First time order! (Could use some insight)

[Sigz]

Hi gang,

First of all - love this community. Such great info, advice, tips, etc.

My wife and I are Jeep fans. Well, we aren't the ones that have owned Wranglers or Gladiators (yet).

We both drove WK Grand Cherokees, and still do.... well I do. I have an 08 with 137k on the clock that has been perfect for me. He is starting to show his age with some rust spots and worn paint/clear coat - but he has been the best vehicle I've driven in my young 33 years.

My wife also had a WK that wasn't as reliable - so we traded it in and bough the Grand Cherokee L which has been awesome for us.

But now, I'm getting the itch to upgrade to something newer and hopefully more fun/safe/more tech.

I've been eying up the Sport S and have been in early communications with Gupton Motors.

Here is my first time ever ordering from scratch:

Jeep Gladiator Sport S: $48,045


EXTERIOR

Exterior Colors: Firecracker Red Clear-Coat Exterior Paint $395
Wheels: 17-Inch x 7.5-Inch Gloss-Black Aluminum Wheels $395
Tires: 245/75R17 All-Terrain Tires $295
Tops: Black Freedom Top® 3-Piece Hard Top $1,695
Glass: Windshield with Corning® Gorilla® Glass $495
Tonneau Covers: Soft Tri-Fold Tonneau Cover by Mopar® $625
Bedliners: Spray-In Bedliner by Mopar® $525


INTERIOR

Interior Colors: Black Interior Color $0
Seat Types: Cloth Bucket Seats $0
Entertainment: Uconnect® 4 with 7.0-Inch Touch Screen Display $0

PACKAGES

Cold Weather Group $1,145 Convenience Group $495
Popular Equipment Package $1,395 Trailer-Tow Package $645

POWERTRAIN

Engine: 3.6L V6 24V VVT Engine w/ESS $0
Transmissions: 8-Speed Automatic 850RE Transmission $2,000 Gear Ratios: 3.73 Axle Ratio $0
Transfer Cases: Selec-Trac® Full Time 4WD System $695

They are quoting me:

Forum Pricing (5% below Factory Wholesale Price [Invoice]): $44,011
If you qualify for Affiliate Rewards, there is an additional 1% discount or $43,571
Qualify for Affiliate Rewards AND Finance through Gupton Motors, you get a 1% additional discount: $43,136

I'm in a situation where this is a WANT verses a NEED. My wife is sort of in my ear telling me that I should upgrade to something newer and hopefully reliable. She knows my WK has been fine, but is thinking that the prices on these current Gladiators is a solid price point, and it could get worse.

I'm with her, but I'm also a pretty sissy financially savvy/frugal person. We both work hard, save a lot for retirement, and could put about $12-15k down for a decent 60 month payment for around ~555/month - but I just don't like this current market. The lack of inventory, the inflation, the already rising interest rates, the 2-year and 10-year Treasury yields inverted for the first time since 2019, sending a warning that a recession could be on the horizon.....

My head says just wait it out, but my heart says go for it...

I'm not looking for you to tell me what to do, I just needed to vent....

Thanks,
-Sigz

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[BUZZHEAD]

LIVE TODAY TOMORROW MAY NOT COME

 

[ZoMojave]

Vent away. Sounds like a great price and nicely equipped JT. If you decide to wait till another day, so be it. However, life is indeed short. Don't regret tomorrow what you wanted to do today.

 

[eeTwidget]

JT will not have better tech then Grand Cherokee L, Gladiator isn’t exactly s “high tech” platform. However, it will have more off-road capability thus off-road specific “tech”. Cherokee will have the more comfortable on-road driving experience.

I just ordered a JTRD, I have all the same fears as you regarding $$ and future. Like others have said, life is short.. try to make good decisions but rewarding yourself is okay sometimes.

anyway, I would personally not opt for Gorilla glass. From everything I’m seeing it doesn’t necessarily protect any better and people are finding it difficult to get warranty replacement.

I opted for leather seats. I have two kids and leather will add a fold down arm rest between them.

 

[Sigz]

Gupton just responded to my build and the build now requires the LED Headlamp and Fog Lamp Group which is unfortunate.

