Keep my Jeep or nah

[REatc]

My jeep is turning 10 this year. I bought it new in 2014 and it currently has 108k miles on it I’ve recently replaced the brakes, 3k. It now needs more repairs (suspension and 4wd) for another 4k. It has a trade in value of about 10-14k. It’s been very reliable, I’m just getting worried I might be into the money pit territory. The transmission and tires should hold up for another 1-2 years, then I’ll need to replace tires (2k) and hopefully not have to fix the transmission. I will be driving a lot more for work soon 8k per year to 15k per year.
I want to get a Prius, when does it make more sense to get the Prius. I would want a new one and drive it for the next 20 years.

[Dave1442397]

Based on how many miles you'll be doing, I think I'd sell the Jeep and get the Prius.

The new Honda Accord hybrid might be worth a look too, if you don't need a hatchback: https://automobiles.honda.com/accord-sedan#hybrid

[jrhampt]

We just got rid of our nearly 20 year old Jeep since it was needing more maintenance and got horrible gas mileage.  We replaced it with a hybrid, no regrets. 

[Paper Chaser]

I believe the newest Prius can be tough to get right now, so if that's the direction you want to go, I'd try to get a test drive with one to confirm that's what you want and order it now. Hopefully you can get one in your hands before you have to spend thousands for new tires and repairs on the Jeep.

That being said, if you don't want to wait and risk expensive repairs on the Jeep, perhaps a used Chevy Volt might be a less expensive alternative to the Prius? You could probably get a Gen 2 Volt with 53 miles of EV range and 43-45mpg with the ICE alone for about what you'd sell the Heep for.
Also worth considering, a lightly used Ford Maverick hybrid would have a powertrain nearly identical to the Prius, while retaining a bit of the ruggedness of the Jeep too. They tend to see 35-40mpg in a low buck trucklet with more utility than a Jeep or Prius.

[ChpBstrd]

My neighbors have a Wrangler - well at least half of the time they have a Wrangler. They keep coming home in shiny new SUVs with stickers in the window.

I say "Oh, did you get a new car?" and each time it's "No, this is the courtesy car from the dealership, they're working on the transmission on the Jeep again."

This has been the case for the past 2 years. The neighbors have been driving their Jeep about 50% of the time and the courtesy car for the other 50%. They explained that they're coming up on warranty expiration but can't seem to have the Jeep long enough to sell it before the transmission goes out again. They shrug their shoulders and say "Well, what can you do?" They explain that the dealership is pushing hard for them to trade it for a new one.

Meanwhile I'm standing next to my 12 year old Toyota compact car with similar mileage, which has never had a serious problem, thinking You could quit making payments on junk?

[Chris Pascale]

My experience with keeping cars as long as possible is that it's like buying the car twice.

Would you buy this vehicle right now used? If so, get the repairs and whatever else comes up over the next 100k miles.

[uniwelder]

Why would tires cost $2,000 and why did the brakes cost $3,000?

[newco]

Why would tires cost $2,000 and why did the brakes cost $3,000?

This is what I am trying to figure out as well.  Hopefully the response isn't "I took it to the dealer".  Brakes are pretty easy to do assuming you have a good quality jack, jack stands, socket set and breaker bar/lead pipe. 

It seems like (and this may get some flack) that the only thing not worth doing is your oil unless your car requires full synthetic. 

[Just Joe]

$500 tires x4. Oof!

RockAuto shows brakes to be quite affordable for a Jeep of this vintage even if calipers, drums and rotors are replaced. They even offer a "big brake upgrade" with all the parts necessary for $1200.

I'd dump the Jeep and buy a gas sipper whenever you are ready. I think Jeeps are great weekend fun cars, not frugal daily drivers. Reduces the miles and maintenance costs if it is on standby most of the time.

 

[TimCFJ40]

1.  As referenced above, those prices for repairs are highway robbery.  I can do brakes on my Tacoma for $300 all the way around, and a great set of tires is ~$1000 for fancy all terrain tires. 
2.  When you need to replace the Jeep, it makes sense to replace it with something more suited for work travel, but you'll never pay for the upgrade on gas alone.  I drive 8k miles per year for work, and the difference between 16mpg now and a 50mpg Prius would save me a whopping ~$1360/year in fuel.  The depreciation on a newer more expensive vehicle will cost more than the yearly fuel savings in my case.
3.  Will your company let you rent a vehicle to drive for work trips?  (mine will, actually they encourage it) Then the cost to you is zero and you can keep the miles off of the Jeep if you like it and want to keep it. 

[spartana]

$500 tires x4. Oof!

RockAuto shows brakes to be quite affordable for a Jeep of this vintage even if calipers, drums and rotors are replaced. They even offer a "big brake upgrade" with all the parts necessary for $1200.

I'd dump the Jeep and buy a gas sipper whenever you are ready. I think Jeeps are great weekend fun cars, not frugal daily drivers. Reduces the miles and maintenance costs if it is on standby most of the time.

I know! I use to have an old Jeep shortly after I FIREd (and a photo of myself in it as my avatar here for awhile until I wised up about posting RL photos of yourself online). I had moved to the mountains and that thing was always breaking down. It was a cool and fun ride (soft top,  no doors Daisy Duke style) but very high maintenance (Daisy Duke style lol).  As a former ships mechanic I was able to do most repairs but I sold after a couple of years as it would have too many ongoing issues.

So nnless the OP needs the jeep for jeep-things and/or can do the ongoing future repairs yourself, I'd sell (and you'll likely get alot) asap and get something more suited to your lifestyle. $3000 for brakes?! That's crazy (I did my first set of brakes at 16 on my mom's old Chevy Vega lol!). If you do keep it look for a new mechanic.

[jrhampt]

^^^yes.  Jeeps are fun, but we would never buy one again. My prius is way more practical, although as mentioned above, I'd probably go used since the latest model is going to be both expensive and hard to find.

[REatc]

Why would tires cost $2,000 and why did the brakes cost $3,000?

I live in Alaska. Parts and labor are very expensive.

[spartana]

Why would tires cost $2,000 and why did the brakes cost $3,000?

I live in Alaska. Parts and labor are very expensive.

Yes Alaska is a different beast price-wise for everything. I lived in Anchorage in the early 1990s (and had a 4x4 Suzuki Samurai soft top - cheap persons jeep haha) and Cordova (no car then 'cause nowhere to drive to) and even way back then things were super expensive as was labor. Not sure where you live in AK but I'd research EVs and hybrids in those cold conditions as could be a factor with battery life. Plus getting a new car. The ex-DH had a used Dakota 4x4 and he bought it in Seattle and shipped it to Anchorage and it was much cheaper. I drove my Suzuki there from Boston and back to Calif 4 years later. Awesome trips!

[BlueMR2]

Why would tires cost $2,000 and why did the brakes cost $3,000?

It can really vary quite a bit based on the model.  I've done brakes on one car for barely $200 (a Mitsubishi) and had another car cost $2000 ten years ago (needed 4 rotors that came in at $280 a PIECE for a Toyota!  Then the brake pads were $300 an Axle set!).  Add in inflation for today and yeah, I can see $3000 for some vehicles.

While you can get skinny economy car tires for $99 for 4, on vehicles with offroad or performance tires, you're looking at $400-500 for just ONE tire these days.

If I had a Jeep I'd be looking for anything else.  Jeep reliability is better now than it has been, but it's still not great.  Parts are expensive in general.  If you need a Jeep, get one.  There are things they are good for. If you don't need one though, stay away!