just looking for peoples feeling on this ive talked two people out of rubicons already....dont throw me on the stake yet please..i just ''in my own opinion'' feel that if your gonna wheel your rig your changing most of the parts anyways upgrading gears, lockers, disconnects and axles so the only thing your not getting is a lower gear transfer case and RUBICON stickers correct?so for the $12,000 price difference i can get one hell of a transfer case right?ive seen so many rigs on here that everything FACTORY rubicon is no longer there except the stickers and some people even remove those!!!!im just looking for opinions not arguments maybe im just jelous because the wife said "WELL WATS WRONG WITH THAT ONE"no really i didnt want it for above stated reasons!!REALLY am i missing something let me know nicelythanks and just rember they are all jeeps,except that god aweful white dub one
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12,000 dollar price difference? Are you sure about that one? MSRP shows only a 6-7000 dollar difference
Regardless....think about this. First and foremost, the Rubicon model as is from the showroom floor is absolutely all the Jeep some people want and need, for this demographic there will be no upgrades or changes.
For those of us that prefer to build upon our Jeeps...sure, the first few things we're gonna do is lift it and put bigger tires on it, and then your right we're most likely going to re-gear it to turn those tires...but you can still keep the lockers with that...I don't think the majority of Rubicon upgraders are getting rid of those...I'm sure some are, but still you don't have to, and most aren't getting rid of the factory e-disconnect, or t-case, or rock rails, upgraded axles (dana 44 front with 30 spline axles and 32 spline rear axles) upgraded stereo and interior package...you see what I mean? So for the $7000 extra your getting lockers (a $2000 dollar upgrade) the 4:1 t-case (at least $850) sway bar disconnect ($1200) upgraded D44 front axle ($3000) interrior goodies (??$$) So for most people it's a hell of a bargain....
Now...for someone who is most likely going to rip all that stuff out of the Rubicon to build their own "Ultimate Jeep" then your right, why not get an X and build it up. It's more or less up to the person to be realistic with their intentions and plans. But for the majority of Jeep enthusiasts that will want all that the Rubicon offers plus just a few extras...then it's hard to beat the deal your getting for all those factory upgrades.

 

My friend bought a X model with the only options of Hard Top, V6 and automatic....and her employee price + rebates came to $22k and some change.

My Jeep (purchased 3 days earlier) came in around $28k and some change (had almost a $37k MSRP). So the difference was only around $6k. And regardless of my Rubicon differences, I have every option you can get on a 2009 Jeep Unlimited. The retail on the rear Dana 44 is almost $3k and the electronic swaybar disconnect is another $1500. So just those two Rubicon vs X differences are worth the price difference not including working in all the other options I have.

 

I agree that the Rubicon may not be worth the extra money but if i was able to afford the $550 a month payment I would have got one. My "X" came with the 4.10 gears so that made my decision easier. But I dont need e-discos, i didnt want the factory rock rails, I am going to add a D44 with ARB and chromoly axles to the front and an ARB in the rear($5,000). And other than that everything else I have bought for my jeep didnt come on the Rubi anyway. So since the price difference was 8,000 for the Rubi I looked at, I decided to go with the "X". So technically I saved about 3,000 to put towards other mods. Oh and I dont care about the fancy silver gauge trim on the Rubi. Don't get me wrong if I wasn't a broke college student I would have gone for the Rubicon, but as of now I think I got the better deal by getting the "X".

 

In 05 I bought an X... 3 weeks later I traded it in and got a Rubicon. Then 2 years later I traded that in for a JK Rubicon Unlimited.

You get better axles, better gears, better transfer case, lockers, rocker protection, a better resale value, and on the JK a sway bar disco.... and it's all covered under a factory warranty.


When I got the X in 05 my plan was to start with the axles... turned out that the axles alone where WAY more than the price difference to upgrade to a Rubicon and then I had to add a loss of the factory warranty on the axles and labor to install them even if I did it myself.

 

I bought the X, and I could have afforded the Rubicon... easily. Why didn't I? I don't need the upgraded hardware. Why don't I need the upgraded hardware? As someone stated earlier, the Rubicon stock is more Jeep than most people need; this includes me. It is simply a matter of choice.

 

Gees! I wish my Jeep payment was only $550 a month. I'm paying alot more... love my Jeep but friggen hat paying the bill every month. By the way I traded an damaged 08 for a new 08

 

I'll be in it just under $700/month for my '09 Rubi I just ordered. It's the price of going 0% for 3 years.

That said, I did ALOT of debating on this one. I did it both ways on paper and figured that I could swap out the axles, add an ATLAS, etc. and have a better rig, but then... I thought about it and realized that it's much easier to squeeze a $26k vehicle past the wifey than it is to get her to approve $20k for an X and then mod after mod after mod to it.

I'll be good to go and I'll upgrade it little by little along the way.

 

I guess it depends on your taste I bought the sahara. I'm modding it up. What ever Jeep you decide, you gotta love it.

 

Lol yeah see I dont have a wife and the gf is verrrry understanding of my jeep obsession. I can imagine how rough it would be to tell the wife instead of going on that 7 day cruise this year we are spending that 3K on a front rubicon axle.