Help with a Jeep

I have a friend who is looking at getting a Jeep for weekends and light off roading. He went and looked at this one and said it was nice but overpriced:

2002 Jeep Wrangler X Convertible

What should I tell him to look/look out for?

Thanks

In reply to Rusted_Busted_Spit:

It's overpriced, I paid 4k more for a brand new 2010 model with no miles, auto, 4x4 (auto is more expensive option, for the wife, just saying)...

Looks clean, but that's above the asking price for ours (2005 x with 36k & hardtop).

Rust, HVAC system is fragile - if it doesn't switch from defrost, either vacuum leak or vent door is broken. Drivetrain is pretty tough unless he's serious about offroad then he may want to upgrade from the dana 30/35s to dana 44s. Steering is pretty much made of play doh. You can upgrade tie rods to grand cherokee (93-97) pieces as a bolt-in. The lift that's on that one get's a fair bit of crap in the jeep community as a "mall crawler" as a short-arm lift instead of a long-arm lift. Still more capable than 99.9% of stuff out there.

The lift that's on that one get's a fair bit of crap in the jeep community as a "mall crawler"

And this is what i would hear if i were listening...

Newer local one for $3,500 less with fewer miles:

http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/2376461142.html

I think the dealer's on crack with that price. I bet your friend could get one for around $10k no problem. Maybe less.

forgot to mention I have a 4" short arm lift.

You can find TJs as cheap as $5k - someone here found one for about 2k with a trashed cooling system. I think it sold again for north of 7k once it was on the road.

I bought a 98 once for $3500 with some rust and high miles. It seems that most of them don't go lower than $5k though regardless of condition.

Thanks for the replies, I will pass on the info.

Kelly BB says , $ 12600. retail.

Wranglers are all overpriced, get used to it. Buying them new may be the best "value" but they are so expensive it is tough to swallow.

They sure are fun though.

miatame wrote: Wranglers are all overpriced, get used to it. Buying them new may be the best "value" but they are so expensive it is tough to swallow.

No joke, when I saw Rusted's initial post and ad, I about choked. I couldn't believe that a Wrangler that age would even be $9k much less $15k. But apparently they hold their value - people must like Conestoga wagons. ;-) Personally I would rather have a Tracker and an E36 M3.

Used Jeeps have always brought a premium price. Since '46.

If this were a Rubicon model with the beefier Dana axels, fully locking front and rear diffs, then, maybe yes. But, with that mileage, and just a convertible in Ohio, it's overpriced. Yes, it's clean, and they do hold their value, but look elsewhere. Also, has he ever ridden in one for more than a couple of minutes, it's not a Honda. Buy private. couple of areas: look. very carefully at the rear spring shackles for signs of rust; brake lines up around the rear axle, front cross member and the frame rails Bring a flashlight. Also watch out for one where those areas were recently "rust proofed or undercoated."

. There are ones as clean, and new available out there, cheaper. Also, if he's never driven a manual, or wants to drive this offroad a lot, consider an automatic. It'll save him from frying the clutch, often. And, autos are good for rock crawling--you're not slipping the cluch, holiding it in place so many do.

Icerace is right, Wranglers have always held a bit of a premium price, even the 4 cylinder strippo models. Keep looking.

And finally, get a quote from his insurance broker; he may be in for a very unexpected increase. Anything 4wd costs more to insure, and that model is not very insurance company friendly. Much will depend on his driving record, age, and credit rating.

XJ be good for weekends and light off-roading. Capable, much cheaper, plenty of aftermarket... unless he wants a real purty Jeep.

fasted58 wrote: XJ be good for weekends and light off-roading. Capable, much cheaper, plenty of aftermarket... unless he wants a real purty Jeep.

That's what I did. Got tired at looking at overpriced, used up Wranglers and bought a XJ. Not quite the same but still pretty capable and a lot cheaper.

i really want a CJ/wrangler variant, preferably an Unlimited or CJ8 scrambler, because i really do like the extra wheelbase of the XJ offroading, plus the wranglers frame hangs SO low from the factory, just to get a wrangler to XJ frame clearance requires either a small lift to fit bigger tires or a belly-up crossmember, and lift kits get really expensive fast, plus short driveshafts with short wheelbases mean expensive-ish high-angle driveshafts with just medium size lifts.

of course a wrangler is an awesome combo of 4x4, convertible, and very capable offroader with huge potential. but honestly i think my next offroad toy will be an XJ with the sawzall and tubing+welder mod.

Jeep is overpriced even for a Jeep. Think of Wranglers getting the equivalent of a JDM drift tax. Wranglers are always sought after, and this is the season they command a premium.

Keep looking and look private party. There are diamonds in the rough if you look hard enough. I bought a high mile 98 with a trashed cooling system for 3K last year and put 300 into parts to get it running right.

There is an 02 near us for 7200 bucks. Seems a good deal. Looks clean from the road. Don't know engine or miles or trans though.

Joey

Any SFA Jeep needs to be test driven before he buys it. Unless he's a fan of driving a tractor everywhere, he's not going to like it. I can daily drive a lawn tractor if it were fast enough.

I sent him a link to this thread, hopefully he registers and chimes in. He has driven a few of them and like I said this is going to be a weekend/bad snow day ride.

His DD is an 05 CTS-V so I don't think he is too worried about insurance but we will see what happens.

Like others have said, that one is overpriced. I'd personally look for a 4.0L and stay away from the V-6 in later years.

DrBoost wrote: Like others have said, that one is overpriced. I'd personally look for a 4.0L and stay away from the V-6 in later years.

This only came with the new body style (JK not TJ). There is nothing I know of inheriently bad with the new 3.8L V6, I just don't like the engine...unless you are talking about "later" as in older. Before the 4.0L in the YJ they had the 4.2L, it was still an L6 though. I'm not sure what you're talking about with the V6. XJ got a crappy V6 at first, but as far as I know that never got into a "Wrangler".