Have an opportunity to buy a new 4dr. JK. Here is the quiz.... A 2017 base 4door,auto trans, No power package. Or a BRAND NEW 2016 24S with a Power Package and a Manual trans. We are getting on in age, funds are limited, and hopefully this will be the last vehicle we will buy. Need your EXPERT pros and cons. Thanx in advance.

 

If you cant figure out if you want power windows or not maybe you should not be spending limited funds on a new vehicle that is really over priced for what you actually get.

 

Doesn't sound like either is a good choice. As a senior too, I'd definitely want automatic and power windows, etc.

 

If you're viewing this as your last vehicle purchase, wouldn't you want to make sure you get everything you want on it, and not be choosing between 2 different options that may not?

Everyone on this forum will have different personal preferences between those 2 different vehicles, I would hope you would have yours as well. Personally, I wouldn't want either unless someone was offering to give me one or the other, where I would be willing to settle at that cost.

 

As a person who has driven almost exclusively manuals for the past half century, I figure I'd get about as much fun from a self-driving car as from anything with an auto transmission. ;-)

https://youtu.be/xiainGr7g0k?t=122 As for power windows and door locks, if you're keeping a vehicle for a long time, I'd recommend not getting those. They will break way before manual versions, and that's money you need to spend for something of questionable value.

 

Me, too, Mark.
However, when a 900 lb. section of rail rolled over onto the back of my left foot two years ago, I was extremely glad one of my vehicles, (the JK), was an automatic. Otherwise, I would have been stranded for a couple months.
That's actually the reason I chose the automatic back in 2008.

 

Speaking from personal experience, I've had more mechanical items that have needed to be replaced than I have electrical and the mechanical items seem to be more difficult to replace.

If this was 1995 when electrical items 1st started becoming more predominant, then I would agree. However, the electrical items have continued to improve while their mechanical equivalents have continued with the same designs but often have migrated to lower cost materials in the endless quest to reduce costs and weight while increasing profits.

I've had my share of door lock problems, where the plastic brackets holding the lock actuator and the cable were what was broken.

 

Why does someone still have a brand new 2016? Anyway, I would opt for the power stuff and go with the 2016 if forced to choose.

 

Auto, air, And a hard top is all I'd need. And it's a year newer.

 

For myself, it would likely boil down to which one had A/C and which one didn't. I believe the 24S package comes with A/C. I'm not sure about the 2017 since it wasn't mentioned.

When I look at deciding between vehicles and options, I decide based upon which options are most important to me and which of those can be added more easily later. A/C is one of those items which is pretty difficult and expensive to add later.

Also, while I enjoy driving a manual trans, it isn't something I enjoy driving in bumper to bumper traffic. So depending on if I find myself driving often in traffic transmission selection could be another one of those items since switching later isn't inexpensive nor simple.