Hello! I picked up a 2017 Renegade Latitude 4x4 last spring for my daughter. I'm looking forward to picking some of the great brains around here as we modify and mess with this fun little Jeep. We are a big Jeep family, with a 2004 Grand Cherokee, 2008 JKU Rubicon, and a 2018 JLU Rubicon, so as you can see, my kids grew up with Jeeps and now as they come of age, they want one for themselves! Our first Jeep, a 1993 YJ, started this mess! This Renegade was an interesting find. It was totaled out for hail damage and right front suspension/fender damage, with 16k on the clock. We picked it up for a very good deal, paying less than we would have for a similar 2015 with around 100k. It has the 2.4/auto. Anyway, we replaced the lower right front control arm and wheel bearing, then took it to the high school body shop in my school district (I'm a middle school administrator) and they replaced the hood, fixed the fender, and a couple of the bigger hail dents, for the cost of parts only, so the labor was free! They matched the paint beautifully and now the only hail dents easily visible are on the roof. We later replaced the right front CV/axle shaft, as it was making noise and apparently also had some damage. We added Falken Wildpeak A/T Trail tires, Mopar floor liners, and for Christmas, I'm installing a pair of Rigid Industries 360 Series spots. (I'm finishing that today.) My daughter is an explorer, so this is the perfect car for her. She's got the Uconnect nav and I'm also getting ready to add a Midland GMRS 2 way radio so she can stay in touch with Dad on the trail. I've been very impressed with this machine, so far. There is more leg and head room than my JLUR, and the handling is excellent. We just had it in a 6" snow a couple weeks ago and it was simply outstanding. I love the way it drives and rides. Outside of the original damage, it has had no problems, other than using a little oil, which I know the 2.4 is known for. (My 3.8 JK has used 3/4 quart per 1k miles for the last 100,000, and runs great, so it doesn't really worry me. We just have to check it. I think it used about 3/4 quart in 2k, at its worst.) We've got 26k on it right now. We're looking forward to lots of fun with this thing. There might be a 1.5" lift in the future, and almost certainly some protection for critical areas underneath. Other than that, we hope to take good care of it and have it get her through college and beyond.
W E L C O M E ! ! ! to the forum. Great story, thanks for sharing. Pics, do you have any picture of your new ride? … we like pictures here. lol
Thanks! We'll get some pics up soon. Those lights will be fired up in the next few hours, so we'll get some shots with them installed.
Ok, we finished installing the Rigid 360's and they are really nice! We'll take it out tonight and see just how much light they bring to the party. I had my daughter go ahead and give it a wash. She was upset that her Jeep did not come with a "Trail Rated" badge, and my son bought one off of Ebay for his Grand Cherokee, so she one-upped us with a new "Jurassassic Rated" badge! Pretty funny. Anyway, here are a few pics from this afternoon. We also touched up the bolts on the front light/license plate bracket with some black paint, so it's looking good now. She also took advantage of the weather and threw a coat of Turtle Wax Ice Seal N Shine on it. I'll post more in the appropriate places as the mods continue. She's got Jeeps in her blood and didn't fall far from the tree, so I know this is just the beginning!
