I'm a little disappointed in the trade in value of my kj,, I've owned the jeep for just under 2 years and have 27k miles on it.. Its the anniversary edition and is very nicely equipped.. List was about 27K new and they told me trade in was $10,215 in excellent condition.. they didn't come down at all on the new jeep, and only went up a little on the trade. The only reason We are talking about trading is that We were in a nasty head on crash in our wrangler and the wife is a little scared of the libby, it just feels small. I know they crash test very well, but she wants something bigger,, either a 4dr wrangler or a chevy truck.. We mainly used the libby for highway trips and anytime we had more than the two of us, the wrangler is a 2 dr and I don't keep the back seat in it. Its a fun vehicle, sound like a performance car and pulls great on the hills, can clear 100mph with ease,, but it does feel small,, even compared to a 2 dr wrangler..
What would you do,, trade in and take a loss,, wait till she gets used to driving the KJ again? or sell privately? What would a real price be on a 06 KJ aniv. w/27K miles??
Any advise,, oh,, and it hasn't been wheeled since its the wifes and she wont let me take Her baby in the mud..

Right now is probably the worst time to be selling a low mpg SUV...winter is over, gas is skyrocketting. The $ the offered for trade is highly influence by the current sales market for SUV (non-hybrid) which is a huge decline.

I just traded my wife's 2001 Olds Silhouette Minivan in on a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan about 4 weeks ago. We got all but $4500 on the Olds...it had 107K miles on it but it was in great condition and got 28-30 MPG on the highway...the dealer actually kept it on their lot and sold it in a week to a guy who traded a huge SUV.

The KJ does hold up well in crashes...look at all of the nasty looking wrecks that have been posted in here and the drivers walked away with no ijuries or only minor ones.

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Brian, Blue KJ in PA
LOST#99, Mid-Atlantic LOST
Blue 2003 KJ Sport

RL Super Skinks

Im a little confused as to why your wanting to trade in the liberty based on a wreck in a wrangler to buy another wrangler.

Do you really think a 4 door wrangler would hold up better in a front end crash over a 2 door or a liberty? I would think it may do worse since it has more mass behind it pushing it into the object your hitting but thats just me. Its not like they beef up the front end on a 4 door wrangler.

The liberty is one safe little jeep. It doesnt get 5 star government crash test ratings for no reason.

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LOST KJ'S
Where are you going???
Current Jeep: 2004 Jeep Liberty
-Atlantic Blue
-Air Ride Rear Suspension ; OME/Rustys Lift ; Powertrax Locker ; Moog Lower Ball-Joints ; 245/70/16 Yokohama Geolander A/T-S's on MOABS ; Flowmaster 50 SUV
Lost #007082
http://www.cardomain.com/id/jeepjeepster

The real sad part is they will resell your KJ for 16,500 - 17,250.

Put yours up for sale privately for 12,999 and it will sell quick!

You then get an extra 2,000 and someone gets a nice kj reasonably priced and the dealer gets nothing on the trade side.

Now is the worst time to trade in any kind of SUV... There is this one guy that my dad knew who had traded in a 2005 Ford Explorer for something else (Not sure what), but the dealer only offered him $5,000 for the car because the car salesmen had said that the market is down on SUV's and trucks and everyone is trading them in for cars and that dealers are becoming flooded with SUV's and trucks in their lots. But the guy just went with it and got his $5,000 for his Explorer.

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2005 Jeep Liberty
Hella 500FF
Firestone Destination A/T

I really want to get her to keep the KJ,, The KJ has 5 star front and side, the wrangler has 5 star front but not side. The accident we were in would have been worse for us if we were in our KJ. The fact that the JK is a full frame and the newer JK's are much better than any wrangler ever made crash wise. Both the JK and the KJ would have been totaled but the crumple zones would have let the KJ crush a little worse than the JK did. We took a dodge neon head on, neon-60mph, us 45-50mph, nobody hit the brakes. There was not much left of the neon, our JK is apparently going to a rebuildable wreck sale?? For the wife its for of a feeling thing.. She doesn't even want to get behind the wheel at this point, 2 months after. We drove the KJ down to the dealer yesterday and she was nervous in it,, it just feels small. I was thinking a lift, bigger tires and some kickass bumpers should make her feel safer.. Before the accident I was looking at buying a smart car to commute in,, I drive 125 miles a day, She wont even let me joke about driving one of those..

get an ARB bumper and I'm sure it'll make her feel all warm and fuzzy:D

Show her some pictures...I'm sure she'd come around;)

Your value dropped 50% the day you drove it off the lot.

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2012 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

There is some good information on new car buying on Edmonds.com. You need to read this stuff first, before you buy a new vehicle. After I got educated, I got a Honda Hybrid for $200 under the dealer invoice price.

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O6 Limited CRD 4X4, Frankenlifted II, Magnaflow, EHM, ORM, 245/16 BFG, AllJ's Rear Rack, Lightforce Aux Lights, Tjm front bumper, Tmax winch, Scorpion diesel tuner and Baja Tested.

Not all suv's drop the value that quick,, My 07 wrangler in 1 year and 22k miles only lost $800 of value,, didnt need the gap ins on that one,, still glad I had it.. Seems once a new or redesigned model comes out, KK, the previous model value tanks.. My s-10 lost value quick once they announced they were dropping it.. I hope she come around to keeping it,, Its a nice jeep that is fun to drive..
Thanks,,
Steve

Your wife is scared, i've seen this happen with my mom a long time ago. She got into a accident with an idiot that ran a red light. She was driving a 1975 Plymouth Fury (the one i would eventually drive). Afterward she felt the Fury was too small and insisted on a 1981 Dodge Maxi-van (the really long one). Even in the Van she was scared and it took a few years for her to regain her confidence. Later on my dad and i repaired the Fury's front end and i drove it. Your wife just needs some time to regain her confidence and sense of security.

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Peace Through Power.

2002 Liberty, salsa red
1997 Wrangler, dark green

PSN ID: David_Lucas (Burnout: Paradise, Battlefield: Bad Company/Bad Company2)

ya actually last i read the wrangler was the top SUV that helds its vaule

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1980 Jeep CJ7 Buggy
SOA, D44/ FF14B, SBC 350, SM465, NP205, 108" WB, 37" MTs

http://www.dpgoffroad.com/
http://www.ucora.org/
http://www.christianoffroad.com/
http://jeepinbyal.com/

Thanks for your input guys.. I'm trying to talk Her into keeping it.. Its been a great jeep and its still in mint condition.. I even offered a lift and arb's.. She's thinking about that.. Of course I also want to do a roof rack for the mtn bikes..
Steve

And until gas drops back to $2/gallon, it's the only "real" SUV that will ever hold its value again.