Do the Mojave and Rubicon hold their value better?

[RacerX00]

Hi all- About to make the plunge, super excited. Quick question, I know for instance when I bought my GTI over a standard Golf, I was unexpectedly surprised at how it held it's value over it's more respectable, subdued brother 10 years after and I went to sell the thing. It easily made up the difference in value of trim levels when purchased and I got to enjoy the much better car.

Is the same thing true for Jeeps and the Gladiator? I'd imagine it's a bit different since all are desirable on the secondary market but at the same time, I can't help but wonder, if I purchased a Mojave or a Rubicon over say the Sport S optioned more how I want it, will I be paid in the end in a similar way I was with my VW?

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[Deadeye]

Mojave is to be determined, but will likely hold up better.

with the Rubicon, it’s definitely the case. Mods can be a huge factor though. Bolt on stuff that is rusting will hurt you. Same with sloppy wiring, and backwoods bracketed. If it looks clean, people eat it up.

 

[WXman]

Definitely not. Otherwise, banks would apply higher residuals to them for leasing.

What we've always seen is that Rubicon has the lowest residuals of the entire lineup. Mojave will likely be the same.

 

[pkings]

Mojave yet to be determined as stated above. I disagree that Mojave would be a better value. If anything they'd be the same but Mojave won't be a better value IMO. Rubicon have always held more value vs other trims but that all is relative when u factor in price paid vs value at time of sale. At end of day though I wouldn't make a decision based on that. Buy what you like

 

[texanjeeper]

IT would make sense to me that the Rubicons and other higher priced Jeeps would depreciate at a greater rate than the lower priced ones, mainly because they have more room to fall. Used cars in general depreciate almost the moment you drive them off the lot, and I would think that if you compared the depreciation of both a Rubicon and, say, a Sport-S, you'd probably see that percentage wise, the Rubicon depreciated more. Of course, this depends on when you look, maybe that wouldn't be the case after 2 years but I would think almost certainly it would be after say 5 years or more.

Or, maybe I'm wrong. That's happened before too.

 

[PanhandleChuck]

Sounds like you know the answer to the question based on prior experience. No different in the Jeep world. Factory packages (Sport S, Willy’s, Mojave, Rubicon) all have ascending values based on initial price and resale, like all auto’s. Ultimately, the market, supply and demand, will determine values. After market mods are not worth much on a trade-in, you’d need to find the person who appreciates your work. Generally, this trend is market wide. So, buy/negotiate the best deal on a popular trim/options and you’re generally making the best choice. You know some will disagree, sounds like you know and just want confirmation.

 

[Mr._Bill]

A vehicle is a money pit, not an investment. It is a necessary tool for daily activities. Trying to make a purchase decision based on potential future values is a losing proposition. More money will be spent keeping it operating than may be recovered in the future by choosing one model over another. Buy what is best for you, not what others think you may want or need. After all, you are the one driving that money pit and paying to keep it on the road, so get something you like and are happy with.

 

[Jfu91]

It also depends on how willing your dealer is to make a deal on a particular trim level. I got a steep steep discount on the overland that was a much higher % off invoice than anyone was willing to offer on a rubi or mojave. So if the residual off MSRP is the same after 5 years between my overland and the rubi, I would have experienced less % depreciation due to the more aggressive upfront discount.

But it sounds like you know the Rubi is right for you. If cost isn't a prohibitive factor, get the rubicon and have some extra enjoyment. Who knows what the resale world is going to be like in 5-10 years with all this push towards electrification. (I'm hoping that JTs will gain and retain a cult status as one of the last of its kind).

 

[spectre6000]

I've bought and sold a LOT of cars. Mostly classics. For years, I had an average hold of about 6 months, and I made a few hundred to a few grand on almost every car (exceptions involved breaking the rules and cars getting totaled). Once I got to a value that made me uncomfortable to drive daily, I cashed out the principal on the last buy and used the profit from it to start again at the bottom and work my way back up.

When it comes to appliance beige-mobiles, trims don't really do much for you. A few hundred compared to the thousands you pay. Insurance companies and banks mostly think in those terms, so no, there's nothing fancy there. Dealers will be the same way because it works to their advantage, and if we're honest, dealers are almost universally scum. The difference comes in that you're talking special interest vehicles...

