As much fun as cars can be, buying one is often a dreadful experience. You cold-call some sales rep who won’t negotiate over the phone, drag yourself to a showroom where you sit down in a cubicle and have a variety of financing terms thrown at your eyeballs, then have to go to a room where some Jabba the Hutt tries to cajole you into buying useless add-ons like dentless paint removal and a wax that costs as much as the moon. It’s genuinely like pulling teeth at certain dealerships, and Jeep has now found a way to layer on even more pressure.
First, a little background on this discovery. In general, cars have grown quite dour since the days of Corporate Memphis and all-teal everything. The German rainbow of black-to-grey-to-silver-to-white has utterly dominated, making fun hues exceptionally rare on our roads. So, as an antidote to that, how about a creamsicle Jeep?
Yep, as part of a big marketing push, Jeep has revealed the Wrangler Whitecap, which is basically an orange Wrangler with white accents. Sounds simple, but it does add some genuine whimsy. During a frozen Great Lakes winter, it’s a visual dose of summer, and that’s much appreciated. Jeep hasn’t yet said how many examples of this limited edition it’s made, but it has stated “Orders now open; MSRP starts at $495.” Come again? Did Joe Isuzu get a new job at Jeep?
Obviously, you aren’t getting a complete Jeep for $495. Indeed, if you scroll down and read the fine print, the Whitecap edition is a $495 option on the Wrangler Rubicon X, $2,690 on the Wrangler Sahara, and $3,185 on the Wrangler Rubicon. This means you’ll really be looking at a price tag of $52,685 for a Sahara with the option, $54,480 on the Wrangler Rubicon, and $62,485 on the Rubicon X.
That’s a lot of money for a Wrangler with stripes, a white hardtop and grille, and body-color fender flares. After all, if you don’t care about any of that, you can buy a four-door Wrangler Sport with the optional three-piece hardtop for $41,990 including freight. I only know this because I looked it up, but while I was on the Jeep configurator, I stumbled upon something strange:
Yeah, that’s a five-minute timer to unlock a $1,000 incentive. Don’t hit the link before the timer expires? Too bad, you’ll have to come back the next day to see what incentive is available. It’s the sort of high-pressure tactic you see on dropshipping sites for bootleg furniture and personal care items, but on a car? It just seems a bit ridiculous.
Outside of a house and perhaps a post-secondary education, a car is the most expensive thing any of us will buy in our lives. Generally, unless it’s hilariously cheap, it’s not something to do flippantly or on a whim. You’re going to want to do as much research as you can before even reaching out, so it is quite jarring being asked to hand over your contact information in the next five minutes.
I suppose if the offer of $1,000 off certain Jeeps is on the table, it can always just be negotiated the old-fashioned way. No rush, no risk of ending up on an OEM mailing list before getting serious, and the pressure’s on someone else rather than you. Probably your local sales rep, although it’s just easier to negotiate on a car over email, yeah?
Still, these high-pressure incentive sign-up prompts better not become a widespread thing in the car industry, because buying a car sucks enough as it is. We don’t need manufacturers adding extra pressure and follow-up in the pursuit of having people make a decision right now. Needless to say, I’ve reached out to Stellantis about this and will update you as soon as I hear back.
Top graphic image: Jeep
Let’s be fair here, they need to space out customers looking at the single 4xe on the whole lot that is actually running.
This sounds like Dwight Schrute. “My offer expires in five, four, three, take it! two…”
I’d rather walk than buy a Jeep, but that orange and white colorway is awesome.
Popup on Jeep Wrangler Screens:
”Make a $1,000 Deposit on a New Wrangler within 3:17 or:
Lose Reverse Gear for 2 Hours!
Explore This Exclusive Offer!”
There is a whole thread about generating these on Lease Hackr dating back to 2023.
Extra $1k to throw on the pile if you are lining up a $99/month lease on a Dodge Hornet.
Wait till they put the exploding offer on your infotainment system for their next trick.
