# Opinions Please - 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit 3.0l Diesel??



## coolidge (Oct 10, 2015)

You guys are a smart bunch let me pick your brains on this one. I was at the dealer yesterday getting my 2014 RAM 1500 serviced and right out front was a 4x4 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit so I decided to check it out. I was shocked to see it had the 3.0 Eco-Diesel engine, 4 point load leveling air suspension, 8 speed transmission, and paddle shifters. 

This has discombobulated my plans to buy another truck next year. There is actually a bit more room in the drivers seat than in my RAM 1500, the leather is quite plush. I would want to drive it around a bit but its probably one of the more comfortable seats I have sat it. Bi Xenon HID head lights, LED daytime running lights. The cargo area with the 2nd row seats folded down is actually larger than the bed of my truck. 28mpg highway 19mpg city.

I have more research to do but this is looking like a very interesting alternative to buying another truck. Which trucks are getting utterly ridiculous price wise, $65k to $70k in top trims. I found a Jeep GC Summit for $53k.

Thoughts, opinions?


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## cvairwerks (Oct 11, 2015)

Take some time and write down the truck "needs". Now go thru the list and order them in priority. Put the list away for a couple of days then drag it back out and rerun the priorities. Once you are done with that, figure out how often it would be used. Now run the priority list against each vehicle and tally up which makes better sense. Done with that, now run a cost analysis on buying new vs keeping the current truck and buying a used truck to fill the list.  Put the list away for a few days then drag it out again and look at all the data. Now wad it up, toss it in the trash and realize that for the cost of either vehicle, you can put some really nice tools in the shop instead.


On the serious side, you need to figure out if it's a true "need" or really a "want", and with that level of money, would buying it, cripple your budget if something halted your income for more than a couple of weeks. I'm in the market for another truck right now, and  I know that a 2015/2016 is way out of what I want to spend on a vehicle. At $65K for the base truck that meets my needs, I'm willing to buy an older truck that has the equipment on it that I want and need, and am willing to accept a high mileage vehicle that has been taken care of and will need some tlc. For the difference in price, I can justify spending a large portion of the purchse price on repairs and upgrades.


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## Ulma Doctor (Oct 11, 2015)

It's truly ridiculous what the auto manufacturers want for trucks these days- 
vehicles are made cheaper than ever using cheap chinese/malaysian parts and electronics and still they are charging double what a truck should cost.

I think it would be great if nobody bought a new truck in protest, maybe then someone would listen-
but since people will pay $80k for a truck- we get what we get


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## brav65 (Oct 11, 2015)

Ulma Doctor said:


> It's truly ridiculous what the auto manufacturers want for trucks these days-
> vehicles are made cheaper than ever using cheap chinese/malaysian parts and electronics and still they are charging double what a truck should cost.
> 
> I think it would be great if nobody bought a new truck in protest, maybe then someone would listen-
> but since people will pay $80k for a truck- we get what we get



I think that you are 100% correct Mike.  I actually just bought a $50K truck, but did not pay the sticker.  I test drove the truck and got the age old question " what will it take to get you into this Truck"?  My off the cuff answer was $10K off sticker and $10K for my ten year old 4Runner. To my astonishment they said yes.  We dickered over some other small details like the window tint and protection package that I refused to pay for and I bought the truck.  I was surprised as Toyota does not typically negotiate, but I guess the row of 75 new $50K+ trucks was motivation to negotiate.


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## T Bredehoft (Oct 11, 2015)

Twenty years ago, Jeep had a 50,000 mile limit on it's usable life, imposed by lack of good parts. Electronics and mechanical parts  wore out. I don't know if this has changed since then, but that clouds my judgement, I wouldn't look at a Jeep product, or any Chrysler product for that matter. My Opinion. After I had to replace the transmission in my MiniVan, the parts manager suggested I change the Trans Fluid ever 15,000 miles. I asked him why my Toyota had 140,000 miles without a trans fluid change, he told me that was because Toyota used better seals than Chrysler did. That convinced me.


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## mcostello (Oct 11, 2015)

I thought the word "Jeep" was slang for piles of cash, then You added the word "diesel" behind it. Don't know how that translates but must mean "much mega cash."


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## dlane (Oct 11, 2015)

A friend of mine's wife just got one , he said it was real nice , fast for a diesel 8spd , it's all setup for being towed behind his motor home , lots of bells & whistles 
They like it a lot.


