How did you first find your KJ?

[jp1]

We bought our KJ for my wife. She drives about 45min to work on twisty, turny, hilly 2 lane backroads. There are some real steep hills and she needed something with 4wd to safely make it thru the snow.

Before the KJ she was driving a Stratus Coupe and while it was a fun car to drive, it sat pretty low to the ground and was horrible in bad weather. We also wanted to have a 4dr vehicle in the family, so we started looking. Also, after the Stratus she was not going back to a 4 ******, so we looked for something with a V6. She like the Mazda Tribute, but they were a bit out of our price range. I really wanted her to get a Mopar, so she test drove the Liberty and after several hours of negotations she traded in the Stratus and drove home in the KJ.

 

[GeorgiaJeeper]

Hello fellow Jeepers,

To start off, I didn't like the Liberty. I started getting interested in Jeeps around '85. This was about the time my sister got a '79 CJ-7. A few years later, in '88, I got my first Jeep. It was an '83 CJ-5. I just loved driving everywhere in that thing. And I mean everywhere. After the CJ-5, I started looking around for another Jeep. I didn't really care for the Wranglers and I was looking for something new. So I bought my first brand new car in '93, and it was a '93 Cherokee Country. I took it right off the showroom floor with only 2 miles on the odometer, and without even test driving it!

When they first announced that they were going to make the Liberty and stop making the Cherokee, I wasn't going to buy one. I would buy a used Cherokee if I had to when it was time to replace my Cherokee.

Last year, my wife needed a new car. So she decided she wanted to get a Jeep. She looked at the Libertys and ended up getting a new '04 with the manual transmission. After riding around with her in it for a few months, it grew on me and I started liking it. This really wasn't so bad.

In March of this year, I finally had to get rid of my '93 Cherokee after 12 years of service. It had over 185,000 miles on it. I replaced it with a brand new '05 Liberty Limited. This is only my second new car. It had 11 miles on it and I actually took this one for a test drive first. I already have 4500 miles on it and am loving it.

I am hoping this will last as long as my Cherokee did.

GeorgiaJeeper
83CJ5
93XJ
05KJ

 

[Eris]

Hello, I'm new and this is my first post. I grew up in a car family (my grandfather and father restored antiques), had three Mustangs, then switched to Japanese for a few years. The last time I needed a car, I test drove a '98 Taurus and loved it, so I bought it. I loved that car, and it brought back some of my confidence in American-made cars, which my last Mustang had pretty much killed. Unfortunately, it had a problem with the heating/coolant system that I guess is common in the Taurus but tough to diagnose and fix, so it was finally time to let it go - we were putting way too much money into it. My husband was making me drive his Explorer to work while he was taking the Taurus (which would overheat in traffic). I HATE driving his Explorer. So we started looking at cars about a month ago, and I was adamant that I needed a big car because I like the elbow room when I'm driving, certain that I wanted a CAR, not a truck or an SUV. I toyed with the idea of a Wrangler because I loved their looks, but they're just too bone-jangling for me.

So we were at a used car dealer in our town one day (hubby had bought his Explorer there, so we wanted to give the guy the business and didn't think we could afford new) and they had a 2002 Liberty Limited. I liked the look of it and would keep going over and peeking in the windows. Over the next week or two, the dealer gave us a call when he got a mid-size sedan in and I'd go and test drive it. Finally, completely on a lark, I said, "Can I try that Liberty?" and laughed at my husband and said, "Don't worry, I don't WANT an SUV, but what the heck, right?"

Well, it was love at first drive! Unfortunately, the financing at the used dealer wasn't really what we wanted, so for the heck of it we went to the local Jeep dealer (ironically, where I had bought my Taurus used) and we picked up my 2005 Liberty Sport on Saturday. Granted, it's base model so it doesn't have all the bells and whistles I would love for it to have, but it has all the bells and whistles I couldn't live without. AND they had a color I liked (Atlantic Blue). I am so in love with this car and shocked that I even have it since it's an SUV.

I love the look, love the ride, and hubby says he'll feel better with me driving that in the winters here in New England than a car. I read a review that called it "A Jeep Wrangler trapped in the body of a baby Grand Cherokee." I was half in tears driving my husband's Explorer for the past several weeks, but it just felt too "big" and I felt like I was too high up - I can't really explain it. I don't feel anything like that in my Liberty. And although it's smaller inside than my Taurus, I don't feel cramped at all. And my dog loves it too!

