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Why take options away?

2K views 11 replies 8 participants last post by  Temerarius 
#1 ·
I recently bought a 2013 Laredo X with the Hemi and the 20 inch wheel package, now a lot of folks here love the Limited, Overland and Summit. But I found that this Laredo X was equipped just right for me. (And priced right too) I added a few touches to it of course, and I'm done, very happy with it.

Now that the 2014's are out, I'm so glad I bought my 13. According to Jeep.com, they no longer offer the Hemi or the 20 inch wheels on a Laredo. Whats up with that? I don't understand why they would take away popular items. Another example is the rear flipper glass, seems pretty dumb to me that it's gone too.

Sure makes me happy I have the 2013.:thumbsup:
 
#3 ·
Well, I bought mine used with only 4400 miles, got a great deal compared to buying new. Don't get me wrong, the limited is nice, but I really don't like the chrome mirrors or handles at all. I use the flipper glass all the time, and the 20's I have are rarely seen since they were only offered on the anniversary edition and the 2013's.
 
#6 ·
Common in the industry to decontent models & shift models down. For some reason CJF feels a need to price a WK2 against an explorer so has created a "base" Laredo they really do not want to sell to anyone (except maybe fleets).

Note that you cannot even get a towing package on a base Laredo.

This is not new, the base '11 had more standard than the base '12. And the "E" has essentially been a "mandatory option" for some time, just now it is a model. Nothing new, in some years the Pontiac GTO was an option, others a model. So really now to get what was standard in the base '11 is now the '14 "E" (without the Hemi).

So for '14 if it has the body color mirrors, it has a 3.6. (now - options have a way of creaping back in)

If anything this should help resale since prices go by model and options rarely add much.

Is just a way to make people think they are getting more than they are.
 
#9 ·
I was skeptical when VW cheapened the Jetta specifically for the US market -- they stripped it down, put drum brakes on the back, took away lots of interior niceties that many VW owners had loved on those cars, and listed the "base" model in manual transmission that only a handful of people would buy for like $15K.

In the end, what happened is that people bought higher models and loaded them up so much that the overall transaction price per vehicle ended up HIGHER than the year before, when they had the nicer interior materials.

These companies spend millions on human behavior in specific markets. Sometimes they get it very wrong (Volvo pulling all wagons out of the US market), and sometimes they get it very right (VW Jetta).

My guess is that Jeep is doing the right thing -- advertising a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee base model at a VERY competitive price point vs. other brands.

I would have been happy with a base model, but it's my wife's daily driver and when the Acura was totaled, she was used to the NAV, backup camera, and power rear liftgate, so we had to move to the Limited for those, which drove the price higher and higher. The only one that was an absolute must for me was the backup camera. We could've gone aftermarket, but we were leasing and I would have wanted an really integrated solution and didn't want to mess with the vehicle. The other options were "nice to haves," so we went with the higher priced model.
 
#7 ·
The Laredo X was replaced with the base limited, if you want the same options you have to go that route. They added a few options like heated rear seats and little things for the 14, but n all reality the 14 isn't a whole lot more than the 13 when you take the 8 speed and the new instrument panel into account, along with the new radios.
 
#12 ·
The Laredo X was replaced with the base limited, if you want the same options you have to go that route. They added a few options like heated rear seats and little things for the 14, but n all reality the 14 isn't a whole lot more than the 13 when you take the 8 speed and the new instrument panel into account, along with the new radios.
Exactly what this guy said.

The Laredo X was replaced by the Limited trim.
 
#11 ·
And don't forget the "ugly" stylist who takes the end state and "fixes" it for the first two years to help sales the third. My favorite is the first gen Rivieras, the prototype had the headlights in the front fenders but for 63-64 they were exposed in the grille area. For '65 they were hidden in the fender like the prototype.

I have wondered if the lack of LEDS in the '11-'13 was for that reason.
 
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