Hi All! Just an update on this whole experience.
So Saturday I ventured up to the dealer and test drove the summit. When I arrived they had it out front and all cleaned up for me and ready to go (as they knew I was coming). First thing I did when I got there was asked for the CarFax which they provided for me. Turns out the Summit came from North Carolina (this dealer is in WI), so right off the bat I know it's been around. The CarFax didn't show too much more than what I already knew, showed numerous visits to the dealer for Radio issues amongst some other minor things. So with that, so far things were ok.
After all of that, we then went out and looked at the summit. The vehicle looked to be in decent shape, the interior looked brand new, seats had no wear, no visuals issues. The exterior however I was able to find numerous scratches!! One big one on the front bumper and then several random ones throughout on the passenger side door. Which of course on a black vehicle stick out like crazy. I quickly expressed my dis-interest with that right off the bat with the Dealer and he said he could try to have his detaling guys buff them out (yeah right!!). I mean they are not overly terrible scratches but I'm the kind of guy who is very particular about that kind of stuff and notices everything (I'm the guy who parks at the end of a parking lot in the middle of no where to avoid other vehicles).
Anyways I briefly looked past that and decided since I made the 1hr 30min drive up there I my as well take it for a spin. So we put plates on it and fired her up. Before going anywhere, I hit every single button I could find to make sure everything was working. Sunroof, check! Air Suspension, check! Seats, Steering wheel electronics, check!! Radio, check!!! (I will say however, I was not as impressed with the Hardon Karmon sound system like I was expecting, it really didn't sound all that much different from the Overland Alpine system. I guess I was expecting more boom and array of surround feeling). I also pulled out my blackberry and synced it to the Uconnect and everything worked fine there! So, so far, the fixes appeared to be made.
So now, the test drive. (also, keep in mind this is my first time EVER driving the hemi in a Jeep).
Start up and sound were great!! I really like the deep sound of the Hemi over the pentastar.
(by all this time, the motor was warm) Backed up, and started heading out of the dealership only traveling about 10mph, and right away I noticed a little groan and strange sound from the motor. Almost like a small hissing sound and gargle at low RPM. I didn't think much of it and then pulled out onto the road and accelerated, motor sounded fine then. As we cruised down the main road my first impressions were that the ride felt more bumpy as if the suspension was stiffer than my overland. Also the steering felt heavier, which I kind of actually liked. I think that is because the power steering is different with the V6 and Hemi models right?
Anyways, from the main road I decided to pull off onto a back road and see what the Hemi really has. I came to a stop, went into SPORT and Jammed the accelerator!! And well, we started moving, but to my surprise it wasn't as quick as I thought it would be. I mean, I definitely could notice it got going quicker than the V6, but not by all that much. I was hoping to feel it throw me back into my chair or something. Turned around and did it again, changing things up from 30-60mph, 20-50mph, SPORT on and off, ECO on and off, etc... and everytime when slowing down and running at low RPM's/throttle I felt/heard that gargle from the motor? I thought it was maybe the 4cy deactivating but it did this when I had ECO off as well, so not sure if it is an issue or not??
Also, the braking had a shudder feel to it, so appears they are pretty worn which leaves me to believe it had been driven hard as it only has 10k miles on it.
Anyways, overall I really wasn't that WOW'd by it. On the way back to the dealer my wife was looking at me like do we really want to do this? Is it really worth the extra cost and lemon'd title? The more we looked at it, the more we realized we actually liked the Overland we had better (in better condition, no issues, clean title). So ultimately we decided to pass on the Summit and just keep the V6 Overland. My wife made a good point, she said if after the test drive and review of the Summit, she noticed I didn't appear Excited!! Or pumped to do it! I kept asking, do you think this is better (motor)? Do you like this and that better (interior differences)? Does this sound much better (Harmon Kardon)? And all of our answers were... yeah, it's not bad or it's ok...blah! LIke I had to question everything.. nothing really jumped out at me saying, I got to have it!
So we kept the Overland, went and grabbed lunch, and headed home. On the way home, I will say, I felt relieved! I still had 5k cash in my pocket and am not driving a lemon titled vehicle.
Now today, I am thinking of going to my local dealer and test driving the limited Hemi they have just to see if I noticed the same thing in the Hemi to see if there was any real issues in the Summit or if it was just normal.
Even though the Hemi wasn't nothing extraordinary, I do still like it better than the pentastar. So if the right deal comes along somewhere with another used 2014 Hemi JGC, I may visit this scenerio again.
For now, the quest continues!
Thanks again everyone for your input and advice!!