I don't know if it's because it's my first NEW car or what, but I am in love with it!!

 

[incommando]

I bought a 2004 Focus with the z-tec engine. It was SUPPOSED to be the better of 2 choices. I put 4,000 miles on it. The timing belt jumped off twice, neccesitating tows. One time it left me stranded in 16 degree weather with my 2 & 4 yr old daughters. Ford, in their infinite wisdom, put the belt back on twice AND NEVER EVEN REPLACED IT even though I offerd to pay for the new one. The engine was so filled with oil they literally vacummed it out through the spark plug holes. They never could tell me WHY this happened, and it was an automatic so, with the fuel pump cut-off in place, it was never over-revved. The third time it quit like you were turning off the engine, and it was towed for a new ECM.

Frustrated and feeling that this **** was unsafe to haul my kids in, I went & bought what I wanted in the first place: a Jeep. I have had a 1/2 dozen or so before, and currently had a Commando with spooled D44's front/rear and 33's. I looked at Unlimited Rubicons, but they looked like a pain with two kids in car seats. So, I drove a KJ and really liked it. I really wanted a 6-spd, and the only two they could find within 400 miles were about 250 miles away. They went and got one of them and it is now mine. After incentives, I got it for about $18,500. That is with remote entry, full power, a/c, a nice roomy interior, and the V6. All for less than I could get a Wrangler X.

 

[Liberty Titan]

Well...I test drove one on a whim...bought it the next day O

 

[MAFDaddy]

My Liberty Purchase

I was finally in a position to go and buy a new car. I have always cash-purchased cars to last a couple years then get something else. I like change. So this was a big deal for me. I currently drove a '94 GMC Jimmy with the 4.3 Vortec automatic 4X4. I love(d) that car. Went anywhere and tough as nails. But I didn't like the newer GM models. Too 'cushy' and refined. I'm a simple guy with simple needs. I knew I wanted another SUV. I started reading reviews. My only must-haves were manual tranmission, 4x4 and a good towing capacity. My field of choices was already quite small. Anyway, I was actually quite convinced that a Kia Sorento was going to be it. It had good reviews and the warranty couldn't be beat. I went looking but never driving. I'm an impulse buyer. My wife hates that. And with a purchase this big, I didn't want to run on impulse. The Kia's were nice but didn't give off a real 4X4 image. Same problem with the GM models. I just happened onto a Saturn Used Car lot because I thought I saw a used Kia there. It wasn't a Kia. As I was leaving, the salesman said "How about a Liberty". I never even considered a Liberty. Until just then. I saw it. It screamed "4X4!!". It even said 4X4 on the back. I looked inside - A STICK SHIFT!. Against all of my wife's pleadings before I left that night - I DROVE IT. Knowing that sleeping in the doghouse for the life of the car-note wouldn't be the best thing for my marriage, I told the salesman I'd have to go home and 'clear it with my wife'. I went home and quickly did internet research. A lot of great stuff out there about these Libertys. But the one that sealed the deal, was the one that pitted the Liberty against the Kia. The Liberty won. And so did I. AND, I got the wife's nod of approval. I went the next day and bought it. Yes it was used - only a year old. Only 17k miles. But to me - it was new. I love it. That's my story.

MAFDaddy

 

[eddiev9]

After driving a used 97 Ford Taurus sedan for a few years, it was time to get a new car. I'm stationed overseas. The only choice of cars we have are American and a few select European ones (tax free, that is).
I'm not into luxury/foreign/status vehicles (no offense), so I steered away from the BMW, Saab, Volvo, etc. So that left me with American cars to choose from. I always wanted an SUV. Being in such a crowded city, I did not want something too big, though. Big cars a prone to dings and dents, especially with the tight parking and small roads. So that left me with smaller SUV's. It basically got down to two choices: Ford Escape or Jeep Liberty (otherwise it is a special order vehicle which could take up to six months to deliver).
At my workplace, there are three people who owned Escapes. Well, I did not want to become part of the "Hey, we have the same car!" club with them; no thanks. Honestly, it did have an influence, but my decision was not solely based on that, though. What really caught my attention with the Liberty's is when I started to research over the web and comparing these two vehicles. It wasn't the technical stuff and pricing that opened my eyes, it was the pics of these Liberty's going off road. It really gave me the feel that if I had owned one of these, there'd be no stopping me, keeping up with me, following me...I really got the road warrior feel.
But there are quite a number of Liberty's here in the community. They've been selling here since the beginning, so it's safe to say there are about 15-20 of them rolling around the country (American-made Liberty's) right now. However, the all new designed 2005 Renegade really caught my attention with the classic Jeep grill. I had to have it...it had to be mine. I got really lucky and bought this Rennie during the Employe Pricing Plus deal. With that, no tax, and Military rebates...got it dirt cheap! Too bad it's only a 2WD; my only regret.

