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New Jeep owner

2K views 3 replies 2 participants last post by  Rcass78 
#1 · (Edited)
#2 ·
Two things to consider:
1) What transmission does it have? If its the CVT it should have had its fluid changed twice by now. The manual says 120,000 but in reality it should be changed at half that. Most owners haven't done it so early. The owner's manual was a little too optimistic.

So what I'm saying is beware of a tranny problem if it hasn't been changed yet. Also beware of replacing it with a junkyard tranny -- it might not have been changed either.

Still, even if it needs a new tranny (and it may not) its probably worth the money. I got 285,000 miles out of my 08 Patriot (sister to the Compass, built on the same platform and with the same drivetrain), but my tranny was replaced under warranty -- it never made it to its first "scheduled" transmission fluid fill & flush.

2) Check the subframe for rust. FCA issued a 10 year warranty extension for the original owner. Most did not have this problem, but some did. Mine was rust-free and spent its entire life in northern New England and was my snow car -- it saw plenty of snow, slush, sand and road salt. Again, even if it needs this repair (and it may not) I've seen posts of people getting the subframe fixed in the $1200 range. There is a Youtube video of a guy doing the CVT in a Dodge Caliber (another sister to the Compass). He seems to think it was pretty simple, but he obviously had the equipment and expertise to do it himself.

I was around 200,000 before I had my first non-warranty repair, and as I said, it went nearly another 100,000 after that. I consider it the best vehicle I've owned and I've easily had 20. As an outside sales rep I racked up the miles on Chevies, Olds, Buicks, Plymouths, AMC Jeeps, Chrysler Jeeps, 1 Pontiac, and my first car was a Ford. Wife has had Saturns and Jeeps dating to our '88. Like I said, I consider my '08 the best of the bunch all things considered. It beat out my Grand Prix by 30,000 miles and was still running just fine when I sold it for $500. I just didn't trust it considering I travel so far from home for days at a time. I sold it to a friend and its still on the road. Wife saw him at church with it last week.

If it was me, I'd go for it, but be prepared to spend some bucks for repairs early on: that's the case with every used vehicle you'll ever buy -- the last owner is selling it for a reason.
 
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