Ordering Wrangler vs Gladiator?

[Volt3894]

I'm not sure if anyone else has mentioned it, but if you're looking for the interior storage of a Wrangler but the bed of a Gladiator, you can always get a cap. I have a Leer cap on mine- I love it, it's super convenient and it gets tons of compliments. Mine is textured black to match the factory hard top. It's a really close match.

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[jbmccormick66]

I just bought a Rubicon Gladiator. I looked at a 4 door Wrangler and a Gladiator, and drove both, albeit on the paved roads. At the various dealerships, there was little in the way of new inventory of Wranglers, with slightly more available on the Gladiators. I ended up choosing a white Rubicon because I thought it really looked sharp and drove great, with the Gladiator being a smoother ride. Part of my decision was also based on the inventory and there was nothing with a "wow" factor that I could drive off a dealer lot.

I plan to use the Gladiator to tow my sea-doo watercraft, and haul the various toys associated with it, as well hockey bags. Glad not to have wet tow ropes and inflatable covered in sand in the back of a Wrangler along with smelly hockey bags.

Finally, I decided to have something different than all the Wranglers I see around where I live.

John

 

[NachoRuby]

IS it though? I suppose if you don't plan to modify anything, it could be true. But a lot of us replace the wheels, tires, gears, bumpers, lights, etc. locking diffs and electronic sway bars may be the only exception but even those can be improved upon. I suppose if you're ok having a rig that looks like it came from a cookie cutter, it can work. but realistically, how many of us on this forum do that?

Just depends on what you like. This argument is had probably every other day on here, but the price difference wasn't enough that I could have saved any money by getting a sport and adding everything myself. I guess if you have the ability and time to do all the labor yourself when upgrading things, and sort it out, and you enjoy it, go for it. Considering parts and labor, there's no way I personally could have started with another trim and saved money. Also, factor in the fact that the only way to get a manual (like @Rahkmalla and I have) from the factory with 4.1s is on a Rubicon or Mojave.

 

[Edub]

Just depends on what you like. This argument is had probably every other day on here, but the price difference wasn't enough that I could have saved any money by getting a sport and adding everything myself. I guess if you have the ability and time to do all the labor yourself when upgrading things, and sort it out, and you enjoy it, go for it. Considering parts and labor, there's no way I personally could have built it fr another trim and saved money. Also, factor in the fact that the only way to get a manual (like @Rahkmalla and I have) from the factory with 4.1s is on a Rubicon or Mojave.

100%

I do love working on it myself and the amount of money I have saved by doing so is not lost on me.

"Also, factor in the fact that the only way to get a manual from the factory with 4.1s is on a Rubicon or Mojave."

But, throw on some bigger tires and you need to regear anyways.

 

[NachoRuby]

"Also, factor in the fact that the only way to get a manual from the factory with 4.1s is on a Rubicon or Mojave."

But, throw on some bigger tires and you need to regear anyways.

Depends on how big. 35s are doable on the stock gearing. I might regear eventually (been running the 35s for about 6 or 7 months now), but I might not. It's not the highest thing on my priority list. With the mountains around here, with 3.73s, it definitely would be.

100%

I do love working on it myself and the amount of money I have saved by doing so is not lost on me.

I'll do some things myself, but replacing axles or a transfer case is not something I want to learn how to do on my daily driver, so I commend those of you with the ability to perform vehicular surgery.

 

[Rahkmalla]

I'll do some things myself, but replacing axles or a transfer case is not something I want to learn how to do on my daily driver, so I commend those of you with the ability to perform vehicular surgery.

This was a big one for me. I didn't want to mess with any part of the driveline. Driveline is where all the more expensive failures that I wouldn't do myself are. Most of the bits that will make my ordered Mojave my own will be stuff like custom leather, armorlite, rims and wheels, muffler chop, rubicon steel stubby knockoff, window control module,

My truck wont be cookie cutter when i'm done, but it will be pretty darn close. And that's fine with me. I bought a gobi mojave because I like the way it looks stock. don't wanna change too much, just the bits that will definitively serve me better.

 

[Glad-To-Be-Here-iator]

Strong disagree here. 43 for a sport s popular equipment package. 48 for an overland popular equipment package with rebate. 53 for a hardtop rubi or mojave. That 5 or 10k difference (4.3 or 8.5 after markups taken out and discount applied) is a LOT of stuff for not a lot of money.

How do you get a discount?

 

[Rahkmalla]

How do you get a discount?

Order from a dealer who is discounting. Unfortunately I don't know any close to you. I have a 3% under invoice dealer 30 minutes from me. The closest dealer I know to you who deals is Zach@Granger, which is quite a distance in Iowa. But they do 4% below invoice, zero stipulations, and have a stupid low doc fee.

If you can't find a dealer closer to you who discounts, order from Granger, they'll pick you up from the airport when you arrive and you can roadtrip it back. The amount you'll save on a gladiator will more than pay for the one-way flight to pick it up. For example my Mojave is stick 52,915. I'm paying $48,851. The same vehicle at Granger would be 48,348. Alternatively you could go with Gupton which i think offers 7% right now if you tread lightly and finance which would be 46,837, but their doc fee is around $800 i think whereas granger is $180 so they're really only a grand apart, and I think Gupton ties 2% of that 7% to you financing with them.

