As the saying goes you never buy a car as an investment. With that said, there is a fairly high demand for used Jeep Patriots in my neck of the woods so I'm certain that the patriot's resale value wouldnt be terrible. It will not hold its value like a wrangler would though.

As for reliability I would consider it good for the price. The Patriot is a platform thats been around for a long time so many of the kinks have been worked out. With that said, Jeep Patriots have some history of having some issues. My 2012 Patriot had to get all of it struts and 2 control arms replaced even though I do not drive it rough or off-road. Other users report issues with Ball Joints that fail prematurely, loose emergency brake cable etc. Seems like there are a few cheap parts on the patriot. However there are many on the forum that have put as much as 200 000 Kms on their patriots and have no issues outside of ordinary maintenance. The only true design flaw that I can think of is that the gas tank is a little small so the vehicle's range is shorter than you'd expect if you do distance driving.

Overall, the jeep patriot is the best looking small SUV with a rugged look and a modest offroad capability. I dont think you would regret buying it but beware it is not on the same level of Toyota corolla when it comes to reliability.

 

As you can see, the Patriot is quite popular--mainly (in my humble opinion...) due to its "squarish" looks, sort of like the older Cherokees--and you still see a lot of them around, mostly refurbished to near new condition.

As someone with over 120Kmi, my Patriot has never seen the inside of a Jeep garage, except for the low-cost oil changes, and the 100K service on the CVT. Still on original brakes, altho had the struts done at 80K.

I've always taken care of my rides, tried to get them into the garage at night, etc.

So, I'm looking to upgrade after the first of the year, and my first choice will be a '16 Patriot!

 

They will actually go up in value after they hit bottom, and production stops.

 

Like any vehicle you can find good ones and bad ones. Most people consider the older Cherokees bulletproof, but my '93 was a bucket of bolts. I owned a couple Volare's and rather liked them, but many will spit on the ground when they are mentioned.

I love my 2008 Patriot. Ignatz just crossed 190,000 miles and he's still going strong. Truth be told, the CVT transmission was replaced under warranty, so it didn't cost me a dime. No significant repairs until just last month when the engine wiring harness was replaced. That said, please realize I had years of nothing but oil changes. Even the original brakes made it past 100,000 miles.

Typical problems are front end problems and leaking sunroofs, but I've had neither problem. And by all accounts the CVT is a very reliable transmission (used by Nissan and Subaru as well), but FCA has pretty well phased out its use and replaced it with a conventional automatic.

Putting my money where my mouth is, we just bought a 2014 Patriot and so far no problems. Both our Patriots are FWD and average +/- 30mpg.

If you're going to tow, I'd get the 2.4.

 

Trading in is usually a bad deal, as you can get much more for the vehicle if you clean it up and sell it privately. Keep your maintenance receipts. Sometimes dealerships will play games and pretend like they're giving you a somewhat fair amount for your trade-in by raising the price of the car you're buying.

We've had our Patriot a year and have had zero problems. Consumer Reports rates it as average in reliability. I wouldn't worry about the reliability. Just maintain it and don't beat it to death.

Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge/Fiats are the only vehicles where you can buy a factory lifetime service contract (covers 5,000 plus parts) for about $2,300. I plan on keeping our Patriot at least 7 years and get our money's worth.

 

Not to repeat myself, but I seriously see these iconic square boxes becoming an American classic. Like an old Bronco, or (in a Japanese example) Land Cruiser.

Because of EPA demands, and the need to "blend in" I simply don't see this boxy style ever going back into production from anyone.

 

Or the Land Rover Defenders from 1948 (based on Jeep) until today are all nice and boxy.

The newer jellybean SUV's are hideous. My mom parked her 2014 Patriot next to my aunt's 2014 Kia Sportage. No comparison. The Jeep is a lot nicer looking. They do share the same 6 speed AT though.

 

Renegade is a box. Ugly but boxey. FCA can do right by building a true compact suv. The Grand Cherokee is one. Build a compact based on that design.

 

Had ours for a year now, only thing I put into it has been 2 oil changes

 

Kia Sportage needs a refresh that vehicle is hideous. My brother in law is dual citizenship British American and he re built a Land Rover looks cool.

 

On depreciation, I purchased my 2010 Latitude brand new off the lot in late 2010. It's almost exactly 5 years later, and it's worth about 45-50% of it's value, depending on trade or private party sale. Where I'm at demand is high and I don't see too many used ones currently available, so I can probably sell it for 50% value.

On reliability, even though I am complaining about it in another thread and will be getting rid of it soon, bang for the buck, it's worth the money. I do not think it's a vehicle to keep for the long term. Some have had there's for a while, but some isn't everybody. Just make sure you get EVERYTHING checked and done within the first 3 years. After that, warranty only covers powertrain.

