What made you choose an KJ?

[tan's2002kjlimited]

What made you choose an KJ over any other Jeep model, or any other make/model, period?

Me, personally, have had one Jeep or another for most of the last 25 years, (see my signature). The KJ was my second choice, I really had my heart set on a '03 Wrangler Rubicon, but they're a little too tight on the driver's left side, And we needed something my handicapped wife, (Primary Agressive M.S.) could somewhat easily get in and out of. Plus needed something we could get a w/chair into and out of,when it comes to that.sad2.gif
Don't get me wrong, I love my KJ. Quick, nimble, black Ltd doesn't look nearly as effeminate as I first thought they looked. She likes it too.
I'd much rather take it off-road than the 95 Grand Cherokee I had.
Just wish there were places around here, the asphalt jungle.

 

[Gont]

I got mine simply because I liked it the best. I just had my 1st kid so I needed something with 4 doors. So I went looking, and took a compass and a caliber for test drives. I REALLY didnt like both of them for reasons I wont get into cause it'd take awhile.

Took a Envoy for a test drive and while it was nice I didnt think it would be any use off road.

Then I took a 2003 Liberty for a test drive, really liked it but it had to many miles and such so I kept looking Finally found my 2006 and really liked it. Car seat fit nice in the back and the wife told me I had to buy it. So here we are. Proud owner of a 2006 Liberty

 

[Blaz0]

I wanted a Jeep, originally I wanted a Cherokee. Everytime I stopped to look at one it was a rolling rustbucket. Even the newer models were quite cloaked in the stuff as far as the undercarriage was concerned. Then I realized I should look again at the Liberty. At first I thought they were a bit lagging in the cargo area, but after looking at one they weren't as bad as I previously assumed. I wanted a 4 wheel drive, and other manufacturers rides just weren't doing it for me. For sure I wouldn't be caught dead rolling around in some foreign POS. After owning my first Jeep and missing it alot('83 CJ-7), it was time to bring another into the family.

 

[Atrus]

I made the decision that I wanted an SUV again (had a full sized Bronco a few years back).

I tried to keep an open mind...I am primarily a GM guy....all their mid-size SUV's suck. Ford, I didn't want an Escape or Explorer. I felt they were overpriced and too light duty.

When I was in High School my old man had a '98 XJ. I absolutely loved it, except for the gas milage.

I have a friend who works for DCX who has a '99 YJ, and he had already been putting the bug in my ear about the Patroit. 30 MPG, etc etc. No way was I about to buy a Compass, but I was really interested in the Patriot. No, it wasn't quite as rugged as I wanted, but with the gas milage and the price, I was all about it. My mind was made up. My wife didn't like it, and wanted a Liberty.

I went to a dealer and sat in a patriot for about 2.87653 seconds and decided that I absolutely hated it. There was a KJ across the showroom and I figured what the hell, I am here, might as well. I sat in it and went "Woah, I LIKE this!"

I remember HATING the KJ's when they came out. I felt they were too "cute" and I was one of the "Why the hell did you kill the XJ????" people. I didn't give it a chance. I am 26, but I like old-school pushrod engines. They just seem more robust to me, and I like the feel - more torque. I wasn't about the OHC 3.7. I was pissed the 4.0 was dead.

Well, I figured that I liked how it felt, and it was just about the only feasible option. Came on here, found out that the 3.7's are rather robust, and made my decision to buy one.

Mind was set on a used one, but the wife demanded ABS. That limited my selection of used. I then decided it'd be best to have Select-Trac for her to bypass any problems...Went online one day and priced out exactly what I'd want. I put on the options I'd pay for, but none of the stuff I didn't really care to buy. I went to search dealer inventories for the heck of it, and saw the exact KJ I priced out about 3 miles from work (25 miles from home). I figured a Sport/C package/Tow Package/Off-Road package was kinda a rare find (I refused to buy a limited). I took that as a sign. Went into the dealer with the window sticker printed off, and he didn't believe me that they had it. He looked and was amazed they had one equipped like that.

So, 5/31 I bought it, and have driven it almost every day since, loving every minute of it. 3,750 miles on it now.

FWIW, I am learning something about myself - I absolutely hated the '97-'03 style Grand Prix when it came out, but that's what I just gave up for the KJ and I absolutely love(d) that car. I think it takes me a few years to come around.

 

[desertkj]

This is my first vehicle, so I didn't "choose" it, since it has been in the family for five years now. However, it is an absolutely awesome vehicle, especially for a student. It is small enough to easily park and manuever, it has enough power to get onto freeways, there is enough offroad capability to accomplish anything I need, and there is seating for five. Plus, being a Limited, it is very luxurious inside. My only compaints I have ever had is that the size is not ideal for towing our flatbed quad trailer. Also, you can't lift it 6" without major issues lol.

 

[_UnLiMiTeD_]

It started when my moms car was getting painted and we got a liberty for a rental. I instantly loved it, the looks had not grown on me at the time. Then i forgot about it because i could not afford one i was 16 and i just bought my first car. But a few years later, i had some more money and wanted to get an SUV. I went searching for a few days and found nothing, then i seen an ad for a jeep liberty and then it clicked in about how much i loved the base model one we had that one time. So i started researching like crazy into this one and the more i researched the more i loved it, i drove some jimmy's, exporers and escapes but they didnt compare at all. So here i am now, a very proud owner of a jeep liberty renegade!

