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Would you buy a 2014 Rubicon w/ no warranty?

6K views 80 replies 22 participants last post by  hube3443 
#1 ·
Hi all,
I was about to enter the wonderful world of Jeeping, until I realized that the great deal I was about to get on a 2014 Rubicon was because it is imported from Canada (I'm in the USA). As a gray-market vehicle there is no warranty. So I'm wondering if saving the $ is worth the risk. It's got around 30k and is super clean, 6spd. I don't think it has been beat up, but these things do break.

In terms of the value, it's not Rubicon or bust for me, I'd be fine with a Willys (I just want the 3.73 or higher gears), but for the price the extras were nice. I saw it as a great deal, but now I'm not so sure. If I buy an 3rd party warranty then my super deal is just an average purchase, so then why not keep on looking?

Are people using their warranties a lot? The bumper to bumper would be nearly gone anyway, it's the powertrain I'm worried about.

Thanks for you thoughts,

Don
 
#4 ·
How much $? If cheap enough I'd consider it but would really have to be priced right.
 
#5 ·
I have a 14 Rubicon and only warranty repairs have been front axle seals x2. If not covered by warranty would not have been a big deal.
 
#7 ·
Pretty sure the speedometer will be in KMH.
 
#9 ·
With out the price, it is hard to know what the trade off is. Also will this be kept stock or will you be lifting, etc..? Mods usually void the warranty anyway.
 
#10 ·
Yeah, good point about the price, if it were super good I'd get it and not look back. The price would be about $26000 for a Rubicon with tons of options, two tops, really clean. Some stuff I don't really care about (fancy radio, power windows), although I have to say I'd be into the heated seats! But I would never order any of it if I were putting one together. So they are great "free" extras, but not worth much to me really.

Thanks for the tip on the Canadian carfax, I will look for that. There is a USA one (which is how I know it's from CAN), but doesn't have details beyond registration. I don't know about recalls, etc. I have a message to Chrylser to see if recalls are covered, I suspect they must if they are safety but maybe not other types.

I could buy an extended warranty, but after the 2k for that, the price is back up to a pretty average deal I think. I am trying to see if they will throw in the warranty with it, but I doubt it.

Thanks.
Don
 
#11 ·
Yeah, good point about the price, if it were super good I'd get it and not look back. The price would be about $26000 for a Rubicon with tons of options, two tops, really clean. Some stuff I don't really care about (fancy radio, power windows), although I have to say I'd be into the heated seats! But I would never order any of it if I were putting one together. So they are great "free" extras, but not worth much to me really. Thanks for the tip on the Canadian carfax, I will look for that. There is a USA one (which is how I know it's from CAN), but doesn't have details beyond registration. I don't know about recalls, etc. I have a message to Chrylser to see if recalls are covered, I suspect they must if they are safety but maybe not other types. I could buy an extended warranty, but after the 2k for that, the price is back up to a pretty average deal I think. I am trying to see if they will throw in the warranty with it, but I doubt it. Thanks. Don
for 26k you should jump all over it. The warranty is gone I 6k miles anyway. Engine and power train are bullet proof. If clean car fax, grab it. This is from Manheim. It's a layup. Might be too good so do a pre purchase inspection.
 
#22 ·
The speedometer should have been changed. Technically it is a legal requirement when importing a vehicle. That said it doesn't always happen. DRL's can be adjusted with a Procal.

Considering my experiences with warranty as of late, it wouldn't bother me at all to not have warranty. It seems to cost me more to have warranty work done than it would to just fix it myself and pay me the shop rate. Bought the wife a new car last week - when the finance person started pushing extended warranty, I countered with "give me a discount and I'll take it with no warranty at all." He had no clue what to say...
 
#27 ·
Display issues aside, anytime you look at a used vehicle there are unknowns.
How do "we" address the issues of unknowns in life? Insurance.

That's what a warranty is - Insurance.

There are people that live without any and then there are those that insure Everything.
Laws aside, very personal issue - risk tolerance.
 
