I realize this is an old thread but would like to share my 4 years of Sahara experiences. Here goes...
I was ready to trade my 2005 GMC Sierra Crew Cab Z71 and going to a Wrangler seemed to be the right path. Throwing motorcycles in the back of a truck bed was beyond old for me. I have trailers for that. So I called my Jeep Dealer where I've had a superb relationship the past 20 years. He had a few JK Wranglers that looked promising and I wasn't considering a new Jeep.
I settled in on a 2015 Black Sahara JK Unlimited that was in great shape, just needed fresh tires. But my wife said to me before I left the house..."don't get a Black Jeep." I took the Sahara for a test drive and loved it. When I pulled back into the lot, there was a Black 2015 Rubicon waiting for me. It had just been traded in but hadn't been detailed. I took it for a spin and loved it, too. Hmm...
My wife joined me at the dealership and we went for a test drive. I nixed the Rubicon only because I thought I'd get too much grief over the ride from the wife. She loved the Sahara, too. So we settled in to make the deal to trade the GMC for the Sahara. After considerable back and forth, we were close to a deal but my wife wouldn't budge on a $545 service charge. She held firm and that frustrated the service manager. Then he said something unexpected. "Have you even considered a new Jeep? You're so close in price..." Before I could respond, he wrote something on a sticky and handed it to my sales guy who looked at it with a puzzled look. Now I'm interested in what comes next...
They pulled a 2019 Sahara JLU in Billet Silver, black top. It had 44 miles on the clock. We drove it about 100 yards from the dealership and in unison turned to each other and said "Let's buy this Jeep! It has a warranty!" So we did the trade. We felt it was remarkably better than the Sahara we had previously decided would be ours. What surprised me was it had the 2.0 with etorque. I liked the idea of a mile hybrid Jeep so that was all good. This would now be my forever Jeep.
2 years into ownership I added Rubicon takeoffs - first wheels and BFG KO2's then springs and shocks. That gave me a nice lift and the surprising shock from my wife - she liked the ride better than stock! The only other addition was a like new Mopar soft top. 3 trips to Colorado in both stock and Rubicon suspension proved to me that I had chosen wisely. The Sahara was a GREAT Jeep. I should mention that I had the cold weather package and the towing package which added the LSD to the rear axle. Better brakes, too. Loved that combination.
4 years in I got the call from my service manager that said they were ready to repair the galvanic corrosion around the hinges, hood, and lower driver door edge - all covered under warranty. I reported this at 36K, repaired at 59,100. They did a fantastic job on the repairs and paint, too. But it was in the back of my mind that I would eventually notice the repairs and this would bug me. But I thought I could live with it. I certainly don't mind trail pinstripes so how bad could this be?
Service called and said they were buffing out the paint and I could come pick my Jeep up. I remembered that they had a 2023 Rubicon JKU in Sting-gray with the 3.6 etorque. I mentioned that I wanted to drive it before I left and they said no problem. When I arrived, my sales guy was with another customer, wrapping up a sale. He asked if someone else could help me. Sure. I found out that the shop wasn't going to have the buffing wrapped in time and so they sent me home with the Rubicon. It had 11 miles.
Yep, I bought the Rubicon. I put 120 miles on it the night before the deal. I kept my soft top and we swapped the Sahara sidesteps over as my wife is short. We've been to Colorado again and I can say it was even more fun. Yeah, I did reset the loan clock but that's ok. I think a Sahara is still a great choice over a Rubicon, especially if you use it as your daily driver like I did. That does not lessen the Jeep's abilities. I took the Sahara over some great high country trails in Colorado and had a blast doing it. Definitely did not disappoint.
So like the thread says "Sahara. Because we don't all have Rubicons." For 4 happy years, that was me. I say go for it, you won't regret it!
