Didn’t see that coming…

[89 MJ]

With graduation and my brother taking our shared Honda CRV with him to NC, I decided it was time for me to get a fairly modern vehicle to daily drive. Problem was, nothing was even remotely interesting to me.

 

I ended up deciding I wanted a 2 door Wrangler JL. I had a heck of a time finding a used one for a reasonable price. I finally found a 2020 with a 3.6, auto, heated seats and steering wheel LSD and D44 rear, and towing package locally for a decent price. It had 82k miles, which seemed high, but was about average for the year. It wasn’t free from issues though. It had a couple of dings, a small crack in the windshield, and the windows of the soft top were all foggy from the sun. The biggest problem was the cams were replaced very recently (within 30 miles) and the dealership was not wanting to do more than their standard 30 day warranty unless I was willing to fork out another 5k for a 2.5 year 30k mile warranty. To me, it seemed that they did not want to stand behind their work. 
 

By the time I factored in the warranty, I was looking near the pricing of a brand new one (within a few thousand or so). At another dealer, I found a brand new one that was almost identical in terms of options, except it had a hard top, was black instead of dark grey, and it had the 2.0 Turbo. It was also a brand new leftover 2025. For the pricing difference, I almost had to go with the brand new one. 
 

So yeah, I bought a brand new 2025 JL Sport S (but very well loaded in terms of options). I never thought I would’ve bought a brand new vehicle ever, but here we are. And I have to say, I have enjoyed every minute of the 230 miles I’ve put on it so far. It handles well, rides well, and is properly quick. It’s also done very well on fuel mileage, considering I have been driving it pretty hard. 
 

Now for everyone’s favorite part, pictures

At the dealer 

 

Heading up Mt Lemmon near Tucson, AZ

[JZLAJeep]

Congratulations on your new purchase!

[eaglescout526]

Traitor! 
 

Lol. We will make that JL an 80’s piece. 

[89 MJ]

6 hours ago, eaglescout526 said:

Traitor! 
 

Lol. We will make that JL an 80’s piece. 

Lol! Stripes and the right wheels and we’ll get it looking right

[derf]

Very nice.

[neohic]

Congrats on the new rig! 

[Pete M]

enjoy all the interior space! (compared to the MJs) 

 

[89 MJ]

9 hours ago, JZLAJeep said:

Congratulations on your new purchase!

Thank you! 
 

1 hour ago, derf said:

Very nice.

It really has been a nice toy. A lot of advancements over a JK, but still very much a Jeep. 
 

1 hour ago, neohic said:

Congrats on the new rig! 

Thank you!

 

41 minutes ago, Pete M said:

enjoy all the interior space! (compared to the MJs) 

 

So far. About 200 of the 230 miles have had 4 people in it the whole time, so interior space has been very limited, but still a little more than the MJ. 

[JZLAJeep]

And as an Arizona expatriate, I appreciate the desert photos!

[89 MJ]

15 minutes ago, JZLAJeep said:

And as an Arizona expatriate, I appreciate the desert photos!

I’m sure there will be more once I start a build thread for it 

[Officialstorm_chaser]

needs more America, get a paint job, make it red white and blue, (and secretly add some pink somewhere like the interior

[AnotherOldJeepGuy]

11 hours ago, 89 MJ said:

So yeah, I bought a brand new 2025 JL Sport S (but very well loaded in terms of options). I never thought I would’ve bought a brand new vehicle ever, but here we are. And I have to say, I have enjoyed every minute of the 230 miles I’ve put on it so far. It handles well, rides well, and is properly quick. It’s also done very well on fuel mileage, considering I have been driving it pretty hard. 

Congrats!  Looks great.  My favorite color too!  I may follow your lead at some point since my MJ has been dead for about a month now!  (But I have not given up on it yet )  Enjoy!

[89 MJ]

1 hour ago, Officialstorm_chaser said:

needs more America, get a paint job, make it red white and blue, (and secretly add some pink somewhere like the interior

It definitely will get some sort of stripe someday. 
 

1 hour ago, AnotherOldJeepGuy said:

Congrats!  Looks great.  My favorite color too!  I may follow your lead at some point since my MJ has been dead for about a month now!  (But I have not given up on it yet )  Enjoy!

Thank you! I would’ve preferred green, but I like black too. With the 27s hitting the lot soon, leftover 25s are getting pretty cheap. 

[pizzaman09]

Very nice!

In 2020 I test drove a brand new 2 door Wrangler, 3.6L with the 6 speed manual, it was a rocket!  I was looking to test drive a manual Gladiator at the time but the only manual one the dealer had was sitting right in the center of their showroom, I didn't want to bother them to move it.  I could see myself owning one, they are much more comfortable in the back seat than I expected.  

[89 MJ]

2 hours ago, pizzaman09 said:

Very nice!

In 2020 I test drove a brand new 2 door Wrangler, 3.6L with the 6 speed manual, it was a rocket!  I was looking to test drive a manual Gladiator at the time but the only manual one the dealer had was sitting right in the center of their showroom, I didn't want to bother them to move it.  I could see myself owning one, they are much more comfortable in the back seat than I expected.  

This 4cyl with the auto is every bit as quick or maybe even quicker than the 3.6 with the auto. I never drove one with a stick because they were roughly 3-4k more expensive. 

[derf]

14 minutes ago, 89 MJ said:

This 4cyl with the auto is every bit as quick or maybe even quicker than the 3.6 with the auto. I never drove one with a stick because they were roughly 3-4k more expensive. 

You're better off without the manual in the JL.  The clutch design is really sub par.  And the transmission itself isn't the best out there.

[89 MJ]

1 hour ago, derf said:

You're better off without the manual in the JL.  The clutch design is really sub par.  And the transmission itself isn't the best out there.

I remember you saying that a few weeks ago. And the auto really is excellent. 

[pizzaman09]

6 hours ago, 89 MJ said:

I remember you saying that a few weeks ago. And the auto really is excellent. 

Assuming the transmission is the ZF 8 speed, it is an excellent transmission.

[89 MJ]

4 hours ago, pizzaman09 said:

Assuming the transmission is the ZF 8 speed, it is an excellent transmission.

It is the ZF.