nosbusa1700 said:
I've been looking at buying one as well.
The only one's I have come across the people are asking crazy money for them. For example a 2006 for 32k. :LOLOL
If the person can get it great.. But I'm not paying that much for a used SRT.
Since I've waited this long, I've also been thinking about ordering a 2011/12. It's suppose be redesigned and have 500hp.
When I lived in Gainesville, I looked at quite a few of them. That was a little over a year ago, and lower mileage (~30k) were trending at around $25k. A few of my buddies with them paid $24-26k for theirs around that same time. But now they're wanting crazy money for them. Everyone is asking $30k for them, almost regardless of year and mileage, lol. You can find a loaded 08-09 with low miles for like $35k, or an 06 with 50k on it for $31k. If you're looking at a newer one, then you can find a good deal. But a lot of people are in way over their heads with the earlier models.
That said, they're beasts. That's the only way to describe them. The low down torque is insane, and they launch with a fury you'd never expect. They make fantastic noises, are pretty comfortable, and I've found them to have decent interior space. They sure do love the gas though, especially if you put your foot into it (and you will). Not the sort of vehicle I'd want to lend to my wifey without explaining to her and making sure she understood just how powerful it was. They really have enough power to get yourself into a lot of trouble, and they want to go fast. From a dig, they beg to go fast. They're a lot less overbearing from a roll though, and they're not the sort of vehicle where if you tap the gas too much on the highway you end up going 20mph faster than you intended. They're very well mannered at highway speeds, though IMO they cruiser at WAY too high of rpm.
The biggest drawback to them is that if you end up on the Cherokeesrt8 forum (and you will), you're going to end up wanting to spend a ton of money on mods (and you will). It starts with tinted tails, then you "need" a BT catch can, then you want HIDs + projectors, then you need LED tails to round it out and headlight covers. Then you want to get rid of the chrome trim and murder the truck out, then you need powdercoating, and by the time you're done you've spent a lot of money. It'll be a sick ride, but it'll have been very, very expensive.
The other thing is the fact that they're totally over valued right now. I can go out and buy a Cayenne S for the same money that they're asking for these Jeeps with less miles and a far nicer interior. Sure it won't be *as* fast, but it'll be quick and it'll be a Porsche Cayenne. Or you can get a Range Rover Sport Supercharged in the same price bracket, with the same big difference in speed, but huge difference in luxury. Or a 4.8is BMW X5, or you can save a buncha money and get a 4.6is X5. Again, much slower, but nicer features and a more respected brand (plus those BMWs are gems, fantastic engines and actually not bad to work on yourself). You could even get a Cayenne Turbo (possibly Turbo S) if you looked around, and the ML63 prices are trending down into that range too.
This is what i'd do. Pay the Wrangler off over the next year, and see where things are then. By then they'll have either announced the new GCSRT8, or won't have announced it, so that'll be cleared up. There's also a host of other vehicles that will be down in price then too. During this time, drive all the SUVs, Cayenne S, Cayenne Turbo, X5, GCSRT8, RRS Supercharged, etc. Decide if the performance edge is enough to win you over the luxury features. Then slowly find the right deal. I'd also recommend waiting until it's been paid off for a few months to decide if you really want a new payment too. No payments is a wonderful thing.