When we bought our 2024 Trax LS at the end of 2023, the sales person wanted us to give her a mobile phone number that she could enter into her system. When the wife told her that she didn’t own a cell phone, she said, “That’s okay, we can just enter your husband’s mobile phone number.” When we told her neither of us owned a cell phone, she at first thought we were joking.
When we told her that, seriously, neither of us owned a smart-phone and we were not interested in the MyChevrolet app, she told us, “Well, I guess you’re on your own, then.” and walked us over to the payment area where we wrote them a check. They told us we could drive away with the vehicle, but we told them we’d come back the next week after the check cleared to pick it up.
We’ve only been back for a couple of warranty service visits, and a couple of oil changes since, and I usually schedule the service for 6:30 a.m. when the salespeople aren’t in yet so I don’t have to deal with them. 🙂
I give them a bogus phone number
If it happens to be an actual number, you just gave them remote access to your vehicle.
Remote access to most new vehicles is provided by its own cellular modem built into the car. It does not rely on your phone at all, unless you want to use their app to remote control features on your car.
I’m not talking about digital or app access. That phone number is associated to your account, and will not only be contacted for marketing reasons, but also service calls, 2FA for account access, and other info you don’t want some random person to have. They can report your vehicle stolen to get you pulled over or your vehicle remotely interlocked. Probably because you signed them up for all the spam calls and texts.
If you don’t want to provide a phone number, do not make one up.
It’s amazing, isn’t it? People running around with corporate America tracking their phone and their car without a thought – other than they will tell you how much they value their “privacy”.
Jeepers!
Now I want dentless paint removal too!
FOLKS THIS PREMIUM, GORMET-QUALITY CHEF’S KNIFE SET CAN BE YOURS FOR ONLY $49.95! BUT YOU MUST CALL OUR OPERATORS IN THE NEXT 5 MINUTES TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS GENEROUS OFFER!
Creating urgency is a common sales tactic. This is likely cookie-based, so there really isn’t any urgency, just the perception of urgency.
Like all things car buying, buyers have the control here, and just because a website timer expired does not mean there isn’t a better deal when you talk to a sales guy.
you mean if I’m not one of the first 50 callers, I wont get free shipping?
It’s also an extremely common scam tactic, and one of the first things that should clue you in.
This is a scam too.
Your info is worth way more than the $1,000 discount they’ll give to you, so they’re coming out ahead. By several orders of magnitude.
Seems simple enough. Click the button and
Just Expect Extra Payments
Sketcy high pressure tactics asside, did anyone else look at the new sepcial edition and immediatly think of the Jeep Orange Creamsicle Edition?
Yeah, the writer of the article did.
Ha! That’s what I get for skim-reading.
In my defense, I’m at work and reading between doing, you know, work.
Reading the Autopian is doing God’s work
Chrysler was doing this last year when I was shopping to replace our Pacifica. Refresh your cookies and the offer comes back. Give them your info and the $1k is good for like a month. I didn’t notice any additional spamming from it and ended up not using it.
If I wasn’t willing to take advantage within the next five minutes, what makes you think I’m going to take advantage later on for $1,000 more?
It’s a jeep thing, you wouldn’t understand.
Yep. You gotta have all your ducks in a row for this one.
[for demonstration, Mr. Kinney points a credit card at Jeep]
Jeep: [menacingly] Please put down your complete financing information. You have 5 minutes to comply.
Dick Jones: I think you’d better do what he says, Mr. Kinney.
[Mr. Kinney drops the credit card on the floor. Jeep advances, growling]
Jeep: You now have fifteen seconds to comply.
[Mr. Kinney turns to Dick Jones, who looks nervous]
Jeep: You are in direct violation of Jeep Finical Code 1.13, Section 9.
[entire room of people in full panic trying to stay out of the line of fire, especially Mr. Kinney]
Jeep: You have five seconds to comply.
Kinney: Help…! Help me!
