JK Question

I have been toying with selling my YJ and trading in my Subaru for a 14 JK. What are people's thoughts?

Are you going to use it to mall crawl or wheel?

mostly commuting to be honest since it will be a dd but I want to take it around the back dirt roads. I obviously couldn't afford to rock crawl it. I would like to definitely do low risk wheeling.

Do it. I wish I never sold my '12 JKR. It was on 35s and a better DD than a stock TJ/LJ. I love my LJ, but the JK is a better vehicle.  Here is what was better:

-Seats
-Ride/Handling
-Interior Amenities (120 volt house style plug, better radio, more space)
-Engine (more power and better MPG)
-Soft Top (sunrider that work flawlessly and easy to fold all the way down)
-Ability to run 35s dirt cheap (Rough Country 2.5" spacers and trimmed fenders)

Do yourself a favor and get a Rubicon. I have driven both Rubicon tend non-Rubicons and the Rubcon rides better and has everything you will ever need around here once you're on 35s.

What Shaun said !! Do yourself a favor and get a Rubicon.

just worried about giving up the dd reliability of a 2013 subaru outback.

I guess you can't have it all but you can try.

I've owned both an outback and several Jeeps. I enjoyed DDing the JK the most believe it or not.

if you get rid of your dd youll be afraid to break the jeep and not be able to drive to work. i know i wouldnt whell as hard or have as much fun if i didnt have a second vehicle.

Haha i can't afford to wail my YJ either. I am no mechanic and I can't afford to have it fixed. I do a lot of dirt roads in backwoods maine that have some terrain a little too gritty for the outback. I also am terrified ill break down in the YJ away from cell service. It makes me afraid to take it some places. I also am loving having a 5 speed in the YJ so I think a stronger 6 will be more fun especially with hill start assist.

Mine was my DD and I wasn't nice to it.

Its incredible how far the jeeps have come in terms of dd comfort and ability, go with JKR if you can pull it off. My boss has a '12 JKU Sahara, I drive it as often as i can. It helps when he gives it to me to take care of when he goes to Greece for a month every summer.

My TJ rides like a TANK, its a jeep thing

I went from a 08 mercedes to a 08 jkur as my DD and i dont regret it. 35" tires 2.5 lift and still get 15.5 mpg on highway (just drove 3k roundtrip to FL) 13.5 city (it has 78k miles on it and i dont know when the prev.owner did the last tune up. Which is probably affecting mpgs).

this is turning into a tough decision. I test drove one and loved it this weekend. Now I have to figure out how to sell a car too. My YJ will have to go regretfully.

I have a 13 jkus and I love it use it to commute from Saugus to Dorchester everyday and can handle a lot of the trails around here just stock. Didn't regret a single second on buying it!!

Yeah, that's a tough decision. Love a good Subaru Can't beat a YJ for old awesome, but the new JKs are amazingly capable *and* great around town. Gas mileage sucks, but if you're not doing crazy commuting, maybe that doesn't matter.

I *personally* prefer having a DD (aka Subaru) and a toy (aka Jeep), but I don't think you can go wrong either way.

Yeah i would prefer to have both too but... I am neglecting my Subaru and always driving the Jeep. I have been making all the fixes needed on it but i Keep having to pay to have it finished. I am finding I am not car savvy enough to own one this old even though at the moment it is running awesome.

Not to sway you either way, but I think most of the reason any of us know *anything* about cars is because of our old vehicles, ha ha.

When I bought my YJ, I had never so much as changed my oil or even a tire. I got made fun of by my father and relatives because I was so mechanically inept. 3 years later I did a drivetrain swap on the YJ. You will never find a better, simpler vehicle with so much resources to learn. Between the Chilton/Haynes Manual, Jeepforum, and the local guys on this club, you will never be at a loss of the ability to learn and fix what ails it. (Money is a different story, but that's why you have a DD to drive until you've got the time and ambition)

That being said...the JK is stupid simple as well. Less so, but still very straightforward. Biggest disadvantage from a mechanic perspective is that springs, while riding and articulating way better, and *way* more high maintenance and prone to....quirks.

If you're looking for reliability and *maybe* occasional wheeling with a relatively stock vehicle, the JK (or JKU) is a great way to go.

If you're *interested* in learning and growing and building confidence as a mechanic, you'll never find a better combo than a YJ with a reliable daily driver to take the heat off. It lets you not worry if a project is half done. If something breaks or is making a funny noise you don't have to worry about it. It can be a *toy* instead of a headache, and if the Subaru has an issue, you have a backup for that as well.

I'm a bit biased, but we have both a JKU DD (mildly built that we mildly offroad) and *also* a POS beast of a YJ that I like to slam into things and learn on along-side a 2014 Mazda3 Hatchback Babymobile. Both are great options, but for *my* personality type, I prefer having two.

I really wish I had the time and funds to keep up with the YJ but I don't at the moment. I certainly don't want to be Jeepless. I have to make the gamble that I can put enough money together and get the new one. I also dont have the luxury of leaving the Jeep parts unassembled since I am using my parent garage. Means I have to start and finish anything i start within a weekend. My Jeep is running well now so I figure I will sell it while it behaves.