Common maintenance/repairs for 2011 Jeep Liberty

dtbingle · **Joined:** Thu Sep 01, 2016 3:47 pm **Posts:** 2

Currently riding a mostly stock 2011 liberty sport @ 65k miles. Nothing wrong with it at the moment, but toying with the idea of trading it in and buying a newer MY vehicle (likely 2016). As most people do, I'm crunching the numbers to try and determine on a cost-per-year basis if sticking with the '11 KK or pulling the trigger on a new ride makes sense for me.

The question is, what are the common problems and additional maintenance items for aging libertys (5 years or older)? How much would you expect to pay in age related problems/maintenance over the 5 to 10 year mark of the jeep?

It seems like the most frequent problems are with the 42RLE, skyslider roof, door switches, and water pump (mostly 08-09).

lfhoward · **Posted:** Thu Sep 01, 2016 5:11 pm

I'm driving my 08 and still love it. Whatever maintenance is, even if there is occasionally something big, it is going to be way less per month on average than a new car payment. I spend probably less than $50 a month (if that) on routine maintenance, punctuated by the occasional brake job or major repair ($400-1200). Though a surprise $1200 repair if it happens once a year is painful in the moment, it is still only equivalent to $100 per month. Who can buy a new Jeep for that?

If you love your Jeep and are happy knowing that you have done all the maintenance and you know its history, and it still serves your needs, I would say stick with it. If you've always wished for a JK, then maybe that's a good goal to go after too.

dtbingle · **Joined:** Thu Sep 01, 2016 3:47 pm **Posts:** 2

lfhoward wrote:

I'm driving my 08 and still love it. Whatever maintenance is, even if there is occasionally something big, it is going to be way less per month on average than a new car payment. I spend probably less than $50 a month (if that) on routine maintenance, punctuated by the occasional brake job or major repair ($400-1200). Though a surprise $1200 repair if it happens once a year is painful in the moment, it is still only equivalent to $100 per month. Who can buy a new Jeep for that?

If you love your Jeep and are happy knowing that you have done all the maintenance and you know its history, and it still serves your needs, I would say stick with it. If you've always wished for a JK, then maybe that's a good goal to go after too.

Aside from the cost of what a new car would be, what would you expect to pay per year in repairs and age related maintenance in the 5-year to 10-year mark on the KK?

Yes, a new car payment would be more, but if you consider buying a new car outright (no monthly payments) as an investment and depreciation as the "cost-to-own" (not including gas & insurance here), the wrangler isn't terribly more expensive to get into. Based on what I got my liberty for and what a new wrangler would run me, there's two scenarios:

5 years liberty / 5 years wrangler:
-$11.5k depreciation for 5 years owning liberty
-($38500 new wrangler - $25500 worth of 5 year old wrangler) = $13000
= net loss of $24500 over 10 year period (2011 - 2021)

10 years liberty
- ($21500 new liberty - $2.5k 10 year old liberty) = $19000
= net loss of $19000 over 10 year period (2011 - 2021)

Looking at it this way, is $5.5k MORE spread out over the next 5 years worth being in a new wrangler? If expected repair costs, maintenance, and worth of being inconvenienced nears that $5.5k mark over the next 5 years, then there's no reason to not trade up. Note, this is assuming buying the new vehicle in full is an option.

lfhoward · **Posted:** Fri Sep 02, 2016 12:36 pm

I see your logic. I guess I hadn't considered buying it outright. I was also assuming that resale wasn't big part of the equation since I have always planned to keep my Jeep up until the point where it wouldn't be worth much on the market. If you like to keep your vehicles on a 5 year rotation, then yes, you could consider depreciation to be a loss. On the flip side, a vehicle depreciates the most in the first few years, so considering a good 3 year old vehicle with low miles might be a financially viable option. For example, my KK was $26K new to the first owner in 2008, but I found it on a Chevy lot for $16K in 2011 after their 3 year lease was over. It had 23,900 miles on it at the time.

My Jeep is almost 9 years old now and I would say it's been pretty darn reliable. I did have to replace the engine for $6K at 86K miles due to a bad rod bearing, but I'm the only one on LOST or JF that I've ever read about that happening to with such a young engine. So, it's totally atypical and I think it was just bad luck. Other than that, since I've been religious about getting all of the service done on time, nothing else has broken except for wear items that you would expect to have to replace by now, like brakes, tires, TPMS valves in some of the wheels, a front CV joint, and the blower motor for the cabin.

Common maintenance/repairs for 2011 Jeep Liberty

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