Jeep: Four… three… two… one… I am now authorized to use physical force!
[Jeep shifts out of park and runs over Mr. Kinney]
Is this pop up with time on your phone, or PC browser?
Or (Glob forbid) does it appear on the nav screen of Stellantis vehicles, as has lately been discussed?
The last time I seriously shopped for a Jeep, you could get a base Wrangler with a 4 cylinder for $9999. That’s still what a base Wrangler is worth to me.
When I first reached new car-buying levels of adulthood in my early 30s about a deacade and a half ago, I just saw Jeeps — with their exposed frames and styrofoam headliners — and figured $25k! Ha ha.
The last time I set foot on a Jeep lot, they had a bunch of $35k Sport models advertised, but not a single model on the lot was under $50k as equipped.
So I’m not far from you. $25k for a Sport, $35k for a Rubicon. They aren’t rocket science. They’re about as basic as a modern car gets.
A Jeep is also one of those cars that’s meant to be enjoyed in the most basic spec possible. They’re simple, they’re rough and uncivilized even in the highest trims, and off-roading or cosplaying that you are is the entire ethos. I think a totally barebones one with a manual, crank windows, maybe AC, and nothing else is the best representation of what a Wrangler is supposed to be.
But for $50,000+? Just lease a Defender, buy a GX, etc. Those vehicles are designed from the ground up to be both luxurious and capable. A Wrangler is not. You’re also squarely in decent used G Wagen territory at that point.
Right. My neighbor has one from a few years ago and a new Sport just appeared in the driveway. I believe it is for a daughter that just got her license, about age 20-21. I have kicked around the idea of a Wrangler as a third car, something to use as a weekend car – pop the top off in the summer and hit the beach/ice cream/sports/etc or head up north in the winter for some skiing and make fuel fill ups faster than my EV. The main reason would be that it would be for one of my boys who will be of driving age in two years – something that a scratch won’t matter on and less of a body to damage as he navigates into the city for school. I almost fell out of my chair when I saw that a base Wrangler stickers for over $40k these days – steel wheels and all. I was already thinking of going used given the abuse it will see but that crazy price absolutely sealed the deal.
Cars.com is showing me half a dozen Wranglers for under $35k within 250 miles of me. These are vehicles with $41k+ sticker prices. I guess $35k is the new $10k.
I bought a brand new Wrangler for $13K and change out the door ($29K in today’s money according to the internet) from Don-A-Vee Jeep in 1993. It had power steering and brakes which were an option at the time and no radio. It was a great vehicle and I miss it. Now the lowest price two door Wrangler is $35K +ttl so make it $40K and good luck finding one. I just checked the net and the lowest priced two door Wrangler near me is a “Willys edition” at $51K.
I really don’t know who buys these things now. To put it in perspective you can drive a new 4wd 4Runner home today for substantially less. Stellantis needs an attitude adjustment.
With a name like Stellantis, you might think we’d be dicks. We are! In fact, we’re the biggest dicks in the car business. Let us prove it to you. First, we’re going to need your contact info …
Honestly, this just comes across like a phishing scam.
“Still, these high-pressure incentive sign-up prompts better not become a widespread thing in the car industry, because buying a car sucks enough as it is”
Narrator: they would become widespread
Anyway, fuck this shit. All car manufacturers and dealerships benefit immensely from people making bad, impulsive financial decisions, but for companies like Stellantis and Nissan whose entire business is built on giving predatory loans to subprime buyers no questions asked (this is also basically the entire American economy but that’s a discussion for another day), they’d be dead in a matter of months without naked exams like this.
What’s even dumber and sadder is that they’re literally giving Wranglers away. They made way too many, they priced them way too high, and the Bronco happened. As a result lots are overflowing with them. You can walk into a dealership and start negotiations with 10 grand off a higher end one. An extra thousand dollars is nothing if you’re an even vaguely competent negotiator. They can’t even give these things away right now.