 

[Se7enLC]

I had always previously owned small cars (ford escort wagon, toyota corolla, and a chevy cavalier), and I had never really thought of getting anything larger.

I saw a Mitsubishi Outlander while walking one day, and loved it. It was a really small SUV, but looked sturdy, and had some pretty beefy looking roofrails. It had the luxury look, and the SUV storage and abilities.

SO that got me looking into small SUVs. I wanted manual transmission, V6, and a sunroof. I looked at a LOT of suvs, the escape, CR-V, outlander, forester, outback, xterra, etcetcetc. I was able to eliminate a lot of SUVs, including the outlander that got me interested in these. I had nearly decided on a subaru forester when a friend of mine said "look at a Jeep Liberty". Once I found out that they came in a 6 speed, I was hooked. I ordered it in December 04 and got it in February of 05. 2005 Renegade, 6speed, 6cyl, Heated Leather, Luxury Package, Offroad skis/tires/rails. I love it!

 

[Derek Mc]

Wife had had a few "Sporty" numbers last was a mitsubishi FTO 2.0 V6 MIVEC (2.0 litre 200HP little sister to the GTO for those who wonder)
She had a run in with a refuse collection truck who "didn't see her" that and pregnancy changed her view to a 4x4 but it had to be Automatic and have A/C etc etc. It came down to Brand choice and I wanted a Grand Cherokee so we bought a 98 Grand limited 4.0 kept it for a year traded for an 02 Grand with the horrendous 2.7 Merc CRD due to 3 months of garage sitting the dealer traded it back (at a cost only deal I hasten to add) for the brand New Bright Silver Cherokee Limited (Liberty) CRD Auto. I have to say it is a stunning little thing to drive and feels every inch a real 4x4 where the Grand is too much luxury sedan for my taste.

 

[ThunderbirdJunkie]

about 3 weeks ago, I decided I needed a new ride. my old '88 Thunderbird just has the typical nearly-20-year-old Ford electrical gremlins that keep it from being a reliable daily driver, especially since I commute over 60 miles daily between work and school...but I loved the T-bird's 20 mpg/30 mpg city/highway. Now, it's time to tear into the heart of 'er

I work at a Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep dealership, but I more or less had my heart set on a 2wd V8 98-01 Explorer, since I wanted something gutsy that was comfortable, with plenty of room to haul my mobile pit area on race days (I race toy cars). It'd been over a year since I sold my last 4x4 ('89 Isuzu Trooper, 3 weeks earlier I sold my daily driver rig, a 91 Montero, hardly a "********" 4x4, but nice as hell to drive daily; sold 'em to go back to school, and my first 4x4 was a CJ7: just fyi), I had been getting the bug to go wheelin again, but figured it could wait.
I went and test drove a REAL nice 01 Eddie Bauer Explorer, but it was AWD, and I didn't WANT an AWD one...
He convinced me to take it overnight to see how I liked it, and 20 minutes after rolling off the lot, I totalled it into the back of a minivan that was PARKED in the right lane of the interstate. WTF parks on the interstate? without their 4 ways on, and I saw no brake lights!
I was bummed...and missed work that day. AND I'm not buying no wrecked truck, lol. When I returned to work the next day, I told my boy Ricky (a salesman) about my unfortunate accident. "Why haven't you thought about the used Libertys we have on the lot?" "A: a Liberty AIN'T no real jeep, and B: we don't have any 4WD Liberties on the lot"

As luck would have it, a guy traded his '02 Sport 4x4 in the previous night on a Commander. I still didn't think it was a real Jeep, but it DID have mud tires on it...

We took a little test drive, that partially didn't involve pavement. I was impressed. 2 days later, it was MINE, ALL MINE.

so far, almost as good off road as my Trooper was, better to drive daily than my Montero, with better gas mileage than either, and whenever I get the money to finish up the new engine for the T-bird, it'll get better gas mileage than IT, too.