#28 ·
Here is a pic of the dash - you can see the square windows from the other picture. The shifter boot is visible on the right side, so it's the same vehicle.

Could the whole dash have been swapped when reimporting it? I am wrong that the gear shift indicator shouldn't be there? Anyone have an auto Rubicon to compare to?
 

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#33 ·
Hi there. I have a manual 4 door Sahara (2016) and I noticed the PRNDL indicators are present in the display as well. They just never get an opportunity to light up. I'm certain that it's simply because there's one standard display unit that goes into all the Jeeps, and then it's up to the computer to tell your specific unit whether or not to light up. I wouldn't worry about that at all.

Regarding the warranty, keep in mind that the old school Pentastar motors have repairs that are really cheap as compared to other powertrains (like turbos or diesels, or cutting-edge high compression direct injection motors), so if you trust the seller and the mileage hasn't been rolled back or the frame bent/cracked (y'know, standard salvaged vehicle stuff), then Jeep away!
 
#35 ·
Actually, I'm not sure that need a AT, but does your speedo look like the one above? Speedo to 120 with the shift indicator in the square window?

I'm thinking that when they imported it the swapped in a new instrument cluster from an auto.

Sloppy and/or fishy to me.
 
#31 ·
Considering I bought a 2013 with no warranty, yes, I would buy a 2014.

The speedometer should have been changed. Technically it is a legal requirement when importing a vehicle.

Having imported 2 vehicles from Canada, this has never come up. Only thing required was a letter from the manufacturer stating the vehicle met or exceeded safety regulations. Done.
Day time running lights can be shut off with any of the popular tuners that we use for gearing/tire size changes.
 
#32 ·


this how my 14 rubicon looks. I think you have a scam brewing lol.
 
#34 · (Edited)
even if not a scam with the speedo changed like that it would have to have a salvage title. no way to know what was done with the actual mileage. I wonder if another jeep vehicle shares the same dash just uses a different icon format. notice how both Walt's and my 14 have the little icons inside the speedo and tach and this one has them outside.
 
#38 ·
Can anyone peer really closely at their 6speed tach and see that curved overlay actual the cut out or an overlay over a rectangular cut? Can you also see the PRND letters there? I'm thinking that the curved part isn't the actual cutout which below which the LCD display is located.

This is based on looking at a bunch of internet pics of odos and replacement indicator backs (i.e. changing to white, etc).

E.g.:

But this is auto, so only part of the mystery.
 
#41 ·
Okay, thanks for everyone's help here. I was rushing b/c I have it on hold and I'm wringing my hands about what to do.

Regarding the dash - I'm pretty sure that as others have said, everyone's got the PRNDX indicator, just not used. The curve is part of the overlay of the dash. So when they converted from metric to understandable units :) they bought the cheap one.

I can also purchase an extended 3/36k complete warranty for $1500, which isn't a killer.

I'm thinking go...but I'm nervous.

Thank you tons for everyone's help!
 

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#47 ·
I can also purchase an extended 3/36k complete warranty for $1500, which isn't a killer.

I'm thinking go...but I'm nervous.
Read the fine print.

Who does the repairs? Will this dealer do them all?

What parts do they use? New or junk-yard parts? BTW, they have a lot of cute names for junk-yard parts, but anything other than "new" should be suspect.

If the repairs take over night, do you get a "loaner"?

Does the warranty company require an inspection, before authorizing repairs? This can add weeks onto the repair time, as your vehicle sits waiting for their regional inspector to come to your town.

Does the warranty have a max limit? Some have a cap set at the purchase price of the warranty itself. So, as an example, your $1,500 warranty could max out at a total of $1,500 in repairs.
 
#44 ·
Yeah, I'm not really thinking that they are trying to pull a fast one, just more that you really that they don't know much about it. Perhaps I give them too much credit, but it's a big place so they can't stick it to people for very long and stay in business (or so I hope!).
 
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