What do YOU do to make your Gladiator last forever.

[just_another_guy]

Straight from an engineer who was on the original Pentastar design team.

Are you referencing post #11 in this thread? It's a pretty interesting read on the longevity of the pentastar.

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/626-000-mile-pentastar-teardown.329423/

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[Planerdude]

I'll be picking up my custom Willy's tomorrow as my first jeep. I'm doing an 84 month loans and I plan on having this thing a LONG time. Other than keeping up on regular maintenance and keeping it in the garage, what do you do to keep it going and looking like new?

For me, a coolant filter is one of the best mods for long term owners. They are cheap and easy to install.

 

[DanW]

Are you referencing post #11 in this thread? It's a pretty interesting read on the longevity of the pentastar.

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/626-000-mile-pentastar-teardown.329423/

Bingo! My memory was off. It is a little higher rpm than I thought.

Kevin is a great guy and we've struck up a friendship. He has answered probably 50 questions I've asked him about the Pentastar. I apologized and he said he LOVES talking about it. He's also helped me with some info on a couple other Chrysler engines in my family fleet including the 3.8, 4.7, and 2.4. He drives a 2012 or 13 Chrysler 300 with the Pentastar as his daily driver. So he walks the walk!

One thing I know for sure. My valve stems won't suffer from lack of oil. I can't keep my foot out of the throttle on my Jeep. It is such a fun engine, especially with the manual transmission! It was great to know that it is actually good for it to run hard!

 

[DanW]

For me, a coolant filter is one of the best mods for long term owners. They are cheap and easy to install.

Link to a good one?

 

[DLAW]

People say this but it 100% depends on your APR and your financial discipline. I would gladly take 84 months at like 1.9% or better but the only time I pulled that off was when Ford fucked up and gave me 84 at 0%

1.9% at 84 months will add 6.9% in life of loan interest.
2.9% adds 10.6%
3.9% adds 14.4%
4.9% adds 18.3%

I'm an analyst at a bank and I know I'm completely off topic here. But I really hope people are researching the life of loan costs and comparing them to "what ifs" you went with less months which normally can provide less interest rate. Sometimes you can get away with a monthly payment that is SLIGHTLY more each month but yet the life of loan cost is much less.

 

[sdk131]

I se several references to fluid film here. While I love it....NOT for a brand new vehicle. On a brand new vehicle with a clean undercarriage you have a great opportunity to put on something way better....Amsoil Metal Protector HD. It goes on as a spray and dries as basically candle wax, but with rust preventer chemicals infused in it. Lasts years, does not rinse off, does not collect dirt/dust liek fluid film, and does not leave everything slimy and greasy like Fluid Film. Fluid Film is awesome for older cars that are already dirty....but for new cars Amsoil Metal Protector HD for the undercarriage all the way. I do still use my fluid film sprayer wand/tube with the 360 head to do the inside of the frame rails once per year.

 

[danielspivey]

OMG! 84 month loan!

Please watch this video. He suggests a 20/4/10 rule. Minimum 20% down payment, maximum 4 year (48 months) loan, and 10% of your total monthly income for car expenses.

These are great rules to go by when purchasing a new vehicle. SO MANY people get into debt way over their heads, by purchasing items that they really cannot afford.

This doesn’t always hold true for all cases....

First, this may be applicable for those who pay msrp. I usually negotiate hard and don’t pay any sales or personal property tax. If you get a good price up front, you don’t need to put any down. Also, the gladiator will likely have resale like the JLs... which is super high.


If you take out a 7 year note, at 5 years you will only owe about 30% of the purchase price. Unless you beat it to hell and put 200K miles on it... it’ll like be worth 60% of the purchase price and you will be sitting at around 30% equity.

30% of a 50k rubicon is 15k in equity.... not bad.

Also many times the interest rate is very similar for 72/84 months. I actually took 84 out on mine... the rate ended up being 1.74 with discounts from my credit union. 36-60 would have been only .25 difference.

 

[LostWoods]

OMG! 84 month loan!

Please watch this video. He suggests a 20/4/10 rule. Minimum 20% down payment, maximum 4 year (48 months) loan, and 10% of your total monthly income for car expenses.

