Potential LJ buy 130K miles - this novice would love some feedback

Scottydeez

Member
Joined
Oct 26, 2022
Messages
26
Location
Longmont, Colorado
Hello TJ forum friends,

Been looking at LJ's for about 6 months. Missed out on a couple good buys and have been patiently shopping. Just came across this vehicle in the midwest. It's located at a small dealership. Great color. I'm comfortable with the miles. Cafax is clean. Price is under 13K

The good:

- price
- 130K miles
- love the color
- possibly has a long arm suspension (I'm torn on this being good or bad)
- interior in really good shape
- clean car fax
- always owned in midwest state that does not concern me about rust (away from rust belt)
- Not sure dealer knows what they have (LJ). It's a really small town and the dealership sales a national brand other than Jeeps. Everyone knows everyone so they actually text the previous owner to ask a couple questions.
- I probably have 3-6K in money to throw at it if need be. I could certainly do more if needed but 6K is really max I would want to spend.

My concerns:

- Text from dealership (Added this after my post). Think that's a deal killer in itself.
- Body has been Rino Lined
- Not sure about the lift/suspension. Dealer and previous owner do not know what lift/suspension it has. It appears to be some sort of long arm suspension with Rock Krawler parts.
- Previous owner bought it on an impulse buy and traded it to dealership 6 weeks later. He also had no idea what lift was on it.
- Front tires bald. I would likely get new rims that are closer to stock style and new tires right out of the gate.
- Carfax doesn't show a lot of service history but does show a couple of the major services done in the last 3 years. I know that's not unusual in areas
like this where people probable do their own maintenance or go to a small company. This town is a dot on a map.
- Rhino lining. Not sure if that's a pro or con. I would like re do the carpet on top of the rhino lining.
- I've owned a CJ 5 when I was 20 and a 2016 AEV JKU for a couple of years. I really don't know what I don't know. Any engine or maintenance work will likely be done by a local 4X4 shop In Boulder, Colorado area. I'm only comfortable doing the basic and cosmetic stuff.


I'm considering making an offer without seeing vehicle. At a minimum I might take a day and a half to drive and go see it.

Would love some feedback on pros and cons and what other things I may want to look for.

Also, I'm being cryptic about sharing too much about the Jeep out of concerns someone may see this and sweep in and go grab it :(.
I would hope that wouldn't happen but people are human. :)

Thanks in advance.

Scott Drees



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non factory HVAC & shifter knobs. WHAT ELSE IS HE HIDING?

but seriously the armor or whatever that is on the lower portion of the body is questionable. Sometimes that stuff is there to protect from damage, sometimes it's there to hide damage, and sometimes it was done with good intentions but now has rust behind. Same could be said about rhino lining a tub, but based on the condition of the interior, I would suspect that it's pretty clean under the lining. But you can't ever know until you definitely know.

Frame looks ok in the few looks we have at it. Rust anywhere is your #1 enemy, but especially rust on/in the frame. I would get more pictures of all that, but even then there is no substitute for putting your own eyes & hands on it.

Also has crossover steering, which isn't factory, and expert here (of which I am not one) will tell you that it isn't bad in and of itself, it is super super hard to get all the geometry 100% worked out. You can find recent threads here on that exact topic.

Rear axle appears to have a truss or something on it...I can't tell exactly what's going on there.
 
Without looking at your description. Looking at pictures alone I said $11,500-$12,500 TOPS. And I'd really have to think about it just because of my tastes. I'd shop around for something nicer. But if I was desperate. Thats the range of the market right now. $10k cash waiving in his face would be an instant out the door price.
 
non factory HVAC & shifter knobs. WHAT ELSE IS HE HIDING?

but seriously the armor or whatever that is on the lower portion of the body is questionable. Sometimes that stuff is there to protect from damage, sometimes it's there to hide damage, and sometimes it was done with good intentions but now has rust behind. Same could be said about rhino lining a tub, but based on the condition of the interior, I would suspect that it's pretty clean under the lining. But you can't ever know until you definitely know.

Frame looks ok in the few looks we have at it. Rust anywhere is your #1 enemy, but especially rust on/in the frame. I would get more pictures of all that, but even then there is no substitute for putting your own eyes & hands on it.

Also has crossover steering, which isn't factory, and expert here (of which I am not one) will tell you that it isn't bad in and of itself, it is super super hard to get all the geometry 100% worked out. You can find recent threads here on that exact topic.

Rear axle appears to have a truss or something on it...I can't tell exactly what's going on there.

Thank you for the reply. Feel the same way about the Rhino lining. I used to collect fine watches and man people do some crazy 💩 to stuff. Less is more.
My gut tells me the Rhino lining is likely not hiding anything but the suspension worries the heck out of me. I imagine it would cost me a fortune now to go back to an old man emu or something with less travel and closer to stock. But that color 🔥 😂
 
Without looking at your description. Looking at pictures alone I said $11,500-$12,500 TOPS. And I'd really have to think about it just because of my tastes. I'd shop around for something nicer. But if I was desperate. Thats the range of the market right now.