30 seconds on Google could tell you all of this, but we’re all so brainrotted that a shiny new thing in front of us and the capitalistic desire to c o n s u m e is probably enough to work pretty damn well for Stellantis. Shame on them. Also, NEVER give a manufacturer or dealership your contact info until you’re signing the paperwork. If you do they will try to spam you into submission.
Makes you wonder if this new edition’s entire purpose is to force dealerships to order even more wranglers for their overflowing lots…
For how many years did Tesla try to claim theoretical fuel savings are a direct bottom-line cost savings to the price of purchase of their vehicles in their advertising (I’m not checking, but I’m guessing they still do).
I can honestly say that since 2016, the like 5 Wrangler’s on my local dealer’s lot right now is the most I’ve seen them carry at one time.
Not to protect Stellantis or dealerships or anything like that, they have something like 25 Ram 1500’s that are all priced more than the next-door Chevy dealers’ 4-cylinder Silverado’s…. and that’s for 3.6 Crew Cabs without heated seats & remote start. In New York.
But yeah, not every dealer.
According to cars dot com there are 1,390 new Wranglers within 100 miles of me in DC….which is honestly nuts.
363 within 100 miles for me, which is kinda shocking. Within 50 miles, there’s roughly 600,000 people, so I’d imagine there’d be a bigger market.
Maybe they just priced themselves out of the market lol
I think that’s a distinct possibility. There are a lot of people in the DC area with way more money than sense who I’m sure are more than willing to pay $55,000 or whatever to cosplay as off roaders…but I’d imagine it’s a harder sell elsewhere.
Whenever the first really nice day of the year hits I inevitably go “man a Wrangler would be great today!” and wind up searching for them only to be blown away by how expensive they are and how little you get for the money.
Although looking at listings now there are tons of spartan ones listed in the low to mid 30s which feels just about right to me….but they all have fat stacks of money on the hood which adds to the “Stellantis really borked the pricing” case.
Given that the majority of new Wranglers I’ve seen are covered in superglued accessories sourced from Temu, this is just Stellantis speaking a language their customers understand.
Between this and showing ads in the infotainment, it’s like Stellantis is actively trying to turn away customers.
You think you hate us now, wait ’til you drive one.
TIL that a freakin’ Wrangler can have an MSRP as high as $62K.
The 392 is close to $100k IIRC.
Didn’t that drop it recently to “only” $80k?
Could you imagine going back in time and telling a WWII GI we’re still gonna be making these things in 80 years, they’ll be sold to civilians only, and they’ll cost as much as a condo.
A fully equipped 392 is OVER 100 grand. And in 3 years it’ll be worth 50…
Bold of you to assume there will be any 392’s left in 3 years. They’ll all either be self-immolated, totaled, or stolen and parted out.
Then That Guy who bought one to park in a bubble will throw it up on BaT. $150k, no low ballers, I know what I’ve got.
I genuinely understand the appeal of shoving a huge V8 in things but the Wrangler 392 just seems like such a death trap it’s comical. The average Jeep owner is already going 15+ over at all times and is one death wobble away from the finding out portion of their ownership. But sure, let’s give those people and their 392 credit scores an extra 200 horsepower for their death traps! MURICA! V8 GO BRRRRR!
This country is built on the premise that we have a God-given right to get ourselves killed and, should the government EVER try to save us from ourselves, we’ll fight it to the death to protect that right.
Only 470hp in a Wrangler? No HellCat option?
There’s not a single 392 on cars dot com for under 50, even older than 3 years.
And those older ones had an $80K MSRP not $100.
Wrangler depreciation is still low, even with the V8.
Because there’s only like 4 of them left on the road.
If this is a bit, the humor is lost on me.
There’s a 2022 near me with a clean CarFax in the high 50s, but not 50 flat or less. You’re technically correct, if a bit pedantic.
I genuinely had no idea. The drug use at Stellantis/FCA/Jeep whatever-they-call-themselves-today must be rampant.
It has been that for a few years now