Hi Folks,

First post from a newbie in the UK.

I've just gone and put down a deposit on an SRT-8. I've not even road tested it due to a knee operation I had on Monday. In fact, I've never driven one. Worse still - I have not even seen the one I am buying (it is from a Jeep Approved Dealer, so feel good about that). I just love the sound of the engine. And the spec. And the history (HEMI). Being the end of the month there is a fabulous deal that I would be nuts not to take.

I had a sleepless night last night as I am parting with a good chunk of change and the most I have ever spent on a vehicle!! It is a steel blue metallic colour - wanted a black one - but compromised to get this deal. Are blue ones harder to shift ? I can't fit a tow bar - why on earth am I worried about that ! Not sure if I can fit a roof-rack for the kids bikes - again - why would you put a roof rack on a performance machine !!!

Background: I am trading in my Grand Cherokee 4.7 V8 that I have had for 6 years with 120k reliable miles. So that's a good start - I like Jeep Grand Cherokees. I also bought that one at night, without a road test and had never driven one (can you see a theme ?!).
Previously I had a Grand Cherokee 4 litre for 3 years - liked that one too.
I also have a Harley - so like going in a straight line fast (forget about conering) !

Have I made a good decision ?! Is it really that fast :-) ? Please make me feel good about my crazy gut-feel decision based on no test drive !

Is this just my mid-life crisis ?!

Cheers, Finchie

You made a good decision u will love it. It is really fast.

Good decision, as long as you can afford the gas =)

Good decision, now the Harley will be your slow ride.

Similar situation, and I have no regrets (provided it's not a financial burden for you)

Factory ordered mine, never drove one until I picked up mine at Champion Jeep

And Steel Blue looks great and is easier to keep clean.

These trucks su(k


















































Just kidding...if your looking for a fast performance oriented vehicle, with a performance feel, youve purchased the perfect truck...Good Luck with her...Not sure if you were serious on the blue vehicles bering harder to shift, but the answer is no...they all shift the same...some black colored owners may say its the fastest color, but we all know silver is :D:bluecap::lol:

By "shift" he means sell, not the tranny shifting. The blue is definetly the rarest color. Will be worth the most when Chrysler goes down. Not harder then the others to "shift", but definetly the most profitable.

By "shift" he means sell, not the tranny shifting. The blue is definetly the rarest color. Will be worth the most when Chrysler goes down. Not harder then the others to "shift", but definetly the most profitable.

I gotcha...

I bought mine w/out a test drive :D ( dealer wouldnt let me ) , Made the drive home even more exciting

Steel blue seems to be the most unpopular color.

My neighbor has the steel blue, I like it, Is yours a new or Used, If used get an extended warranty. You wont be disappointed, IMO . GL , hope the knee heals fast.

you did make the right decision, trust me. stell blue is okay, true black is better, but nontheless you can now call yourself a Jeep SRT8 owner. ;) I was in the same situation when it came time to order mine....had never driven one or been in one much less seen one on the streets, just knew it was the car for me. Having been a GC Jeep owner from day one and loving performance and power as i do, i knew from the specs of this beast that it was indeed the car for me, that and it's pure sexiness...you can't ever get sick of looking at it IMO. congrats on the purchase.

Blimey - what an active forum. A side benefit of owneship of what I am sure will be FANTASTIC vehicle. Thanks for the feedback. It takes weeks to get a response from the Landrover Lightweight forum !

Mike - thanks for the "translation" of "shift". I should have spotted that as I am a Brit working for a a North American company.

As for the "gas" prices - my previous vehicle was a GC V8 - so probably won't be that different - and so you folks in the US know how lucky you are - I broke the 100 Pounds filling up my 75 litre tank this summer. That was about 200 bucks (before sterling tanked)!!!

First priority is to work out whether I need a Tom Tom - to get that latest speed camera locations - or whether that is a feature of the installed SatNav.

Cheers, Finchie

Mate, its a damn fine vehicle. The Jeep SRT8 is classy, fast and sexy! Have fun with it! I wonder...how many Jeep SRT8s are in the UK?

Yeah the speed camera POI,s would be good, I have the SAT Nav and there is no option for the speed cam updates, I do have a TomTom with them installed, I passed the Tom on to my Wife.

My story is very similar to yours. Owned (still do) a 2000 GC and loved it. Never even rode in the SRT and bought one sight un-seen 3000 miles away. Had it shipped cross country and could not be happier. Probably the most fun I've ever had in a new vehicle. Gas mileage is only 1-2 mpg worse than my 2000 with the 4.7. Got a great deal so I figure that buys a lot of gas.

And yes, you can tow with it no problem. Get the factory hitch, it's the best. It tows my MC prostar 197 ski boat effortlessy and looks very cool doing it. If you want racks, just replace the existing rails with the standard GC rails. They bolt right on (if you can stand to look at them). Bottom line, you will love it.

BTW, my wife has a range rover sport and she is green with envy. Drives the jeep every time I'm out of town. She can't get enough of the sound it makes.

Finchie

You won't regret this purchase. Not many of us on the UK roads so it stands out + gives some of 'those' other driver a bit of a shock !!

The sat-nav works well but as pointed out doesn't have speed camera locations. I went for http://www.roadangelgroup.com/products/professional/connected.html which is a brilliant piece of kit I also added an external Laser Detector onto the front grill for added 'comfort' factor !

