Buy KJ or Lease TK???

MoparKJ · **Joined:** Fri Nov 25, 2005 10:02 pm **Posts:** 18

I need some input right now..

Im in college and this coming fall the lease on my KJ will be up, my dad leases me a new truck every 6 months(currently my durango and next he is getting me a crossfire) and I pay for the Libby. So having a reliable vechile is not a problem for me, My questio is would is be more cost effective to buy my Libby after the lease and mod it(lift, tires, skids, etc) or lease a 2007 Wrangler Rubicon??

input would be greatly appriciated!!!!

Tokyojoe · **Posted:** Thu Mar 30, 2006 10:09 pm

You wouldn't really be able to mod the Rubi if you lease it. You also never earn ownership into a vehicle but you are in college and your dad covers your transportation so you really don't need to own a vehicle.

I think people can come up with +/- for both routes. What do YOU want to do? Ask yourself that and go with it.

Sometimes it is the right choice, sometimes it is the wrong choice but that's how you learn and become more wise.

the1jferg · **Posted:** Thu Mar 30, 2006 10:15 pm

I think Joe is right. "What do YOU want to do? "

If you can purchase it for a low enough price and keep it as a "toy" while you have a lease vehicle as a primary, it would be great if you have that option.

The plus and minus would come in depending on if you view a vehicle as an "asset" or "transportation cost"

meduncan · **Posted:** Thu Mar 30, 2006 11:43 pm

Some great feedback for you so far. I'll throw in my two cents but keep in mind that this applies to my specific scenario and may not be the best solution for others. I'm leasing my KJ '04 Renegade and have made some modifications to mine with the next one being a lift. My wife and I got into the lease so we could afford the payments but we weren't entirely sure about whether we wanted a KJ or not. After driving it for a year I fell in love with it and its capabilities. So now we have decided that we're going to buy the vehicle out of the lease and I get to mod and wheel it how ever I want.

Leases come in many different flavors and you have to be real careful about the terms. If you plan on doing any off road trips with the KJ then you're going to have to seriously think about all those little trail pinstripes and other trail badges since turning in a vehicle at the end of a lease with those may end up costing a decent amount of money.

MoparKJ · **Joined:** Fri Nov 25, 2005 10:02 pm **Posts:** 18

My thing is which one will be less money out of my pocket to wheel?? the TK Rubicon basically is "out of the box" ready to wheel. is it worth my time and money to get a Libby ready

and if a liberty is worth all the trouble?

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Fri Mar 31, 2006 10:50 am

MoparKJ wrote:

My thing is which one will be less money out of my pocket to wheel?? the TK Rubicon basically is "out of the box" ready to wheel. is it worth my time and money to get a Libby ready

and if a liberty is worth all the trouble?

A rubicon is ready to go off road like you said, with a libby some work needs to be done. If you have the off-road pack then you are way ahead of the game. Really all the libby needs is a lift, skids/rock protection, and a locker or good LS. If you have the trac-lock from the factory that should be good enough depending on what you do off road. A ls is not good enough for me b/c I mostly get into ALOT of flex and the LS just cant give me the torque I need to that wheel on the ground. Im usually going up hill while flexing and some mud is usually there.

Guest · **Posted:** Fri Mar 31, 2006 10:51 am

MoparKJ wrote:

My thing is which one will be less money out of my pocket to wheel?? the TK Rubicon basically is "out of the box" ready to wheel. is it worth my time and money to get a Libby ready

and if a liberty is worth all the trouble?

Since your lease is paid for by someone else, the simple answer here to your above question is NO. If you are going to buy the vehicle at the end of the lease, then maybe, YES.

Eddo · **Joined:** Thu Jul 07, 2005 7:01 pm **Posts:** 1214

Well if you do wheel the Jeep then expect plenty of scratches and dings. That is probably going to add up to a lot of penalties if you decide to turn in your lease. Now if you buy it afterwards then it doesn't matter. Since you father pays the lease then it is probably better to just get the TK. Will he also pay all the plenties for the scratches and digs when it comes time to turn in. I'm almost willing to bet you could easily rack up probably 3000 dollars worth of trail marks if you actually plan on turning in the lease. The like to hit you up big for every little thing wrong.

krazz1e · **Posted:** Fri Mar 31, 2006 11:54 am

with lease if you bash up that rubicon you'll need to fix it or they will charge you fix it. if you plan to wheel it hard then buy the KJ. On the other hand you can wheel the rubicon and buy it out at the end of the lease.

