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Jeeps have REALLY HIGH Resale Value!

9K views 41 replies 32 participants last post by  DryCreek 
#1 ·
In 2010, I bought a used 2007 JKU with 30k miles for 19k. It was a 2wd and at the time I just used it to mall crawl, get groceries and haul my surfboard out to Malibu. I had no interest in modding it out or even hitting the trails. After all once you surf, skate and snowboard for 20 + years a Jeep rolling over rocks slowly is not going to get my adrenaline going they way that the other sports did. This was way before the current Wrangler craze and I guess I was just ahead of the curve as always.

Anyways, over time I caught the Jeep bug and I started to get into minor mods and then it just became a major obsession. I just kept doing minor mods and then I got to a turning point where I said to myself, why am I doing these mods for a 2wd Jeep?

I threw an ad up on CL just to see if I could get any reasonable response and I went slightly above KBB at 17k so I would have some negotiating room. Within a day I had multiple buyers lined up and a full asking price of 17k. I met the buyer yesterday and made the deal. Sadly I am no longer a Jeep owner and it was very hard to say goodbye. I think this was still a great deal for the buyer because you really can't find anything close to that online in that condition with that low of miles for that price.

So for me this was also a good deal. If you factor the cost out (without taxes) that comes to roughly less than $400 a year of payment for ownership of the vehicle. That comes out to about $33 a month. Not bad Jeep, not bad.

I now have 17K cash in hand and I'm ready for round 2 of owning a Jeep. This time it will definitely have 2 geared solid axles.
 
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#4 ·
They make, or made a 2WD Wrangler? I didn't know that! I almost wish I could somehow unlearn that info. Jeeps are made to be 4X4's.
yes they did..saw a green sport on a used car lot.
it set there a long time.
decided to stop and look my 15 year old is needing a car.
that's when I saw it was 2wd. I didn`t even ask how much I just walked away...
 
#5 ·
and speaking of resale value. I have been looking for a stock 1998-2004 jeep wrangler for my daughter they are all smoking high....
 
#6 ·
The JKU was made in 4X2 for a year or 2.

I have a 2010 bought used 2 years ago. Was talking to a friend who owns a local used car dealership today and just for the fun of it he appraised mine. The NADA price he quoted me was $800 more than I paid for it.
 
#10 ·
The JKU was made in 4X2 for a year or 2.
Yes, the 4x2's retailed for around 22/23k new. They were made mostly for the car rental businesses from what I hear.

Every other 4 Door Jeep that I looked at was $10,000 more than the 2wd.

Thats a huge difference when buying a car just for a DD and no off-roading.

I still laugh at people that buy a rubi and never take it off road. what a waste.
 
#9 ·
No kidding. When I decided to buy my first wrangler in Feb, I was certain that I'd go with a used one that was around 5 yrs old. The dog & I are rough on vehicles didn't see the point of buying a new one that would just get beat up. Spent most of a month looking online for a used jk and was stunned at how expensive they were. Ended up ponying up to get a new one since the price difference was no where near as large as I thought.
 
#13 ·
I just traded my 13 JKU in for a 2015 JKU. My 13 had 54,000 miles and they gave me $3000 less than what I paid for it brand new and I was able to negotiate moving all my after market stuff to the new jeep.

The dealer then turn around and listed my used 13 for $2k more than I paid new. I asked my sales guy if he thought he would get that and he said no but he bet they could get close to what I paid new.
 
#14 ·
I just traded my 13 JKU in for a 2015 JKU. My 13 had 54,000 miles and they gave me $3000 less than what I paid for it brand new and I was able to negotiate moving all my after market stuff to the new jeep. The dealer then turn around and listed my used 13 for $2k more than I paid new. I asked my sales guy if he thought he would get that and he said no but he bet they could get close to what I paid new.
Same here, traded '12 Sahara after 28,000miles, got less than two grand below what I paid new, applied equity to a '14 Sahara with sticker of 35k, drove it for 11 months put 11000 on the odometer, traded it in and got 25k to pay off note and a check back for $7500 then bought my '15 with zero down. Planning to hold on to this one but who knows with the '16 model year colors up in the air.
 
#15 ·
It is difficult to get an actual value on a vehicle when a person tells others how much they got for the trade. There are two sides of the equation. I could probably trade a two year old Jeep with 30,000 miles for a new (insert whatever brand here) and get the same amount I paid for it. That is because I am getting zero discount on the new vehicle side. It is all a numbers game!
 
