<p>This is one car I have in mind for when we replace one of our current cars. Does anybody have one? Comments about good/bad experiences? </p>
<p>thanks :)</p>
<p>The joke on the Toyota off-road message boards is that JEEP stands for “just empty every pocket”, apparently a reference to maintenance and repair costs.</p>
<p>Yikes!!! Really? I had a co-worker who had a Grand Cherokee for several years and I don’t think she had any problems with hers. Have you heard bad things about the Patriot specifically or Jeep in general? </p>
<p>I’ve never owned a Jeep so you won’t hurt my feelings ;)</p>
<p>Toyotas generally cruise around emitting dense clouds of smug. Go ahead and get the Jeep.</p>
<p>Looking at Consumer Reports, I can’t imagine why anyone would buy a Jeep of any kind. Given their reliability indexes (black circles = "much worse than average) on nearly every model…</p>
<p>from what I’ve read the patriot isn’t all that bad. If they’ve introduced one with a better towing weight, I might consider (boat). The diesel model seemed to pull a good mpg.</p>
<p>By a Rav 4</p>
<p>Two experiences with Jeeps, both ancient history.</p>
<p>My father had a mid 60’s Wagoneer that was built like a tank and lasted for years with nothing more than normal maintenance.</p>
<p>I had a Jeep Cherokee, purchased new, from the last model year that Jeep was still an American Motors product. It was nothing but headaches from day 1. Carburetator, intake manifold, and transmission replaced under warranty. Many inconvenient minor problems, overall shoddy workmanship.</p>
<p>I would research and think very carefully. You could do better in all probability.</p>
<p>I have a liberty ( o2) that I am very happy with-</p>
<p>I rented a Jeep Liberty and ended up deciding I liked it less than I thought I would - mostly due to the jouncy ride. The Patriot’s a different vehicle though. I recommend checking with some of your local car rental outfits to see if they carry the Patriot and renting one for a day or two to really see if you like it. The cost will be negligible compared to buying something you might end up regretting.</p>
<p>I owned a 1985 Jeep Cherokee that I put over 100K miles on and 4-wheeled extensively in. It was decent and reliable vehicle but that was over 20 years ago and probably not applicable to a Jeep of today. My next vehicle was a 1991 Ford ‘Exploder’ that was the least reliable vehicle I’ve ever owned. </p>
<p>Chrysler/Jeep just announced a ‘Lifetime warranty’ on the powertrain of their vehicles.</p>
<p>Here’s a Jeep Patriot forum on Edmunds (lots of other vehicles there also)…</p>
<p><a href=“Car Forums - Auto News, Community and Forums | Edmunds”>Car Forums - Auto News, Community and Forums | Edmunds;
<p>Thanks for all the replies. </p>
<p>I have never owned a Jeep and nobody in my family (or extended family) has. I liked the price of the Patriots and the people who I do know who have had Jeeps have never complained about them. So I wondered if I could get a little more insight. </p>
<p>I tend to take ratings like CR with a grain of salt. Mostly b/c I’ve owned 2 different make/models of cars which they have said were terrible, and I drove each one well into the mid 100k range (one 180k and one 140k) with NO problems at all, other than replacing a battery. So I always prefer to talk to actual people who have owned the car I’m considering.</p>
<p>I own two Jeeps - a hard-core Rubicon for off-roading as well as commuting and a Liberty. I also own a Toyota (200k miles, still going as strong as ever, with occasional mechanical problems just due to age, I think).</p>
<p>The Liberty (approx 60K miles) has had almost no problems at all.</p>
<p>The Rubicon required a transmission replacement within the first 5000 miles, but since that time has been trouble-free (50k miles).</p>
<p>Also, JEEPMom has a LOT of experience with Jeeps.</p>
<p>Noob</p>