Principal Skinr
Master
If you decide to go newer, stay away from 2007 to 2012 JK's with the 3.8L. Absolute junk motor; start drinking oil around the 100k range. You might not see it even in the exhaust. If a 2012 has the 3.6L your ok. I'm not sure when they switched over, but I do know it was in 2012 at some point. By the way, that 2014 Rubicon listed earlier in this forum looks nice!!!!!
Lol, junk? I've got 153k trouble free miles on mine. Mine started using oil at 40k but still runs like new. Sometimes it uses oil, sometimes it doesn't. I've seen many 3.8's with over 300k on them. My brother had one in his minivan and sold it at well over 200k with never a problem. His used some oil, too. But I've got probably 15 to 20 friends in Jeep clubs who have 3.8's and most don't use any oil. I just keep mine topped off, checking it every 1k miles, which should be done anyway with any engine. A friend went to Moab with us for EJS and I think his 08 JK 3.8 has around 170k on it. His uses no oil, but again, runs like new.
It's not the engine that the 3.6 is, but if maintained well, it is still a solid powerplant. LOTS of them still on the road.
What I have not known is any friend with a 3.8 that failed them.
The 2012 JK 3.6 did have some issues requiring cylinder heads to be replaced, so watch out for those. They did extend the warranty on them I believe to 100k. And the vast majority did not have the issue. I believe I read that 7k was the estimate of how many got out of the factory with the issue.
If I had the choice, I'd go 3.6 all the way. The 3.6 had a better auto transmission, too. (Mine JK has a 6 speed manual) But if I found a deal, I wouldn't let the 3.8 scare me. I'd take mine across the country and off-road anywhere with it, right now, with confidence.