Fair price for this TJ?

chrisjohns38

chrisjohns38

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I'm now located on the island of Hawaii (the "Big island"). and have become obsessed with the idea of purchasing a used Wrangler or CJ to putt around the island, access remote beaches over legitimate 4wd only lava roads, and occasionally drive up to Maunea Loa and Maunea Kea (13k+ feet).
From the looks of the market here, a used TJ with 130-200k miles seems realistic.
The market is limited but the seem to pop up once or twice a week and seem to sell (actual prices unknown).
Determining market price or real value, is, of course, what someone will pay. I do most of my own work on my vehicles for the pleasure of it. I feel like I could be a good candidate for an i4, since I will not be building the thing up. But they are few and seem to have similar pricing here.
This one looks great, but a little spendy?
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/331250367928323/Thoughts on this one?
Thank you for any advice.
 
Yes, purchase it immediately if it has a clean title and no rust. That's about 1500-2k below stateside value.

Also , that is the biggest skateboard I have ever seen you are holding. Yuge.
 
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AndyG said:
Yes, purchase it immediately if it has a clean title and no rust. That's about 1500-2k below stateside value.

Also , that is the biggest skateboard I have ever seen you are holding. Yuge.
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haha! you should see my rookie surfboard.
 
AndyG said:
Yes, purchase it immediately if it has a clean title and no rust. That's about 1500-2k below stateside value.

Also , that is the biggest skateboard I have ever seen you are holding. Yuge.
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003_large.jpg
 
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Irun said:
This actually looks nice. Just be sure to check the VIN and make sure all the Rubicon drive-train is in tact, i.e. Dana 44 front, rear, along with a 241 transfer case. You can enter the VIN here to get the build sheet.

https://fcacommunity.force.com/RAM/s/equipment-listing
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chrisjohns38 said:
wow. that is handy, thanks!
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6th Letter of the VIN will be 6 if it's a real Rubicon . And like he said, be suuure it's got the stock 241 transfer case and Dana axles.

I used to watch Hiwaii 5-0. It gets rough over there. Bad guys always getting massages too.
 
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AndyG said:
Yes, purchase it immediately if it has a clean title and no rust. That's about 1500-2k below stateside value.

Also , that is the biggest skateboard I have ever seen you are holding. Yuge.
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x2!
I would definitely hop on that deal! Price varies by location a good bit. I got my 04 Rubi with 87k for 12,300 last year.
 
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Irun said:
No. High miles, 4cylinder, YJ and JK...in that order.
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interesting. you think the JK is the one? I got the VIN and used the build sheet reader...and it has the dana 30 in front and the 44hd in back. the transfer case in the JK is not described that I can tell. and the stronger motor. hmmm. reading about the JK and it seems to have some nicer features and all of what the 04 Rubicon has for drive train.
 

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is that 3.8l egh v6 from the minivan gonna be ok with 130k? I'd normally check compression. maybe take it to the local jeep dealer. haven't found too much info on that power plant....
 
billiebob said:
No idea what the market is in Hawaii but $14K for a clean Rubicon is a steal. Have you bought it yet.
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That's why I jumped on mine when I saw it on craigslist. It was listed late Saturday night at 11pm and the guy had 15 people interested by the time I got there at 9am Sunday morning (2 hour drive). Someone was going to give him a $500 deposit to hold it until the banks opened on Monday. I brought cash with me and drove it home for $9500. One owner from Texas. He even had every service record from the day he bought it in 2003 and the original window sticker. Good Jeeps go fast.
RR5 (2017_11_20 00_38_12 UTC).jpg
 
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TheBoogieman said:
That's why I jumped on mine when I saw it on craigslist. It was listed late Saturday night at 11pm and the guy had 15 people interested by the time I got there at 9am Sunday morning (2 hour drive). Someone was going to give him a $500 deposit to hold it until the banks opened on Monday. I brought cash with me and drove it home for $9500. One owner from Texas. He even had every service record from the day he bought it in 2003 and the original window sticker. Good Jeeps go fast.View attachment 183010
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nice!
 
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chrisjohns38 said:
interesting. you think the JK is the one? I got the VIN and used the build sheet reader...and it has the dana 30 in front and the 44hd in back. the transfer case in the JK is not described that I can tell. and the stronger motor. hmmm. reading about the JK and it seems to have some nicer features and all of what the 04 Rubicon has for drive train.
Click to expand...

I was not implying that the JK was the one. You had it right with the first one. If the '04 Rubicon checks out, that would be my first choice. Two to three years ago you could pick up a TJ Rubicon in the $10 - $12K range. Now, $12 - $15K seems to be the norm.

If it has a clean accident free Carfax, is rust free, and has all the Rubicon components present and working, $14K is a decent deal. Keep in mind you can always go with cash, then offer the person $12.5K and see what happens. Remember, asking price is a starting point. You may in fact end up there, but many times cash in hand helps lower the selling price. As is always the case, be careful when carrying around that much cash and take a friend, if at all possible!
 
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