With all the crazy deals on cars going right now, we're considering attempting to get out of our Mercedes (which goes out of CPO warranty next month).

My neighbor is a mgr at one of the local DCJR dealers & in browsing their inventory, they've got a couple GCs with some attractive discounts.
Coupled with their 0% finance deals, I just might be able to make the swap without much change in my current monthly costs.

GC in questions is a '20 4wd Altitude with tow pkg.

With kid #3 on the way, the extra back set & cargo space would be handy.

Apart from it being a bit of an older platform (bugs worked out?) anything in particular to keep in mind with them, long-term?

You might be well advised to check out consumer reports before buying.

I had a 2012 GC Overland with the air suspension and it was flawless for the three years I owned it. I only ended up trading it as I required a truck at the time.
Mine had the 3.6 which I found adequate but if I was to get another; and I just might, I would order the 5.7 engine package.

I had the Trailhawk version of that vehicle, I owned it for 3 yrs. It had the 5.7.
It was about my favorite vehicle, master of nothing but could do anything.
The 5.7 will run if you ask it to.
When I approached the end of the warranty I punted.
I had no issues, but only 35K miles.
I wish I had more confidence in its reliability, and my dealerships ability to fix it.
I do miss it.

When I was looking for a replacement for my 2007 Chevy TrailBlazer three years ago, I started thinking I wanted a Porsche Cayenne. I decided that wasn't a good idea. From there I researched SUV-after-SUV. For every brand and model I researched, when reading the reviews, they'd say "but if you're interested in <this>, you should also look at the Jeep Grand Cherokee for <these> reasons." "No! Don't want a Jeep!" I'd say to myself. Finally, after about brand and model #6, and seeing that again: "Ok! Fine! I'll look at the %!#$#$! Jeep Grand Cherokee!"

So I did. And the more I read the more I liked.

Ended-up going to a well-reviewed CDJR dealer nearby, looking at a 2015 JGC Limited with very low miles (23,600). Had the 5.7L Hemi and a tow package. It was love at first sight. Bought it. Love it.

Caveats: I'm retired. Drive very, very little. So little I hit the recommended oil change interval only once-a-year. So I cannot speak to how well they hold up. Also: My JGC was designed and built when CDJR was still owned by Daimler. A lot of Mercedes went into its interior and ride. Don't know how later models are.

We have almost 70K on our 2015 JGC Overland, and aside from one of the rear seat heater switches going out, it has been a flawless vehicle. We plan to keep it a while.

There are quite a few threads on here about the JGC (especially since it has been around a while). Seems like there is a lot of dislike for it, and discussion about its reliability. I realize that it isn’t the highest rated SUV out there, but around here, and in my travels through northern areas, there are a crap-ton of them out there, and they have been best selling for a long time.

They have been around long enough, that if they were the utter POS that people claim, they just wouldn’t sell as well as they do, IMO.

Ours has been great, has the 3.6 in it, and we wouldn’t hesitate to buy another one.

I have a 2017 limited with the 6 cylinder that I bought new in Sept '17. I have ~57k miles with absolutely zero issues. I really like it. I find it to be very comfortable and I have no problem driving all day in it on road trips. I had to ad the factory hitch to it as the dealership didn't have any in my price range with the factory towing package installed and there weren't any local to me either.

So far I have towed my motorcycle on a utility trailer approximately 3000 miles and made multiple HD runs including hauling about 2k pounds of Sakrete last weekend with zero problems.

quote:

With kid #3 on the way, the extra back set & cargo space would be handy.

Keep in mind, the Grand Cherokee has only 2 rows of seating. If you want 3 rows, you might consider the Durango.

We have a 2014 GC limited with 75 k on it

It has the Ecodiesel which is why we got
The extended warranty that has paid off
Jeep has finally sorted the diesel exhaust issue and we now have an extended warranty on the exhaust and engine for another 100 k I believe.
We love the power and Mileage it’s a great trip car

This is our third GC

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
With kid #3 on the way, the extra back set & cargo space would be handy.

I don't see any of the Jeeps as 3 kid, family of 5 vehicles.

quote:

Originally posted by JimmyRayBob:

quote:

With kid #3 on the way, the extra back set & cargo space would be handy.

Keep in mind, the Grand Cherokee has only 2 rows of seating. If you want 3 rows, you might consider the Durango.

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
With kid #3 on the way, the extra back set & cargo space would be handy.

I don't see any of the Jeeps as 3 kid, family of 5 vehicles.

