We bought a jeep

mike g g · Senior Member

We bought a jeep

bgt · Guru

You're going to be hit with all the anti Jeep posts from those who have never owned one or have only heard campfire stories. FWIW we own a Cherokee. Dont tow. Its 9 years old and is the best car we have owned after our RAM.

Eaglemax · Guru

From friends reports Id buy one if wanting to tow a large van.

Whenarewethere · Guru

bgt wrote:
You're going to be hit with all the anti Jeep posts from those who have never owned one or have only heard campfire stories. FWIW we own a Cherokee. Dont tow. Its 9 years old and is the best car we have owned after our RAM.

I'll start. My cousin bought a Jeep & said he wish he hadn't. Also while at it, he couldn't believe how good my Land Rover was & his other half agreed!

yobarr · Guru

mike g g wrote:
Have updated the tow tug sorry to seethe terri go,someone is going to buy a very good tow wagon ,any feedback on anyone who is towing with a grand cherokee we are very happy with the car so far,towns the van 635 coromal like it's not there .anyway only time will tell

Hi Mike.....good to see that you're happy with your GC,which should cope admirably with the 635 Coromal you have in tow.If safety is of any concern,the maximum this car can realistically tow is less than 3000kg,so you have done well,as the 635 seems to meet the criteria.Enjoy your travels.Cheers

JohnR · Senior Member

When you have a good look around there are plenty of jeep's towing all varieties of vans.

So there is a market out there.

My only concern would be servicing or problem solving when in the back blocks of this great country.

Good example is a replacement windscreen and we have done 2 @ $250- pop. My understanding with a Jeep there is more fruit and some what expensive to replace.

We are on to our 2nd Cruiser and more than happy with services completed all over the country.

Eveyrone to there own and as I said there are plenty of jeeps out there towing all sizes of vans.

John R

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Now you will have to buy a bigger boat.

Well, someone had to say it. biggrin

Enjoy.

Craig1 · Guru

But, you actually have to have a towbar 1st ( latest version of the advert doesnt seem to show one)

landy · Guru

The add also said there are 17000 parts you might need to replace. biggrin

The Belmont Bear · Guru

mike g g wrote:
Have updated the tow tug sorry to seethe terri go,someone is going to buy a very good tow wagon , any feedback on anyone who is towing with a grand cherokee we are very happy with the car so far,towns the van 635 coromal like it's not there .anyway only time will tell

Mike I have a 2018 V6 diesel limited towing around 2.8T great car either towing the van or just running around town. Although it probably doesn't suit the narrative of those on the forum who like to rubbish the brand I have never had a problem or even a recall with it. The best recomendation I have for the GC was the way it handled the situation when I lost the ubolts on one side of the vans rear axle at 95kph, although the van was thrown around pretty violently the Jeep was able to keep the load under enough control to bring it to a stop.

Cheers

BB

SouthernComfort · Guru

Mike, welcome to the GC camp. I have a 2013 V6 diesel, the best I've owned - by far. Tows strong as an ox, luxurious, fantastic highway cruiser. If I wasn't so attached to it I'd trade it on a new 2020 GC. Just enjoy it and ignore the naysayers who generally have no first hand experience with these cars.

bgt · Guru

My only downside to owning a Jeep is the service cost. Maybe not unique to Jeep. So I simply found a reliable independant guy. He's an ex Jeep mechanic. We do big interstate miles and the Jeep is the ants pants.

mike g g · Senior Member

Thanks to you all for the info and comments yes im happy and my van over the weightbridge loadedmis 2280kg ball weight 225kg so should be all good thanks again the the info

mike g g · Senior Member

Thanks found a that what the grandkids said only problem don't have roadtrain licence only semi so can't put boat behind van hs

boab · Senior Member

I had a jeep for several years and put up with the ignorant fools that rubbish them, parts were very expensive but most can be sourced strait out of the states considering there were almost 1 million sold in usa last year i recon there are a lot people that like them.In my opinion you have made a great choice enjoy it

Jacksa · Veteran Member

I owned a 2014 GC Limited. It towed with comfort and economical. I towed my van 2.8 ton atm. No problems . A comfortable strong vehicle. Any issues were resolved under warranty.

I had a Sahara (2018) for about a year, very old technology and did not like it.

I now have an Audi Q7 50 TDI. Same power as Sahara with less weight. Tows the best of all vehicles i had.

Jacob

SouthernComfort · Guru

Mike, Good points have been raised about maintenance here. Many of us in the Jeep fraternity use good independent Jeep mechanics for servicing etc, they're in every state and lot cheaper than dealers. The forum below is a good source for any such info. Parts are plentiful (used and new) from third party suppliers in Aus and from the U.S, as already mentioned. Rock Auto are great, very fast delivery and good prices. Once out of warranty no need to use dealers. All this puts the cost of Jeep ownership on a par with anything else.

www.ausjeepoffroad.com/forum/forumdisplay.php

-- Edited by SouthernComfort on Saturday 25th of July 2020 01:06:22 PM

The Belmont Bear · Guru

I got a 40,000 2 year service service at the local Jeep dealership last week even though I haven't done 17K yet just to keep up my 5yr warranty - it cost me $1119. Out of curiosity I requested a quote from Lubemobile to do the same 2yr handbook service using genuine parts and they quoted me just over $600 done in my driveway. I guess I got a carwash and the interior vacuumed for that extra $500 so that probably justifies why the big price difference. Seriously without the cost of overheads like running a workshop, diagnostic equipment, holding large spares inventories etc. probably means that smaller businesses like mobile mechanics can do it a lot cheaper. The problem is they don't usually know about any recalls for your particular vehicle, they can't do program upgrades or fix any warranty issues.

