ApexWrangler
New member
So, a little background about myself to get things started...
I'm Rob. I've been a Jeep / Honda enthusiast for the better part of the past 20 years. I know, two worlds that often mix about as well as oil and water. My first car was a Honda Civic, my second was a Jeep Wrangler. Then I owned an 02 Civic SI, a 92 Jeep Cherokee, which I still have, and an 04 S2000, which I recently sold. I've also owned a few other Jeeps here and there, I've got a 74 CJ5 that's been in my garage for a few years just waiting for some time to give it some love. Eventually I'll get it back in "drive-able" condition. I enjoy AutoX with my Hondas, and exploring and wheeling in my Jeeps.
I won't keep it a secret, I work for a major aftermarket Jeep parts & accessories retailer... you can probably figure it out pretty quick
I consider myself pretty lucky that I've landed myself in a job where I get to work on Jeeps most days in some way or another. I also get to travel and go on some pretty sweet trips for work, namely Moab for Easter Jeep Safari! And we take regular wheeling trips to Rausch Creek and AOAA here in PA.
So, on to my latest Jeep and the story behind it and going forward...
A few months ago I sold the S2000 that I had been using for my daily driver which left me with my '92 Cherokee to commute back and forth to work. Don't get me wrong, I love my Cherokee. It's a very fun and capable Jeep that has taken me on many great adventures. Driving it to and from work wasn't so bad for a few weeks, but I failed to mention that my commute is about a 35 mile drive each way that takes about an hour and includes everything from winding two-lane roads to a stretch on I-95 through Wilmington, Delaware. So, it didn't take too long before I was on the hunt for something a bit more refined and comfortable for everyday use.
Off to the internet I went. I scoured Craigslist and AutoTrader for a few weeks. Went back and forth about just what kind of car, truck or Jeep would be the best fit. I had a check list of features I wanted and capabilities that my new vehicle would have to be up to the task of completing. Comfort was high on the list. Automatic. Leather seats, preferable, but not a deal breaker. It had to have enough room for the family and all our stuff, and had to be able to tow the boat, a 21' Wellcraft bowrider (approx. 3,500lbs), in the summertime. And it still had to be fun to drive. Oh yeah, and my budget I gave myself was $5,000!
Given the budget, I was willing for the mileage to be a little on the high side, but still wanted to find something nice. Being able to tow about 5,000lbs. ruled out a car. I found myself looking at Toyota Tacomas and 4 Runners. I have some friends with Tacomas and they love them and I've always had and interest in them as well. I was also looking at Grand Cherokees, both the WJ and the WK. My girlfriend has a '04 WJ Overland... which I love driving. It's comfortable, can tow the boat, has leather, AWD, and it's fun to drive thanks to the High Output 4.7 V8! While it may seem I little silly to have two Grand Cherokees in the family, I'd be lying if I didn't say that I was a little jealous that I didn't get to drive the WJ everyday. So that settled it. I focused my search on 2004 Grand Cherokee.
I was specifically looking for an '04 model year, as they are known to be the best of the 99-04 build range for the WJ. I really like the updated look of the '04 vs. the earlier years, both the exterior styling and the interior seating. I was also focusing on Limited and Overland models, basically because I knew they would include all the features that I really liked, leather, etc, but also because they had all painted body cladding and tend to look better over time than the black plastic trim on the Laredo models that commonly fades over time. I also knew I wanted the V8 in place of the 4.0L straight six. While the six is a great motor, I have over 200,000 miles on the 4.0L in my XJ, I wanted the extra power provided by the 4.7L for towing the boat. I found a few promising Grands for sale, but none had really "checked all the boxes" as they say. Until I stumbled on a pristine Columbia Edition!
This Grand literally met every requirement I had. It had been garage kept, and was in beautiful condition. It had less than 80,000 miles on it, and had been optioned with the High Output 4.7L V8, Towing package, 44 rear with 3.73 gears, and it even had leather seats! Now, Columbia Editions were never available in leather, so this was a bit of a mystery. The seats were the appropriate color scheme and even had the embroidered Columbia Edition logo. Even the seller had done a little research, but had never seen another Columbia with leather. After a bit of investigation, we found a small logo on the map pocket on the back of the driver and passenger seat that read Classic Soft Trim. Best guess is the original owner, either through the dealer or shortly after purchase, had the Columbia Edition seats copied in Leather and had the seats re-upholstered. I loved the two-tone look of the Columbia and the fact that the bumpers and side cladding were PAINTED a deep gunmetal silver instead of being un-painted plastic.
Even though I ended up just a bit over budget... I couldn't be happier with my latest Jeep! There are a few things I'd like to add that weren't originally an option on the Columbia Edition (which was basically a highly optioned Laredo), but overall the plan is to keep it very "daily-driveable" and comfortable, with a few improvements to make it a bit more capable.