M.S.R.P.: $50,340
Forum Pricing (5% below Factory Wholesale Price [Invoice]): $45,995
If you qualify for Affiliate Rewards, there is an additional 1% discount or $45,533
Qualify for Affiliate Rewards AND Finance through Gupton Motors, you get a 1% additional discount: $45,078

I'm really not excited as I was about it... I loved that $43.5k price point for the options I chose.

 

[ZoMojave]

You may not agree with the price point after the LED lamps group requirement but believe me if you do ANY night driving, you will quickly appreciate them. MUCH brighter and safer than halogens (that are like driving with two flashlights.) ??

 

[TrlRnr]

That is a very nice, well equipped Jeep you’re looking at. I second the recommendation for the LED lighting package. You could make a couple of changes elsewhere to keep the price closer to the $43K mark. Hold off on the factory tonneau cover and spray in. There are tons of aftermarket solutions to those, and take offs for sale all the time in the marketplace.
I‘d also skip the Gorilla glass. Doesn’t sound like it‘s holding up much better than the regular glass. If the windshield is going to break, it’s going to break.

 

[RS3]

When I ordered mine I opted to not order the LED package. My thought was that I wanted to put the whole Oracle LED light package on it which Included the heated Oculus headlights. Since then I had read up on all of the issues that have come with the Oracle lights. I now wish that I had just ordered the factory LED'S and been done with it. Now I am trying to locate and buy them after the fact. It is a bump in price for them but I would have gladly paid for it if my mind had not been so focused on having the Oracle's. I could also have gotten the steel bumper with the LED lights too which mow I'm trying to find one of those also.

 

[ZoMojave]

That is a very nice, well equipped Jeep you’re looking at. I second the recommendation for the LED lighting package. You could make a couple of changes elsewhere to keep the price closer to the $43K mark. Hold off on the factory tonneau cover and spray in. There are tons of aftermarket solutions to those, and take offs for sale all the time in the marketplace.
I‘d also skip the Gorilla glass. Doesn’t sound like it‘s holding up much better than the regular glass. If the windshield is going to break, it’s going to break.

Exactly the same thing I did and would do again (except for the Gorilla glass which I wouldn't do). Lots of aftermarket choices with bedliners, tonneau covers, etc. that are as good or better than the factory stuff anyway.

 

[Sigz]

Maybe I'm just a complete noob as I've never ordered a vehicle...

But why in the world if I'm "building" my "own" Gladiator straight from the factory - with the options I want to pay for..... Why do they FORCE packages on a build like that?

Shouldn't Jeep be happy that I'm building a Gladiator from their website to pursue to purchase??

 

[Robtco99]

Are you sure you don't want the Max Tow package?I think that's one of the main reasons to order a Sport S. Select Trac is worth every penny as well

Gorilla glass was nice when it was $95, then $195, but Idk about $495. I'd consider skipping gorilla glass, tonneau, and bedliner.

 

[Sigz]

The main things I want -

Hard top
Automatic locks/windows
Cold weather package
two package (doesn't have to be max).

 

[aristobrat]

Maybe I'm just a complete noob as I've never ordered a vehicle...

But why in the world if I'm "building" my "own" Gladiator straight from the factory - with the options I want to pay for..... Why do they FORCE packages on a build like that?

I'd be surprised if any of the major auto manufacturers have their assembly process setup to where customers can order a 100% custom vehicle when it comes to being able to choose from all options.

 

[slowstang305]

I would choose the max tow package vs the regular towing package. You will get heavy duty brakes, better cooling, and 4.10 gearing plus a host of other options. It is the best BANG for the buck hands down. I would skip on the gorilla glass as people have been cracking them left and right and Tonneau Cover as you can get one for $180 aftermarket that will perform the same.

 

[SpeedNeed]

From the Jeep build site: The auto locks and windows are included on the “S”. Popular Equipment Package includes hardtop, Convenience Package and Trailer Tow Package. Add Cold Weather package and accept LED lighting.
I agree with others, drop the Tonneau which you can get anytime. Drop the Gorilla Glass, its value is debatable. You could postpone the Bedliner, but I think most of us would recommend one in the near future.. If me, I would take remaining budget, if any, and choose between the leather seats and the Premium Audio. That would be an agonizing choice.

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