How I justified buying my Gladiator. How about you?

[JeepDreams]

Wanted a AEV brut bad I rode in a friends and fell in love but refused to pay 100k for one. And when news stuck of the gladiator coming out and I think I read enough articles and talked about it enough that finally my wife told me to go buy one and shut up... I haven’t looked back I parked my track hawk in the garage and have a new love!

I have been drooling over the AEV Brute, but no amount of self indulgence could prompt me to spend the money. My kids totaled my Rescue Green '07 Rubicon Wrangler (with 30k miles) in 2017... bought a Jeep Renegade as my daily driver... but I've been wanting a truck forever! So I decided that a Firecracker RED JT needed to be a part of my life!

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[ZEN357]

Years ago, this girl at church hosted a large group event at her parent’s house...on the wall was a picture of her in front of a 1970 Plum Crazy Dodge Challenger R/T Convertible, numbers matching big block 383. Seeing me lookin at the picture, she said, “That’s the car I learned to drive manual in...it’s out in the garage. My dad’s pride and joy”

Needless to say, I’d found my wife. She’d been raised at car shows and swap meets...THIS would be a woman that would understand a husband who needed a “car parts” column in the household budget.

At the time she drove an 02 Jeep Liberty. As a wedding gift/graduation gift (Purdue), her dad gave her an 08 JKU Sahara. I drove the Liberty for about 6 months, then bought a 97 TJ. 6 months after that we traded both on an 08 JK. When rumors hit that Jeep was going to release a Panther Pink JK in 13 or 14, i preemptively traded her JKU for a 13 Gecko JKU. A surprise pregnancy lead me to trade my JK for a 14 JKU...ordered with half doors. When she traded her Jeep for a minivan a couple years ago, we started saving for my next Jeep....hoping they’d FINALLY release a truck.

While There are other trucks, Gators, and tractors for heavy work at the Farm, we really need a truck for all the projects that our older house on a wooded lot in the suburbs brings with it. My wife is a budget hawk, we don’t like financing things that don’t appreciate in value, but I’ve had all the freedom I want with this truck purchase. She simply thanked me for not spending the $60k on an LE. Now, however, a minor fender bender in her van, and she’s angry at the thing...so I find myself shopping for a cheap, early JK for her...

Whatever happened to her Father's 1970 Plum Crazy Dodge Challenger R/T Convertible?

 

[Bobzdar]

I wanted it and could afford it. That's all the justification needed. As to why I wanted it - I tow a travel trailer and it was over the tow rating of my JLUR (which towed it as easily as the JT does, but that's a different story) and I wanted to be able to bring our bikes with us without packing them in the camper (pita) or hanging them off the back (get really dirty). The JLUR got a little tight when packing for camping trips, especially without the trailer, so the JT gives some extra room without sacrificing much off-road ability. It's also nice to make dump runs and hardware store runs for larger items without having to hook up my utility trailer, or if I need to carry a lot of stuff to be able to use both.

 

[Ichthus]

Whatever happened to her Father's 1970 Plum Crazy Dodge Challenger R/T Convertible?

He didn’t drive it nearly enough...after a few years the engine needed a rebuild and he’d moved on to another project (47 Dodge truck with a 60’s Hemi). The Challenger was traded in on a new Ram truck and Grand Cherokee

 

[ZEN357]

He didn’t drive it nearly enough...after a few years the engine needed a rebuild and he’d moved on to another project (47 Dodge truck with a 60’s Hemi). The Challenger was traded in on a new Ram truck and Grand Cherokee

Dang! What that car is worth now is good or excellent condition would be unbelievable!!!! I would have loved to have seen it!!!

 

[Ichthus]

Dang! What that car is worth now is good or excellent condition would be unbelievable!!!! I would have loved to have seen it!!!

Eh...it wasn’t that long ago, he got good value out of it, especially with the need for another rebuild. The real loss would be some of the stuff he sold cheap or didn’t buy over the years. Maybe the craziest was a set of 5 Superbirds he could have bought in the early 80’s for $10k. The guy wouldn’t split them up and my Father in Law didn’t want to make 5 trips back and forth between Georgia and Indiana.

 

[Krazy]

My wife likes it.

 

[2004blackwrx]

I always loved jeeps. Years ago I helped my girlfriend buy a 98 wrangler since I already had my wrx. We loved the jeep . 8 years later my wife was pregnant and we had to sell it to get something for the kids to be safe and roomy in. I missed the jeep as I will my WRX once I sell it when the jeep arrives. Last year I got sick of always fixing my older cars and loved the idea of a lifetime warranty like my Durango has so I started looking at Chrysler. To own 2 vehicles that I never have to work on again other then basic stuff sounded awesome. No time anymore with kids. It took me 3 months to do a recent clutch job. I started looking at rams and diesel with a 6 speed but they seemed boring and wouldn't fit in garage. Wife said how about a jeep. I looked and was tempted then saw a truck proto type jeep. I decided to wait for it. It happened now I can have a non boring truck that fits in garage. Just upset no more lifetime warranty. If I new it was ending I would have bought a 2018 wrangler. A lifetime warranty is gold to me.

 

[TampaJLU]

Saw Gladiator.
Wanted Gladiator.
Bought Gladiator.
End of Story

 

[JT614]

Saw Gladiator.
Wanted Gladiator.
Bought Gladiator.
End of Story

Nice, but you left us hanging with no pics

 

[JT614]

I can have a non boring truck that fits in garage

Two key traits that helped me too!

 

[TampaJLU]

Nice, but you left us hanging with no pics

I'll post pics after the lift, wheels and tires go on next saturday.

 

[Slapping_Rabbits]

My Gladiator purchase was YEARS in the making! All I've own are Jeeps. Started with a 1996 Cherokee Sport, then onto Grand Cherokee's, three in total. I used my Grand Cherokees for hauling most everything. Once I stuffed 33 bags of mulch in one! The guys at Home Depot thought I was nuts, but to each his own! Here's a short video I made justifying that I needed the Gladiator. I guess it worked too, and I couldn't be happier! What worked for you?

Well ive never had a jeep anything but I did once have a small truck and thought it would be nice for some stuff I like to do. My kid got an electric jeep for xmas when he was under 2 and I drove it. Right before I broke the axle I thought that maybe this gladiator would be great! Finally got the wife to test drive one (not the electric one) and she says it was better than expected. So I ordered it.

 

[Murgatroid]

Wanted a convertible that didn't sit on the ground, Nissan did make a small SUV convertible and Land Rover did also but I don't think they make one now. Plus right now I have two vehicles one to tow the boat and the other a convertible Mercedes, I'm going to buy a bigger boat this year or next and the Envoy doesn't tow enough so the Gladiator is a bargain by replacing two vehicles. So the Gladiator is my only choice. I have the money and don't need to justify it to buy it

 

[MF Comics]

Simple: I don't need to tow 8k, but I do love the utility of the bed.

I want a convertible and I want manual, plus I can't afford any more speeding tickets xD

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