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

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.

HAHA:LOL: EXACTLY what I thought. Guess they should be selling trailers with every Jeep so we can tow them to the beach and mountains.
 
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Here is sort of what happens and I’m saying this because it’s a little bit of my story-

I had had a number of Jeeps and I decided like you in my early 50s that I wanted to get one again and I settled on a TJ and I didn’t have a clue what I was looking for and I didn’t know about this forum. Most of the guys on here will tell you they wish that it had stayed that way🤣.

So I find one and I don’t have a clue I get a mechanic to look at it and he doesn’t have a clue and I got one that had low mileage and about every bad part you can go out and get to put on it- It was literally falling apart underneath.

So I get on here and I’ll get to learning and I found out that I’ve got a lot to learn.

Now the current market is basically everything is older and it’s going to need some work and some are a lot nicer than others. The best thing that you can do right now is to really figure out what you want for your money, And really get on here and learn how to get that in terms of evaluating one when you look at it.

It is easy to get one of these for 9000 and end up with over 20,000 in it if you’re not careful and still be struggling to make it all come together.

It’s also possible to get one for 14,000 that needs a little bit of maintenance and you could drive it for years just like it it’s.

And there are a lot of them that are kind of in between they were all nice at one time but you just never know what people have done or neglected to do to them.

I’ve seen a lot of guys get excited and but the first one they look at and they would’ve been so much better off to have just waited and got something they didn’t have so many issues.

The other side of the coin is when you find a nice one sometimes you don’t have a lot of time to deliberate.

We are seeing $25-$30,000 LJ Rubicons sell so fast eat people have to literally make offers unseen to have a chance.

I’m not telling you want to spend and I’m not telling you what to buy- But what I recommend is really learn what to look for.
 
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Here is sort of what happens and I’m saying this because it’s a little bit of my story-

I had had a number of Jeeps and I decided like you in my early 50s that I wanted to get one again and I settled on a TJ and I didn’t have a clue what I was looking for and I didn’t know about this forum. Most of the guys on here will tell you they wish that it had stayed that way🤣.

So I find one and I don’t have a clue I get a mechanic to look at it and he doesn’t have a clue and I got one that had low mileage and about every bad part you can go out and get to put on it- It was literally falling apart underneath.

So I get on here and I’ll get to learning and I found out that I’ve got a lot to learn.

Now the current market is basically everything is older and it’s going to need some work and some are a lot nicer than others. The best thing that you can do right now is to really figure out what you want for your money, And really get on here and learn how to get that in terms of evaluating one when you look at it.

It is easy to get one of these for 9000 and end up with over 20,000 in it if you’re not careful and still be struggling to make it all come together.

It’s also possible to get one for 14,000 that needs a little bit of maintenance and you could drive it for years just like it it’s.

And there are a lot of them that are kind of in between they were all Nash at one time but you just never know what people have done or neglected to do to them.

I’ve seen a lot of guys get excited and but the first one they look at and they would’ve been so much better off to have just waited and got something they didn’t have so many issues.

The other side of the coin is when you find a nice one sometimes you don’t have a lot of time to deliberate.

We are seeing $25-$30,000 LJ Rubicons sell so fast eat people have to literally make offers unseen to have a chance.

I’m not telling you want to spend and I’m not telling you what to buy- But what I recommend is really learn what to look for.

Great advice! Thank you!
I had found a one owner, stock white LJ, with manual transmission, and all service records, Denver owned, for 16k that I was the second caller on. First guy snagged it. That’s been the only one I’ve been ready to jump on quickly. I’m definitely staying really patient and trying to figure it all out.
 
Great advice! Thank you!
I had found a one owner, stock white LJ, with manual transmission, and all service records, Denver owned, for 16k that I was the second caller on. First guy snagged it. That’s been the only one I’ve been ready to jump on quickly. I’m definitely staying really patient and trying to figure it all out.

That is exactly the kind of thing I’m talking about -

It’s really kind of an awful game to get into right now because you have to be prepared to move quick on something that you don’t really know enough about

That’s not a good combination-

There are a lot of benefits to slowing down and being deliberate in life but right now he who hesitates is lost as far as LJs go- At the same time I do not want to tell you to get the mindset where you have to move so fast that it backfires-

So all that is to say try to get your mind around what the market is doing and want to look for and keep looking and you’ll be OK.
 
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.

Good idea. They are 2 and 1/2 hours from Omaha and 5 1/2 hours from Denver. Town of 3000. I'll have to look around to see if that's possible on this one.
Thanks again
 
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.

That's exactly what I thought!
 
I would pass on it for that price. I would much rather start with a completely stock rig that I know the PO hasn't beat on than try to figure out what mess is going on. There are some exceptions to this rule, but they are few and far. The long arm kit will cost you way more to undo than it's worth.

For reference, I just bought an '04 LJ hardtop, Auto and absolutely no rust for 10k. And that's with the crazy PNW prices! It took me several months of searching nonstop, and when this one popped up I jumped on it within 5 minutes of posting. The next 2 buyers missed picking it up by just 20 minutes. I say keep looking, you will find one eventually and when you do, it will be the best feeling.
 
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I would pass on it for that price. I would much rather start with a completely stock rig that I know the PO hasn't beat on than try to figure out what mess is going on. There are some exceptions to this rule, but they are few and far. The long arm kit will cost you way more to undo than it's worth.

For reference, I just bought an '04 LJ hardtop, Auto and absolutely no rust for 10k. And that's with the crazy PNW prices! It took me several months of searching nonstop, and when this one popped up I jumped on it within 5 minutes of posting. The next 2 buyers missed picking it up by just 20 minutes. I say keep looking, you will find one eventually and when you do, it will be the best feeling.

Great feedback! Especially regarding the lift. That was my biggest concern. Spending money to undo something seems like a waste of time, mentally energy, and money.

As much as I want an LJ I’m also expanding my search to a TJ. I really love some of the old stock Sahara’s with the tan hard top and green interior. Manual with 2 inch lift and some slightly beefy tires
and I would be a happy camper.

Thanks again for chiming in.

And for the record I’m definitely going to pass on this LJ and take everyone’s advice.
 
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Great feedback! Especially regarding the lift. That was my biggest concern. Spending money to undo something seems like a waste of time, mentally energy, and money.

As much as I want an LJ I’m also expanding my search to a TJ. I really love some of the old stock Sahara’s with the tan hard top and green interior. Manual with 2 inch lift and some slightly beefy tires
and I would be a happy camper.

Thanks again for chiming in.

And for the record I’m definitely going to pass on this LJ and take everyone’s advice.

Yeah, and that's probably the right decision. The way I think of it, is if I'm going to invest $ into a rig, it better be a pretty solid rig to start with and not a hunk of junk. Honestly, I would probably prefer a TJ over my LJ for 2 reasons: LJs look silly with anything under a 35", and a TJ would probably work better for the tight wooded trails we have here in Washington... But with the LJ I don't have to choose between carrying things or passengers in the back, it does both!

Are you open to traveling? There's a clean stock LJR that just popped up in Illinois for under 14k.