Why this guy bought a Rubicon over a Bronco

[Kevin Scarbel]

Before I ordered my Basesquatch at the reveal, I priced up a Wrangler Rubicon and what I really wanted- a Gladiator. The Gladiator (base) would have cost me at least 15K more by the time I got the lift kit, larger tires and the gearing change. Even then I would not have locking diffs. To get a Rubicon or Mohave it was like 65K back then, 25K more than I paid for my Basesquatch. The Basesquatch was for sure a bargain it its day when it was available.

When I saw the 2005 Jeep Gladiator concept in Beijing, I wanted one. But the production item that finally launched years later.....not so much.
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https://www.motor1.com/news/276275/jeep-gladiator-concept-we-forgot/

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[voxel]

What dealership? I ordered my Everglades last September and I am still waiting. (8 months) Maybe I need to shop around for an Everglades.

You do... this dealer has 7 at MSRP and I've seen green ones before (the color I would have picked). I've seen other dealers with 2-3 on the lot too.

https://brandonford.com/inventory?f...e":{"Everglades 4 Door Advanced 4x4":true}}}}

 

[GrayZone]

Took this today. I think they had about 40 Broncos on the lot.

My small town dealer has 10 Broncos on lot
No wait, cum n get em,,,,,,,,,, gitty up!

 

[KABQ]

What dealership? I ordered my Everglades last September and I am still waiting. (8 months) Maybe I need to shop around for an Everglades.

Power Ford in Albuquerque. I didn't notice if they had any Everglades

 

[hemiblas]

I just completed a few builds...badlands 2 door vs 2 door rubi. Both white. Both auto. Both hardtop. Badlands forced me into the 2.7 so I added the 2.0 turbo with etorque. No extra features....Rubi msrp is 52285. Ford msrp is 55630 without acquisition fee.
https://shop.ford.com/configure/bronco/config/summary/Config[|Ford|Bronco|2024|1|1.|...PYZ...2DR.BLD.44T.]
https://www.jeep.com/bmo.wrangler.h...X9,EC1,DFT,DMF,Z1E,TXA,WFV,K7,SDD,UBP,HT1,22R

You might be getting a few more features standard on the Badlands...but I didnt pick anything extra on either. Bronco is a bigger vehicle though so it makes sense, but posts saying a rubi is 10k more than a Bronco are way off.

 

[monsterfd]

who tf cares?

 

[BlueBronco]

Also, anybody saying that the wrangler and bronco are like apples and oranges needs more perspective. It’s more like a Gala and a Honeycrisp. Both apples.

Pink Lady's are the best apples.

 

[Blackcat]

Have owned several Wrangers over 30 years - Sahara, Sport and Rubicons. You couldn't give me one after having the Bronco.

Agreed! Nice HPR!

 

[Imaginary Friend]

Great thread from my perspective, being a guy who wanted to buy a 2-door Bronco in '22/'23 (and still sort of does), but ended up ordering and buying a '23 2-door JL Rubicon. Why, you ask?

Where to start....

Let's start with the Ford dealers. Due to all the supplier constraint nonsense, nobody could really tell me when I could order one, or when it would be delivered. Some were just plain pricks. All wanted sticker, and many wanted a markup for the privilege.

I wanted cloth seats in my open-air rig. Period. So Ford, in its infinite wisdom, puts the base model on indefinite hold the entire time I wanted to order, then kills the trim level and the prospect of a cloth interior altogether. I'm not a fan of MGV, having seen enough of it in boats, so my choice began to become clear.

I wanted a ragtop. Period. But all I could get on a 2-door Bronco is a crack-prone hardtop as a standard offering. Meanwhile, Ford's solution for a soft top is a logic-defying, flip-up monstrosity with no proper rear access like Jeep (or anyone else) has been offering for decades.

Pricing? Well, we all know how Ford kept jacking up the prices every other week for a while. Jeep did too, but Granger slashing the sticker price got me out the door in my Rubi for $43K and change. Pay sticker or markup? Nah, not on a mainstream vehicle, ever.

I could go on. I'm loving the JL a year in, it's much better than my JKs were for sure. I've got until the 3/36 runs out on the JL to see what develops in the Bronco camp since I still want one. But this particular buying experience makes me glad there are other options.

 

[raqball]

I just completed a few builds...badlands 2 door vs 2 door rubi. Both white. Both auto. Both hardtop. Badlands forced me into the 2.7 so I added the 2.0 turbo with etorque. No extra features....Rubi msrp is 52285. Ford msrp is 55630 without acquisition fee.
https://shop.ford.com/configure/bronco/config/summary/Config[|Ford|Bronco|2024|1|1.|...PYZ...2DR.BLD.44T.]
https://www.jeep.com/bmo.wrangler.h...X9,EC1,DFT,DMF,Z1E,TXA,WFV,K7,SDD,UBP,HT1,22R

You might be getting a few more features standard on the Badlands...but I didnt pick anything extra on either. Bronco is a bigger vehicle though so it makes sense, but posts saying a rubi is 10k more than a Bronco are way off.