Thank you. Great feedback.
 
I have flown out and bought worse condition vehicles and drove across country to get home. I was doing that for awhile as a hobby. It was fun as hell. Just gotta have an ear for the vehicle and drive it with soft feet. Nothings impossible.
 
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I have flown out and bought worse condition vehicles and drove across country to get home. I was doing that for awhile as a hobby. It was fun as hell. Just gotta have an ear for the vehicle and drive it with soft feet. Nothings impossible.

My younger self says "hell yes?" My recently divorced 51 year old self says "What you talking about Willis???". Thanks for the reply!
 
I can see his point about driving long distances in a lifted Jeep. It can be noisy and uncomfortable. I wouldn't pick my Jeep over a passenger car for a long road trip, but I could make it with enough gas station stops. :D

It's not motorcycle bad for noise and tiring you out and people drive those all over the place.
 
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Consider hiring a mobile mechanic to assess vehicles that are far away. I've used lemon squad twice now with good results. You can ask they assess specific items (ie rust, rear main seal leak, valve leak ect). They were out there the day after the inspection request...which cost $199. Worth every penny to me. Prevented me from wasting a large amount of $, stress and time on travel.
 
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Cosmetically it doesn't look bad. I doubt the rhino lining is hiding any rust; the frame, axles, tops of fenders and rest of the body looks clean. I bet it was added just as a cool factor. I dont know enough about Rock Crawler, but I would suspect the joints are of lower quality and the kit was made for ease of installation to those who bought it. Meaning your comprimising geometry and offroad behavior (lower end lift). The steering is also wonky and with it you'll experience bumpsteer and a deadspot when driving down the highway. It would take a bit of work to get a quality lift on there.
 
@Hog has a similar lift- can be driven cross country after he installed johnny joints and dialed it in-

The rust on the vehicle behind it and the snow tells me its a road salt market- scope the frame -

The text from the dealer tells me 2 things- he’s never driven in one set up well and it is not dialed in.

You need to be realistic about spending some money (and you are) if you want it to be enjoyable and make sure it doesn’t have bad rust in the frame.
 
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I can see his point about driving long distances in a lifted Jeep. It can be noisy and uncomfortable. I wouldn't pick my Jeep over a passenger car for a long road trip, but I could make it with enough gas station stops. :D

It's not motorcycle bad for noise and tiring you out and people drive those all over the place.

haha. I totally agree.
 
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@Hog has a similar lift- can be driven cross country after he installed johnny joints and dialed it in-

The rust on the vehicle behind it and the snow tells me its a road salt market- scope the frame -

The text from the dealer tells me 2 things- he’s never driven in one set up well and it is not dialed in.

You need to be realistic about spending some money (and you are) if you want it to be enjoyable and make sure it doesn’t have bad rust in the frame.

Great feed back. Scoping the frame is easy enough.

From all the great feedback so far I know I don't need to rush out there this weekend. if it sales it sales. The population of the town is right around 3,000 and it's hours away from the nearest airport so I suspect it may sit for a while.

Thanks again.
 
Cosmetically it doesn't look bad. I doubt the rhino lining is hiding any rust; the frame, axles, tops of fenders and rest of the body looks clean. I bet it was added just as a cool factor. I dont know enough about Rock Crawler, but I would suspect the joints are of lower quality and the kit was made for ease of installation to those who bought it. Meaning your comprimising geometry and offroad behavior (lower end lift). The steering is also wonky and with it you'll experience bumpsteer and a deadspot when driving down the highway. It would take a bit of work to get a quality lift on there.

Great feedback. Kinda what I expected to hear. I felt the same way about the Rhino lining. The suspension worries me the most.
I'd happily replace it with something else but think I may be spending way too much money undoing what they have done.
 
Cosmetically it doesn't look bad. I doubt the rhino lining is hiding any rust; the frame, axles, tops of fenders and rest of the body looks clean. I bet it was added just as a cool factor. I dont know enough about Rock Crawler, but I would suspect the joints are of lower quality and the kit was made for ease of installation to those who bought it. Meaning your comprimising geometry and offroad behavior (lower end lift). The steering is also wonky and with it you'll experience bumpsteer and a deadspot when driving down the highway. It would take a bit of work to get a quality lift on there.

Great feedback. Kinda what I expected to hear. I felt the same way about the Rhino lining. The suspension worries me the most.
I'd happily replace it with something else but think I may be spending way too much money undoing what they have done.

Thanks again for the feedback. Much appreciated.
 
What stands out to me is horrible looking rhino lining job, ridiculous looking unlimited sticker, mud on undercarriage caked on that dealer couldn't be bothered to wash.

"Jeeps are not made for driving that many hours"......5.5 hours :rolleyes: That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard.