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Thinking of buying a 2014 Grand Cherokee

2K views 17 replies 16 participants last post by  rhopkin 
#1 ·
Hi guys! I've been reading the posts on this forum and have learned alot of information. The thing is my parents are interested in buying a new car and the Jeep Grand Cherokee is on top of their list. They are interested in the Limited. However with the recent ranking of Jeep as one of the least reliable cars theyre having second thoughts. Whats your guy's opinion on that as I am aware that there of plenty of grand cherokees driving around so clearly they must be good. Thanks!
 
#3 ·
If you are referring to the CR results, they have historically been a poor place to find your next vehicle.

My 2002 Jeep GC Limited has been bullet proof reliable and low cost to own.....so much so I kept it and bought a 2014 Overland .

Obviously consumers do not care what CR says since they can not build their Wranglers and Grand Cherokees fast enough to meet demand.

They could buy a Honda a Pilot though...... Pretty ugly...... Pretty boring...... But maybe more reliable.
 
#4 ·
I struggled with the same decision, and ultimately it came down to this - the JGC is the best value out there for a good sized SUV. It's stylish, drives well, has all the bells and whistles and costs so much less than the competition. The only place they may come up short is in reliability - but that's a hard one to judge. Ask Jeep owner's what they think and they will most likely tell you the same thing - they love their Jeeps. That's what it's all about.
 
#6 ·
I just got a 2014 GC Limited in October last year. Currently at 10K miles. Did have an issue early on with the heated steering wheel not working which took 5 visits to the dealer to finally fix, but the dealer took all the logical steps and tried his best to minimize the inconvenience.
Now, my previous vehicle was a 2011 Ford Edge Limited and what a nightmare that was. Between the disastrous MyFordTouch launch, transmission oil leaks and other issues (such as a dead battery in less than 1 year), I am very happy with the reliability of the Jeep so far. Ford was not very supportive of their issues either. I don't know where CR rates the Edge compared to the GC.
 
#7 ·
I agree with the extended warranty.

Every manufacturer has its lemons, some more than others. Seeing as though Fiat is on the move in America I would guess they will be going above and beyond to improve not only the reliability, but the customer service as well. I would tell your folks to go ahead and buy the car they want. With the extended warranty (maybe $2,000 - $2,500 for a lifetime) they should have no worries.

I also agree about the Honda Pilot (new version coming soon) and/or the Toyota Highlander. While not quite the same package as the Jeep, I'm certain they would offer comparable amenities and ride with perhaps better reliability. Of course there is a downside ;) Those two companies (and many others) tend to market to the masses, going off of the "do not offend" design pallet. Personally, the Jeep moves me. I enjoy walking to it every morning.

Good luck to your family. Let us know the outcome.
 
#10 ·
Bought 2014 JGC Limited in Nov 2013. 4000 miles so far. Not one issue. This car replaced a 1997JGC with 182K still running strong.

I agree with prev poster who says JGC is the best value in a luxury SUV. I shopped hard before buying the Jeep. BMW X3, Audi, Lexus, Subaru (not luxury) and Acura. Would have bought the Acura if not the Jeep. Happy we bought the Jeep. Ecstatic, in fact.

As we keep cars a long time we bought lifetime repair contract for $2,135. I did this because all cars (certainly all the makes I looked at) rely far more heavily on expensive electronics than previous generations of vehicles.
 
#11 ·
Just remember that CR's reliability ratings give the same bad marks for not liking where the cupholders are as they do for a complete engine failure, so you have to know where they're coming from. That said, with all the electronics on the new GC's, an extended warranty is a good idea.

6 months old and no issues here with the V8 version.
 
#12 ·
I would never base my buying decision on CR or problems you read on forums. Buy what you want. CR data probably represents less than 10% of owners, and a lot of forum members simply join only to report a problem. I've owned may autos, and have been lucky to never have a lemon. My Jeep has had 1 major warranty repair: torque converter replaced. That's the only thing it has ever been back to the dealer for. Mine is an '11 with 26K miles.
 
#13 ·
If it makes you feel any better, I was in the same boat as you. I was doing a ton of research and read about the many issues the new GC has had. I decided to order it anyway. Being that I am ordering it brand new, I am hoping that most of the issues have been worked out. It should get here in a few weeks. I say go for it! Its an extremely handsome vehicle with lots of capabilities.
 
#15 ·
Had a couple of minor issues early on with mine, radiator developed a small leak (in the interest of full disclosure I also took a big rock strike the week before and thought they might say it was that... Either they looked the other way or coincidence) and had a window seal replaced. I have over 10k on it now and it's been fine.

Issues with the transmission shift quality in the v6 have largely been resolved with the latest firmware, the current uConnect version is stable, and we've been told there were some changes to the head unit mid last year.

Yep you'll see lemons but they seem to be clustered around early builds (pre June 2013) but the current builds seem to be pretty good.
 
#16 ·
I've had my 2014 Grand Cherokee Limited for one year and have had zero problems. Probably the best vehicle I have ever owned and would highly recommend. This is also my 5th Grand Cherokee. I do however totally disagree about buying an extended warranty on any vehicle. 65% of extended warranties have less then $1,000 paid out over the life of the warranty and 42% purchased are never even used. Extended warranty are a big money maker for the people selling them, in fact the dealership sometimes gets 50% of the cost of the warranty for selling it. I have 3 company vehicles, one pickup and two vans that have over 150,000 miles on each of them and have never had any problems, just normal maintenance done to them.
 
#17 ·
While I'm with you on the "probably" and "most" aspects, I can't help but think that these 2014 with all their electronics might experience more issues than your typical 5 speed truck/van.

I've never been a warranty guy myself, but I'm seriously considering it this round. After reading the price reductions available I'm thinking it is worth the $1k or whatever it costs.

Just my opinion.

I would never purchase one at full price, that would be silly :cheers2:
 
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