Jeep Gladiator value in the toilet

[KevinC]

I've owned 7 BMWs and currently have a 2017 BMW X5 50I with the m package.and a 2013 328i x drive coup. Everyone I have had have had zero issues and all been 2009 or betters. Our 2009 bmw 328i had 259,000 miles on it when I sold it and I have my 2013 328i has 161,000 miles on it with no issues..As long as you keep up on the maintenance then you want have issues. What happens is people buy them and then don't want to maintain them.

I will agree they do depreciate quickly but I always buy used , about 2 or 3 years old and with service records.

Not to get off the Jeep Related thread but BMW's and Mercedes are notorious for reliability as long as you do the required maintenance. And there is the kick in the nuts; Maintenance can be expensive and some owners are not prepared for the sticker shock.

KevinC

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[Raven65]

According to Google: Generative AI is experimental. Info quality may vary.


There is no predetermined rate at which a vehicle will depreciate. However, many cars lose up to 20% of their value in the first year. After that, they may lose about 15% more per year until the four-or five-year mark.

The average vehicle will be worth just 40% of its purchase price after five years.

Cars lose the most value in the first year, and depreciation continues for about five years.

Some vehicles lose around 15% to 25% of their value in the first year.

So maybe the moral of the story is buy a used one after a couple of years.
In my case, I was crazy for a Nacho with matching hardtop and fenders.
In January, found a 2021 with only 15,000 miles on it, two years old,
a Rubicon, had it shipped to me from Manheim PA. $49,000.
Not a great deal but better than a jab in the eye with a sharp stick
and it was exactly what I wanted.

Buying used can be a good way to go. I have bought several used vehicles in my time, but I place Jeeps in a similar category as muscle/sports cars. You have to be really careful to get one that hasn't been abused - and even then, you can still get burned. That - and the fact that I wanted the full factory warranty - are why I bought new. At the time, I rationalized it by the fact that Gladiators hold their values very well. I didn't foresee the economy tanking, interest rates shooting up, and Jeep putting huge discounts on them - killing the resale values of used ones. Meh, no matter... I plan to keep mine for another 4-5 years at least. I figure values will fall (or come back up to) to a certain point - hopefully $30k-ish for decent low-mileage examples - and stabilize there by then, but I'm not gonna worry about it.

 

[Mad Mac]

Just looked at my crystal ball and have seen that the Gladiator will be a much appreciated classic car in 2043 with is's value double as high as the original MSRP.

Is that inflation adjusted?

If the JT Gladiator is discontinued as was the original J10 Gladiator,
the CJ Scrambler and the Cherokee based Comanche
then that may come to pass.

 

[BearFootSam]

Gladiator value is in the toilet plain and simple. 58,000 sticker to 41,000 trade in (in 1 year )? That’s what happens when they inflate the prices originally and start giving 12,000 off on new ones. I didn’t pay sticker but should of held out for a better price and didn’t finance so it could of been worse. I also bought local and did well on my Chrysler 300 trade in. I believe value will come back up a little when the new prices come out if they are not a lot lower too. Bronco on the other hand still bringing in decent prices here, go figure but not inflated over MRSP. Jeep flooded the market with gladiators, now they are playing catch up. I still like my Gladiator and will keep it indefinitely but hopefully another year they don’t lose the same amount of value especially for the people that paid sticker price and financed also.

Trim, options, condition and location... A Mojave/Rubicon will have higher value retention than a sport, additional optioned features that are sought after may help if the dealer knows what is popular and price accordingly.

The bottom line though is that dealers need to make a profit and the only means to do so on a 12-month-old vehicle is to low ball the trade in. Consider, if you are trying to sell a one-year-old truck it's being cross shopped against new off the lot vehicles with their attendant benefits. Priced too close to new and the new looks enticing. Once you get two years old the value drop off is much less significant, it's really a bad window to trade-in or sell so early. Another aspect is how much new prices have climbed. We assume a usual year over year markup, but during covid the markups were so extreme (plus dealer non-sense market adjustments) that used looked better than ever (though still inflated) and as such those prices climbed.

Since we are in a correction where inventories are growing and interest rates are insane, dealers may be reluctant to take on more used inventory and hence will low ball trades to ensure they still make a profit even if it sits on the lot for six months.

 

[Deleted member 57233]

So true, better to sell it to them than trade. Or try to sell it yourself.

Depends on the sales tax savings. It's 6% here.

 

[Deleted member 57233]

Not to get off the Jeep Related thread but BMW's and Mercedes are notorious for reliability as long as you do the required maintenance. And there is the kick in the nuts; Maintenance can be expensive and some owners are not prepared for the sticker shock.

KevinC

True. My grandma's 2008 C300 is still new car solid. No squeaks, rattles, creaks, issues of any kind. I still love driving that thing.

 

[Jeeperjamie]

Not to get off the Jeep Related thread but BMW's and Mercedes are notorious for reliability as long as you do the required maintenance. And there is the kick in the nuts; Maintenance can be expensive and some owners are not prepared for the sticker shock.

KevinC

That's true, you should know what your getting into once you buy them. It's also good to find a reliable shop outside the dealership that will help keep the maintenance up once they are out of warranty. BMW does sell a warranty package you can buy if you buy a new or certified used one and it is a little expensive on the front end and adds about $46 more a month to your payments but it covers all maintenance for the first 100,000 miles.