Enjoy

Mark

I as well bought mine without a test drive! Can't wipe the smile off my face!

welcome mate , , i hope you didnt do what i did and base your exhaust noise on the likes of youtube lol coz your gonna need to buy a borla s for that ,, seriously tho you will absolutely love it mate , and EVERYone will turn their head when you pass

You will certainly enjoy your SRT8. I have also had previous Grand Cherokees. a 2003 and a 2005, both Ltd's and both CRD. They returned low 20's mpg overall, the SRT8 returns 14 or 15 overall. With the cost of diesel in the UK the price difference is not too much of a disadvantage for the petrol ultimately. Steel Blue is very rare in the UK, normally they are silver or black.

I took mine for a test drive before I bought it. But then again the salesman new it would seal the deal, and it was used also.

You will be happy the first time you launch from a dig ;)

awesome... no reason to test drive... pretty impossible not to like... and yes she certainly has ballz...

as for the blue to me id take a purple one.. either way this rig is legit... ok.. maybe not purple..

black is awesome when clean but takes alot of time to keep it that way... if you dont have a garage i wouldnt suggest any black vehicle if you are a ocd clean fanatic.. take it from me... black with NO garage... brutal.. cant wait for the winter when i get frost bite cleaning her b/c i refuse to bring it to a car wash

best of luck!! going to be classic when you pick her up since you never drove one before... that makes it that much better

I like the Steel Blue best actually. Woulda ordered mine in that color if it were still available at the time . . . unfortunately they replaced Steel Blue with Modern Blue mid-year 2008.

Trust me you'll have no regrets!

Thank you all for making me feel good about my decision - hoped I might find some support on these boards ;-)

Took delivery today. How happy am I !!!

Words Fail Me ! (more like the ones that come to mind are too rude to post).

This piece of engineering is absolutely incredible. I didn't think I could love anything more than my wife but this is stretching my loyalty - HA, if only it was even close :-)

I will be sleeping in it tonight.

Apologies in advance for the lack of posts - I will be somewhat pre-occupied polishing, reading manuals, starting it and just sitting. I might even drive it :-)

Cheers, Finchie

Thank you all for making me feel good about my decision - hoped I might find some support on these boards ;-)

Took delivery today. How happy am I !!!

Words Fail Me ! (more like the ones that come to mind are too rude to post).

This piece of engineering is absolutely incredible. I didn't think I could love anything more than my wife but this is stretching my loyalty - HA, if only it was even close :-)

I will be sleeping in it tonight.

Apologies in advance for the lack of posts - I will be somewhat pre-occupied polishing, reading manuals, starting it and just sitting. I might even drive it :-)

Cheers, Finchie


Good now post pictures of it.

That is awesome bro!!! I remembered picking mine up as well. Bought mine from Don and had it shipped to my dealership here in CA without driving one. I relied on faith and what I read on this site. I will never forget driving her home for the first time and calling my wife and telling her I was having an affair. Needless to say I was in love!!! Enjoy it!:D

Now your going to drive ti and see just how good the gas mileage can be. 14-15mpg's? maybe on the highway with the cruise set. I get between 9-12mpg and havent reset my fuel economy guage in almost a year. Worth every penny.

Hi Folks,

First post from a newbie in the UK.

I've just gone and put down a deposit on an SRT-8. I've not even road tested it due to a knee operation I had on Monday. In fact, I've never driven one. Worse still - I have not even seen the one I am buying (it is from a Jeep Approved Dealer, so feel good about that). I just love the sound of the engine. And the spec. And the history (HEMI). Being the end of the month there is a fabulous deal that I would be nuts not to take.

I had a sleepless night last night as I am parting with a good chunk of change and the most I have ever spent on a vehicle!! It is a steel blue metallic colour - wanted a black one - but compromised to get this deal. Are blue ones harder to shift ? I can't fit a tow bar - why on earth am I worried about that ! Not sure if I can fit a roof-rack for the kids bikes - again - why would you put a roof rack on a performance machine !!!

Background: I am trading in my Grand Cherokee 4.7 V8 that I have had for 6 years with 120k reliable miles. So that's a good start - I like Jeep Grand Cherokees. I also bought that one at night, without a road test and had never driven one (can you see a theme ?!).
Previously I had a Grand Cherokee 4 litre for 3 years - liked that one too.
I also have a Harley - so like going in a straight line fast (forget about conering) !

Have I made a good decision ?! Is it really that fast :-) ? Please make me feel good about my crazy gut-feel decision based on no test drive !

Is this just my mid-life crisis ?!

Cheers, Finchie


Ello love! .

Yes, you did the right thing. You could have bought some Brit junk (Range Rover) but instead you bought American Muscle.... J/K! But really, you did the right thing.

Blimey - what an active forum. A side benefit of owneship of what I am sure will be FANTASTIC vehicle. Thanks for the feedback. It takes weeks to get a response from the Landrover Lightweight forum !

Mike - thanks for the "translation" of "shift". I should have spotted that as I am a Brit working for a a North American company.

As for the "gas" prices - my previous vehicle was a GC V8 - so probably won't be that different - and so you folks in the US know how lucky you are - I broke the 100 Pounds filling up my 75 litre tank this summer. That was about 200 bucks (before sterling tanked)!!!

First priority is to work out whether I need a Tom Tom - to get that latest speed camera locations - or whether that is a feature of the installed SatNav.

Cheers, Finchie

yo finchie... hows the ride? you feel better now? :)

The only thing I have to warn you about is, the first time you mash the accelerator down, make sure it's pointed in the direction you really want to go and nothing's in front of you. It will take your breath away the first time. Then, you will get bitten by the "mod bug" in an eternal quest to get that feeling again!!!

Enjoy!