 

[06Liberty]

I hadn't even considered trading my '04 Ranger 4x4, much less getting a KJ...thought never even entered my mind. My mother however was in the need for a new SUV, so we went looking and we found her '05 Limited, Bright Red, 2wd, with only 9,000 miles. Her and my stepdad drove it, and then I drove it. I told them that if they didn't get it that I was going to get it for myself...I liked it that much! Well, they DID get it. This was on the Saturday before this past Labor Day. I was still wanting a KJ for myself...we went the following Monday (Labor Day) and bought my brand new '06 2wd Sport and haven't regretted the decision. Most people PLAN their new vehicle purchases...me, I get jealous of someone else getting something new and go get one for myself!

 

[Bimmer_2002]

As you can see in my sig. I have an Intrepid R/T. It's my "show car"/weekend car. I always wanted to be able to tow my car into car shows instead of driving it there, so I decided that I needed a SUV. Now, since I love Chrysler/Dodge alot and figured it would look nicer if I had 2 vehicules of the same brand, I decided to check what they had to offer me. A V8 was out of the question. Too pricey.....

I was interested in the Nitro first, but after checking it out and doing some research, I decided to give the Liberty a shot instead and I feel in love with it right away. Never thought I would be buying a 4X4, but I love it.

 

[AbsoluteRenegade]

Dont get me wrong, I'm not a fan of the liberty sport, or even the crd (style wise, the dies would be nice) and actually, i was looking at the land rover freelander, i liked those, but the lib has more power and a little better ratings overall. what sold me was just the style of my hood. i like the flat wrangler looking thing. lose the wranglers, but I need something that i feel i can get through most anything in (dont need a sfa as im not going to be crawling up boulders or anything) I wasnt about to pay as much for a wrangler that a)doesnt have as much room(i know, the unlimited now) b)no power windows locks or solid side doors. (standard of course)and c)didnt feel as safe (air bags, enclosed for theft etc so i decided on the lib renegade. i have skids, extraction points, 4wd, etc etc. im short a lift and some bad ass tires and i have myself a suburban tank

 

[azmotoman]

Automatic/Diesel!

 

[SQC049]

I had been playing with Japanese imports for years prior to getting a KJ. I decided that I needed to be a big boy and stop spending every last penny on my car and began to look for other alternatives. I recently picked up fishing as a hobby, something I hadn't done since I was a kid with my dad, so I need something with 4WD to get on the beach.

I initially wanted a pickup and started looking at anything that came with a crew cab. Everything I found was either beat up, or over priced. I went through everything before my brother and I had a epiphany, why not a Jeep?

I started looking and quickly found that the KJ fell within my budget and had all the qualities I was looking for. After looking at a few that were in bad shape, I found a black 04 Sport on a local Jeep dealers lot, complete with an 8/80K warrenty.....I pick her up on Saturday.

 

[MoladoGuy]

I decided that I needed to be a big boy and stop spending every last penny on my car and began to look for other alternatives.

J ust
E empty
E every
P ocket

I still spend many of my penny's on the Jeep.

 

[SQC049]

J ust
E empty
E every
P ocket

I still spend many of my penny's on the Jeep.

LOL, I only have a few things that I want to do to the Jeep so I should be able to control the spending. I was literally spending thousands upon thousands on my last few cars, it had to stop!

 

[o8k]

J ust
E empty
E every
P ocket

I still spend many of my penny's on the Jeep.

its all them rinestones that r costing u man =D lol

i rented a kj in san deigo on a business trip had it bout two weeks, went off roading in the desert w it i was quite imressed, when i learned there was a diesel, i was sold.

 

[hyde]

Tony, that's a great picture!

 

[sevenhelmet]

I spent my first 2 years after college driving around in a Ford station wagon (my first car.) My Dad actually bought a KJ from the dealer about a year and a half ago when my parents moved to Louisiana. I liked it from the get go and realized I hadn't given Jeep enough credit when they released the KJ line. I thought it was fun to drive, easy to work on/upgrade, and told him that I wanted to buy it from him. Not long after that, they decided to go to Guam for 18 months but realized it would be cheaper to sell their cars since the island isn't very big. As soon as I got wind of this... "DIBS ON THE JEEP!!!" Got it for what my Dad owed at the time, which was less than half of what it's worth.

Had it for 2 months now and lovin every minute. I even put in my own EVIC and fog lights. A new suspension (OME), and tires are on the way eventually. I'm such a dork that sometimes I still look out the window to make sure my Jeep is there.

 

[SQC049]

Don't fool yourself, it will never stop. When you put on a lift kit you want rims and tires and then sidebars and a safari roof rack and an ARB front bumper and a winch and a mopar lightbar and..and..and...and then my wife shot me.... LOL

I only have a few things that I want to do to the KJ so an end is in sight. The parts are also a 1/4 of what I am used to spending. Special ordering parts from Japan gets very expensive. I'm looking forward to cheap American made parts.

 

[SQC049]

Than you'd better stay away from JEEP dealer's

That is true. Other than the Mopar light bar, I have no intentions of buying any parts from the dealer.

 

[sevenhelmet]

For me, I'm happy with my gasser KJ but I'd love to have a CRD next! Especially if the price of gas keeps rising. The first car I ever drove was a diesel and it got 42 MPG for over 250,000 miles!! I bet diesel will be around longer than gas too when oil starts to get prohibitively expensive to find...

Manual cause I think they're more fun to drive (more work as well.) And I like total control of my Jeep for bad road conditions and off roading, etc.



TonyCRD, what did you do to your Jeep?

 

[Atrus]

gasser because that's all that's offered on this side of the pond for 2007.

Auto because that's what it had ;-) I was debating the auto/manual option. I was leaning towards the auto anyways because I am in traffic sometimes, and because I hear the throttle cable-less '07's can be very tempermental with the manual. I notice it a little with the auto - it's hesitant and sluggish to respond at times.