How I justified buying my Gladiator. How about you?

[OldFloridaMan]

How I got into the Gladiator - live in Florida, so a convertible is a definite nice to have. Was living in the city, with a typical suburban 1/4 acre plot and typical suburban landscaping. Drove a Mustang convertible.

In January moved to the country. Now own 2 acres, including a pond and a 50 fruit tree orchard and a 100 tree banana grove. Hard to carry mulch for all that in the trunk of a Mustang, so the Gladiator is a much better fit. Also, with how prone this area is for flooding during storms, I'd rather sit a bit higher up - there were a couple times since we moved out to the sticks that I had to turn around and find another route because I wasn't sure if the Mustang would be floating if I took it down some of the local roads...

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[EstoJTR]

I'll be honest, when these first came out, I thought it was priced too high like many, and I was focusing on competitors instead, namely the Colorado ZR2 and ZR2 Bison. I test drove the ZR2, rides well, good offering overall, plenty capable, you can get some killer deals on them these days. I liked the forced induction engine in the Ranger because I'm now living at some serious elevation, if the Ranger Raptor was stateside that might have swayed me away from the Gladiator. The Taco is reliable and resale value remains crazy, so in a lot of senses it's the "smart" buy, but it's old tech, needs a serious refresh, comparably weak powertrain, etc. At the end of the day the difference was that none of these offerings truly excited me.

Justification?

1. Researched and checked out competition, this thing stood out as unique.
2. Didn't want a massive half-ton pickup.
3. Wanted to do more offroading and further out camping after moving to CO.
4. I missed having a car to modify/customize/enhance, and Jeep tends to have a strong aftermarket following.
5. Can afford it. This is important, there's a lot of urge to buy out of one's buying power these days with all the incentives and deferrments, but unfortunately these tend to get people who don't need more debt into more debt in the long term. We all fight these types of feelings, it's hard to be honest with oneself and pass on a "good deal", even though it might not really be "good" for you.
6. Got a good deal locally with the options and color I really wanted. I had been keeping an eye out for a few months and had only come across 1 other with the same specs out of state, so I decided it was time.
7. Test drive put a smile on my face, this tends to be a key deciding factor for me after the logical reasoning checkboxes are checked. Life is too short.
8. In the end, the want was strong. Logically sure I should have gone used ZR2 or Taco to save the bucks, but my "worst case scenario" financial calcs worked out to justify the Gladiator.

 

[Capt.Grumps1075]

Saw it. Wanted it. Bought it. End of story now looking for a Scrambler worthy to sit next too it lol

 

[chrisblaze]

I wanted a truck and a convertible. When the JT was announced it seemed to be the perfect fit. I went back and forth between the JT and Ram, the JT won.

 

[Clay]

My Wrangler took off without me and got into a fight with a tree. The tree won! The frame on both side were bent, so insurance company totaled it.

 

[rr11]

I set on the fence complaining about price, no negation on price for months. Son called me from overseas and said buy the Jeep, some day you will be dead, you can afford it so buy what you want.

 

[MojaveBart]

For me, vehicles are an emotional purchase and not out of need. Meaning I don't have to "justify" my purchase. I like it, it appeals to me, I can afford it, so I buy it.

 

[B-RAD]

Only justification is to my buddies who complain I have too many toys. My wife thought I was joking till a week before it arrived.
You know what, in this “new normal crap” I decided why wait for things you can have today and enjoy them longer.
I gave my leased Durango to my son to finish college in so I needed something to drive . I traded in my 2005 LWB unlimited (broke my heart ) for my middle daughter to get a car for college two years before that so I kind of owed it to myself I figured.

 

[TJDave]

A TJ, a JK, and a F250 turned in to one Gladiator. Saves on insurance, tires, and maintenance.
TJ was built and trailered to the mountains, JK was the flat toad behind the RV, F250 hauled the boat. JT tows the boat just fine, runs trails, and flat tows great.
I kept the car trailer just in case I find an old GPW or MB to hide from the wife!!

 

[Rummie]

Driving a 2015 JKU that my 15 year old son gets next May. Have a day one reservation on a new Bronco (don't shoot me - they are pretty cool trucks). Considered getting a JL as well.

But then we bought a camper! It is at the max for a Wrangler. Makes a Gladiator the perfect vehicle for us. We can pull the camper and still hit the trails when we get to our destination!

