Jeeps - 101

[Traut]

...You want a 2013+, they have the 3.6 and 65 more hp, it's a MUCH MUCH better engine. Honeslty i wouldnt consider a 3.8. .

This^^^

[PAPISJEEP]

Great info from Manacat.

I have not been in/around a TJ, but I thought I heard they are coil spring suspension and ride rougher than the YJ? Manacat can hopefully comment on that.

You have that backwards tj rides way better than yj, I've owned both

[ANZAC]

for under 10k id look for a stock unmolested tj (00-06) with a 4.0 and 5/6 speed

Or an XJ. They're probably slightly better in an accident than a TJ, and most of the mechanical parts are identical. A little more room too.
Think of them as a hardtop Wrangler, except they're unibody, which actually is just fine.

I have a 99 XJ limited with a 4.5" lift.
The XJ cost me $7000 with 112,000 miles on it, owned by a little old lady who only drove it to church on Sunday.

[AR15L]

I'd get the quotes messed up so I won't try...

The gearing - I had no idea they were that far out of wack. Good to watch for.
3.8 = bad vs 3.6 = good - YES! I've read that so many times my eyes are bleeding.
4 cylinder - I can live with.
Four doors are for families - don't need it.
Manual trans. - I wouldn't own a "Jeep" w/o it.

Compass - don't want
Cherokee - don't want
Renegade - it's a FIAT!

That leaves the Patriot. The Capt. owns one and likes it. (+1)
I started reading up on it, actually reading a lot on it.
Seems to be underrated. Many compare it to the RAV4 BUT for a hellofa lot less $$$$.
Choice of 5sp or auto. (Capt. says the auto is capable of manual slap shifting... Hmmm )

The biggest differences between the RAV4 and the Patriot are:
MPG: 22 vs 24 (combined)
Cargo Cap.: 36.4 vs 23.0 cu. ft.
Curb wt: 3677 vs 3251
Maximum cargo cap.: 73.0 vs 54.2 cu. ft.
Transmission: Auto vs auto or 5sp
Power windows: yes vs yes or no

The lack of cargo space in the Jeep vs the RAV4 is made up for a little larger seating area. (more room for people)
Both aren't worth a crap for carrying anything as compared to a Tahoe or such.

Gotta go do some more research...

[ANZAC]

Patriots don't have a great reputation amongst the Jeep peeps I know.

If you get a TJ/LJ or XJ, the parts are dirt cheap and available everywhere.
The 4.0 is a great engine, they last 200,000-300,000 miles easy.

[AR15L]

Patriots don't have a great reputation amongst the Jeep peeps I know.

Yes but are you talking with the hard core CJ type people, only?
Kinda like talking with Harley owners.

[PAPISJEEP]

Patriot ? I thought you wanted a jeep not a station wagon ?

[AR15L]

Patriot ? I thought you wanted a jeep not a station wagon ?

I think my practical side is overpowering my inner kid again.

[Mediumrarechicken]

I thought you wanted a wrangler. I'd steer away from any of jeep/fiat's other suv's, Asia kills them in quality

[AR15L]

I thought you wanted a wrangler. I'd steer away from any of jeep/fiat's other suv's, Asia kills them in quality

See?
This is why I am asking questions about Jeep.
What I thought might be good or acceptable can be proven one way or the other from input here.
Also, I might of let my mind wander back to the CJ5 days of absolutely no creature comforts at all. Well, it did have a good heater.
I really need to go have a hard look at the TJ and YJ. I'm thinking the Cherokees might be on the old side now.

[Mediumrarechicken]

I thought you wanted a wrangler. I'd steer away from any of jeep/fiat's other suv's, Asia kills them in quality

See?
This is why I am asking questions about Jeep.
What I thought might be good or acceptable can be proven one way or the other from input here.
Also, I might of let my mind wander back to the CJ5 days of absolutely no creature comforts at all. Well, it did have a good heater.
I really need to go have a hard look at the TJ and YJ. I'm thinking the Cherokees might be on the old side now.

Look at a tj, the yj is over 20 years old and has leafs all around.

Get a 4 liter tj as new and stock as you can get. Or buy a slightly older one for 7k and use the 3k for a lift and bigger tires. Stock height jeeps look funny as hell. The 96-01 Cherokee classics are cheaper and still have the 4.0. If you get one of those you can really hook it up and still be well under 10k

[sigman226]

I just rented a 2016 Jeep Patriot and drove it to Sisters Or for a camping trip. Even with stock street tires the road noise is horrendous. And I have 33x12.5 MT Baja Claws on my 4x4! I loaded that thing floor to ceiling front to back and ran out of room so had to leaving camping gear behind. In hind sight...I should have taken the Ram truck I was offered. Good luck.

[Captain90s]

I've never noticed bad road noise from my 2014 Patriot.

I'll agree that the biggest complaint I have about it is lack of storage space. I'm looking at getting a roof container of some kind to put more gear in. I was spoiled by the amount of space my Explorers had.

[Mediumrarechicken]

Just from a quick look on Craigslist this one seems like one to check out https://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/cto/ ... 56282.html

[AR15L]

Just from a quick look on Craigslist this one seems like one to check out https://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/cto/ ... 56282.html

That's purdy.
I might of skipped over it by concentrating on something with a hardtop.
Now I gotta go back through all the ads again.