Jeep buying help

[chrispal19]

Hi,
I'm looking to buy a TJ, and I know the 4.0 engines are good. But what else should I look for? How do I know if I am being ripped off with the price? I'm 17, and I have saved up a lot of money to buy a Jeep. I have no mechanical knowledge, but I am pretty handy, so I think I can learn with some YouTube !

Thanks guys

 

[B1Toad]

IMHO the three most important things to look for on a TJ are 1. frame rust 2. frame rust and 3. frame rust. Most people don't know where to look (I didn't, but I got lucky). You have to crawl underneath and look inside the frame with a borescope, unless the outside of the frame is bad enough that you don't have to go any further. Beware of the ones with fresh paint on the frame, it's usually an attempt to hide rust.

Where you live there will probably be a lot of rusty ones.

 

[Duck Doctor]

Agree that rust should be your primary concern given your residence in PA. You need to spend time crawling around under each jeep and inspecting the entire frame and body for rot. Be particularly wary of freshly painted frames. Posted plenty of high quality pics to this forum so we can provide feedback.

You should consider searching in NC or SC instead of the northeast. Even better, take a trip to AZ.

 

[ColoJeep]

Hi,
I'm looking to buy a TJ, and I know the 4.0 engines are good. But what else should I look for? How do I know if I am being ripped off with the price? I'm 17, and I have saved up a lot of money to buy a Jeep. I have no mechanical knowledge, but I am pretty handy, so I think I can learn with some YouTube !

Thanks guys

You should take a very knowledgeable Jeep mechanic with you if possible .

 

[chrispal19]

IMHO the three most important things to look for on a TJ are 1. frame rust 2. frame rust and 3. frame rust. Most people don't know where to look (I didn't, but I got lucky). You have to crawl underneath and look inside the frame with a borescope, unless the outside of the frame is bad enough that you don't have to go any further. Beware of the ones with fresh paint on the frame, it's usually an attempt to hide rust.

Where you live there will probably be a lot of rusty ones.

Jeez. Would the rust even spread if it was painted recently?

Thank you

 

[chrispal19]

Agree that rust should be your primary concern given your residence in PA. You need to spend time crawling around under each jeep and inspecting the entire frame and body for rot. Be particularly wary of freshly painted frames. Posted plenty of high quality pics to this forum so we can provide feedback.

You should consider searching in NC or SC instead of the northeast. Even better, take a trip to AZ.

Thank you. Yeah I went to Arizona and went off roading there. It was pretty fun.

 

[B1Toad]

Jeez. Would the rust even spread if it was painted recently?

Thank you

Painted over rust might slow it down but it will never stop it. The frame actually rusts from the inside on a TJ. There's a couple holes by the rear of the frame to slip in a borescope or at the least your pinkie.

When looking, wear old clothes or bring a piece of carpet and a bright light, and a borescope attachment for your phone (Amazon). Don't be all dazzled by the body and interior before you check for rust first.

 

[Zorba]

The rust check is VERY important - however, the very first thing I do when looking at a used vehicle is pull the radiator cap. If I don't see clean coolant WITHOUT crusty mineral buildup, I don't look any further and I walk away. If they didn't maintain the cooling system, they probably didn't maintain anything else either.

 

[Weasellee]

Listen to experience. Go south young man and buy rust free. High mileage is fine. Engines and transmissions are rebuildable but rust repair is never ending.

 

[KennethS]

Even better, take a trip to AZ.

Fawk! We constantly lose local vehicles to Rust Belt buyers, which means little or no parts / vehicles for the folks who actually live here.

 

[GregBelleville]

Listen to experience. Go south young man and buy rust free. High mileage is fine. Engines and transmissions are rebuildable but rust repair is never ending.

Agreed on all points, I bought mine with 190k on it. A well maintained high mileage TJ is a better choice sometimes than a lower mileage TJ that hasn't been taken care of.

 

[Rickyd]

Fawk! We constantly lose local vehicles to Rust Belt buyers, which means little or no parts / vehicles for the folks who actually live here.

Yep,I know a guy who makes a living buying up old cars and shipping them east. Sometimes when I see him I want to knife his sidewalls

 

[KennethS]

Yeah, I was surprised / outraged when I discovered Desert Dog Auto Parts was a Chicago outfit that bought classic car parts from Arizona and sold them in the MidWest. Sumbitches were taking parts from my local bone yard and leaving me with nothing. Modern day carpetbaggers.

 

[lBasket]

Yeah, I was surprised / outraged when I discovered Desert Dog Auto Parts was a Chicago outfit that bought classic car parts from Arizona and sold them in the MidWest. Sumbitches were taking parts from my local bone yard and leaving me with nothing. Modern day carpetbaggers.

Just for them to rot out!

 

[Oberst Oswald]

Think something like this has been said before... rust free is your 1st priority.

 

[ChasUGC]

Get under the Jeep, and take pictures and post them here. One bad sign is clumpy and bumpy paint to cover the rust. That's the worst attempt at deception. The other obvious problem is rust and flaking badly. Look under the carpet too. If there are holes and a lot of rust, that is a bad sign. Walk away. If it is smooth and black underneath, you are probably good. Check below the doors along the body on the outside for rust too. Especially the corners right next to the front wheels. If it is heavily rusted or pitted, the frame is probably much worse. If it has Rocker guards, that is normally a sign of someone hiding bad rust, unless it is a Rubicon.

 

[TheBoogieman]

Hi,
I'm looking to buy a TJ, and I know the 4.0 engines are good. But what else should I look for? How do I know if I am being ripped off with the price? I'm 17, and I have saved up a lot of money to buy a Jeep. I have no mechanical knowledge, but I am pretty handy, so I think I can learn with some YouTube !

Thanks guys

Drive a little south for one without rust. I bought my one owner Texas Rubicon from a retired military guy who moved to Washington D.C. ((90 miles from me) The Jeep spent a couple years there (road salt). It was perfect and I treated inside the frame a couple years later and found a "dime bag" of rust. All is well nearly 8 years later. Rust is like Cancer, catch it early and the survival rates are much better. I've survived both.

 

[AndyG]

If I were shopping for my son, we would :

- avoid rust

- avoid one that has been repainted

- avoid one that is heavily modified

- avoid terribly high mileage

For sure post pics or links on here-wealth of knowledge-

Good on you for earning , and saving to buy. It is not illegal to do that contrary to popular opinion.

 

[chrispal19]

Painted over rust might slow it down but it will never stop it. The frame actually rusts from the inside on a TJ. There's a couple holes by the rear of the frame to slip in a borescope or at the least your pinkie.

When looking, wear old clothes or bring a piece of carpet and a bright light, and a borescope attachment for your phone (Amazon). Don't be all dazzled by the body and interior before you check for rust first.

Wow I didn’t even know that. Thank you

 

[chrispal19]

The rust check is VERY important - however, the very first thing I do when looking at a used vehicle is pull the radiator cap. If I don't see clean coolant WITHOUT crusty mineral buildup, I don't look any further and I walk away. If they didn't maintain the cooling system, they probably didn't maintain anything else either.

Thank you.