Looking at a Jeep Wrangler

[mcvickj]

Morning. I've been looking for a Jeep off an on for a while. Just more of a fun toy / weekend vehicle / occasional daily driver. Maybe some mild off roading like trail riding, ect. My uncle told me about a buddy who has a 1998 Jeep Wrangler for sale.

It has the original 4.0 engine with 211k miles with a 5 speed manual. The engine sounds strong. No ticks / knocks. Shifted through the gears fine. Floor pans look solid. Only real rust issue is the drivers side fender up in the front. There is some minor rust at normal places like hinges and what not. New break lines, drums and shoes. Tires are pretty decent. It could use a front end alignment. New radiator. It has a hard top and they just put new glass on it but it looks like there was something missing along the bottom edge. Is there supposed to be some type of rubber gasket on the bottom?

I'm curious to hear ATG's thoughts on the engine / transmission. Considering the higher miles. How solid are these engines? My budget is $5000-ish and he is asking $4000 but if I move on it I'm thinking of starting closer to $3000-$3200. Is there anything else I should ask / check out on the vehicle? Any other gotchas I should know about?

Completely forgot to grab some pictures when I looked at it.

 

[RLGL]

Waaaay too much money,

 

[mcvickj]

Waaaay too much money,

Are you referring to his asking $4000 or me even considering offering $3000.

 

[RLGL]

Both

 

[NutBucket]

Don't forget it's a Jeep so it's worth it's weight in gold.....

 

[freeskier93]

The 4.0 is pretty bullet proof, but 211k miles is still a lot. The other thing to look at is the rear axle. At that price it's probably a D35, but you never know. The D44 was an option back then and would be more desirable, depending on what you want to do with it.

Wranglers hold their value. $4k is isn't absurd, even for a lot of miles. Rust is about the only negotiating point and I wouldn't buy one before going over the frame with a fine tooth comb.

Wranglers are premium in the junk yards around here (Colorado), a TJ with a rusted out bottom recently went for $2500.

 

[RLGL]

Don't forget it's a Jeep so it's worth it's weight in gold.

Realistically they are a way overrated cult thing

 

[NutBucket]

Don't disagree but as far as automotive purchases it's a smart move since they hold value so well.

 

[TridenT]

Too bad it's not a YJ. It'd probably be worth even more. The one I drove was worth about $8000. I put more miles on it than it had experienced in years.

 

[CrackRabbit]

The bushings and rubber components in the steering gear (loose steering) and oil leaks from the rear main seal (oil dripping from the clutch/torque converter area).
Those were the two biggest problems I had with the Cherokee I had for a while.
The main seal leak was was finally prompted me to sell it.
I didn't have a place to work on it and taking it to a shop would have been prohibitively expensive.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

$4k wouldn't be weird if it were in good condition, but if it needs work, no.

Take it to a mechanic, get a list of parts you'll need to replace, and subtract parts cost from the purchase price. You'll probably end up w/ a $2500 most-of-a-Jeep and something to do the next few weekends. If the seller isn't willing to accommodate, move on.

...

Huh?

...

Well, of course I'd expect you to wrench your own Jeep. It's a Jeep.

...

Most people do it for fun, actually.

...

Then maybe you should get a Honda Accord.

 

[lxskllr]

Dunno what your local market's like, but I'd consider a jeep at ~$4k. The 4.0 is one of the best motors ever. Of course at 200k anything could happen. Might die next week, or it might go for another 200k.

I have a cherokee in my driveway. I estimate it would take ~$3k(all work done by someone else) to really get it road worthy. I've pretty much decided I'm not gonna do it. It has 220k on it, and it required almost no repairs since I bought with 65k on the odo. Asking for more than that would surely anger the gods, and I'll have a catastrophic failure after sinking that $3k into it. If I were interested in doing the work myself(it's not 100% off the table), I'd probably do it.

 

[zerocool84]

Realistically they are a way overrated cult thing

You could say that about a lot of things but they are proven to hold their value extremely well. He could even make money in the deal if he fixed it up a little then flipped it.

 

[agent00f]

Morning. I've been looking for a Jeep off an on for a while. Just more of a fun toy / weekend vehicle / occasional daily driver. Maybe some mild off roading like trail riding, ect. My uncle told me about a buddy who has a 1998 Jeep Wrangler for sale.

It has the original 4.0 engine with 211k miles with a 5 speed manual. The engine sounds strong. No ticks / knocks. Shifted through the gears fine. Floor pans look solid. Only real rust issue is the drivers side fender up in the front. There is some minor rust at normal places like hinges and what not. New break lines, drums and shoes. Tires are pretty decent. It could use a front end alignment. New radiator. It has a hard top and they just put new glass on it but it looks like there was something missing along the bottom edge. Is there supposed to be some type of rubber gasket on the bottom?

I'm curious to hear ATG's thoughts on the engine / transmission. Considering the higher miles. How solid are these engines? My budget is $5000-ish and he is asking $4000 but if I move on it I'm thinking of starting closer to $3000-$3200. Is there anything else I should ask / check out on the vehicle? Any other gotchas I should know about?

Completely forgot to grab some pictures when I looked at it.

Wranglers are more of a fashion statement and shitty excuses for cars. Also completely unnecessary for mild off roading, where almost anything will do, eg any Subaru.

 

[Rifter]

for mild offroading you dont need a jeep, pretty much anything can handle a logging road. Jeeps are more for moderate to heavy offroading, such as stream crossings, driving down creekbeads, rock crawling, mudding, that sort of stuff.