IFS or not, the Liberty is indeed a real Jeep.

 

[DougBenn]

Having owned Jeeps in one form or another since I was 16, it was a given that I would end up with another new Jeep, To date, 1966 Kaiser CJ5 (Miss this one) 1987 Comanche, 1980 CJ 5, 1986 Cherokee, 1997 Cherokee.


We started out looking for a second vehicle for me or my wife, my job was changing and I needed a vehicle, (company vehicle was being limited in future use).

I started out at the Ford dealer looking at a new Mustang GT, after my treatment there, I will never buy a Ford. (Long story)

Then we went to the local Land Rover dealer, wife liked the Freelanders, I have to admit I kind of liked the looks of some of them too. I did some research and noticed the Libby's were in the same price range. I showed her a Libby and she liked it alot, but we still wanted to check out the LR Freelander. ......Well we never even took one for a test drive, hated the interior, seats were too high and uncomfortable, just felt cheap.

On to the Jeep dealer... a buddy of mine works for a local Jeep dealer so I gave him a call and asked who to see, he set us up with a nice guy, not your typical salesman and my wife fell in love with a Light Khaki Limited. It was loaded, Sirius, sunroof, leather, etc.

Now we had a new plan, I was going to take over our Durango. We picked out my wife's Libby and took it home.

After a couple of days driving it, I liked it so much that the next week, I took my 01 Durango in and told them to make me a deal, I walked out with my Dark Khaki Libby that night.

 

[JeepJeepster]

When the libbys first came out, I hated them. Didn’t know they had IFS, and when I did find out I really didn’t care. I had always wanted a yellow wrangler. I looked at those for a while and decided they were just not for me. I would of loved it if the unlimited had come out b/c they are the perfect size. I looked at the hemi rams for a while but we couldn’t afford a 4wd one with the sport pack. The sent them up into the 30k range and were just too much. Me and my dad set out to get a Red Libby with the toe pack, that’s all I wanted. I wish anything I would of researched some before I bought my Jeep. I wish it had the off road pack, trac lock, and the towing pack. But the day we went they had sold like 30 Libbys. My brother had been to that car lot a week before this and they had the exact Libby I wanted. Well, when we got there I was completely disappointed b/c they had nothing, zero, zip. I looked at all the sports they had and didn’t see anything. Then I turned around and saw my little blue Libby. I got dad over there and said, “how about this little guy?” We took it for a test drive and it was a deal. We got over 4k off the price by just sitting down. I told the guy we would take it if he would put a hitch on with the current price we had talked him down to. He said it would be another $650 added back to the price. I said your crazy and told him to take another $650 off since that’s what I wanted and almost walked out. He took it and here I am 2 years later. My jeep has heated seats, sunroof, psi read out on the evic, leather, everything but the tow pack, and off road pack. But since then I’ve added a hitch, and skids so I guess I’ve come out on top. The only thing I wish it had is a locker, and HD cooling. That all I've got left to do!

 

[Tigrou]

I sell my Ducati 1000 because of a little beautifull boy coming =D>
then a try to find a car with a lot of space for Mountain an Water sports clothes and everything for my little family.

I found a car vendor by internet offering 14% off for the new 2.8 CRD 2005.
3 months later I was driving my black liberty Wild Dream 2.8 CRD 2005

 

[UKKJ]

Wanted a reliable nearly new 4x4...

Really fancied a Land Cruiser Colorado...prices are crazy

Saw the jeep for about half the price...and it is twice as cool!!!

Never looked back!!!

 

[JackKJ]

I went looking for a vehicle to replace my busted Honda Civic. I was looking for a small SUV that could tow a small trailer and be fun to take trips in and do a little recreational driving in. It was between a Ford Escape and a Blue Liberty Limited. There was no chance for me to even drive the Escape. I drove the Liberty and Fell in love with it. The best purchase I have made to date.

 

[zaber]

Over here in South Africe we could never really get any Jeeps, besides importing one from the States at very high cost, so when they opened up the market a lot of cars came in from various countries. I could not make up my mind, I had a 4wd double cab truck before and I needed something with enough power to pull a heavy trailer. I also did not want a brand new SUV, but I wanted something that has good value second hand and will last a couple of years....so I bought the Jeep (a 2002 model) and also never looked back....

