What to expect with a $10,000 budget

[cliner]

Hello from north Texas. After lurking and browsing similar threads here and on wranglerforum, I decided to go ahead and make my own thread, hoping y'all might be able to help me find a used TJ. I appreciate any help at all.

Budget: ~$10,000
6cyl, manual. Leaning toward soft top, being in TX and all
The closer to stock the better; would like to avoid paying a lot extra for bumpers/winches/etc. This is going to be my DD + occasional off-road trips in the desert, but no serious crawling

What condition/mileage/etc. could I expect to pop up, given my budget? After browsing craigslist for the past few weeks, most of what I'm finding in a 200mi radius is TJs with 125,000-175,000mi for $6-8k. Some with new clutches, a few with new engines. The TJs closer to 100,000mi go up to the 10k range, and under 100,000mi they start to get up to 12k+

Should I stay away from rebuilds or remans? For example:
https://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/cto/6131902110.html
https://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/6148061990.html
If buying a high mile TJ with original engine, what's the sweet spot for mileage?

Another I've been looking at. High end of budget, two sets of doors, has both hard & soft top. Ad says "at least half" of the miles were pulled behind a motor home. Worth looking into, or should I just roll my eyes at the RV claim and move on ? https://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/cto/6160836532.html

Again, thanks for any help

 

[Chris]

In all honesty, mileage doesn't matter on these engines. You're talking about the 4.0, which is easily one of the most tractor like, bullet proof engines ever made. It seriously is a beast in terms of durability. When things go bad on these engines, it's typically something like an O2 sensor, a throttle sensor, a catalytic converter, or something electrical. It's rarely ever an internal engine component. It's not uncommon to see these engines with 300k mile on them still going strong.

What's going to matter the most is who owned it and how they maintained it. The more maintenance records they have, the more you know they cared for it.

You're smart to look for a mostly stock TJ. The ones that are stock and unmolested are usually the ones that were more taken care of and cared for. There's a lot of beat to piss TJs out there, and most of them are easily identifiable by all the cheap and poor modifications that people did to them.

Your biggest thing to watch out for will be rust, hands down. Get underneath the frame of any TJ you go to look at and inspect it thoroughly for rust. A little surface rust isn't an issue, but major rust is a huge issue, and you should walk away at that point, no matter how cheap they are selling it for (unless you want a huge, expensive project).

Read this thread, it has some good examples of acceptable rust, and non-acceptable rust:
What should I look for when buying a used Wrangler TJ?

I wouldn't worry about an engine rebuild or a remanufactured engine, but only if the guy who is selling it has the paperwork to back up those claims. Otherwise I would dismiss it as a seller who is lying to try to sell their vehicle. Anyone who went through the trouble of rebuilding their engine or swapping in a remanufactured engine, would surely have some paperwork to prove it, even if it's just a credit card statement.

Of those two TJs you linked to, I actually prefer the white one. It has higher miles, yes, but it also looks cleaner and more taken care of. It's also very possible that a lot of those miles are just from towing it behind an RV. While that's hard to prove, I know that lots of people do this with their TJs, and the miles can add up.

Also, do not let sellers try and convince you that their mods equal more value (or a higher asking price). Unless it's a TJ with a nice, expensive lift like a Currie, Savvy, OME, or Metalcloak, then it's not worth paying extra for. Rough Country, Skyjacker and Zone lifts are all cheap, low quality lifts.

For 10k you may have to look a bit harder to find a nice TJ, but I think you're on the right track. Hell, that white one is worth looking at if you ask me!

 

[mtngoattj]

Yup that white one looked pretty darn nice for the price

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[glwood]

Contrary to what some say, a TJ does not accumulate miles when flat towed. If someone is telling you it has 'towed miles', they are either ignorant, or trying to pull one over on you.

 

[cliner]

I appreciate the quick response guys. Yeah, I'm a former Tacoma owner, so I know the kinds of issues rust can cause. Thanks for the encouragement re: high mileage. It's reassuring. I'll probably check out that white one. It looks clean in the pictures. If the interior looks nice, I might be more inclined to believe the towing-behind-RV claim. Thanks again

a TJ does not accumulate miles when flat towed

Interesting... That might change things a little

 

[Chris]

Contrary to what some say, a TJ does not accumulate miles when flat towed. If someone is telling you it has 'towed miles', they are either ignorant, or trying to pull one over on you.