These are great rules to go by when purchasing a new vehicle. SO MANY people get into debt way over their heads, by purchasing items that they really cannot afford.

That's financial advice for people who don't understand finance looking to get into a "responsible" loan. For many of us, the Gladiator isn't a strain on our finances; taking a loan with a lower rate and smaller down payment means not having to dip into savings for the down payment which frees up investment money that would otherwise be replenishing savings. The money I haven't put down on my last two trucks has beat the interest rates 5x over in the markets.

 

[Undecided]

Adding my 2 cents in to this that no one asked for -

Everyone can argue about "smart" finances choices all day long. Yes I financed, yes it's expensive - but my opinion is everyone has something they put their money in.

I don't eat out a lot, I don't go bar hoping, I don't buy a bunch of clothes or shoes, I don't have kids, right now I don't even drive to work. The payment fit into my budget and does not strain me. I also chose this over some other wants I had such as putting in a pool this summer.

Was it a "smart" decision? Probably not, actually probably definetly not lol. But I can't take this money with me. In my mind I might as well own(or pay for) a car I drive smiling and love and die in crash than a beater to be "smart" about it and die dreaming.

Life goes down hill? It should hold it's value well enough to get out of okay. If not, I'll handle it then.

Other people might hate this idea, and they are welcome to! It's all just how we see our priorities.

As long as whatever choice you make to get this truck is not directly causing harm or excess stress - I think you're fine. (Like buy your groceries over this truck lol)
___
To the OP - sorry to derail it more. I think most all advice here has covered what I do.

 

[sdk131]

Adding my 2 cents in to this that no one asked for -

Everyone can argue about "smart" finances choices all day long. Yes I financed, yes it's expensive - but my opinion is everyone has something they put their money in.

I don't eat out a lot, I don't go bar hoping, I don't buy a bunch of clothes or shoes, I don't have kids, right now I don't even drive to work. The payment fit into my budget and does not strain me. I also chose this over some other wants I had such as putting in a pool this summer.

Was it a "smart" decision? Probably not, actually probably definetly not lol. But I can't take this money with me. In my mind I might as well own(or pay for) a car I drive smiling and love and die in crash than a beater to be "smart" about it and die dreaming.

Life goes down hill? It should hold it's value well enough to get out of okay. If not, I'll handle it then.

Other people might hate this idea, and they are welcome to! It's all just how we see our priorities.

As long as whatever choice you make to get this truck is not directly causing harm or excess stress - I think you're fine. (Like buy your groceries over this truck lol)
___
To the OP - sorry to derail it more. I think most all advice here has covered what I do.

I just want to echo this! Wow there are some judgemental people on here...and I won't even comment on the financial advice (that was not even requested....and was all over the map). In the last few years i have personally witnessed many people I know tragically die well ahead of their time. Whether it was a freak car crash, or a sudden cancer diagnosis...their lives were tragically taken from them. I also have seen both my parents and my in laws spend years (decades really) planning to "do things when the retire". They saved piles of money, but when they retired they either tragically passed away in a car crash, or their health went off a cliff and they are not able to do those things. My point - if you have the means to enjoy life now....DO IT. Whether that means buying that car, taking that time with the family, etc. You just never know what could happen tomorrow or the next day. If you are covering your expenses, and spending your money how you want to....GO FOR IT!

 

[LostWoods]

We all act within our strengths and there's nothing at all wrong with that. Some people understand finance and some people know how to turn a wrench. Just like how someone trying to fix something they have no business fixing can make things exponentially worse, someone trying to play the finance game they don't understand can equally end up in a bad place. This is why experts exist in the world to help people.

 

[sfurash]

Will definitely look into this!

While fluid film works in the short term first five years it ages badly and is a bitch to remove. I would just wax regularly three to four times a year with a top quality wax like Meguires.

 

[rvillano8188]

Low cost debt is your best friend, if you can afford it, which seems counterintuitive but it's not.