 

[Zach@Granger]

Order from a dealer who is discounting. Unfortunately I don't know any close to you. I have a 3% under invoice dealer 30 minutes from me. The closest dealer I know to you who deals is Zach@Granger, which is quite a distance in Iowa. But they do 4% below invoice, zero stipulations, and have a stupid low doc fee.

If you can't find a dealer closer to you who discounts, order from Granger, they'll pick you up from the airport when you arrive and you can roadtrip it back. The amount you'll save on a gladiator will more than pay for the one-way flight to pick it up. For example my Mojave is stick 52,915. I'm paying $48,851. The same vehicle at Granger would be 48,348. Alternatively you could go with Gupton which i think offers 7% right now if you tread lightly and finance which would be 46,837, but their doc fee is around $800 i think whereas granger is $180 so they're really only a grand apart, and I think Gupton ties 2% of that 7% to you financing with them.

Thanks for the shout-out. A lot of good options if you're patient enough to order.

 

[Willpower1]

I had a ‘19 JLU Rubicon. Traded on a ‘21 JT Mojave. Great switch imo. The Mojave was just much more versatile for my needs, better ride, looks awesome.

 

[calebowen]

I had a ‘19 JLU Rubicon. Traded on a ‘21 JT Mojave. Great switch imo. The Mojave was just much more versatile for my needs, better ride, looks awesome.

Same. Traded my 19 JLU Rubicon for a 22 Mojave. Couldn't believe how different the ride was and now I can tow a travel trailer. Definitely a different kind of beast, but I love rolling in my JT now.

 

[dcmdon]

Order from a dealer who is discounting. Unfortunately I don't know any close to you. I have a 3% under invoice dealer 30 minutes from me. The closest dealer I know to you who deals is Zach@Granger, which is quite a distance in Iowa. But they do 4% below invoice, zero stipulations, and have a stupid low doc fee.

If you can't find a dealer closer to you who discounts, order from Granger, they'll pick you up from the airport when you arrive and you can roadtrip it back. The amount you'll save on a gladiator will more than pay for the one-way flight to pick it up. For example my Mojave is stick 52,915. I'm paying $48,851. The same vehicle at Granger would be 48,348. Alternatively you could go with Gupton which i think offers 7% right now if you tread lightly and finance which would be 46,837, but their doc fee is around $800 i think whereas granger is $180 so they're really only a grand apart, and I think Gupton ties 2% of that 7% to you financing with them.

I bought from Gupton and got 6% off invoice. I believe you can get 7% now.

To the OP. Its not just about the price. Its about the lack of hassle and stress.

I sent Gupton the configuration I wanted. He confirmed it in his ordering tool and sent me a quote. If I liked the quote I clicked on a button and left a $1000 deposit.

He then ordered the truck and got me confirmation along with a VIN within a couple of days.

I flew to Gupton and his guy picked me up at the airport.

When it came time to review the paperwork, it all matched the quote 100% to the penny. No hassle, no stress, no bait and switch. No crap of any kind. 100% professional. 0% stress.

I didn't have to negotiate to get a great deal. The price was the price.

The ONLY hassle of a Gupton deal is the fact that you have to drive it home.

I don't know how much money you make, but I don't make $6000 per day. I saved $6000 off MSRP and had to drive home 1100 miles. I did that in 18 hours and was home 24 hours after I left.

Any of the other dealers on this site that people talk about will offer a similar experience.

The only complaint I have about my Gupton deal was that the outside of the truck wasn't detailed as well as it probably should have been before delivery. Lets face it, if that's the only thing I have to complain about then I'm pretty happy. I would rate my Gupton deal a 98 out of 100.

Of course on the way home I drove through a snow squall and ended up with salt and sand all over the truck, so the detailing wouldn't have mattered anyway. Ha.

 

[dcmdon]

There are certain things that you can't add later from a practical perspective.

My wife wanted leather and all the toys, so I got a Mojave.
I also liked the fact that the suspension felt truly sorted on the road with damping that matched the spring rates well. (decent compliance AND good body control aren't easy to get at the same time)

But if I didn't care about toys or planned to change the suspension I'd have ordered a Sport S with the following options.

1) SelecTrac all wheel drive
2) Safety packages
3) Cold weather package
4) keyless entry
5) Max Tow - I wouldn't intend to put lockers on it

Unless you are buying the MaxTow package, skip the tow packages. It consists of a receiver hitch, "heavy duty" cooling and alternator. You get the alternator with the Aux switches or cold weather package and the "heavy duty cooling" is nothing more than a fan that draws a few more amps. Radiator, oil cooler, and transmission oil cooler are exactly the same. You can buy a genuine MOPAR receiver for about $200 vs $600 for the tow package.

None of these things can be added easily and cheaply and are worth buying when you buy the truck.

 

[Rahkmalla]

To the OP. Its not just about the price. Its about the lack of hassle and stress.

I bought at Chapman, who only does 3% below invoice, but has a doc fee about $500 bucks lower than Gupton, so for apples to apples comparison it was equivalent to saving another % (Zach@Granger, whom i'm always happy to promote because of how well he's handling the whole Bronco fiasco does 4% under with an even lower doc fee of $180, which compared to guptons is equivalent to about 5.5% under in savings).

The only thing that makes me nervous about Chapman is the lease with guaranteed buyout deal they gave me on my current gladiator. I haven't heard any reviews about how smoothly it went for anyone else, and it makes me feel like a canary in the coal mine. (edit: super smooth, zero issues. Old gladiator gone, new gladiator is home!)

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