My wife has a Flex, which seats 7.
Our oldest is out of a car seat, so it would be down to seeing how well the 3 of them fit with #3 in a rear facing & #2 in a (full seat) booster.

Would have to get it to the house (or get the neighbor to drive it home one night) to test how well that scenario works.

I have a '19 GC Trailhawk with the 5.7 Hemi. I only have 15k miles but it has been flawless for me. It rides beautifully, looks great, is very comfortable and capable, and has plenty of power. The gas mileage sucks and I do worry about the air suspension going out once my warranty period is up since it's an expensive repair. My kids are grown do I rarely have anyone in the back seat. It's roomy enough for me but I'm not sure I would pick it if I had three kids in back.

We have a 2014 GC with the 6 cylinder and full time 4wd.

We love it, have had zero issues.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
My wife has a Flex, which seats 7.
Our oldest is out of a car seat, so it would be down to seeing how well the 3 of them fit with #3 in a rear facing & #2 in a (full seat) booster.

Would have to get it to the house (or get the neighbor to drive it home one night) to test how well that scenario works.

Yeah, the Jeep is going to be smaller than the Flex or any other full size SUV.

Jeeps can be nice vehicles, but they aren't full sized or even mid-sized SUVs. They are like large cars with some extra storage space and a full roof for a rack. I had a Cherokee Sport for more than 10 years - I didn't choose it but it came with the wife. Moderately reliable, good for short trips, not something I'd every really buy again unless it was just for me and 1-2 others to ride in.

It's a great single / married with no kids in house vehicle. Beyond that I'm a firm believer there are better options, especially for 3 kids in the back.

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
Yeah, the Jeep is going to be smaller than the Flex or any other full size SUV.

This is true. My 2007 TrailBlazer had more space in the rear.

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
I had a Cherokee Sport for more than 10 years - I didn't choose it but it came with the wife. Moderately reliable, good for short trips, ...

Not the same thing as a JGC. My JGC is so comfortable I would not hesitate to take it cross-country.

Except for the mileage. That 5.7L Hemi is not an economy engine . Best I can do is around 22 MPG on the highway. Maybe a bit more were I to keep it down to no more than 70 MPH.

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
It's a great single / married with no kids in house vehicle. Beyond that I'm a firm believer there are better options, especially for 3 kids in the back.

As much as I love my JGC, I'd tend to agree.

Neighbours across the street have a Ford Flex. They love it. (Personally, I think the vehicle's as ugly as the Pontiac Aztec, but beauty is in the eye...)

Thanks for the comments. Will have to trail it with both carseats installed.

Both available at the nearby dealer are the V6.
'19 2wd Limited
'20 4wd Altitude

Listed prices are <$1k apart, I imagine the '19 would have a bit more wiggle room being a leftover prior MY.

This week is end of the month, so I'm sure they're a bit more motivated to get their numbers as well.

We just bought a new '19 VW GTI last month. I can offer this: just be prepared to finance it on your own (bank, credit union). The 0% financing offers are great...but they are sometimes attached to a rebate on the vehicle. In our case...if we used VW's 0% financing offer, then we gave up a $2,000 rebate.
The price of the car goes up $2k, in other words.
We financed with our credit union at 2.99%, which came out to about $1,750 finance cost over the life of the loan, and the final price of the car was $2k lower.

quote:

Originally posted by VictimNoMore:
We just bought a new '19 VW GTI last month. I can offer this: just be prepared to finance it on your own (bank, credit union). The 0% financing offers are great...but they are sometimes attached to a rebate on the vehicle. In our case...if we used VW's 0% financing offer, then we gave up a $2,000 rebate.
The price of the car goes up $2k, in other words.
We financed with our credit union at 2.99%, which came out to about $1,750 finance cost over the life of the loan, and the final price of the car was $2k lower.

I grew up in the car business, so definitely will be sure to look at it both ways.
With how quickly the Merc depreciates, it may all be moot.

Not a GC but similar, my wife has a 2018 Durango we bought new not quite 2 years ago. Hers does have the 3rd row seat though we didn't really need it. It's nice as it can fold down and you have the extra cargo space but on rare occasions she has taken our daughter and some of her friends places so the 3rd seat has come in handy.

Hers is a V6 and can get 25 mpg if staying on the highway at posted speeds. It's been flawless through the first 34k miles.

2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo (3.7 6 cylinder), now with 32,500 miles on it.

Excellent vehicle; everything works as it should. Plenty of power and reasonably decent MPG.

The current "WK2" Grand Cherokee is a mature model and the bugs, primarily computer related, are fixed.