The Best Cheap Jeep Upgrades to Get in 2023

Looking for cheap jeep upgrades? So there is no more war. You’ve fought through negotiations, won, and now the prize of your battle is sitting in your driveway and looks exactly how you wanted it to. It’s definitely exciting, but if you’re a first-time owner and your prize is either a new or used 2-door Sport Wrangler or a 4-door Rubicon, that excitement may soon turn into confusion.

What’s next?

Do you go straight to the Internet and read forum post after forum post about how your first modifications should be a hardcore 4″ suspension lift, massive steel wheels, 35″ off-road tires, and a 9,500lb winch? Parts that will get you on the trail as soon as possible, whether you are ready or not? Or do you refuse to make any changes and are happy with the Jeep as it is, doing as much daily driving as you can handle but not much else? Then again, why not find a middle ground and choose something in between these two choices?

Confusing, for sure.

And as a first-time owner, it must have been frustrating and scary.

Well, in reality, you should know that your Jeep road doesn’t have to be set, and that third option usually works well for almost every first-time Jeep owner. But if you know how, want to, and have the money to get your hands dirty right away and build the next great trail-crushing Wrangler, then by all means, do it. Have a good time! But if you don’t, if you don’t know what to do in this bigger new Jeep world, you should definitely be careful as you get to know your new car.

Kyle Buchter, President of Off-Road Consulting, says, “It’s easy to fall into the trap of some off-road shops that say they need to put $20,000 into your vehicle before taking it out.”

Buchter says that anyone who wants to buy a Jeep for the first time should take a basic off-road training class to learn what the car can do and then decide what they want to do with it.

He asks, “Do you want to go off-roading once a month or once a year?” “Are you going to drive this every day or just play with it? That will tell you what changes and upgrades you need to make. Always make a vehicle that fits the way you live.”

So, here is our list of the top ten most affordable and “essential” changes that, in our experience, first-time Jeep owners can make easily and safely to answer the “now what?” question. There are a lot of great mods out there, just like there are lots of different opinions. We’ve already said that your Jeep road doesn’t have to be set. But over the past 25 years or so, this list has been a great way to get started with the Jeep Life.

Also, keep in mind that if you bought a used car that was “new to you,” it may already have one or more of these changes. If so, you should definitely make sure that the part(s) works well or is something you like and want. If not, take it out and put something else there that you like better.

Now, let’s get to our best listed options for cheap jeep mods.

Cheap Jeep Upgrades

ENTRY GUARDS- BUY HERE

Doesn’t it seem a little silly? One of the most used parts of your Jeep has no way to keep the paint from getting scuffed or scratched. Your gas tank and transfer case are protected by skid plates, right? But what about the door frame? Nothing.

Well, you don’t need a skid plate for the lower part of your door. All you need are some simple and cheap door entry guards. Most brands of entry guards use 3M adhesive to stick to the door frame, and thermoplastic, aluminum, or stainless steel is used to protect the frame. Whether you just want to drive around town or go off-road, you should put Jeep entry guards on your list of things to do because they are easy and cheap to install.

FLOOR LINERS- BUY HERE

Most people think of the inside of their Jeep as a second home, as you are probably learning. And in this busy world, a set of floor liners is a great way to keep that second home clean and “mess-free.” Floor liners are made to fit over the factory carpet or an aftermarket carpet. They are like a glove that protects the inside of your Jeep from water, mud, snow, gum, grease, and just about anything else you might bring in.

Now, there are a few different kinds of liners, like:

Carpeted mats that are resistant to stains and help protect your Jeep’s interior from the everyday wear and tear it will see.

Rubberized slush mats with grooves that help trap water from mud or snow.

All-weather heavy-duty liners with a lipped outer edge and either a molded thermoplastic or stain-resistant carpeted base to form a protective barrier that is easy to clean.

Trail-tough molded polyethylene liners have a deep “tire tread” pattern and a raised edge to protect from everything from mud to grease while still being easy to clean.

Most liners also come in styles for the front, the back, and the cargo area, so you can get all the protection you need for your Jeep.

LED LIGHTS- BUY HERE

“Don’t know what you got until it’s gone” was a song from the 1980s by the hair band Cinderella. It was about how you don’t know what you have until it’s gone. It means that if you’ve never owned a Jeep before, you probably won’t realize how weak and dim the factory lights are until you try out some aftermarket LED lighting.

LEDs, which stand for “Light Emitting Diodes,” are one of the most popular upgrades right now. This is because their light output on both low beam and high beam is almost double that of factory headlights. Even though this light is bright, it uses less than half the amps that factory lights do.

Less amp draw for more power. And thanks to a lot of changes in technology over the past few years, they are also more affordable. So it’s not surprising that LED lights have jumped ahead of other great choices like HID and Xenon.

Now, when it comes to LED upgrades, there are basically two types of headlight housings: reflector and projector. Both are good choices. The difference between the two is how the light is sent down the road and how it looks on the road surface.

Reflector-style LED headlights have a clear lens and a fluted reflector at the back of the housing, which makes them look like the factory lights. The LEDs are in the middle of the housing, and the reflector sends light back to them. Most of the time, these lights have a low beam on the top and a high beam on the bottom.

LED headlights with a projector style look very different. By putting the LED behind a lens and cut-off shield, the light is more focused and has a much sharper cut-off pattern than LEDs with reflectors. This makes the light on the road look more even. Headlights with a projector style also have separate LED and projector lenses for high beams and low beams. Some projector-style headlights even have extra lenses for side lighting to really light up the road ahead.

Of course, projector-style LEDs usually cost a little more than reflector-style LEDs because they have more lenses. But both are better than the lights that came with your Jeep, so it really comes down to how you like your Jeep to look and how much money you are willing to spend.

COVERINGS- BUY HERE

The new seats in Jeeps are great. Maybe not so much with used seats. But they all have one thing in common: they need to be safe. Your Jeep isn’t like other cars, as you can see. You know you’ll take the top off on a nice day, so there won’t always be a roof over your head to protect those seats. That’s what a Jeep is made for. And when you do, you’ll be letting the sun, wind, and (possibly) rain hit those seats. All the things that don’t go well with seat fabric.

So, getting protective seat covers made of materials like neoprene, polyester, or nylon can go a long way toward making your Jeep’s seats last longer and also give you a chance to change the way the car looks. Many covers come in more than one color, so you can match them to the color of your Jeep, the theme of the interior, or whatever else you have going on with the car. Some of them even have pouches built into the cover or the option to add MOLLE bags, which add more storage space. And that can be important as you learn that a Jeep doesn’t have a lot of storage space.