Thinking About Buying A Jeep Gladiator

[Zachanadandy]

Your personal experience is also meaningless if GVSUkids's is.

To him or you it could be and I don't care. I've stated very clearly that my personal experience is the most important factor for ME. As yours should be for YOU. The internet tells me Jeeps are unreliable. We've owned a dozen over the years and aside from the 2019 that was stolen at 63k miles all of them went 200k plus miles without major issues. Aside from breaking things wheeling they've all been super reliable. And with the use I can guarantee you won't find a more reliable vehicle period.

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[Wheelin98TJ]

To him or you it could be and I don't care. I've stated very clearly that my personal experience is the most important factor for ME. As yours should be for YOU. The internet tells me Jeeps are unreliable. We've owned a dozen over the years and aside from the 2019 that was stolen at 63k miles all of them went 200k plus miles without major issues. Aside from breaking things wheeling they've all been super reliable. And with the use I can guarantee you won't find a more reliable vehicle period.

I must not have made my point very well.

1 of 1 sample size is statistically meaningless...

...Our 3 Jeeps have a combined 160k miles of very hard use with 0 issues....

So 1 of 1 is meaningless, but your 3 of 3 counts?

 

[Zachanadandy]

I must not have made my point very well.




So 1 of 1 is meaningless, but your 3 of 3 counts?

Maybe I wasn't clear enough when I said my personal experience is my number 1 criteria as yours should be to you? And it's 12 for 12 on the Jeep side, 1 for 1 on rams, and 0 for 2 on Fords that I've owned and even the rental Ford shit the bed within 3 months. And a car (or unibody SUV) being reliable on the road means 0 in comparison to a Jeep or truck used for Jeep or truck things.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

Maybe I wasn't clear enough when I said my personal experience is my number 1 criteria as yours should be to you? And it's 12 for 12 on the Jeep side, 1 for 1 on rams, and 0 for 2 on Fords that I've owned and even the rental Ford shit the bed within 3 months. And a car (or unibody SUV) being reliable on the road means 0 in comparison to a Jeep or truck used for Jeep or truck things.

Even the rental Ford shit the bed? And those rentals are maintained and cared for so well.

 

[Tim. Y.]

It was from a dealer mentioned in the thread below. He was easy to work with.

Tom Winkels
FlexCare/Mopar Service Contract Sales
LaFontaine CDJR of Walled Lake
[email protected]

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...rchase-the-good-the-bad-and-the-insane.76869/

 

[Zachanadandy]

Even the rental Ford shit the bed? And those rentals are maintained and cared for so well.

It was a 1 year old truck with 23k miles on it. And being united rentals they are usually longer term rentals vs something like hertz at the airport. It shouldn't need a new turbo before 30k miles even if it still had the factory oil in it. At least they've upgraded the seats to fold flat so you can nap while you wait for the tow truck. I'll never buy another Ford from the 2 I've owned and the free company provided rental wasn't worth the $0 it cost me.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Your personal experience is also meaningless if GVSUkids's is.

But he's comparing multiple Jeeps, at least 3, over a time period, and that have been used hard, thousands of miles on trails and jumps at speed. Desert running is hard on things - extreme heat and dust.

1 Jeep compared to 1 Bronco Sport - that doesn't mean a whole lot.

It's like one person coming in and saying they just bought their first Jeep and it's a piece of crap, lots of trouble, and so on, do they are dumping Jeep, never buying another one, they are all trash.

 

[WILDHOBO]

Actually have been reading and keeping up. I have learned a lot.

I hope the only thing you’ve learned is that there are always disgruntled people on forums. It sounds like you absolutely know the difference between midsized and full. If you want the transformer of convertible pickup trucks, and love smiling a lot, you won’t look back. Unless you’re looking back to take one more look after you park it.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

But he's comparing multiple Jeeps, at least 3, over a time period, and that have been used hard, thousands of miles on trails and jumps at speed. Desert running is hard on things - extreme heat and dust.

1 Jeep compared to 1 Bronco Sport - that doesn't mean a whole lot.

It's like one person coming in and saying they just bought their first Jeep and it's a piece of crap, lots of trouble, and so on, do they are dumping Jeep, never buying another one, they are all trash.