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## coolidge (Oct 11, 2015)

I guess I'll have to test drive a diesel, I'm seeing published 0-60 times from 7.5 to 9 seconds for the diesel I consider that slow to sluggish.


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## Scruffy (Oct 12, 2015)

Do a little checking and figure out what it will cost to service that diesel motor at every oil change.  My thought is unless you drive  75000 miles or more per year the diesel won't ever pay for itself. Drove a big diesel truck for 20 years delivering new jeeps and Rams . Gas is usually cheaper than diesel and repairs are way cheaper
  Just my opoin.   Thanks Ron


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## coolidge (Oct 12, 2015)

The diesel only costs about $1,205 more than the V8 hemi so the fuel costs savings will recoup that in short order. The Hemi has gotten better but I'm averaging 14.5 in mine. Best I can squeeze out of it is 19mpg highway vs nearly 30mpg for the diesel. That said that slow and sluggish let the air out of my balloon, I find such vehicles quite frustrating. One video showed 9 seconds 0-60 and 20 seconds 0-60 pulling a 5,000 trailer. I pulled a 6x12 box trailer over the Rockies with my 2010 Ram 1500 and it didn't even know it was back there.


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## jim18655 (Oct 12, 2015)

19 MPG @ $2.39/gal = ~$0.12/mile
30MPG @$3.oo/gal = $.10 /mile
$1205/.02 difference= 60,000 mile to recoup the difference and some higher service costs like oil changes will increase the time.

I'm not a math wizard so I may be wrong.
Diesels usually have a higher lifetime mileage though.


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## Scruffy (Oct 12, 2015)

My thoughts exactly.  Unless a person really racks up the miles and keeps a vehicle several years it doesn't pay.   All repair parts are sky high for a diesel.   Starter , alt.  etc. plus the rap stinks. .  I' ve got 2 diesel tractors.   One drop of fuel on you and you smell all day
Thanks. Ron


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## coolidge (Oct 12, 2015)

Yes like 2-3 times the lifespan of a gas motor. And these days you can't just bore out a gas motor like you could in the old days or buy a short block for $2,500. Cost of the Mustang GT500 motor...$27,000. Real world numbers the diesel would cost about $4,000 less than the gas motor for fuel over 60,000 miles your numbers are overly generous to gas. As for maintenance costs, my 2010 hemi spit two camshaft lobes at 27k miles. Covered under warranty but I don't have a lot of confidence in gas motors over the long term.


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## coolidge (Oct 12, 2015)

Scruffy said:


> My thoughts exactly.  Unless a person really racks up the miles and keeps a vehicle several years it doesn't pay.   All repair parts are sky high for a diesel.   Starter , alt.  etc. plus the rap stinks. .  I' ve got 2 diesel tractors.   One drop of fuel on you and you smell all day
> Thanks. Ron



The smell of modern AC systems will mask the diesel smell.


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## JimDawson (Oct 12, 2015)

I'm kinda partial to the Dodge/Cummins combo.  Been driving them for 20 years, I would not go back to gas.  I have two 3/4 ton right now, and am thinking about a 2016 1 ton, single wheel, 400 HP.  My son just bought one, nice trucks.  I love the Cummins engines, minimal repairs, but expensive to fix if they do break.  The Jeep engine is a bit small, and may be de-tuned to meet pollution standards.  I'll bet a little chip work could fix a lot of the sluggishness.


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## cvairwerks (Oct 13, 2015)

I drive a 2001 TDI Bug. No comparison in costs for the miles I drive. I average between 750 and 1000 miles a week. 15 gallons of diesel gets me 700+ miles down the road. Oil changes are every 10K miles, with a filer and oil costing me about 40$. The truck or the Audi get about 20 mpg and take between 3 and 5 tanks to do the same mileage. Oil changes on the Audi run 95$ for the oil and filter, with a 10K interval, while the truck runs about 45$ and a 5K interval. The only place the truck out does the bug on maintenance, is timing systems.  Quality set of parts to do the timing belt on the bug runs about 400$, while the truck is about 200$. As for the VW diesel, only the starter and alternator are diesel specific, and cost less than 15% more. The TDI's get a clutched alternator and a heavier starter. 
Even tho I have had some problems with my bug, it has been way less of a maintenance hog than the truck., and the truck only has about 60K more miles on it. We are currently looking to shed the gasser truck and move over into a diesel.


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