I believe that with any new Jeep you now get 5 year free servicing - too bad they don't back date it or at least reduce the cost for existing owners. Jeep has also announced recently that they have reduced their prices on parts but if what I paid is an example of a cost reduction then I wouldn't have liked to have paid the previous cost for that service..

Cheers
BB

msg · Guru

My ford costs about $450 at the dealership.

bgt · Guru

I'm on the Gold Coast. I use CJD. Paul has been around the world as a Jeep mechanic. He knows Jeeps inside out. His prices are about 60% of the nearby Jeep dealer. Last year I did a water pump in Shepparton. I had to be towed into town on a weekend. They dropped the Jeep outside the Jeep dealer. First thing Monday I asked for a quote. "Can't even look at it for 2 weeks". Can't even lift the hood to look at it for 2 weeks? WTF. So I went to rent a car. The car rental guy listened to my tale of woe. Then directed me around the corner to a local mechanic. 3 hours and $350.00 later we were on our way. The dealers are the problem. Based on Jeep/Fiat instructions? Who knows. Great cars but a terrible service. Before you buy look for a reliable mechanic. Remember Australian consumer laws protect your warranty so you don't have to use a dealer.

SouthernComfort · Guru

Indeed, no need to use a dealer for warranty services, although silly not to during the freebie period. Once they are finished then look elsewhere.

I stick with my mechanic because he works only on the Jeep GC WK2 model and knows every inch of it, blindfolded.

A friend had his Patrol serviced at a Nissan dealer last year and forked out over $1400, no repairs just a book service albeit a major one. Now he uses Kmart Auto.

2trout · Senior Member

Good luck with your vehicle Mike.

The Belmont Bear · Guru

Seems I was mistaken Jeep are not offering free servicing it is 5yr capped price on the 2020 model. GCs before that like mine will stay the same i.e. every 20,000kms/12 mths its $665, $1195, $665, $1195, $665. For me every 2nd service seems to be over the top so in future I will be taking it elsewhere.

BB

Whenarewethere · Guru

I have never used a stealer. Have used an independent mechanic for over 3 decades.

This year won't actually need a service. I ask the mechanic to go over our car very thoroughly after a few thousand km of corrugated roads. The car was perfectly ok.

Since October last year due to a few fires & plague we have only done 690km!

The Belmont Bear · Guru

Same as me Whenarewethere I got home from South Africa the last week of March, I filled the car and havent needed to,put anymore in it since.

BB

msg · Guru

I had the Mobile Mechanic come to do my MH. They are like McDonalds. Try to upsell everything and are just as expensive as the dealership.

Also, they wouldn't fit genuine parts and the mechanic that came around said that I should look at trading the MH in because the mileage was getting a bit high. A diesel at 100,000ks?? really? They lost me and I went back to the dealer.

I am after convenience mainly and they drop me home and pick me up again when they are done. No backyarders near me.

Though I will admit to having sold Ford Spare Parts for 10yrs and was probably indoctrinated.

Possum3 · Guru

Whenarewethere wrote:
I have never used a stealer.

Uncertain of whether this was a mistake or a pun - but it certainly is a descriptive term suited to the rogues in the industry.

littledick · Senior Member

Dougwe wrote:
Now you will have to buy a bigger boat.

Well, someone had to say it.

Enjoy.

Yeah, well check his car. Going off to buy the bigger boat, doesn't have a tow bar!! biggrin

Dick.

Whenarewethere · Guru

msg wrote:
the mechanic that came around said that I should look at trading the MH in because the mileage was getting a bit high. A diesel at 100,000ks?? really? They lost me and I went back to the dealer.

My 2 previous cars each did over 250,000 km, engines were perfectly ok, not a hint of smoke, my mechanic bought the later one. The odometers broke on both cars years earlier. They were both petrol, 1 leaded the second unleaded.

Mamil · Senior Member

Can't comment on the Jeep as never owned one, but I do like the chunky look of the GC.

On dealer servicing, although those who point out that you are not tied to main dealer servicing for warranty protection anymore are right, my experience in practice is that today's cars are so complex in terms of electronics and software that they need a regular visit to a main dealer who has the correct diagnostics tools and software updates. It's not the mechanical things, and in fact mechanically they are so much more reliable these days, but they are like a computer on wheels, and have all the same issues smile

And while I agree main dealer prices are pretty expensive, and you undoubtedly will save money on the cost of the actual services by going independent, I've found it's been beneficial having that relationship with the main dealer when things go wrong. For example recently I had a transmission issue out of warranty, and the dealer went into bat for me with the manufacturer and the $3000 bill was covered under "goodwill". I don't think an independent would have had that kind of leverage.

Just my experience, and I must admit I do service my older, much simpler car, with an independent.