They’re both very small samples. Hard use doesn’t matter when it comes to certain things, for example, a heated steering wheel that doesn’t work or bubbling paint.

Being reliable in tough conditions does say something. I had a TJ that took quite a beating. I broke every driveline part at some point. I wouldn’t even consider it unreliable because of what I was doing to it.

 

[Banjo702]

My $.02. I have always had chevy silverados. My last being 1500 with 6" lift with coilovers in the front drove great. Then I bought my first Jeep (24 Gladiator) after eyeing them for years. Test drove Mojave and was amazed at how smooth it was, but wanted Rubicon for the lockers. Ordered the rubicon. I put a 2" molar lift with the Bilstein shocks. I LOVE this truck!! It is the smoothest truck I have ever driven. I do tow a Tige Ski boat (apron 4500lbs) approximately 100 miles one way and It does ok. I have learned to feather the pedal to keep it from screaming in lower gears when I want it to shift. I could use the Manual part of the shifter. For me the only draw back is the smaller cab for traveling but I have adjusted the way I have packed. Oh I usually travel with wife and at least one of the 2 kids, if not both most of the time. Hope That helps.

 

[JonMN]

My Gladiator is my first Jeep. I have been interested for many years, but finally went with one. It actually replaced a nice sports car that only ended up with 2000 miles per year. It's great to have a fun vehicle that is not fragile. I can drive over curbs that used to make me cringe. About 9K miles the first year too! Size is great--not as big as our old Ford, but not too small to be useful.

I have to admit I did not read all 16 pages of this thread. I read a lot of reviews/threads of Gladiators and Wranglers, and came to the conclusion the Mojave might be the nicest ride. I will not be rock crawling, but will (and have) drive(en)
thru 10" snow before they get around to plowing.

We are having a blast with ours. The Bestop Sunrider almost makes it a convertible. Added a tonneau cover to carry things in the rain. Really happy with the change from our previous "fun car".

Quality has been really good with no major problems. Love Sarge Green! (OK, I have an occasional click when the A/C adjusts, and it's not the blend door actuator that was replaced)

 

[MNWillys]

Title says it all.
I’m married, 52 years old with 2 kids ages 21 and 23.
I drive 10 miles round trip to work and my hunting lease is about 15 miles round trip.
I currently have a 2008 Tundra.
Your thoughts?
Is the Gladiator Rubicon the smoothest rides out of the Gladiators? I’m leaning towards that one for the little bit of towing I do.

Whichever model you decide on you should emphasize payload capacity as one of the top priorities. My WILLYS is only rated at 990 lbs. Definitely go for a Mojave or Rubicon if you really need the capacities. They’ll also hold their value more.

 

[Zachanadandy]

They’re both very small samples. Hard use doesn’t matter when it comes to certain things, for example, a heated steering wheel that doesn’t work or bubbling paint.

Being reliable in tough conditions does say something. I had a TJ that took quite a beating. I broke every driveline part at some point. I wouldn’t even consider it unreliable because of what I was doing to it.

I'll preface by saying I haven't had any of the cosmetic or electronic issues either, but your examples are exactly why I put 0 weight in the major publications "reliability" surveys. Those aren't remotely reliability related in my opinion. Does it start, run, drive, haul, tow, crawl, jump, etc every time I ask it too? Then it's 100% reliable. I wouldn't be happy if I had bubbling paint or the seat heater didn't work but it wouldn't stop me from wheeling it and it certainly wouldn't leave me stranded. Having perfect paint is even less impressive than having a reliable station wagon to me... because it's a Jeep.

 

[Hootbro]

The Gladiator had more issues in the first two years than the Bronco Sport has.

Depends how one wants to look at it but I own a 22 Bronco Sport that is the wife's daily driver. That specific vehicle has been the subject of 3 recalls to date but I did not have any of problems the recall addressed. Other than that, it has been solid.

My 2020 and 2021 JT's may have had one recall, but it was in service for a bunch of TSB niggle issues that needing taken care of.

My 2022 and current 2025 JT have been rock solid. For me, that is somewhat hard to balance calling either one better than the other in terms of issues.

 

[Banjo702]

I will add that I have had two things fixed when I first got it. Fuel door broken and rear passenger door was not aligned correctly. Other than that it's been good to go. And I have wheeled it in Big Bear, ca on John Bull Trail.

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