#16 ·
Definitely true, I would still be able to get almost the same for my '12 that I did two and a half years ago... But holding value well enough I can literally change jeeps every time I want a new color is pretty incredible. I suppose the fact that they can't keep up with demand at the plant helps our wranglers hold value much better than most vehicles.

And the funny part is the last time I traded they put a sticker on my used jeep that was slightly higher than what I paid new for it. I think they "let" the guy that bought it talk them down a grand lol. And they swapped my rubi wheels for those God awful seven spoke chrome wheels...on a Copperhead! Eww...
 
#18 ·
Took my 13 rubi to Carmax then went to the dealer for the purchase of a 15 rubi. (Actually had the dealer pick me up from carmax)

Here in NOVA the dealer offers couldn't come close to them.

Dealer I bought from didn't even make an offer said he couldn't compete.
 
#19 ·
Funny, it must be a location thing. I've bought two new vehicles in the past six months. In both cases, the dealers beat Carmax by at least 2k.

This was after negotiating the new car's price so it wasn't a case of the dealer padding one end or the other of the deal. In my experience, Carmax low-balls and should be considered the bottom dollar value for your trade.
 
#21 ·
I ordered my 2015 JKU last week...sport with only options being auto and half doors for $27,140 (msrp $29,140). While I was in the process of making a deal they took in a 2013 Sport S with 50K miles. I asked my salesman out of curiosity what's the best they could do on it. After talking with the manager he came back saying they were planning to advertise it at $27,900 but could sell it to me for $26,900. I politely said no thanks and continued with placing my order.
 
#25 ·
just for shits and giggles I ran my 2010 rubi through KBB just to see what its worth I currently have 48k on it and paid $28 for it new KBB says its worth today $26,500.and that with bone stock options .im sure with my lift ,tires winch,bumper,lights and all other add ons I most likely could get what I paid for it new
 
#27 ·
im sure with my lift ,tires winch,bumper,lights and all other add ons I most likely could get what I paid for it new
If you'd be trading it in, the dealer will be quick to tell you that any aftermarket add-ons do absolutely nothing to increase the value of the vehicle. You might be able to get a little more by selling it on your own if you found a buyer who wanted that exact same setup and did not want to do the work himself.
 
#30 ·
That's exactly what I did. Got my used 15 about 1.5 hours away because dealers around me were asking 95% original value for a 13MY.
 
#29 ·
Speaking of high resale. I saw an Craigslist ad of a guy that bought a 2014 JKU Sport, put $10k into it, 15,000 miles and is somehow asking $45k....that's not high resale, that's insanity!
 
#35 ·
That is how we ended up with a new Red JKU Sahara for our Daughter. We started looking at 2011-13s and even with 50k they wanted almost 30k. We got her a new one for $29k, sold her Subaru for $16500 and paid cash for the balance.

And, I came back with a new Black JKU, so all in all it was a good trip.
 
#36 ·
Was watching Mecum Auctions last night. A used '15 JKU rolled up that had a weird looking flat black with fat lime green accent stripes, aftermarket bumpers, wench and wheels. No other custom upgrades mentioned unless I was half sleep. Hammer and my mouth dropped at $48K!!!
The buyer was ecstatic!!!
 
#39 ·
I just bought a 2014 JK 2dr with 35K miles on it, and I traded in a 2014 Mini Cooper Convertible.

The 2014 Jeep depreciated only $9k in a year, while the 2014 Mini Cooper (with onlyl 4000 miles on it) depreciated a whopping $14400 in the same year.


ETA: There was only ONE dealership out of the five or six that I visited that actually had a 2DR on their lot. Everything else was in transit from the factory. They are selling them off the trucks here in Houston and Galveston. This is another reason why the resale is so high.
 
#40 ·
This is reason #4365 why I love my Jeep. I paid $13,999 for my '08 JKX. This was 3 years ago. I recently decided to look into getting a newer model and was curious about the trade in value. They offered me $14,200, providing I left all the aftermarket parts on.

In the end I just couldn't trade in my baby. I've put a lot of time and money in my build and it does tug on the heart strings.

I am ecstatic to know that I'll never be underwater.
 
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