If you have $1mm in the bank and you buy a house for $1mm, if the bank says " We'll give you the mortgage at 2%. How much do you want to borrow and how much do you want to put down and for how long?" your answer should be "all you'll give me" and "as little as I can" and "for as long as I can".

Why? Putting aside the fact that your real rate after your tax deduction on a mortgage is probably really in the 1.75% range (not the case in a vehicle loan- no deduction), you can make $ on the bank's money.

You're paying 2.5% on your mortgage a year- $25k in interest. Typically 30 year term. You take your million in cash you didn't put in the house and invest it- pick whatever you want. If you're able to beat 2.5% over the long term, that money is pure profit for you. So if you somehow end up making 4% a year on average over those 30 years, a reasonable but not risk free number, you'll net out $450,000 in cash vs 0 if you put the full $1mm into the house. That's assume you just put the extra $15k you get a year into a mattress and don't invest it. If you invested it annually at the same 4%, you'd end up in 30 years with $841,000, net.

And because you have a 30 year term, you'll be able to take more risk in your investing, so it probably won't be 4%. It'll be more than that.

On TOP of that, when you get gains on your house, even if they just move with inflation, the return on money invested in the house is massive- Say you had to put $100,000 down on that $1mm house. If the house goes up with inflation (assume 2%- I know inflation hasn't been that high, but just assume it) the house will go up $20k a year. That's not a 2% gain on your investment, that's a 20% gain on your money down.

Why do you think people get rich in real estate? Leverage, baby. Just gotta be able to pay the monthly nut and you'll be fine over time. Better than fine.

What sucks about this? You only get the hot 2.5% rate if you don't NEED to borrow the money. So when they say the rich get richer...that's what they mean.

None of this is an inducement to lever the hell out of yourself if you DON'T have the money to cover the loan. It's just suggesting that what we all heard from our moms and dads about not owing money is good advice- IF YOU DON'T HAVE MONEY. If you do, it's terrible advice.

I bought the jeep on credit even though I could pay cash. Why? Because my bank gave me 2%. Challenge accepted. 0% down, even financed the taxes.

NONE OF THIS IS FINANCIAL ADVICE, I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY IF SOMEONE MISUNDERSTANDS AND ENDS UP OWNING 3 HOUSES AND LOSES EM ALL.

this, so much this.

 

[rvillano8188]

I am in my 50s. The average person my age who has a savings has about $80,000 saved. That’s really pathetic.

What this also tells me is that practically no one pays cash.

The average person in their 50’s has much more than that in their savings. Closer to 120k.

 

[mep4wd]

Read the manual. I guarantee you'll find things out about your Gladiator you don't know and couldn't learn by any other means. At this point, you don't know what you don't know.

As you take it off road, take it easy and become aware of how it handles various situations and obstacles. Learn it's strengths and weakness. It has incredible off road capabilities right off the showroom floor. You need to learn them.

Check out youtube to see what other people do with their Gladiators. This is a quick and easy way to better understand it's limitations and shortcut the learning process.

It's so tempting to "ready-fire-aim". This can be a very expensive mistake. Take lots of time to research before you decide what you want to do with your Jeep when it "grows up". (daily driver? trail runner? Overlander? Rock crawler?)

Don't just add 40 inch tires, a 4 inch lift, a 200 lb. bumper, a high dollar winch and lots of lights just to make it look cool. If you do this, what happens next? Will you be more tempted to engage in adventures that lead it to a short life or early death?

Keep it garaged, if you can.

Spray it off after every off-road adventure, just to remove the heavy stuff.

Not saying all Jeep service departments are perfect, but take some time and get to know the folks in your Jeep dealer service department. Ask how long they have been working there. Keep in mind they stare at Jeeps all day long, every day. Many if not most of them live the lifestyle. Ask questions. Tell them your plans. Get suggestions. Make them a part of your "pit crew". Get their perspective. Not saying you have to follow their advice blindly.

Don't do upgrades that may void the warranty.

Always make sure your jeep is pristine clean before getting it serviced. Never take your jeep to the dealer in a dirty state.

Take care of it and it'll take care of you.

Treat it like you intend to keep it for life.

You didn't just buy a vehicle, you joined a family. Enjoy !!!

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