Klutch
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 25, 2019
- Threads
- 18
- Messages
- 816
- Reaction score
- 1,006
- Location
- Colorado Springs
- Vehicle(s)
- 1986 Jeep Comanche, 2000 Jeep Cherokee
- Thread starter
- #1
We've been getting some early, October snow in Colorado. I couldn't go to work today due to it being a "Snow Day". Yeah, bummer.
So I went to my local Jeep dealer to look at the Gladiators. I'm not ready to buy. I called ahead and told them I had some questions about the options and packages. The rep on the phone said she would have someone waiting for me. Here's the lowdown:
- Sure enough, I walked in the door and a sales rep was waiting and knew my name. Cool.
- We sat down and I told him I was looking to buy a mid-size, 4x4 truck and, although I was interested in the Gladiator, I hadn't bothered to look since everything I saw online was priced above MSRP. He assured me that particular dealer had never priced the Gladiators above MSRP unless they had added a lot of accessories. Well, OK. I had looked at the dealer web site and, indeed, they had not been adding a dealer markup to every truck.
- I told him I was interested in Max Towing and my wife preferred heated seats. I also mentioned I didn't really like black, gray or silver. He said the Max Towing was available only on the Sport and Sport S models. OK, cool. That's the kind of info I was looking for. (While looking online, I was confused about what options were available on which trim.)
- He went and got a Firecracker Red Sport to show me. It was the first time I had seen the inside of a Gladiator up close. I was pleasantly surprised at the rear seat room. I also liked the driver seat position and the good, 360 visibility. The interior had black cloth seats which are fine for me. The cabin was pretty spiffy. Not Lincoln Navigator cushy, which I wouldn't want in a Jeep, but not crude either.
- It's cold today; below freezing. And, wow, the heater was overwhelming. I had to turn it off and roll down the windows.
- The sales rep was very knowledgeable about the truck. He pointed out the options that came with the Sport and additional options the dealer had ordered. This particular truck had removable hard tops, side steps, a bed cover and lane change assist. I'm not really interested in lane change assist, but it seems most of the Gladiators come with that option. I looked at the window sticker and, as he indicated, the truck did in fact have Max Towing with the 4:10 differentials. Cool.
- We took the truck for a drive through the snow; perfect for test-driving a Jeep! I left the truck in 4-Wheel High through the whole test drive. I drove over some somewhat deep snow, thin snow, ice then wet and dry road. The 4-wheel drive system worked very well. No slipping. No clunking. Just good, solid traction. Bingo.
- I came to a straightaway and mashed the pedal which is narrow. The little V-6 had a cool growl. It got up and went nicely. The 8-speed auto is a big help and suspect the 4.10 gears also give it more pep. It shifts crisply without banging into gear and moved the truck right along. This was another nice surprise. My current daily driver is a 2000 Cherokee. It has the famous inline-6 with really good torque, so I was ready to be disappointed at the V-6.
- The overall ride of the Gladiator is excellent. The longer wheelbase makes for going over speed bumps and across driveways very pleasant; not too cushy, it is a truck, but far from tooth-shattering. I didn't take the truck off-road and can't comment about that.
- I drove the truck through a roundabout and through a tight parking lot. Steering geometry is quite good. I was able to maneuver this somewhat-long truck very easily. There's a lot of power steering boost, but not so much that you lose all feeling for the road.
I had told the rep I wasn't ready to buy today. He said that was fine, but quickly provided me a price for the truck anyway. He didn't spew any nonsense about the Gladiators being rare, limited production, hard-to-find, in high demand or anything like that. Without any negotiating, he offered me $3,200 below the sticker price. That sticker price was $49,000. That's a lot of scratch, but these days, that's what it costs for any new, 4-door, 4x4 truck with some options on it. (Shoot, late-model used trucks don't seem to be any cheaper.)
In summary, I was expecting a clueless sales rep who would lie to me in a feeble attempt to justify above-sticker pricing. I was expecting to find Gladiators with a bunch of expensive accessories and options I didn't want and no Gladiators with max towing. I was expecting the V-6 to be anemic. I was expecting a hard-sell and attempts to keep me on the lot. So, overall, I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't ask about things like a Tread Lightly discount. I did mention I could get about 7% below invoice from a dealer in Boise if I ordered a Gladiator. The rep said we could look at possible discounts if I wanted to order a truck, but I didn't press him about it. Now to keep saving for a big down payment...
