Why not buy a full size truck for the same price?

[ShadowsPapa]

The "why" is really easy: The Gladiator is what you get when you need a truck, but want a convertible.

We're just a few days in with ours, and we absolutely love it. The bright Firecracker Red paint job definitely makes it a head turner, and I never got such enthusiastic Jeep waves with the Wrangler we had.

I've had other Jeeps - in the early 90s had a Cherokee Sport, then we upped it to Grand Cherokee for my wife as her primary vehicle as I had other stuff, I've had multiple trucks over the years and decided to ask myself - did I REALLY NEED a huge full-sized truck?
Then I saw a JT in the showroom. I'd always wanted a "Jeep" like my youngest brother was into. He's not an off-road guy really but he's loved his various Jeeps - from his first, a CJ7, up to the Wranglers he's had in recent years. He loves 'em and I've always wanted one. Now I guess I do have one in a way.

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[Orange01z28]

I bought a full-size "off-road" ready truck and it just did not have the same capability that a stock JT Sport has. It went decent, and even had skid plates in SOME places but not over the plastic transmission pan, which I found out the hard way

I need the bed and ability to do truck things, but I want it to do Jeep things even more.

 

[JCHGlad]

I’m coming from a Ram rebel, it was a fine truck but I didn’t need everything it offered including the size, this seems perfect for me, plus I can go top down driving....this is certainly less fatiguing for DD’ing around town and parking, not as good on the highway but I’m a jeep guy and it doesn’t phase me.

 

[BCC]

I’ve had 4 f150’s in a row. All very well equipped and great vehicles. Just bought a well equipped Overland. It will tow my Airstream trailer, haul my mountain bikes to the trails. The Gladiator is narrower and a bit shorter, which makes it better for my daily driving.

And of course, a change for change sake can be good. I also plan on doing with the Gladiator some of the dirt roads and trails I‘ve previously done with Adventure motorcycle.

 

[MemphisMississipp]

you can get a ranger with a locker that will tow more than a JT for around $34,000

Got my sport max tow 34500

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I’ve had 4 f150’s in a row. All very well equipped and great vehicles. Just bought a well equipped Overland. It will tow my Airstream trailer, haul my mountain bikes to the trails. The Gladiator is narrower and a bit shorter, which makes it better for my daily driving.

And that smaller size is a reason for me - fits the garage, easier to park and maneuver and I can turn it around and hitch my trailer to the front for more easy parking of my trailer.

A person could ask - why does someone buy a Kia instead of a Honda? Why buy a Toyota minivan instead of a Mopar minivan?
Why buy a Ford truck vs. a Chevy truck vs. a Toyota vs. a Nissan........... ?
Why did my son buy a Compass vs. similar offerings from other companies? (he happened to like it a lot and the price was perfect for HIM)
Personal CHOICE, budget, whatever. Vehicles sell as much on emotion as they do "need".
My wife and I buy as we do as we have decided that after having to get by for years and years, not really having too many nice things we'd get what we WANTED.

 

[FormerToyotaGuy]

I have always had Jeeps (Cj's, YJ's TJ) or I have had Toyota trucks Tacoma and FJ. Coming out of the Tacoma I thought really hard about a full size truck. My complaint on the Tacoma is inside I felt cramped, the FJ was wider than the Tacoma, in fact it was perfect balance wider than Tacoma less wide as a full size truck.
I test drove everything, Tundra, Titan, F-150, GM 1500. I came to a conclusion while I loved the room inside I hated trying to park it in an ever shrinking parking space world.
The Rubicon is the same price infact more expensive than a lot of full size trucks but its also a specialty vehicle. Off Road the Gladiator will shine with 11 in of clearance, Jeeps are adult Lego's in that you can bolt on take or take off stuff.
I get the price can be expensive especially Rubicon or Mojave but they are off road purposed, and they are just a bit more unique......you'll pass F150's and Silverado's all day long not so much with Gladiator

 

[WaterDR]

To the OP...it’s a reasonable question. But some of us don’t want/need a full-size truck nor the depreciation.

 

[Clay]

This is my 3rd Jeep and I like Jeeps. I didn't want, or need a full size truck and haven't seen another truck that I wanted better than my Jeep.

 

[Alan_Hepburn]

Asking this question is the same as asking "Why not buy a Ford instead of a Chevy?" - we buy what WE want, not what some stranger thinks we should buy...

