Gem or Junk? I need a new Jeep fast

Gem or Junk?

  • Gem

  • Junk


I say pass. Buy one from the west soast sight unseen and road trip home over that Jeep. Just my 2 cents though. Thats alot of rust to me. And Rough Country.
 
Nah.

Look for an OEM Rubi - for that is a wishi-washi mod with few rusted spots.
That’s either a scam or someone is using the pics as a scam, I’ve seen that Jeep for sale all over the place.
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Great catch! I think this is the legit dealer. He's sending me photos upon my request. I'm supposed to do a video call later today. That would take some Lucasfilm CGI magic to pull off.
 
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Have them pull the front carpet back and take pics of the floor on both sides.

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Coming from what I see in Massachusetts, that doesn't look too bad. The rust it does have doesn't look structural, so if you do get be sure to clean it up best possible and use a rust inhibiting paint. Where you can't travel out of the state, I doubt you will find anything much cleaner. After a year or two in the NE region most vehicles would look the same, if not worse. The price doesn't seem to bad but the mileage is higher than I would want.
 
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It's a little crusty, but I've seen A LOT of rust-belt Jeeps and that's very good in comparison. HOWEVER, feel around inside that frame. I've been frame rails that look perfect on the outside but have golf-ball-sized chunks of rust inside. They rust from the inside out.
 
If you are going to be shipping it anyway I would try to buy from more rust free states. Be prepared to pay little extra for shipping due to lift and tires. I paid little over 600 to have LJ on 33s shipped recently.

2004 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4x4 6cyl 4.0L Lifted https://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/cto/d/phoenix-2004-jeep-wrangler-rubicon-4x4/7112253007.html

Jeep Rubicon 2006 https://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/cto/d/avondale-jeep-rubicon-2006/7109379458.html
I'm a diehard manual transmission guy.
 
That's a good one. I understand when people excited and all. It's just sometimes waiting or going the extra distance and price will be worth it long term.

I would want one not lifted preferably and low rust.
I'm looking at this one as well. The Jeep I posted here isn't my only option, it's just beyond my comfortable range of knowledge.
 
What is shitty about the lift? From what I see in the pics, it looks like it has Rubicon Express control arms and front trackbar. Shocks can be swapped out easily and affordably if the Rough Countrys aren't cutting it. I'm with you on the shift knob though (n) Don't need a snorkel unless swimming 😁

Yeah, Rubicon Express isn't anything good. I mean it's "okay" but that's about it.

It's also got Rough Country shocks as well, which are indeed bottom of the barrel in terms of shocks.

Maybe "shitty" isn't the right word. I would simply say it's a "cheap" lift, that's all.
 
I'm looking at this one as well. The Jeep I posted here isn't my only option, it's just beyond my comfortable range of knowledge.

That would be a great option over the black one to me. People here just want to see you make a good choice! That's why you're here asking though!
 
Full disclosure, I took really good care of my 04 TJ for 13 years, but never had the money to do anything more than keep her clean and running. I'm taking the opportunity to buy something better than what I had while coming in under $12k. My preferences are 03-06 Rubicon, manual transmission with under 130k miles. A lift would be nice.
 
That one in the original post.... looks well used, maybe not abused but definitely driven hard. That said the steel is all in nice shape and if you plan to go 4x4ing the chips and dents are just going to make it easier when you add to them.

What I hate is the 3 gallons of ArmourAll used to make it shine. And since it has been trailed hard expect to do things like u-joints, shocks etc soon. I expect you will be spending on maintenance so keep that in mind if you make an offer.

Re the Rubicon Express lift etc. I've been using RE for 25 years with no problems. My YJ had 200K miles on an RE 2" lift.
 
If the 6th digit of the VIN isn't a 6, it ain't a real Rubi...that is the Mark of the Beast .


I thought that was only true with the 2003. After that year it doesn't decode that way. Example. I have an 04 Rubicon. Same as this. My 6th VIN is 2. By that method I'd have an SE. 04-06 VIN won't decode the same way 97-03 does.

If this Rubicon has a 6 in the 6th digit of the VIN it's either a coincidence or it's a 2003. If it's a 03 then that's a red flag in my book. Means the dealer is hasn't looked at the paperwork properly or is trying to scam.