A fly in my LR3 purchasing ointment.

[daytomann]

For giggles, my wife and I stopped into a Jeep dealership this past Monday to ask a few questions about the upcoming Grand Cherokee SRT8. While we were there, the salesman asked us what we were in the market for. I told him we pretty much made up our mind on a LR3 and told him once the sale of my wifes car go through we are going to purchase the LR.

He asked if we had given the Commander any thought. I said yes we did but my wife quickly poo pooed it due to the fact that she didnt like the way it looks. My wife then said to me that the looks grew on her a little since we first looked at it. The salesman asked her to if she wanted to drive one....I was SHOCKED when she said "sure".

Well that was an eye opener. The Commander kicks ass! The Hemi has a grin factor 10, its a monster. It slayed the LR3 in "on the road" performance. I'm possitive that it would wax my wife's Mustang GT in an 1/4 mile race. Plus it will tow up to 7200lbs, which is a plus for us.

It has TONS of features...I mean tons and it seats 7. The one we looked at was the "Limited" with the Hemi. It had way more options on it that the LR3 we are wanting and the fully loaded 4x4 Commander Limited is $9000 LESS on the MSRP.
I checked some Jeep sites and cant find one single problem that anyone has posted about the vehicle.

We immediately drove over to the LR dealership and drove the LR3 again.it didnt help. My wife has changed her mind and wants us to get the Commander. Even though this is actually going to be my wifes vehicle, I'm terribly dissapointed because my heart was set on an LR3. But I'm finding it harder and harder to justify the LR over the Commander.......ugh..I hate this decision, I thought our search was finally over. What to do, what to do?

 

[Moose]

Buy the Commander for her, and get yourself an early-to-mid 90s Range Rover Classic or a 96 or 97 Disco I.

 

[Tomasz]

Consider service. If the commander goes in for service, what loaner are you getting? I bet a Kia from Enterprise. Otherwise no doubt that the Jeep is a better value.

 

[daytomann]

WELLLLLL.

We picked up a Midnight Blue Limited w/Hemi. Its got everything except the off road skid plates and U-Connect. We got it Friday and took it out of town on Saturday for the weekend. All I can say is WOW! Great vehicle! It makes it easier to get over not buying an LR3.
For everythig this vehicle has and can do, its a great bargain, a major bang for the buck!
Its a great time to buy a SUV right now...they are starting to stack up on dealership lots and they are wheeling and dealing. I was playing two dealerships against eachother and my trade difference number dropped like a rock over two days of dealing! (cant do that with an LR3 very easily) Although I did give my LR dealership a chance to offer me a deal, and they did cut a very fair offer.
It was actually kinda fun dealing back and forth with the Jeep guys and we ended up with a great deal.
We took advantage of the "Miles of Freedom" program. (two years of free service, upgraded warranty, and a debit card for $2367..advertised as 2 years of free gas, but you can use it for whatever you want) And we upgraded the Warranty even more to the 84mo/85000 miles version.
This vehicle is the most advanced thing that has every had the Jeep name on it. I'm glad we got the super duper warranty.

Abut the service and loaners....I brought that up in my negotiations...I negotiated a loaner program in my deal and got it in writing. If I ever have "extended" service on my Jeep, and I take it to my selling dealership for the service, I get a loaner in the form of a Commander. (better than nothing)Oil changes do not apply but they can do those while I wait. I have an appointment to have my DVD player installed on Friday, I'll be getting a loaner. I'm telling you, the way SUVs and trucks are selling so slowly lately, you can negotiate really well in your favor....of course that really depends on how much competition there is...


BUT...mark my words...I love the LR3..I have only 20 more payments on my truck and I WILL revisit Land Rover options once it is paid off. Maybe, just maybe some of the gremlins some people are seeing will be solved by then?? Even if not, I'm still getting one!! LOL