Thinking about trading in my 2013 sport for a Rubicon. Main reason is to get lockers and 4:10 gears. I bought Sport originally, because I didn't think I'd be off-roading much. But now, I try to take my jeep off-road every chance I get!! been in off-road parks, dunes, absolutely love it. So I don't know if I should trade it in for Rubi or not!!

 

I guess it depends if you get a good deal on the trade. I didn't buy a Rubicon because I plan on swapping out axles, and that's the main cost associated with a Rubicon.

 

Just wondering- have you been in a situation where you said to yourself, if I only had a Rubican I would have made it through, or this trail/obstacle would have been much easier to do if I had a Rubican.

 

I have a Rubicon but I will tell you the Sport is very capable. Ask yourself, "what is my off road usage? Do I really need lockers? ", also consider your tolerance for the loss with the sale or trade of your Sport. You can do a lot of mods for the price difference.

Good luck!

Sent from my S4 using JK-Forum

 

If it was me that was making this decision here's how I would go about it.

If I had the cash to beef up the front Dana 30 or even swap in a Dana 44 and install gears and lockers I would likely keep the Sport and do the upgrades. My main reason for buying a Rubicon is because I could finance the vehicle as is at a very low interest rate. If I bought a sport I would not have had enough to cash to dump into it to make it how I wanted it with selectable lockers, bigger gears, and a front D44. To finance that stuff I'd be looking at using a credit card that would take me too long to pay off and cost me too much in interest.

 

I'd keep your sport unless it makes financial sense to trade. Most likely you'll loose on the trade and the price difference for a rubicon is higher. And you'll pay tax again as well as DMV fees. For a few grand you can regear and do at least a rear locker (which will make an amazing change). Sit done and crunch some numbers and see what you come up with.

 

Was in the same boat till last night. Had a 12 base sport and was looking for a 14 sport s and had one of the dealerships here call me about a rubi. Went and drove it, what a huge difference, 3.21s to 4.10s. If I had the money to upgrade the sport I would, but all in all payments didn't go up much and I don't have to dump a lot upfront. Plus they gave me a good deal trading in my 12.

 

Depends if you plan on going to 35's the 4.10 will need to be upgraded. I have a 2012 rubi with 35's and 4.10, six gear is almost useless unless at 70 on flat highway. I would keep what you have and buy new axles with the gears to match what tire size you plan on running.

 

I'm running 35 and 3.73 with auto on a 13 rubicon and it's fine. The auto is geared better then the manual for 12 and up

 

Personally, I wouldn't do it, if it was my decision. I'd upgrade the axles and gear ratio on my current Sport. I do a fair amount of trails, and sometimes a slightly slower crawl, or the assistance of a locked differential would be nice, but it's never made me want to get rid of my Jeep for another Jeep.

I've traded too many nearly new cars for brand new cars in my day, and I usually find the marginal benefits become a spiraling black hole of wasted money. These days, I'm more about improving what I've got, spending money where it really counts.