Many opinions on this. Either way, chose mods and parts wisely and you'll have a great rig. My opinion only based upon building a Rubi, if I had to do it again and build to the level I now have mine I'd start with a Sport instead. The reasoning is that much of what I paid for in the Rubi package has been replaced (wheels & tires, suspension, skids, rails). I haven't run precise side by side numbers, but I think I could have built a stouter rig for the same money, using the Rubi option cash for an Atlas II, specialist front axle, ARBs. Something you should compare before you buy.

 

What state do you live in? The other thing is your saying mild trail stuff if that is the case you will probably not dedicate enough time to build up a sport. The Rubicon is very capable out of the box and will be a great jeep to start with and handle 35's with no problem. Lift it slap on the tires and get a winch.
Get a sport and you will spend a lot of time and money to get to the same point.
Good luck with your choice.

 

I'm in Lafayette, La.... We have some nice trails around and a bunch of mud holes. I was thinking of a stock Rubicon...msrp with the options I want puts me at 41ish. The dallas dealership is quoting out a sport with bumpers, lift, wheels and tires, kevlar paint, lights, winch, and custom leather interior for around 42. I'm going to lift it either way I go...sport or rubicon. Also going to change the bumpers and side skids. It just seems like I'm spending way more for the rubicon only to replace everything except the swaybar disconnect, stronger axle, and a better crawling gear...

Scott.

 

Not sure what kind of trails you have, but the Rubicon isn't going to be worth the extra money in the mud. The lower t-case ratio won't help at all, the lockers won't make much of a difference over the brake-lock diff function, and the swaybar disco won't make much difference either. The Rubi's hardware pays off the most for crawling.

I'm in agreement with everyone else that says don't buy a modded Jeep from the dealer. Add-ons just give them more opportunity to inflate their profit margin. Get the best price you can get on a stock one, be it Rubi or Sport, and mod it how you like.

p.s.- Don't know what kevlar paint is, but it sounds gimmicky

 

I'm looking at getting a 2012... There's a dealership in Dallas that does some pretty nice mods and sells them.

big thing from what you said is that you will 99.99999% likely get raped if you buy it pre-modded by the dealer.

advantage is you can finance your mods and will probably have less of a warranty fight since you bought it new from them that way


My take on the rubi/vs non argument is this:

with a rubi, you get a very capable rig out of the box with less stuff that you "have" to add.
As you mod it, you just make it even better.

main perks - front and rear lockers, 44 axle in the front, 4:1 t-case, 4.10 gears, electronic sway bar disco (even though they can be prone to failure if you get it wet, its still a nice feature), rock rails.

 

Do not buy a pre modified new Jeep. They charge about 300% markup n the actual value of the parts, more if you would ave DIY'd those mods.

The rubicon v. Sport debate has been done a million times. A lift is cheap. Lockers and axles are not. A transfer case is not cheap either. Also consider most people start off way more reluctant to "wheel it" than they end up[\b]. Meaning the initial rubicon leaves you ahead of the game. Somehow the 4drs you are looking at are $20,000 more than I paid for my new Rubicon in 09. So I can't quite say what id do if I was talking those kinds of numbers.

 

Do not buy a pre modified new Jeep. They charge about 300% markup n the actual value of the parts, more if you would ave DIY'd those mods.

I'm waiting on a response to my trade inquiry. Once he sorts out giving me what I want (he's pretty close)... I'll start picking the jeep deal apart. I like a few things they do...thinking of maybe sticking with getting them to do the kevlar paint and matching fender flares on a rubicon and doing the rest on my own. We'll see how the deal looks when numbers start coming across.

Also, leather in the jeep...is the only option that saddle brown package?...that's all I'm seeing around here...

 

i was in the same boat i opted for the rubicon do to the fact that it is very capable out of the box like stated above also my skill level for modifications is limited do to the fact i am new to the sport, i am slowly adding things to the rubicon building it in phases my first phase i got full RROR skids, PSC BFH bumpers front and rear and a warn 9.5cti winch i wheeled it for the first time last weekend and was very impressed with no lift and tires i am happy i got the skids. But it is up to you in the end and how you wanna tackle this thing good luck make sure you post up some pics of what you get

 

need to talk to jdemoto on this board. He is a jeep dealer and heard that he has made some nice deals

 

Ok, sooo after going back and forth...here's the outcome... The dealer came out with a sport with the mods and inflated it up to 46300!! Yea, I doubt I'm gonna pay that. I found a dealer about 150 miles away that has a rubicon that's pretty well spec'd out with a manual trans... MSRP at 38k and drive out price of 35081. I'm thinking of jumping on this deal. I'm going to get the ballpark on the trades on monday. But it looks like with the trades and financing, I'll have around 8k in hand to toss at mods. I've already decided on a rk 3.5" x factor mid arm with 35" open country mts... Deciding on the bumpers right now... Any reviews on the expedition one rear bumper?

Scott.

 

Ok, sooo after going back and forth...here's the outcome... The dealer came out with a sport with the mods and inflated it up to 46300!!

Scott.

WOW!!! were they going to kiss you with that deal ?

I don't know if it matters to you but I won't buy a new vehicle anymore. There are dozens of Jeeps around with less than 30,000 miles on them that have never been offroad and in perfect shape. Let someone else eat the initial depreciation on one.
I'm not trying to say anything bad about buying a new one if that is what you want to do.I'm just saying I saved $5,000 on mine buying it used. Even driving a couple hundred miles to save several thousand dollars wouldn't be a bad deal.