Would you buy your Jeep again?

SaharaKev

SaharaKev

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May 6, 2020
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South East PA
I did a search and didn't find a thread with this title, so i apologize if this has been asked before.

Knowing what you know now about your Jeep, and Jeep knowledge in general from owning one, would you buy your exact Jeep again?

My 97 Sahara is my third Jeep I've owned. I had two 1994 YJ's about 15 years ago. Both of them rust free and in excellent mechanical condition. I bought what I thought was a pretty rust free jeep despite it living in Pennsylvania since it was manufactured. I've owned it since October and just recently, May, started working on what originally was just going to be a lift, new wheels, and larger tires. That has now turned into a complete brake line replacement, interior frame de-rusting, exterior frame refinishing, rivnut replacements for the transfer case, etc. All due to rust that wasn't obvious to someone that didn't know where to look at the time. Every bolt and nut either needs to soaked or torched before it will budge.

When i think about whether I would buy my TJ again I don't know how I would answer. On one hand I wish I could have slapped the lift on and enjoyed driving the family around with the top off a few months ago and on the other having obstacles at every turn has given me a sense of connection to the jeep that i might not have had.
 
I'm in a similar boat. I didn't know anything about rust when I bought my 2000 Sahara. Looked great on top, didn't know they rust from the inside-out, same old story. I spent a lot of money at Auto Rust Technicians getting the undercarriage sandblasted and caps installed, so it's good to go for many more years. I did buy the Jeep fairly cheap, but I would have saved money by buying down south. Fortunately I've been very lucky mechanically, as nothing has otherwise failed that I couldn't handle myself or with a friend of mine.

Would I buy a TJ again? Yes. Would I buy that specific TJ... probably not. But I don't have any regrets, if that makes sense. It's in tip-top shape now; it just wasn't pretty getting there.
 
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I would have to say yes on mine. Mine was basically rust free though I had to replace all the bushings and u-joints.

I do wonder about the Right Hand Drive though. It gives a unique factor and the rear Dana 44 with a factory LSD is fantastic off road but it's hard to say.

-Grant
 
Absolutely. I hardly knew a thing, but mine was as clean as they come when I picked it up 5 years ago.
 
if it was closer to my house, I probably would have passed and kept looking.

I had been shopping for a while and was tired of driving all over Colorado to look at $10k TJ's with rusted out torque boxes, or completely stripped of carpet, raggedy tops, or had stupid crap done to them like CAI's or crossover steering.

I widened my search area and found a "senior owned", sub-100k miles outside Amarillo, TX, so I rented a car and drove 5 hours to meet the seller. It was not what I had hoped, with a clean frame from the outside but with rust flakes inside, and a poorly maintained but sound engine. But the interior and tub were in great shape so it was the best I'd seen so far and I was not enthusiastic about coming home from a 10 hour round trip empty-handed, so I went ahead and bought it. The frame is still solid 3 years later but I know the rust will be something I'll have to deal with eventually if I keep it. If the frame and engine were in better shape, I might have kept it for the long term but since I'm not committed to it for those reasons, I plan on eventually replacing it with an LJ. Just waiting until I've got a shop built to sit them side by side and swap over all my drivetrain and suspension. I reckon I have a good 3-4 years for LJ's to get more expensive before I'm able to make that happen.
 
Yes, bought mine in May. Got lucky that the 3rd Jeep I looked at was 99% rust free, exactly what I wanted, and under my budget.
 
Assuming I have finally fixed my intermittent stalling issue, I definitely would. There were some short lived interim upgrades I did that I probably would have done differently though. Sometimes I wouldn't mind the shorter wheel base of the TJ though.
 
The only thing missing on mine is the Rubicon package. I looked all over for one of those, but mine fell in my lap with a local small lot dealer picking it up from the desert southwest. I only had to drive 5 miles for a rust free LJ with 69,000 miles on it.

Someone posted a stock stone white 6sd LJ here that looked identical to mine with similar mileage and no rust. It was a Rubicon version and I would have gladly driven to CO to get it had it been listed when I was looking. But I couldn't wait an extra year for that to come along. I'd already been looking 6 months. :D
 
I wish that I had spent more time on here reading, doing research, & asking questions. Didn't join until I bought it though. It needed a little mechanical work that I was well aware of which was fine, but I found more rust than I wanted inside the frame rail. Still not terrible, but if I had known to do a better rust inspection than just sliding under there a looking for a minute or two I may have passed on it. Still happy though.
 
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qslim said:
I wish that I had spent more time on here reading, doing research, & asking questions. Didn't join until I bought it though. It need a little mechanical work that I was well aware of which was find, but I found more rust than I wanted inside the frame rail. Still not terrible, but if I had known to do a better rust inspection than just sliding under there a looking for a minute or two I may have passed on it. Still happy though.
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Exactly, my experience as well. I don’t feel as though I rushed into the purchase. Just didn’t know as much as I should have.
 
qslim said:
I wish that I had spent more time on here reading, doing research, & asking questions. Didn't join until I bought it though. It need a little mechanical work that I was well aware of which was find, but I found more rust than I wanted inside the frame rail. Still not terrible, but if I had known to do a better rust inspection than just sliding under there a looking for a minute or two I may have passed on it. Still happy though.
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Exactly!
 
SaharaKev said:
Exactly, my experience as well. I don’t feel as though I rushed into the purchase. Just didn’t know as much as I should have.
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Yeah, I don't think I rushed either. Just didn't know to look for the rust inside the frame, the transfer case drop w/ a screwed up driveline, etc. Looked okay to me because I just didn't know.
 
Yes I would buy my Jeep again, it is and was in great shape with low kms. I was going to pull the trigger on an LJ but needed a loan, which got denied by the bank because I was young and had no credit rating. I think that was a blessing in disguise, ended up with my Jeep and no debt which let me do upgrades sooner. Would I love to have an LJ? Yes, but I have my Jeep and it's awesome.
 
No!! I would have found another with less rust. Live and learn though. I can say after addressing all the rust issues I have become pretty attached to it
 
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My response is a little different because mine was bought new. But yes. Best color combo, Sahara, Dana 44, 4.0, 5 speed. I think I ended up with the best TJ possible out of all the years and combos, besides maybe an LJR.
 
Probably, although since I've only had it about 10 weeks, the jury's still out. But its looking good so far. Minimal to "light moderate" rust on the frame, basically none on the tub, somewhat heavier on control arms and other easily replaced stuff. No apparent major mech problems, just the "usual stuff". I'm replacing the rear sway bar bushings today, and have encountered the first bolts that are a bit of a pain to get off because of dirt in the threads mostly that I can't really get to to get out. 3 of 4 bolts out as I write this cooling down inside...

I had wanted a CJ, YJ, or TJ and had been casually shopping. Found mine on Craig's list, it had the 4.0 and the 6 speed manual. Bunch of research, then I was on my back underneath it at the dealer's lot. Such a breathe of fresh air with no "technology", what's not to like? Oh, I do wish it was some shade of green, all Jeeps should be ODG with a white star on the hood; but OTOH, my wife thinks all Jeeps should be red, so she liked it right away!
 
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Definitely and wouldn't change a thing. Watched these come out in 97, did all my research and ordered a 98 with everything I wanted on it.
 
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