So I went to my local Jeep dealer to look at the Gladiators. I'm not ready to buy. I called ahead and told them I had some questions about the options and packages. The rep on the phone said she would have someone waiting for me. Here's the lowdown:
- Sure enough, I walked in the door and a sales rep was waiting and knew my name. Cool.
- We sat down and I told him I was looking to buy a mid-size, 4x4 truck and, although I was interested in the Gladiator, I hadn't bothered to look since everything I saw online was priced above MSRP. He assured me that particular dealer had never priced the Gladiators above MSRP unless they had added a lot of accessories. Well, OK. I had looked at the dealer web site and, indeed, they had not been adding a dealer markup to every truck.
- I told him I was interested in Max Towing and my wife preferred heated seats. I also mentioned I didn't really like black, gray or silver. He said the Max Towing was available only on the Sport and Sport S models. OK, cool. That's the kind of info I was looking for. (While looking online, I was confused about what options were available on which trim.)
- He went and got a Firecracker Red Sport to show me. It was the first time I had seen the inside of a Gladiator up close. I was pleasantly surprised at the rear seat room. I also liked the driver seat position and the good, 360 visibility. The interior had black cloth seats which are fine for me. The cabin was pretty spiffy. Not Lincoln Navigator cushy, which I wouldn't want in a Jeep, but not crude either.
- It's cold today; below freezing. And, wow, the heater was overwhelming. I had to turn it off and roll down the windows.
- The sales rep was very knowledgeable about the truck. He pointed out the options that came with the Sport and additional options the dealer had ordered. This particular truck had removable hard tops, side steps, a bed cover and lane change assist. I'm not really interested in lane change assist, but it seems most of the Gladiators come with that option. I looked at the window sticker and, as he indicated, the truck did in fact have Max Towing with the 4:10 differentials. Cool.
- We took the truck for a drive through the snow; perfect for test-driving a Jeep! I left the truck in 4-Wheel High through the whole test drive. I drove over some somewhat deep snow, thin snow, ice then wet and dry road. The 4-wheel drive system worked very well. No slipping. No clunking. Just good, solid traction. Bingo.
- I came to a straightaway and mashed the pedal which is narrow. The little V-6 had a cool growl. It got up and went nicely. The 8-speed auto is a big help and suspect the 4.10 gears also give it more pep. It shifts crisply without banging into gear and moved the truck right along. This was another nice surprise. My current daily driver is a 2000 Cherokee. It has the famous inline-6 with really good torque, so I was ready to be disappointed at the V-6.
- The overall ride of the Gladiator is excellent. The longer wheelbase makes for going over speed bumps and across driveways very pleasant; not too cushy, it is a truck, but far from tooth-shattering. I didn't take the truck off-road and can't comment about that.
- I drove the truck through a roundabout and through a tight parking lot. Steering geometry is quite good. I was able to maneuver this somewhat-long truck very easily. There's a lot of power steering boost, but not so much that you lose all feeling for the road.
I had told the rep I wasn't ready to buy today. He said that was fine, but quickly provided me a price for the truck anyway. He didn't spew any nonsense about the Gladiators being rare, limited production, hard-to-find, in high demand or anything like that. Without any negotiating, he offered me $3,200 below the sticker price. That sticker price was $49,000. That's a lot of scratch, but these days, that's what it costs for any new, 4-door, 4x4 truck with some options on it. (Shoot, late-model used trucks don't seem to be any cheaper.)
In summary, I was expecting a clueless sales rep who would lie to me in a feeble attempt to justify above-sticker pricing. I was expecting to find Gladiators with a bunch of expensive accessories and options I didn't want and no Gladiators with max towing. I was expecting the V-6 to be anemic. I was expecting a hard-sell and attempts to keep me on the lot. So, overall, I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't ask about things like a Tread Lightly discount. I did mention I could get about 7% below invoice from a dealer in Boise if I ordered a Gladiator. The rep said we could look at possible discounts if I wanted to order a truck, but I didn't press him about it. Now to keep saving for a big down payment...
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