With an economy that seems to be working only for those invested in stock and assets against which they can borrow and therefore live the high life without being taxed like us working stiffs (read, the increasingly rich billionaire class), I bought a car. Notably, a hybrid—my first foray into the electric-vehicle (EV) market—the timing of which has worked out well considering the stupidity of the US’ latest adventure into the middle east. So, the vehicle? A lightly-used 2025 Jeep Wrangler 4xe. It’s a plug-in hybrid with a reputation—not all of it good. Jeep introduced the 4xe in 2021, and, since then, issues arose that resulted in recalls for some.
As online chatter goes, the loudest are those with the recalls—which doesn’t diminish those issues. Stellantis, Jeep’s owner (along with US brands Dodge, Chrysler, and Ram; and European brands Fiat, Peugeot, Ctiroën and Opel/Vauxhall) has since discontinued the 4xe citing “customer demand shifting” in North America (read, the US).
I like cars, but I hate buying them. There likely isn’t a physical asset that depreciates faster than an automobile. Well, maybe a desktop computer (I’m sure there’s an AI-assisted Google search I could do to verify that, but, really?). For anyone who maintains their vehicle maintenance on CarFax, one gets an up-to-the minute accounting on your car’s declining worth. Aside from the couple years following the pandemic shutdowns and coinciding global-shipping cluster-fuck that resulted in demand for used cars ‘cause parts for the new ones were hard to procure, one can count on your shiny new car losing up to 30-percent of its value during it’s first year on the road, and up to ten percent thereafter.
I’ve always been the type to drive my vehicles until the cost of current and near-future repair costs became a formidable down payment on another vehicle. I bought a used Honda CRX SE in college and drove it for nine years, parting with it only when the fuel line disintegrated at 167,000 miles. A deeper dive at the Honda dealership revealed other important pieces of the car (notably, the brake calipers and rotors) were near failure. Total repairs would cost about half of a used Mazda, with half the miles on it, on the lot. I drove home in the Mazda. My first new car was a 2003 Volvo V70 wagon, one with the last of the inline five-cylinder motors. A dealership was trying to clear aging stock so I got a “good deal” on it, and they threw in $500 for the aging Toyota Paseo I was driving. I mean, I was 33 and making decent money. Couldn’t I have a new car?
I loved that car, but had indigestion and mild anxiety having paid for a new vehicle for about a month. There are no “good deals” with new cars (see above depreciation schedule), aside from peace-of-mind that comes with a lengthy warranty, which ain’t nothing.
Still.
Fourteen years, 166,000 miles and a catastrophic brake-line failure later, I “traded” that car in for a new 2017 Jeep Renegade (for the same price as the Volvo in 2003: about $30K). And, again, had the heebies for a month after the purchase, knowing that a good chunk of its value vaporized shortly after leaving the dealership lot. But that warranty came in handy. At 25,000 miles, a motor was replaced due to a manufacturing issue and was covered under warranty. Otherwise, t’was a great vehicle. Churned through our Minnesota snowstorms with ease and that in itself made me a fan of the Jeep brand. As my Renegade aged, I started looking into hybrids. A hybrid was key because I still drive to areas that do not have reliable charging options. As I aged, I knew I didn’t want a tiny thing into which I’d have to fold myself.
When the anti-science tRump regime was re-elected, however, it began its stupid and short-sighted war against any renewable-energy efforts and research (ceding an entire industry and the technology with it to China), including cutting funding to install ev-charging stations across the country.
That backwards philosophy also led reneging rebates to encourage electric- and hybrid-vehicle purchases and to our automobile industry slowing manufacture of those cars and battery production (again, further ceding the lead in these industries to China).
So. I was thinking any new car, particularly a hybrid, would have to wait until after tRump was out of office and the anti-science, anti-environmental and anti-renewable-energy stupidity was reversed. Among the models I kept an eye on was the Jeep 4xe, but they were expensive—as all hybrid SUVs were shaping up to be. I thought maybe by the time Ford released its hybrid Bronco (2027), we’d also see where the political winds were settling out, and what other hybrid options remained available or being developed. Who knows. Maybe the family and I would move back to Canada anyway, and there are certainly more electric options up there with a largely pro-science culture and government, whether liberals or conservatives are in power (although not completely resistant to the US’s primary export of late: nutty philosophies).
I digress.
I wasn’t “in the market” for a new car, per se, although my wife and I had been discussing staggering our next car purchases. As mentioned above, I bought my Renegade in 2017, and, a year earlier, she replaced her aging Mini Cooper (which she loved) with a Honda HRV. So, we had two cars in the household a decade old and heading toward some hefty repairs that come due with aging vehicles approaching that 100K-mile mark. Her HRV is still in excellent shape, and, as Honda motors do, runs like it did when it was new. And, as our kid approaches driving age, with its 36 MPG average, that would be the one to keep around to pass along. The Renegade, although smaller than a full-size Jeep, was still a Jeep: a pig on gas in city driving.
That said, the Renegade was still running well, and, as I began working from home in 2019, had fewer miles: about 75K (minus the 25K on the engine, and one could assume it was good to roll a lot longer). I had few complaints with the car. Among them was, it was considerably smaller than the Volvo—something that isn’t noticeable for day-to-day use—it sits higher than most cars and standard SUVs, and is roomy and comfortable in the front and back seats. But, for road trips, we sure noticed. The Volvo had plenty of room for a kid and Doberman in the back seat. The Renegade? Uh, tight. Trunk space? Not much. T’was a narrow, compressed (lengthwise) breadbox of a vehicle.
Into my email inbox one day was a note from my local Jeep dealer: some used vehicles arrived. I usually delete these as soon as they pop up. But, this one was the 2025 Jeep Wrangler Sahara 4xe. Price? About $30K. Miles on it? 13K. Wha—? I flagged the email, returning to it periodically. Then I forget about it. About two weeks went by. The US started a war with Iran. The Straight of Hormuz closed. Gas prices had yet to climb, but I will admit to being irritated at again being at the mercy of this administration’s wildly dismissive attitude towards its citizens. I got another email.
I started researching more in earnest and became more familiarized with the 4xe’s history—the horror stories sure float to the top, thank you algorithm. But some there are a lot of 4xe fans out there, with few or no complaints, and plenty who raved. I researched the specific model available at the dealership. The VIN number revealed no recalls issued for that particular Jeep. I found the original window sticker, which revealed where parts were manufactured. One of the recalls on the 4xe was an engine issue (not hybrid-system related) associated with a particular manufacturing plant outside the US. This Jeep’s motor was built in the USA. The vehicle’s history also intrigued me: it was part of a rental fleet in Georgia. All those miles were driven without issue. I became more interested.
If you’re still reading, you know I bought the damn thing, and felt the month-long heebies as I did when I bought the Volvo and the Renegade. Interestingly, I haven’t spent “more” for a new (or, in this recent case, new-ish) car in 24 years: final cost of this Wrangler after mild haggling (not much wiggle room given the steep discount already), a trade in, an extra extended warranty (8 years/100,000 miles covering everything), plus taxes: about $30K. Still a gut punch, but manageable with a decent down payment and favorable loan terms. The sticker price on this vehicle in 2025: $63K, which would be totally out of my league.
Two months to the day in (purchased March 30), so far so good, and I’ve made a serious (!) dent in gas consumption. That’s not to say there isn’t a cost, of course: the electric bill has gone up. But the savings are undeniable, especially as gas prices rise. Next post: the math on the mileage and costs of running a this plug-in hybrid vehicle.