I'm Rob. I've been a Jeep / Honda enthusiast for the better part of the past 20 years. I know, two worlds that often mix about as well as oil and water. My first car was a Honda Civic, my second was a Jeep Wrangler. Then I owned an 02 Civic SI, a 92 Jeep Cherokee, which I still have, and an 04 S2000, which I recently sold. I've also owned a few other Jeeps here and there, I've got a 74 CJ5 that's been in my garage for a few years just waiting for some time to give it some love. Eventually I'll get it back in "drive-able" condition. I enjoy AutoX with my Hondas, and exploring and wheeling in my Jeeps.
I won't keep it a secret, I work for a major aftermarket Jeep parts & accessories retailer... you can probably figure it out pretty quick
I consider myself pretty lucky that I've landed myself in a job where I get to work on Jeeps most days in some way or another. I also get to travel and go on some pretty sweet trips for work, namely Moab for Easter Jeep Safari! And we take regular wheeling trips to Rausch Creek and AOAA here in PA.So, on to my latest Jeep and the story behind it and going forward...
A few months ago I sold the S2000 that I had been using for my daily driver which left me with my '92 Cherokee to commute back and forth to work. Don't get me wrong, I love my Cherokee. It's a very fun and capable Jeep that has taken me on many great adventures. Driving it to and from work wasn't so bad for a few weeks, but I failed to mention that my commute is about a 35 mile drive each way that takes about an hour and includes everything from winding two-lane roads to a stretch on I-95 through Wilmington, Delaware. So, it didn't take too long before I was on the hunt for something a bit more refined and comfortable for everyday use.
Off to the internet I went. I scoured Craigslist and AutoTrader for a few weeks. Went back and forth about just what kind of car, truck or Jeep would be the best fit. I had a check list of features I wanted and capabilities that my new vehicle would have to be up to the task of completing. Comfort was high on the list. Automatic. Leather seats, preferable, but not a deal breaker. It had to have enough room for the family and all our stuff, and had to be able to tow the boat, a 21' Wellcraft bowrider (approx. 3,500lbs), in the summertime. And it still had to be fun to drive. Oh yeah, and my budget I gave myself was $5,000!
Given the budget, I was willing for the mileage to be a little on the high side, but still wanted to find something nice. Being able to tow about 5,000lbs. ruled out a car. I found myself looking at Toyota Tacomas and 4 Runners. I have some friends with Tacomas and they love them and I've always had and interest in them as well. I was also looking at Grand Cherokees, both the WJ and the WK. My girlfriend has a '04 WJ Overland... which I love driving. It's comfortable, can tow the boat, has leather, AWD, and it's fun to drive thanks to the High Output 4.7 V8! While it may seem I little silly to have two Grand Cherokees in the family, I'd be lying if I didn't say that I was a little jealous that I didn't get to drive the WJ everyday. So that settled it. I focused my search on 2004 Grand Cherokee.
I was specifically looking for an '04 model year, as they are known to be the best of the 99-04 build range for the WJ. I really like the updated look of the '04 vs. the earlier years, both the exterior styling and the interior seating. I was also focusing on Limited and Overland models, basically because I knew they would include all the features that I really liked, leather, etc, but also because they had all painted body cladding and tend to look better over time than the black plastic trim on the Laredo models that commonly fades over time. I also knew I wanted the V8 in place of the 4.0L straight six. While the six is a great motor, I have over 200,000 miles on the 4.0L in my XJ, I wanted the extra power provided by the 4.7L for towing the boat. I found a few promising Grands for sale, but none had really "checked all the boxes" as they say. Until I stumbled on a pristine Columbia Edition!
This Grand literally met every requirement I had. It had been garage kept, and was in beautiful condition. It had less than 80,000 miles on it, and had been optioned with the High Output 4.7L V8, Towing package, 44 rear with 3.73 gears, and it even had leather seats! Now, Columbia Editions were never available in leather, so this was a bit of a mystery. The seats were the appropriate color scheme and even had the embroidered Columbia Edition logo. Even the seller had done a little research, but had never seen another Columbia with leather. After a bit of investigation, we found a small logo on the map pocket on the back of the driver and passenger seat that read Classic Soft Trim. Best guess is the original owner, either through the dealer or shortly after purchase, had the Columbia Edition seats copied in Leather and had the seats re-upholstered. I loved the two-tone look of the Columbia and the fact that the bumpers and side cladding were PAINTED a deep gunmetal silver instead of being un-painted plastic.
Even though I ended up just a bit over budget... I couldn't be happier with my latest Jeep! There are a few things I'd like to add that weren't originally an option on the Columbia Edition (which was basically a highly optioned Laredo), but overall the plan is to keep it very "daily-driveable" and comfortable, with a few improvements to make it a bit more capable.