In terms of special interest vehicles, the "big engine" always gets a better return. Always. If you've done enough special interest vehicles like this, you start to get a feel for what will be a value add, and what won't be worth anything. It's a matter of character, problems, and capability. In the JT's case, the Rubicon and Mojave are both the "big engine"s in the bunch (the "big engine" thing comes from sport cars where power is critical, and doesn't directly apply here in the same way). In this case, it's more a question of which is the bigger engine... That's tough to say right now. Traditionally, Jeeps are about rock crawling, not dune bashing. The Raptor created a new niche, and everyone is following. The Mojave is Jeep's Raptor. In the long run, it may take off such that dune bashing is the new rock crawling, or it could be that Ford just owns that niche and the Mojave is an also ran (also ran is my honest feeling due to solid axles kinda sucking at dune bashing), and Jeep should have just kept on doing what they do best. It's tough to look that far into the future. My money would be on the Rubicon holding value better, because that's what Jeeps "do" most quintessentially. Taking a step back and evaluating not trim to trim, but JT to Ranger, say, a Rubicon/Mojave will trounce them in value retention. A Rubicon/Mojave will trounce all the other JT trims for that matter, but by a lesser margin. If I were looking purely on the basis of resale value (which is honestly kinda dumb on most new cars, and these are no exception), I'd go with the Rubicon.

The other side of the coin is modifications. A car like this is a canvas that people "mod" themselves onto. If you look at the highest car returns, they're always rock stock. Untouched. When you make something custom, YOU made it custom for YOU. No one wants your car, they want theirs. One of my selling mantras has always been "stock sells". I may put a roof rack, or cool wheels, or seat covers or whatever on a vehicle, but when I go to sell it, I always take off everything I can and return it to stock. Some things can't reasonably come off, so you have to take that into consideration when you do lifts and engine swaps and such. Stock sells much faster and for more money.

 

[Jeeperjamie]

Mines gained value since I bought it, not a Rubicon or Mojave but Gator sport max Tow. Paid $37,100 for it and they told me they would give me $41,000 for it back in January when I had the oil changes. I've.done about $3000 worth of stuff to it so I would still be in the plus around $900 and it had 18,000 miles at the time.

 

[MonkeySkunks]

Don't have any answer to your question but thought it was interesting that I'm also going from a GTI to a Gladiator (assuming they'll let me order it).

The JT test drove fine but I expect it to be a shocking contrast as a daily driver from how perfect the GTI has been.

Current used market may also be a bit skewed from the normal value of your GTI. Trade in on mine was around 18k a few months ago and now it's up to 21k. Hoping it goes up farther while waiting on the order to come in.

 

[RacerX00]

Thanks for all the input. It would seem VW is somewhat unique in selling fewer cars new than desired used at the performance level. There are some Golf models like the .:R32 that sold literally at MSRP for almost a decade after the car was made.

Guess I'm disregarding residual value as a consideration.

 

[Deleted member 39643]

A sport model with Rubicon stickers holds its value really well. Especially with the Sport Weight Package which removes power locks / windows for less weight / easier door removal.

 

[RacerX00]

Don't have any answer to your question but thought it was interesting that I'm also going from a GTI to a Gladiator (assuming they'll let me order it).

The JT test drove fine but I expect it to be a shocking contrast as a daily driver from how perfect the GTI has been.

Current used market may also be a bit skewed from the normal value of your GTI. Trade in on mine was around 18k a few months ago and now it's up to 21k. Hoping it goes up farther while waiting on the order to come in.

I don't know your specific situation but I'm sitting on a 2008 Mk V GTI I'm going to get somewhere between $5-6,000 based on how they're selling on the 'tex and equivalent conditioned Golf 5 cylinder 2.5Ls are selling for like half that.

It's a big deal on many levels, for instance I had a $2,000 repair on the GTI I (painfully) turned over. If it was a Rabbit/Golf 2.5L I would have donated it to charity probably rather than go through the process of sinking money into a crap car.

 

[Renegade]

When I was researching 36 month lease residuals, this is generally what I found, depending on mileage limits:
Sport- 73%
Rubicon- 70%
Overland- 68%

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