 

[Snzzbry_Ovrlnd]

I am still trying to figure this out. I am on my 5th Wrangler and I get the fun of top off and doors off and wheeling. I live in Colorado, one of the best off road places around! My last truck was a JLU Rubicon. I was very interested in the JT, particularly when I heard about the towing capacity. But as I do my price shopping I have hit the wall. Basing pricing assumptions on the JL gets us pretty close to guess what this truck will sell for. Optioned well it just isn't gonna be less than 50k, and probably several thousand more. A Sahara optioned well is north of $52,000.

And yet, the new redesigned half ton full size trucks with much more capability from the big three are all about the same price, or even cheaper, including the off road equipped with factory 2" suspension lift trucks like the 2019 Silverado which I just "build and priced" at around $56k MSRP. I am not thrilled about a full size truck as a daily driver, its hard to park, costly to insure, poor visibility etc. But after looking around I am fast losing interest in the JT. Maybe I will buy a used JL for the DD and the full size truck for towing. much as I hated the idea of buying two new vehicles. (I have an '01 Silverado 2500HD with the 8.1L (yes, 8.1!) that gets around 7 mpg towing a 5000 lb trailer).

Help me out boys and girls, I just don't get Jeep's justifying the pricing of these. They are mid-sized trucks priced like full size in my view.

This may be an old topic, but I just bought my JTO a month ago, and while I didn't really understand the differences between the models, I know Jeep likes their prices high. There are a lot of options that should be standard. I didn't even realize when I bought my truck that it didn't come with all the new safety equipment.

That's the Safety Package. What? Side collision alert standard, nope, it's in the package. Rear collision alert standard, nope. In the package. Adaptive cruise control standard. You guessed it. Nope. In the package. Rear park assist standard? Nope. Parksense is optional. And costs more money.

I can understand FCA adding a lot of extra features so that people can walk away with a unique truck, but it's 2021 and the safety features shouldn't be optional. I assumed mine would have it and I'm still upset that it doesn't.

I think I'll trade it in next year for a 2022.

 

[KurtP]

I am still trying to figure this out. I am on my 5th Wrangler and I get the fun of top off and doors off and wheeling. I live in Colorado, one of the best off road places around! My last truck was a JLU Rubicon. I was very interested in the JT, particularly when I heard about the towing capacity. But as I do my price shopping I have hit the wall. Basing pricing assumptions on the JL gets us pretty close to guess what this truck will sell for. Optioned well it just isn't gonna be less than 50k, and probably several thousand more. A Sahara optioned well is north of $52,000.

And yet, the new redesigned half ton full size trucks with much more capability from the big three are all about the same price, or even cheaper, including the off road equipped with factory 2" suspension lift trucks like the 2019 Silverado which I just "build and priced" at around $56k MSRP. I am not thrilled about a full size truck as a daily driver, its hard to park, costly to insure, poor visibility etc. But after looking around I am fast losing interest in the JT. Maybe I will buy a used JL for the DD and the full size truck for towing. much as I hated the idea of buying two new vehicles. (I have an '01 Silverado 2500HD with the 8.1L (yes, 8.1!) that gets around 7 mpg towing a 5000 lb trailer).

Help me out boys and girls, I just don't get Jeep's justifying the pricing of these. They are mid-sized trucks priced like full size in my view.

i traded my full size 2500 diesel for my gladiator.

in short- economy of scale. More full size trucks are made and sold and if youre patient the rebates are better. Thats the crux of the pricing “why”

right now things are weird. i traded my 2500 for 10 grand more than i paid for it new 2 years ago. Demand for full size hd diesel is huge. I negotiated my Mojave 12% under sticker. So, point of that is keep haggling until they let you walk at least once.

the why- my ram was a great truck. I loved it. but at my new assignment it only fit in one garage i cant always park in. My kids love “overlanding trips” and once i lifted my ram it would fit in zero garages. They are also too damn big for a lot of trails. The mid size truck is perfect for the trail driving/camping crowd because of maneuverability. And on 37’s my Gladiator roof line is still below where my 2500 was stock.

if all you need is a day to day pick up, or camp-ground camping, then yeah. Get a full size on a rebate season. But dont buy something that isnt what you need simply because its a better value on paper. The tool purchased needs to fit the job intended; working the pricing comes after that choice.

