anything at all, get the Rubi. Like people say it's great out of the box, but a sport plus mods equalling the same total cost owns a Rubi any day on the trail.

23CSP

Unless you are going to be mudding or rock climbing on a regular basis you do NOT need a Rubicon. A Stock Wrangler can pretty much do anything you will ever do the way it comes from the factory. All you really need to do is put better tires on it and a little lift if you need more ground clearance for either the tires or to clear obsticles.

Now if you want leather and things like that buy a Sahara... One only needs a Rubicon for serious off road things.

You don't need a Rubicon to drive down a dirt road, a stock Corvette can do that....

Jeepstin12

I agree with this logic. I considered the same thing. Then again, I have hardly any time to cut grass let alone wrench on my rig. I went with the Rubi. My rationale was this. Spend $60k on a range rover sport sc or drop $42k on a Rubi, spend another $8k on upgrades, keep it for 10 years and hand it over to my daughter for her 16th birthday. In short, the JK is still about $10k less than the RR Sport. Not to mention, the Jk is without a doubt more reliable and probably more capable off road than the RR. My Discovery was good, but the RR? Street queen.

DMadole

I didn't ask you what you meant, I understand your opinion is to get a rubicon. I wanted to know the reasoning behind your opinion. When all you say is "2.5 inches of lift and 35's. In that case I would go Rubicon", its pretty vague. Now that you have explained your opinion, I would say if you want the convenience right out of the gate, and plan to invest very little then I agree.

DMadole

I agree with this 100%

knight1000

I went Rubi because I wanted to keep it simple. I added some lights (a must for all models) and better/slightly bigger tires. Simple upgrades that I had done soon after buying. Now I can use the Jeep for exactly what I wanted it for, camping. The lockers bring a feeling of security while Im out in the forest alone. Though, I have never needed them, Im still glad they are there. The Rubi is overkill for me and my family, but again, Ive been camping 4 times with it already and had we actually had a bad winter, I may have needed the increased abilities. Sure I could have done a Sport and mods to build it even better for the same money, but I dont "enjoy" doing all that work. Many of the guys on here do like turning a wrench, so for them a Sport would be a great idea. The Sport stock or at least with some good tires, is a great off-road machine, so I dont want to seem like its not.

For me I like to start with the best I can afford also because life has a way of putting a hold on things. You plan to do this and order that, but then you get busy and you dont get to it for a year or so. If you start with the Rubi, much of what you would want to do is already done. The Rubi also has a little higher resale for the future.

OP said he can afford both..... so if the money is there.....

LeftCoastTeufel

Unbelievably helpful! All of you! Thank you. Keep it going! I love reading this stuff.

LeftCoastTeufel

Also, the Sahara never seems to be talked about in the threads I see on here. Is that because it is the "commuter" version of the Jeep? Does anyone have strong opinions one way or the other on the Sahara?

I would like to get leather interior, but that is about all I can see being different on the Sahara vs. the Sport. Is it really worth the extra $3K or so?

otservice

It isn't talked about as much as it's just aesthetics that are different and creature comforts, nothing mechanical. That's why a Sport is essentially all other models besides the Rubi lol Everything is the same body wise, only differences are coloured fenders, leather, nav etc BUT you can order a Jeep any way you want for the most part. There's lots of options, so get what you think you'll like and need. My fiancee got a base sport, which was ordered from the factory with Rubi rims/tires, shocks and a hardtop, otherwise NO power options etc. She didn't want any power options because she knew in 5 years+ there would be problems as no vehicle is immune to electrical problems and I thought that was pretty smart of her. Now others can't live without power doors, windows, nav etc etc.

Personally, I know electronics will fail sooner or later and if you're keeping it forever then it may be a headache down the road. If you plan on selling it in a couple years, all the creature comforts will make it easier to sell and open up the market for resale.

idiotec

I would start building different combinations figuring out what you want, and what the price differences are. For example, if you do want power windows/locks, nav, leather, etc, the Rubi will not be that much more. If you would be happy with a base sport with none of that, the Rubi is a big jump up.