Your build is off.. Add an axel upgrade for the Rubicon, which is needed when comparing to the Badlands, and it will add almost $5k to your Rubicon build..

I get it, people want to manipulate #'s to meet their point but your build, and pricing, is not a good comparison to the Badlands you built...

 

[raqball]

who tf cares?

A bunch of people complaining about current pricing for a vehicle they already purchased.. LOL

My Badlands 2dr, I purchased 2 months ago, was $51K off a dealer lot. That price includes tax, title and licensing.. The dealer I purchased from is only about a one hour drive from me and it was on the lot and ready to roll. It had most of everything I wanted and was NOT optioned upwards..

When I was in the market, I looked at Badlands 2dr and Rubicon 2dr. All the Rubicon's I found in a 500 mile search area were anywhere from $58K to $65K.. Maybe they can be found for less if I expanded my search area but this is what I was looking at price wise in the PNW..

I did another 500 mile search a little bit ago and I did find a few Rubicon 2dr for about $53K, which is less than when I was looking a few months ago and close to what I paid for the Badlands. . Of course, that $53K price does not include tax, title and licensing.. Sure I prob could haggle them down to the Badlands price of $51K out the door..

Most people buy off a dealer lot, you'll rarely, if ever, find a stripped base on a dealer lot. From there it's down to what options were added, if the customer wants those options etc.

Can you order a base Rubi for less than a Badlands Base? Yup... Are you going to find base's of either on a dealer lot? Nope...

 

[DriveAllNight]

Great thread from my perspective, being a guy who wanted to buy a 2-door Bronco in '22/'23 (and still sort of does), but ended up ordering and buying a '23 2-door JL Rubicon. Why, you ask?

Where to start....

Let's start with the Ford dealers. Due to all the supplier constraint nonsense, nobody could really tell me when I could order one, or when it would be delivered. Some were just plain pricks. All wanted sticker, and many wanted a markup for the privilege.

I wanted cloth seats in my open-air rig. Period. So Ford, in its infinite wisdom, puts the base model on indefinite hold the entire time I wanted to order, then kills the trim level and the prospect of a cloth interior altogether. I'm not a fan of MGV, having seen enough of it in boats, so my choice began to become clear.

I wanted a ragtop. Period. But all I could get on a 2-door Bronco is a crack-prone hardtop as a standard offering. Meanwhile, Ford's solution for a soft top is a logic-defying, flip-up monstrosity with no proper rear access like Jeep (or anyone else) has been offering for decades.

Pricing? Well, we all know how Ford kept jacking up the prices every other week for a while. Jeep did too, but Granger slashing the sticker price got me out the door in my Rubi for $43K and change. Pay sticker or markup? Nah, not on a mainstream vehicle, ever.

I could go on. I'm loving the JL a year in, it's much better than my JKs were for sure. I've got until the 3/36 runs out on the JL to see what develops in the Bronco camp since I still want one. But this particular buying experience makes me glad there are other options.

Now this is a legitimate version of what happened going back to the release of the Bronco and why someone would opt out.
A whole lot of crappy circumstances due to a very bad timing of a new release during a pandemic and a bunch of dealers who turned into the worst versions of themselves - although to be fair, not all dealers were doing that, some were actually trying to work with people to the best of their ability.

To be honest, due to a lot of those same factors I walked away for a while and almost for good, with the attitude that no car is worth this. Ford was taking away options while raising prices, I didn't want to play their game and so I bowed out for a bit. Obviously I came back, but I wouldn't blame anyone who moved on.

 

[GPPBronco]

Pink Lady's are the best apples.

Oh, you mean the Suzuki Samurai?

 

[hemiblas]

Your build is off.. Add an axel upgrade for the Rubicon, which is needed when comparing to the Badlands, and it will add almost $5k to your Rubicon build..

I get it, people want to manipulate #'s to meet their point but your build, and pricing, is not a good comparison to the Badlands you built...

Not clear on the axle upgrade. The Rubi comes with upgraded axles with front and rear lockers. Do you mean the package with 35" tires? I didnt pick that on either build. Does the badlands even have a front locker without adding SAS? I just picked two builds and tried to get them close without adding any other options. I did point out that the Bronco is a bigger car/truck...which would have justified the price anyway. How about some facts to back up your claim. I'm pretty unbiased. I have a 2023 Bronco and a 2018 Rubicon.

 

[raqball]

How about some facts to back up your claim. I'm pretty unbiased.

LOL...

Try looking at the axel gear ratios in you own configuration then let me know if you realize that they are not even close.. You need to upgrade the ratio in your Rubi build which adds almost $5K... They will never be exact but to make it more comparable, you'd need the axel gear ratio upgrade

And yes, the Badlands has front and rear lockers..

Sure you get larger tires with the Rubi axel ratio upgrade which puts it into Sas territory. The point is that you cannot make an as a matter of fact price comparison between the 2 builds because they are vastly different packages available .

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