Cheers,

 

[Shelly]

I have been looking at the Liberty's since they first came out. I am a single Mom with two kids, so I didn't think it would be a practical vehicle. I was driving a 2000 Chrysler Town & Country. :-$ Anyway, I have 155K miles on the T&C now. The transmission is failing, blah, blah, blah. So, I started to look at the Liberty's again. My kids are 12 and 9 now, so I figured what the heck. Well I went and test drove one and that was it. I was hooked!! I picked up my Liberty Sport this past Saturday and I LOVE IT! My favorite thing about it, is how it drives. LIKE A TRUCK!! It isn't like these other SUV's that drive like a car. It actually feels like a rough riding truck. It has ample horsepower and I got to use the 4-wheel drive this morning in the snow. It did great! I can't wait to take it off-road and see how it performs.

 

[Dave]

I looked at them in 02 when they first came out but i was not really ready to buy. Looked again in 04 but walked away. By 05 i was ready and i test drove one and liked it. But by this time i was ready and had been checking out the specs on the web and the sales brochure. Then the saleslady called and said that they had "employee pricing" ( 7/05 ) so we talked numbers on a black one with most of the options i was interested in. Anyway, since i liked the numbers i told her i needed to test drive the one i was interested in. So her and i took it for a 25 mile ride on the highway, then some back roads and then off road where i could try out all the t-case gears and back to the dealer. I really was impressed the way it drove and handled on and off-road. I stopped messing around looking at them and just bought it and here i am having fun......It's great......

Dave

 

[MoladoGuy]

I was driving a 1998 lifted Cherokee and I was beginning to see some major issues regarding the powertrain. I decided to go to the dealership and have it serviced. Well, it was going to cost WAAAYY more than I expected (it was a major drivetrain issue). I think it was due to the fact I put the lift on with a friend of mine and we never put a t-case drop and new steering stabalizer on. I drove it for a long time without that stuff..but I couldn't guarantee that is what messed it up.

So I began to look for something to replace my wonderful XJ. I started looking at the GMC Canyon and Chevy Colorado pick ups. I wasn't impressed, and the payments were ridiculous. I was looking for a trade in with my XJ but I was getting some low trade in values. I then began to think I should get a car, but after driving a lifted XJ I couldn't bear to be sitting in a car everyday that I drive.

I remembered in 2002 how I patronized and laughed at the KJ. I felt as if the Cherokee was shafted by being discontinued, especially by a vehicle such as the KJ. Well that changed in 2004 when I was looking for a new vehicle. I said "what the hell" and decided to test drive a KJ.

I told the salesman what I wanted, Renegade, but I was on a smaller budget than what the price tag was. He pulled out his book and pointed out the "Columbia" edition. This model was fully packaged (CD, Power everything, Remote entry, Sunroof, Painted Bumpers, 235/70/16's, Graphite rims, etc...) and it came out in my price range!! I was so impressed and asked to test drive it. He had one shipped in (Black) and that was it, all over!! I wanted it. He even threw in the Renegade Light Bar just like I originally wanted!! On top of that he out priced the trade in value of my XJ by nearly 1000 dollars compared to the other dealerships(Chevy, GMC, etc..)

Since then I have grown my KJ into what I have always wanted, an off-road/on-road machine. Capable of conquering the wild outdoors, but mastering the wild city life.

Thanks JEEP!!!!!!

 

[Marlon_JB2]

So, at about the hour of 1PM on Friday, September 10, 2004, mom woke me up and told me to get ready. I had no clue what was going on, then I kept bugging her about the details. I was a bit depressed at the moment and didn't really want to get out of the bed.

Told me we were going to buy a Jeep. I'm like... OK.... great! I'm still slightly depressed though as she said nothing about it being mine.

So, on we went to Roseville Chrysler. They only had red '04 Sports left. No other colors... PERIOD. Got the employee price details all worked out, signed some papers, and left at exactly 6:13PM. She drove the Jeep home as if it was hers. Oh darn, how disappointing.

So she leaves me with her vehicle, and she takes off. I eventually meet her at home. I park her car and she tells me to drive. Oh joy, I get to drive. Yay, I think.

Then she broke the news to me... It's mine. Huge smile on my face! Yay, I got my own first vehicle! Joy!

Then she steals it later that night for her own pleasures. It is returned to me with 122 miles on it, lol. Geez, that's a lot of miles for less than a day of driving.