Which will be more capable? Hands down Rubicon. With a little mods your KJ can be pretty close. After all, the rubby only runs 31's with lockers. But with that same $ you can upgrade the Rubicon and be even more capable, it's a good platform to build on... depends on what you are trying to do.

MoparKJ · **Joined:** Fri Nov 25, 2005 10:02 pm **Posts:** 18

krazz1e so far made the most sense..

if the rest of you would have read the first post I made, I pay for the KJ lease, and when it is up I am thinking of buying it and then modding and wheeling it, NOT now.

My dad doesn't pay for a single thing on the Libby.. I DO. My dad pays for my other car.

Tokyojoe · **Posted:** Fri Mar 31, 2006 3:35 pm

Also remember, the Rubi is not as road friendly as the KJ. Quiter, more comfortable ride and you can hear your music at a decent level. Room to sleep in the back of the KJ if you need to. Carry more friends in a KJ....and still be able to off-road.

auggy · **Posted:** Fri Mar 31, 2006 5:04 pm

Yeah but it sounds like his dad has that sort of vechicle covered for him. I'd personally go with the rubicon

Tokyojoe · **Posted:** Fri Mar 31, 2006 7:39 pm

Another VERY important factor for the KJ.

You would have to be creative in the Rubi, but at least you will be more comfortable to do some Hanky Panky in the back of the KJ when yer out on the trail off-roading and doing some camping with that special someone. :wink:

ATXKJ · **Posted:** Fri Mar 31, 2006 8:24 pm

you're in college - focus on college , don't worry about modifying vehicles or even trying to go seriously offroad - you'll have plenty of time for that after you've graduated. The reason your dad is providing transportation is so you don't worry about it. That's huge. The right college degree (and depending on future plans the right GPA) can give you income and opportunites that just aren't available for people without them.

FYI here at UT - folks get the TJ's (including Rubicons) to use as convertibles - they don't go off-road, they don't put them in 4 wheel drive - they put the tops down (the real competition is Jeep vs Mazda Miata - same target market)

jpzkj · **Posted:** Fri Mar 31, 2006 11:46 pm

Drop out, then it won't matter

SethX9 · **Posted:** Fri Mar 31, 2006 11:53 pm

A couple of other things to consider: The Rubicon has a base price that's $5k more than a Sport 4x4 and gets worse gas mileage by 2-5 MPG.

Those numbers come from edmunds.com...

s~

jason thompson · **Posted:** Sat Apr 01, 2006 1:38 am

ok if i am reading the original post correctly and you want to by the KJ and mod that to wheel it and your pop will spring for another ride then to me,and this is stricly based on how i look at the whole wheeling your daily driver and what if it breaks or what if you travel 500 miles only to have an axel snap and then you are in deep you know what.
so having said all that i would buy the KJ mod it big time and get your pop to get you a full size something and tow the KJ
if he was going to spring for a rubi then a full size V8 extra cab p/u is the same or less money
thats what i would do then you could wheel the KJ like you stole it and still get home and most importantly get to class

desertkj · **Joined:** Mon Jan 30, 2006 8:24 pm **Posts:** 677

If I'm understanding your post correctly, I think the Wrangler is pretty neat. However, I'm getting ready to go to college not too long from now, and in my opinion, I would just stick with one car. If your dad is alrady leasing you a reliable car, take advantage of that and keep some more money in the bank. Especially with the Crossfire, you'll have a cool car with good gas mileage. Just my own opinion, but I'd only want one car to worry about while in college. Not as cool, I know, but it will pay off in the long run.

dog_party · **Posted:** Tue Apr 04, 2006 10:03 am

Oh, if I were in that position, I'd definitely buy the Columbia KJ when the lease is up. Mod when you can afford, have a vehicle you OWN to wheel. And drive a brand new leased vehicle as a DD. Easy choice from my perspective 'cause I wouldn't be able to drive the TK and NOT want to mod it. Leasing that thing would just get me stuck in another lease in another vehicle that I want to mod and wheel but I can't 'cause I'm worried about lease turn-in penalties.

BTW - What trouble is the Liberty causing? The KJ's not perfect, but I see a whole bunch of Wranglers in the shop too.

Buy the KJ while you have the opp.

Buy KJ or Lease TK???

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