I wanted Gator so I found one that matched what I want out of state. Put a deposit on it this week and hope to have it within a week or two.

 

[Artsifrtsi]

I wanted one, I bought one! Purchase justified!

 

[Alans17]

Our 2005 Avalon was still road worthy, but definitely feeling it’s age at 170k miles. Plus it was pretty banged up and not enjoyable to drive. I was still ready to just drive it into the ground (another year or two), but my wife wanted to replace it sooner than later. We sort of settled on getting something in 2021.

I figured I’d get familiarized with the options out there for the eventuality of getting something new.My wife didn’t have have much opinion, but I had a few loose requirements:

1. I didn’t want another SUV. We already have a nice Sorento.
2. It had to be fun. We already have a practical car.
3. It had to fit me, my wife, our two young daughters, and all of our stuff.

My wife drove a Cherokee for nearly 20 years and loved it. She settled for it in high school when her dad wouldn’t get her a Wrangler, but she cried the day we sold it. I drove an extended cab f150 before we had kids and loved it, but I gave it up for its smallish back seat and was getting long in the tooth. I had a Chrysler Sebring (2-door w/ sunroof) before that where I could roll down the windows and blast the stereo. It was a real piece of junk, but there was no replacing that open air feeling.

So here I was, exploring options... I really liked the new Bronco, but it was still too far out and it was still an SUV. I gave Tacomas a look, but they still seemed sort of vanilla. A Wrangler was never an option since it could fit all of us, but not all our stuff, and it’s still basically an SUV.

Somehow I’d made it all the way to September 2020 without realizing the Gladiator even existed. There weren’t many on the road and I live in a bubble. When I saw it, it ticked every box... Jeep... Truck... Room for us and our stuff... Open air...

I asked my wife if we should get “something fun like a Jeep” and I saw her eyes light up. She probably figured she’d finally get her Wrangler. But when I showed her the Gladiator, she was very ok with it.

It was more than I thought I would spend. In fact, even though it’s just a Sport S, it’s nearly double what I’ve ever paid for a vehicle. But if I stretch, I can afford it. And I can pretend that it’s practical since it can haul and tow, even though I don’t haul often and have never towed.

And at 41 years old, I’m not old, but I’m not young either. I want to have fun and make memories while there’s still lots of time. I want my whole family to have fond memories. I’ve been very responsible up until this point. It’s time for some fun.

 

[Dreaded1]

Wanted one when I first saw them. My gf broke up with me, we sold our house, I paid off a bunch of debt, traded in my Focus ST for the JTR. The Gladiator is truly a better vehicle for my lifestyle, camping, mountain biking, and snowborading. I have always loved Jeeps but the Wranglers never seemed like they had enough room to me. I plan on driving it for ever, but the resale value also intrigued me in case I need to sell it for some reason.

 

[jjdustr340]

I’ve wanted the Gladiator since the first leaked pics.

We have a smart light connected to an Echo. Every night we say “Alexa good night” and she turns off the light. I created different routines almost nightly, all of which mentioned the Gladiator. Things like little songs, or reminders that my wife got a new 2020 JLU and I was still driving a 2013 JKU, or how I never buy anything for myself.
Finally one day I came home from work and the wife said we had an appointment at the local dealer to look at the 80th Anniversary Gladiator I had seen there. When they offered to give me more than what I owed on the 2013, the deal was done.
So in short, I had Alexa drive my wife crazy to get what I wanted!!!

 

[GladnotSad]

I have lots of kids (5). The youngest are 6 & 8 and all they want to do is fish for bass all day everyday. So that takes us to places all over the map. I have a JKU and it just wasn’t cutting it for space with a cooler, fishing gear, multiple rods and two booster seats. My 8 yr old is obsessed with 1st person fishing videos on YouTube (there’s a million guys doing it now) and one guy had a 4Runner with a drawer system that my son kept talking about. No way I was trading in a Jeep for a 4Runner but a Gladiator would work. The wife was resistant about a pick up and wanted a Yukon or some other family vehicle. She’s been wanting a Peloton and my buddy’s wife just gone and hated it so I bought it and brought it home. Once she was all hot and bothered over the spin bike I said you got what you wanted now I’m getting the the truck. She just smiled and rubbed her bike. Score that one in the win column.

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