With that said, you can't purchase new Patriots for as low as a lot of people got theirs for in the past. You're in the price range of other entry level vehicles now, and many of those come with new features the Patriot does not (backup camera, push button start, remote-less entry, etc). If you desire a "SUV" then it's probably the only one you'll find in this price range, but it doesn't really have that much more space than a mid-sized sedan. Only difference is you can probably stack stuff up in the Patriot vs a car.

P.S. I didn't know production would stop. I think when production ends values actually decline. At least it seems that way with other vehicles. That may accelerate me getting rid of this even faster.

 

. . .With that said, you can't purchase new Patriots for as low as a lot of people got theirs for in the past. You're in the price range of other entry level vehicles now, and many of those come with new features the Patriot does not (backup camera, push button start, remote-less entry, etc). If you desire a "SUV" then it's probably the only one you'll find in this price range, but it doesn't really have that much more space than a mid-sized sedan. Only difference is you can probably stack stuff up in the Patriot vs a car.

P.S. I didn't know production would stop. I think when production ends values actually decline. At least it seems that way with other vehicles. That may accelerate me getting rid of this even faster.

True, the deals of long ago have disappeared. I bought mine Chrysler was struggling to stay in business and they were giving them away just to generate a cash flow. Also, when the first snowflake appears in NH people don't feel secure unless they're in 4wd. By January of 2009 my dealer was left with a hard-to-sell vehicle for several reasons. I was lucky to find a leftover at that late date, and the dealer and I were both glad to make the transaction. We are both still happy we did.

As for the increase or decrease in value of a vehicle when production stops, I think both happen. Back in 1991 we bought a Buick Grand Sport. For only a few dollars more we could have bought a Reatta. They had 2 Reattas with MSRP north of $30,000 that they offered at $20,000 and I'm sure if we'd dickered they would have come off that. We just didn't want/need a 2 seater vehicle. Wish I'd bought one then.

 

I appreciate your candor on this subject. I do like the style of the patriot. But after hearing everyone's replies I'm thinking perhaps a Nissan rogue AWD or similar.

 

If you're going to go the Japanese route, I'd suggest a Honda CRV or a Toyota Rav4 or a Subaru Forester or Crosstrek over any Nissan. Nissan and Mitsubishis are inferior to Hondas, Toyotas, and Subes.

A good friend of mine has an almost new Honda CRV. I've driven it a lot and like it, but I like my Patriot better. The Patriot has more usable space (being nice and boxy). I'd say fit and finish might be 20% better on the Honda, but it should be, as it cost $8,000 more than my Jeep. Not that I am unhappy with the Jeep fit and finish. It's just a simpler vehicle with less flash than the CRV.

Also, maybe test drive the Ford Escape and the Chevy Equinox. I'd drive all of them to compare.

 

Also, Nissan likes CVT trannies. The CVT doesn't like stress or towing. The mks are much better with 6 speed at.

 

I appreciate your suggestion and letting me know about the Nissan being inferior. This kind of input helps to keep me from making a poor choice as I almost did yesterday.

 

I know a guy that got a used CR-V, AWD I think, and likes it. I rode in the backseat once while we helped another guy carshop. Comfy little thing, but given the choice I'd keep my Patriot(CVT has been pretty bulletproof for me so far) or look for my mom's old '97 Chevy half-ton that was bought new and sold in 2012.

 

I have a 2009 Sport I've owned for just over two years:

Reliability - Consumer Reports, as noted above, considers the Patriot to be average in reliability. However, if you dig into their breakdown, you will see this is because older models had rapid suspension wear issues and because of "fit and finish" negatives. In most other categories, including the drive train, CR rates the Patriot as above average, which puts it in the same realm as other compact SUVs they actually like.

Residual Value - my Patriot was originally MSRP'd at $23k (I have the window sticker). So that's basically what it sold for in 2009. The Honda dealer I bought it from used two years ago originally asked $16k for it but after months on the lot wanted $13k. I got it for $12k, but the KBB value was $14k. Now, two years and about twenty thousand miles later, KBB says the trade in value would be $7k and the private sale value would be $9k. That's less then I'd expect for a six year old 4wd with 77k miles on it to be worth and so I think there is unfortunately a negative reputation attached to the Patriot.


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Residual value may not even be a concern for a lot of people. We plan on keeping our '14 Patriot another 9 years so 10 years total. It has the lifetime Chrysler warranty ($2,300), so I am sure it's going to at least give us another 9 years and if something does break it's covered.

After 10 years, most cars are not worth much anyway. You get your value out of a car by taking care of it and keeping it as long as possible instead of continually changing cars and eating the depreciation.

 

I'm with you. When I was a outside sales rep I had an expense account and got a new car every 100,00 - 150,000 miles. After leaving that job I started keeping my vehicles longer. I put 250,000 miles on my Pontiac. My Patriot hit 192,000 on Monday and I just paid for my first major repair (engine harness) last month. I'm planning on another year anyway. I figure its worth a few repairs. I've only put peanuts into so far.

I suppose the book value is worthless on a vehicle with that kind of miles, but as long as it keeps going without major outlays of cash, I'm good with it.