What? I thought it did... Wow... I guess I learned something new.

 

[Chris]

the one thing about TJs (and you know this from being a former Tacoma owner @cliner), they hold their value well. Buy a clean TJ that is well taken care of, and it shouldn't ever really lose any value on it, as long as you mod it tastefully and don't beat the piss out of it.

Tacomas and Wranglers have some of the highest resale value of any used cars out there.

 

[shabek]

I'ed sale my JEEP TJ 2001 for you for 10K , it worth 14$.

 

[Jorge Bolivar]

TJ flat towed does not accumulate miles, but that Sahara deal looks attractive. Plus extra half doors...
I will be checking on this for sure if was you. Keep on mind that some of this 4.0 motors run easily up to 300000 miles.

 

[Kevin E]

I would look at that Sahara for sure.

 

[Jorge Bolivar]

What? I thought it did... Wow... I guess I learned something new.

@Chris
TJ kingdom nevers stop amizing Us.
This is the second time i heard about it btw.

 

[FTI76]

My friend just bought an 04 X with 135,000 miles (4.0 Auto). It was off a lot so with tax he paid slightly under 11. It needed front u joints and a few other minor fixes. He paid a slight premium over was out there privately which was largely a collection of rusted TJs. We got tired of looking at shit boxes and when we saw this clean stock 04 we jumped on it.

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[Mike_H]

I paid 10,600 for mine out the door with taxes and dealer fees. 04 rubicon w / a 5 speed. Has needed some item, biggest being a throw out bearing and tranmission input shaft. Has a couple rust issues, and will need tires soon too. 126500 miles when I took delivery. Pretty happy so far. There are better deals to be had, but not many

 

[FTI76]

I paid 10,600 for mine out the door with taxes and dealer fees. 04 rubicon w / a 5 speed. Has needed some item, biggest being a throw out bearing and tranmission input shaft. Has a couple rust issues, and will need tires soon too. 126500 miles when I took delivery. Pretty happy so far. There are better deals to be had, but not many

I really hate dealerships but sometimes it just makes sense. Unless the place is really shady they don't wont sell crap in the age of the internet where people can efficiently trash a business online. The one we just picked up was traded in to a local Jeep dealership and then flipped to smaller private lot.


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[Mike_H]

I feel the same. This was just a small town dealership, kinda being run as a hobby by the guy. I got the feeling that he just liked to wheel and deal, so he got his license and started flipping cars. Pretty nice dude.

 

[derekmac]

Prices vary a lot depending on where you live. Don't rush, and don't be afraid to look out of town for a good deal.

 

[cliner]

Prices vary a lot depending on where you live. Don't rush, and don't be afraid to look out of town for a good deal.

Absolutely, thank you.

A lot of y'all are liking that '99 Sahara I linked in the OP. I've texted the guy with a few questions, waiting to hear back.
In the mean time, how does this one compare: https://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/6161399480.html
Lots of new parts, and new tires. North Texas Jeep Club sticker making me think higher probability the owner knows Jeeps & took good care of it?

I'm not planning on turning this thread into a "is this a good deal?" thread. I just want to get a baseline for what to look for or expect within a certain budget. Y'all have been extremely helpful already. Again, thanks a lot.

 

[RaymondT]

Condition of the interior will tell you a lot about how it was used and what it was exposed to. Lift the carpet pieces up and have a peek. Dry, desert areas usually have less rust issues. Private sales can be a good thing if the seller has little knowledge on the value of used Jeeps. One thing that is a red flag is the lack of an owners manual and maintenance records. Who the #$%@ throws the owners manual in the garbage?

 

[bobthetj03]

Pick the RV towed one. If the guy is honest, he'll tell you how many towed miles it's been on. That will give you an idea how many miles is on the drive train, suspension, ball joints, steering, etc. Odometer does not add miles when a toad.

 

[cliner]

Pick the RV towed one.

Thanks for your response. It's a sweet looking Jeep, and the owner is going to send me more pics tomorrow.

Odometer does not add miles when a toad.

Wouldn't that mean, then, that there are at least 225,000 miles on the drivetrain? The odo reads 155k. Again, thanks for the response.

Also, opinions on the other CL link I posted above? https://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/6161399480.html
Spoke with the owner. Repairs and tub liner were done by him. Says he's a diesel mechanic, and the repairs were just preventative maintenance. Carfax reports 7 previous owners. Red flag, or is >5 owners something typical with TJs?