Pros and cons of going with a newer JLU diesels
- Thread starter Anybodyhome
- Start date
New diesels are absolutely awful. Emissions in this country killed the diesel.
They have nothing but problems and you'll realize that the longer you own it.
They have nothing but problems and you'll realize that the longer you own it.
I'll give you my perspective after contemplating this several times, focusing on the JL v. JK aspect only, not the engine.
An Xtreme Recon JLU was for sale relatively locally a few months back and really had me thinking. Factory lift, 35s, 4.56 gears, 8 spd trans, updated interior. I think it had 45k on it so a bit more than half the mileage of my JK. It would've cost me ~$17k + tax to upgrade. Ultimately I decided that a JLU overlapped too much with our other vehicles, which is why I initially went with a 2dr JK. I believe the XR package was only offered on the 2dr beginning with 24MY so the used valuations are too high to make sense. It started me thinking about a 2dr JL Rubicon. Now, I don't need the lockers, but the 4.10 gears would be fine for me (currently have 3.21). It would get me into a new vehicle with the 8spd. That would be about ~13-14k based on local pricing.
The cons are $, as I could do everything I need for less money, except the trans which is really just a nice to have. I have no issues with the performance of the 5spd. The JLs are even more electronically controlled than the JK so the self repair aspect gets harder and most likely more expensive. Having really enjoyed the soft top this Summer, I like its design better than the JL 2dr top. That's getting a bit nit-picky though and probably wouldn't stop me from buying. Overall I find the JK to be a bit simpler and truer to the Jeep fundamentals. JL seems to be appealing to the daily-driver, one owner, do-everything crowd which isn't me or why I purchased it.