Taco or Jeep?

Hey, Hey Hey man! Let’s try to be supportive here...

@Itchyfeet #

 

Just looked at a Gladiator Rubicon yesterday. Didn't trip my trigger. I'll stick with my Tacoma.

 

I have owned a TJ Jeep. They're okay for trail riding and mudding if that's what you're into and you're going to use it that way. Other than that, they're loud, uncomfortable, overpriced, and unreliable. Comparatively speaking, the Tacoma does everything better except navigating small/tight trails.

 

Oh, that explains it. Never mind then...

 

I've always loved wrangles but never owned one for many negative reasons outweighing the positives. I looked and test drove them before purchasing my 2018 Taco Sport including other trucks etc. and the pure fact that they were $20,000 overpriced for a basic model in comparison to the Taco, was a no brainer decision for me.

 

Yes, Jeep keeps making it harder and harder to justify buying one when prices go up so fast...but quality and service don’t.

 

When I first saw one of those things I thought my life would not be complete until I owned one. But little by little the spell started to wear off and now I look at them and I’m like “Meh, why?” They kinda actually look a little goofy to me now and I feel nothing for ‘em.

IDK, Maybe once they start hitting the roads and if they actually turn out to be decent, it’ll turn around for me again but as is now, it just doesn’t do it for me anymore.

OTOH, every time I look in my driveway and see my QS Taco my heart skips a little beat and I think to myself “What the fuck were you thinking?!”

 

Jeep Trucks are goofy looking...bad Jeep mixed with a bad Truck. Just my opinion.

 

Agree, the Miata shouldn't be on that list. I LOVE those little Japanese bullets!!!

 

Gladiators are over-hyped right now; people are paying insane prices.

I'd wait 18+ months to buy one. To see how they do in quality, and let prices settle down.

 

I will probably buy an older 2 door Wrangler of some variety to fix up after I am done with my Bronco. I like my Tacoma and will continue to DD it, but Jeeps really are hard to beat off road. It will be more dedicated and not make me mad if I scratch it all up or dent panels.

 

Lease the Jeep. 3 years and many trips to the dealership from now, you will know the right answer.

 

Not going to lie...I dont hate this lol. Maybe a few years to see how it shakes out before i pass any judgement.

 

If you ask here you're going to get 90% of the replies being against the Jeep. The ones you should listen to are people that have owned them, most of the time they're positive and will recommend it. Otherwise, what good would advice be about something 90% of us actually know nothing about outside of what we've heard.

People that buy wranglers, buy them over and over again, so ipso facto they must be worth having regardless of what you hear.

You can customize a lease if you want. Jeep residuals are pretty good on their leases, usually more than 70% making payments similar to Tacoma leases and they hold their value. So you will likely come out ahead of equity at lease end. At that point take the parts off, or keep the Jeep. Obviously if you've had a lease that holds its value you know that releasing it to the dealer is a bad idea, so you'll be keeping it one way or another, even if its only to sell it on your own.

I recommend you thoroughly check one out. I've been shopping Gladiators and my takeaways so far are that its no louder than the Tacoma and it has better interior quality. There's a ton of pros when it comes to capability and the roof. There are some cons as well for some, SFA that steers like expected.

Also, if you haven't already owned a convert. at some point you will experience some sort of leak, usually not major and easy to ignore, but they happen.

 

I'd love to see mid-tier Gladiators priced in the mid to upper 30s. That's about the right price, IMO. People are out of their minds paying 60, 70 grand for them.

Definitely wise to wait 18 months or so when (hopefully) Jeep takes care of the early model issues, and demand dies down a little.

 

I dont understand the allure of jeeps.

Overpriced, unreliable, cramped and loud. But I guess you "look" cool.

 

I think the Gladiator has about a snowball’s chance in hell of being as reliable as the taco. But hey, who knows. Stranger things and all that. Besides, it’s your money not mine.

And yes you are right. People who like Jeeps continue buying them, but I don't think they do it because they are reliable, they do in spite of the unreliability because they are fun, and there is really nothing else out there like one. My brother was one of them till he got tired of shitting out money and getting stranded.

Me, I’d wait at least a few years to see how they shake out. Especially with FIAT at the helm....

 

Gladiators are lacking a 2door option. They'd look relatively proportional that way, but with the long ass cab they look like a 4door wrangler with a bed tacked on. 4 door wranglers look stupid all on their own without the help of the bed.

 

You're telling this to someone who had their Tacoma bought back due to being in the shop for more than 3 months.

 

Ok and how does that compare to the average Tacoma experience?