 

[TheRealStreetcommander]

My personal experiences force me to defend the late model Beemer and Benz reliability too. In reality, it's great that so many people have the impression that they are problematic --it keeps the prices heavily suppressed while creating a phenomenal value in the used market for people like us.

I've had several late model BMWs and Mercedes and they have been glorious. My luck was so good with the germans, I bought my oldest daughter a W204 C300 and my youngest daughter a F30 328. They've both been nearly bullet-proof and have given us peace of mind through many years of their HS and college.

We can be sadistic and violent in the manner we drive our vehicles, but to counteract that, we are militant about maintenance. I do believe that certain models and years can have some genuinely trifling problems. When I'm buying them used though, that info is usually well developed and the reprobate can be mostly avoided.

Not to discount the poster's original concerns, but as I se it, you can buy a milk-toast-blender-utensil and know down deep your wife doesn't really respect you in the least bit, or, you can be a man and live life to the fullest with a German luxury sport saloon...

 

[BigRed2020]

I bought my 2020 Sport S for $33K with 52K miles right at 2 months ago… every Gladiator I had been looking at was $45K plus, and I couldn’t justify that as you could have bought new… that being said I didn’t buy new because I owed on my ‘18 F-150 so that obviously rolled some money over (my own problem)
I absolutely LOVE my Jeep and plan on building it next year and keeping it until possibly they bring the 4xe platform over as my commute is only about 7 miles one way to work so a plug in would be perfect for me… but I’m looking at things from a different fence… lol

 

[BearDog]

I bought mine used just before the gubment weapon. Had 14k miles on it, lift, and 35's. Got a hell of a deal.

I couldn't care less what the values have done since, or what they were doing then. It's mine. I wanted it. Plan on keeping it 'til the motor quits and the axles fall out...then she'll get a Hemi and tons and just keep right on going

 

[GeneralMaximus]

The best way to deal with falling value is to just keep it.

Does that apply to stocks too? Asking for a friend

 

[Billkowski]

Buying used can be a good way to go. I have bought several used vehicles in my time, but I place Jeeps in a similar category as muscle/sports cars. You have to be really careful to get one that hasn't been abused - and even then, you can still get burned. That - and the fact that I wanted the full factory warranty - are why I bought new. At the time, I rationalized it by the fact that Gladiators hold their values very well. I didn't foresee the economy tanking, interest rates shooting up, and Jeep putting huge discounts on them - killing the resale values of used ones. Meh, no matter... I plan to keep mine for another 4-5 years at least. I figure values will fall (or come back up to) to a certain point - hopefully $30k-ish for decent low-mileage examples - and stabilize there by then, but I'm not gonna worry about it.

I have seldom purchased used, because I just love the new car experience, but that does come with a premium.

 

[Bjeepz]

Just saw a 23 20th anniversary JL Rubicon with a 392 and AEV package(37's) $116,615.00 ?

Come to Canada to see the pricing on base 392's matching that!

 

[Russ2023]

Nobody is ever satisfied with trade in value. But when you consider you’re never going to get your money back on upgrades and accessories, their offer is probably not all that bad. Private sale will always bring considerably better money than trading it in. But yea, it’s a PITA.

 

[GEETCH]

This is somewhat of an entertaining conversation, but I have never understood how there are people who look at average vehicles as an investment. They never are, just a liability.

Personally, I bought this Gladiator with absolutely no intention of getting rid of it. I couldn't justify trading it in for a newer model either because of a couple of new shiny gadgets or upgrades. (Same reason I keep my phones for as long as they keep working, I only upgrade phone when its broken or no longer works, current phone is 7 years old) I can't justify trading in for a new model every year and never paying off a phone. I do buy mine outright from the manufacture when I do get one though.

Now as far as the interesting part, is the price difference between buying new then and new now for the same options.

I paid just over 55k for a brand new Gladiator custom order, as of today for a 2023 gladiator custom order with the exact same options is $64,990 now. So almost a 10k price increase for the same thing I already have.

According to KBB with the mods I could add there, the scratches and milage noted trade on mine is 43k and private sale is 45k. so about a 10k loss give or take.

so, with my current vehicle for the original price, I either loose 10k selling it or spend 10k more if I bought it today. one could look at it that way and say I'm winning.

now, as far as the modifications I have on the truck that was about 23 to 25k so far all in. So, if I sold it I would actually loose 35k as I do not have any of the original parts that I had taken off (plan is to be the sole owner of this vehicle). now that's a loss.

But never once did I see this or any other vehicle I purchased as an investment. When you calculate the years of ownership, cost of upkeep and maintenance as well as insurance and fuel even with zero modifications you are always losing money with it.

This is the very first time I have bought a vehicle brand new, prior I always bought certified pre-owned at about 4yrs old, so depreciation wasn't as steep, sales taxes were cheaper etc. trying to limit the liability to a reasonable one.

however, the gladiator is one I plan to keep, use in many ways and wanted a fresh canvas to know exactly what was done to it, and I got it as a retirement gift for myself (I retire from active-duty Aug 2024)

And thats all I have to say about that. (hope you heard Forrest Gump in your head when you read that line )

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