 

[KurtP]

This may be an old topic, but I just bought my JTO a month ago, and while I didn't really understand the differences between the models, I know Jeep likes their prices high. There are a lot of options that should be standard. I didn't even realize when I bought my truck that it didn't come with all the new safety equipment.

That's the Safety Package. What? Side collision alert standard, nope, it's in the package. Rear collision alert standard, nope. In the package. Adaptive cruise control standard. You guessed it. Nope. In the package. Rear park assist standard? Nope. Parksense is optional. And costs more money.

I can understand FCA adding a lot of extra features so that people can walk away with a unique truck, but it's 2021 and the safety features shouldn't be optional. I assumed mine would have it and I'm still upset that it doesn't.

I think I'll trade it in next year for a 2022.

then the new base price is the new equipped price. Making features mandatory doesnt make the new price the lower price, it makes it the higher price.

toyota plays the game in reverse, and you may find more value there. All the things you want are standard on the toyota now, at the cost of a cheap weak engine, an antiquated transmission, a weak c channel frame, drum rear brakes, and horrible infotainment. And they let truck models age 10-15years. But they know to a certain market, safety sells, so theyll make that standard instead.

the “trade offs” rule is always in effect. Jeep likes the prices high because its been proven that people attach increased value to things that are more expensive. If you negotiate down you feel good about the brand because you “got a great deal” And of course you had all the latest tech and the premium features you wanted built exactly the way you wanted. And theres a ton of wiggle room. I still got 12% off sticker for a Mojave, and my woman’s GC limited i think we got around 30% off sticker. At toyota, the price is the price.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

This may be an old topic, but I just bought my JTO a month ago, and while I didn't really understand the differences between the models, I know Jeep likes their prices high. There are a lot of options that should be standard. I didn't even realize when I bought my truck that it didn't come with all the new safety equipment.

That's the Safety Package. What? Side collision alert standard, nope, it's in the package. Rear collision alert standard, nope. In the package. Adaptive cruise control standard. You guessed it. Nope. In the package. Rear park assist standard? Nope. Parksense is optional. And costs more money.

I can understand FCA adding a lot of extra features so that people can walk away with a unique truck, but it's 2021 and the safety features shouldn't be optional. I assumed mine would have it and I'm still upset that it doesn't.

I think I'll trade it in next year for a 2022.

Part of it is the market. Those who don't like the "features" are VERY vocal about it, shaming those of us who do like those features.
Get into the OTHER Jeep models - Grand Cherokee, Compass, etc. - and they are included.
My wife had a list of must-haves when we traded her 2018 Grand Cherokee for a 2021 - we presented the list to find all but one was standard and the full-sized spare came with the towing package, so I had them add that, but all of the stuff like lane departure, ACC, park assist (unlike the JT, the Grand Cherokee will park itself - and is thousands LESS)
So the GC comes loaded as it sits, costs less, maintains its trade-in value and get this - has a 6200 pound tow rating while my Overland JT - a TRUCK - has a 6,000 pound tow rating. Yeah, we could tow more with my wife's cheaper Grand Cherokee, have all of the features as standard equipment, same engine, etc. - but you can't haul a load of plywood or sheetrock or bags of concrete in the back of the Grand Cherokee as easily.

People who buy the Grand Cherokee EXPECT the safety features, and those things are nearly indestructible, they handle crashes extremely well - while the truck buyers aren't as interested in such things especially in the Sport or Rubicon versions.
But as the other companies add that stuff and make it standard (Ford - it's hard to buy a Ford anything without all the bells and whistles) Jeep will have to make some changes.
The automotive world is very fluid and always has been.

 

[jurfie]

Part of it is the market. Those who don't like the "features" are VERY vocal about it, shaming those of us who do like those features.
Get into the OTHER Jeep models - Grand Cherokee, Compass, etc. - and they are included.
...
But as the other companies add that stuff and make it standard (Ford - it's hard to buy a Ford anything without all the bells and whistles) Jeep will have to make some changes.

Your first point is exactly right; there is a large segment of Jeep Wrangler/Gladiator buyers who want bare bones. The simpler, then better = less things to break.

As to your second part, I don't think Jeep will ever change their pricing/packaging model due to your first part. They may add more creature comforts, but they will always be options (IMHO). VW does the same thing; check out their build and price pages: low base prices to get people in the door, but once optioned with "must-haves" for that buyer and they get pricey quick.

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