Talk me out of this sub 10k mile LJ

Armand said:

Hi all. I have my eyes set on a 2004 LJ with ~4k miles on it. 38k, located at Collins Brothers Jeep in Texas.

I would want this to be a daily driver, planning on putting ~10k miles on it yearly for commuting and fun. I need something that is reliable so I can get to work everyday.

This would also be my first jeep. Not looking to make any mods but to start getting acquainted with mechanical work.

I am hoping I can offset part of the steep cost by reselling the jeep in a few years with minimal depreciation.

Please talk me out of it if I am thinking about it the wrong way. Any mechanical issues that such low miles will bring?

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I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade, but over the years looking at Collins Bro jeeps they are always way overpriced. Regardless of miles or condition there's a certain point after which too much is too much. I truly don't believe you could sell it for more than 38k, you may even lose money trying to sell it in a few years. Watching videos of the guy going around a jeep and giving a "tour" he really doesn't seem like even that big of a deal or someone with a lot of technical knowledge...more like just really deep pockets.

I get it, it's really hard to get a jeep that is clean, especially with this covid crap. You just have to be patient. People like myself from New York literally plan trips to your home state to get a jeep, look around within California and the southwest.

As someone who owns an LJ, I would tell you that's a horrible idea. The LJ is very mechanically sound, but it's horrific on fuel mileage. And 38K is absurd for an LJ unless it has a LS1 swap and powertrain to match. You'd be better off with a low mileage JK; they drive better on the road, and have better creature comforts. That said, I wouldn't trade my LJ for a JK.

But that's because my LJ is a dedicated toy, not a DD.

I just searched up the LJ you are talking about, it's not even a Rubicon and it doesn't even have a hardtop. Also putting 10k miles a year after a few years of that you are looking at a 25 thousand dollar jeep at best.

Contrary to what you might think (OP), 4,400 miles on an 18 year old vehicle is not a good thing (assuming those are original miles). And I agree with the comments above.......$38,000 is a stupid price for an LJ.....unless you want to put it in a museum.

Or you can buy a brand new jeep for cheaper

I would not buy it. Something like that is not ideal to turn around and put miles on. A collector’s dream.

How much financing are would you be using?

It's a purty red LJ, but I have an '06 LJR in Khaki with 37k miles that's a better candidate for you!

I saw Collins Brothers a on a bunch of adds when I was looking for my LJ. IIRC they had a couple with low mileage a few months ago for about 27, but I think I saw them upping the price as they came out of winter and into Jeep season. I am not seeing the sub 50k mile one on their site right now. The sub 5k and the sub 500 ones are still on it - I think they went on about 6 weeks ago IIRC.

FWIW, I picked one up at Broken Arrow. It is relatively clean, virtually no rust. I think I paid too much at 21k but I was tired of shopping. Broken Arrow had a lot of nice looking Jeeps on their lot, but I think I got the only LJ they had at the time. I also looked at an LJ in League City - they had 2 (but one was a Rubicon and they were planning shinning it up more and pricing it at 35k. The Green one was a manual, rust was not bad, I think they wanted 16k for it. It had a few bad modifications on it, plus I could not sell myself on owning a standard (I drive standard fine, but I really wanted an automatic for the LJ).

Bad modification - something crap cheep that was probably installed to hide tub damage and rust. I also did not really like the fact that 2 of the windshield mount bolts had been snapped off.

I drove by (near) Collins Brothers on my way to get my LJ. I choose not to make the slight detour to stop - as I had already had the LJ I was planning on purchasing tested by a 3rd party mechanic and it came back fine.

Armand said:

Great... how do we do this

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I sent you a PM.

Armand said:

Hi all. I have my eyes set on a 2004 LJ with ~4k miles on it. 38k, located at Collins Brothers Jeep in Texas.

I would want this to be a daily driver, planning on putting ~10k miles on it yearly for commuting and fun. I need something that is reliable so I can get to work everyday.

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It would depreciate about $18-20,000 after one year of driving. Buy a $12,000 LJ and put a new engine in it.

97' 4 Popper said:

I just searched up the LJ you are talking about, it's not even a Rubicon and it doesn't even have a hardtop. Also putting 10k miles a year after a few years of that you are looking at a 25 thousand dollar jeep at best.

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It is also an auto due to their only being autos in the 04's, and no Rubicons. That didn't happen until 05-06.

Calvin.8 said:

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Or you can buy a brand new jeep for cheaper

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The Jeep in question is definitely grossly overpriced, but I'd pay that before I'd buy ANY new vehicle.

Zorba said:

The Jeep in question is definitely grossly overpriced, but I'd pay that before I'd buy ANY new vehicle.

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So at today's prices, double what it was new then?

mrblaine said:

So at today's prices, double what it was new then?

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The demand is there and will flatten out as more and more TJs and Unlimiteds get soaked up by buyers or ate up by rust.

mrblaine said:

It is also an auto due to their only being autos in the 04's, and no Rubicons. That didn't happen until 05-06.

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I was so shell shocked by the absurd prices I somehow completely glossed over the year.

Dennis Collins also has a 2004 hardtop LJ with 500 miles asking 68k. I pity the fool who pays almost 70 thousand dollars for a non rubi LJ that was basically abandoned in a garage for the last 18 years.

97' 4 Popper said:

I was so shell shocked by the absurd prices I somehow completely glossed over the year.

Dennis Collins also has a 2004 hardtop LJ with 500 miles asking 68k. I pity the fool who pays almost 70 thousand dollars for a non rubi LJ that was basically abandoned in a garage for the last 18 years.

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Have you seen any LJ’s with comparable milage for cheaper?