Used Jeep Renegade For Sale

This car had good to very good reviews, so I purchased the trail hawk edition, and so far its been a generally positive experience. The Jeep corporation however, has limited this car with a few 'buts'. The car has decent gas mileage BUT it needs frequent fill-ups due to a small gas tank. The engine is fine for the car BUT the transmission is terrible, shifting into higher gears rapidly and giving a feeling of being underpowered. The only good news on that is the gears can be shifted manually from the shifter and that works well! The insturment panel is basic and informative, the Sirius XM radio is terrific....BUT the bluetooth took some time to program for and did not work that well? Finally, the off-roading ability of this car is excellent. We took it in the sand at Cape Cod National Seashore and it took on the sand dunes with no problems! I'm a bit apprehensive about trusting Jeep because of poor reputation for reliability and trade in value, BUT I would say we're off to a good start with no big problems so far.

Let me start this review by stating that I just traded in my 2015 Trailhawk after 10 months of ownership and 11,485 miles, and I couldn't be happier! I entered my purchase back in April 2015 thinking this was going to be the answer to my many vehicle needs: 4x4/offroad capability, adequate cargo space for trips to the beach with the dog, great gas mileage for my weekly commutes to sales calls, and a reliable vehicle that held it's value for years to come, due to the Jeep name pedigree. Boy was I wrong. My problems started the evening I brought it home. I noticed the next morning after purchase that there was a puddle of clear liquid under the front of the car. I thought it was residual dripping from being washed the day before, but the dripping hadn't stopped after 24 hours. A quick smell of the liquid revealed it was alcohol based and not water. I discovered that the washer fluid pump was leaking. After a quick and unsatisfying call to the dealership, where they wanted me to make an appointing for 2 weeks out, I removed the pump myself and sealed with black RTV silicone to solve for the problem. Flash forward a few months an a couple thousand miles, and I started getting an awful screeching sound when starting the vehicle from cold. It would intermittently happen at first, but became increasingly more frequent over the next month, and eventually screeched constantly. My first trip to the dealership yielded the response of "we cannot recreate the sound, therefore cannot resolve for it". Funny that the next morning after returning home, it made the same terrible sound. A second trip to the dealership, and request of a different technician, revealed that the serpentine belt was cracked. It was replaced an the screeching went away. During this visit, they also serviced the front brakes, which made a terrible squeal under moderate to light braking once they had warmed up. Very annoying and embarrassing. I haven't event gotten to the worst part about the Jeep Renegade in my opining, which is really a two-part issue. First is the terribly small fuel tank. At only 12.7 gallons, I had to fill up twice as often as a companion vehicle during a trip from Florida to Tennessee. Really made for a slow trip needing to stop every 300 miles. The range of the vehicle left a lot to be desired. Second, and what I feel is the absolute biggest issue with the Renegade (in Trailhawk trim at least), is the drivetrain combination of the 2.4L, 4 cyl. engine and the 9 speed transmission. Accelerating at speed, passing on the highway, and overall highway drivability is the worst that I've ever experienced. You literally have to floor the accelerator to achieve any passing capability, and passing vehicles on a 2 lane, dotted line road is beyond terrifying. I can't begin to describe how terrible this motor and transmission combination is. The computer constantly tries to put the car in the highest gear possible to save on fuel, which causes CONSTANT downshifts. I can't imagine the durability or longevity of the transmission internals due to the accelerated levels of wear and tear that this causes. I could spend hours nitpicking this vehicle, but I'll spare the readers and my fingers. All told, I'm beyond thrilled that I was able to trade out of this vehicle. Unfortunately, the Renegade dropped 1/3 of it's value (as mentioned in other reviews) in less than 10 months. Be weary/cautious of this, as it does not carry the Jeep pedigree/name into it's resale value. Buyer beware and best of luck with your decision!