My rig. @Zorba’s feet.
Zorba doesn't wear shoes. Too much technology in them.
WTB: 2005-2006 LJR
- Thread starter JibCrane
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Zorba doesn't wear shoes. Too much technology in them.
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Rather than plan to upgrade to what I really want later or as needed, I’d be happy to blow the budget with specs in manual along these lines: https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/2005-jeep-ljr-with-a-full-off-road-kit-automatic.67090/
Rather than plan to upgrade to what I really want later or as needed, I’d be happy to blow the budget with specs in manual along these lines: https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/2005-jeep-ljr-with-a-full-off-road-kit-automatic.67090/
$15k for what you want is not impossible but you will have to look and may have to travel. Asking on this forum is a good start. If you see one on the street ask if they are willing to sell it. When I bought my 05LJR in early Covid times the wife and I searched FB, CL. Auto Trader among others multiple times a day for months. Found just what I wanted 800mi away. Seller was willing to wait until the weekend so we could hop a plane and look at it. What you are looking for at that price level will sell within hours so you will have to jump on it. Make sure you have all your ducks in a row, cash in hand ready to pull the trigger. If you find one local regardless of the price go and see it to educate yourself on what’s out there and what you really want/need. I’m very happy with my LJR but I did have to compromise on the color. I spent $22,500 on mine with 110k.
It’s out there you just need to spend the time and energy to find it.
Good luck in you journey.
It’s out there you just need to spend the time and energy to find it.
Good luck in you journey.
Thank you for the encouragement. If they sell that fast, how do you handle inspection? Bring code reader, pressure gauge and a couple other tools vs have someone do it?
Your price is a bit off for a Rubicon.
https://www.carsforsale.com/vehicle/details/91501764
https://www.carsforsale.com/vehicle/details/91579791
https://www.carsforsale.com/vehicle/details/91589358
https://www.carsforsale.com/vehicle/details/91501764
https://www.carsforsale.com/vehicle/details/91579791
https://www.carsforsale.com/vehicle/details/91589358
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LONGJP2
TJ Expert
You may be right. I gave it as an example of one that would cause me to throw out the budget in case because I wouldn’t be thinking the lift may get upgraded in the next couple years.
LONGJP2
TJ Expert
There was a time when my 'I don't want to sell it' price was 25k.
I better raise it to 30.
I bought that Jeep.
I am only jumping into the conversation so that the OP knows the whole story on this one. It was listed for $22,250 on the forum. I had been watching multiple places hoping to find an LJR with low miles and rust free. The one time I wasn't watching the forum Jeeps For Sale section, this one went up for sale. Go figure. It was listed on a Friday and I happened to see it late Friday night. I sent the seller a message and told him that I was interested. He said he had two offers at $24,000, so if I wanted it, I would need to be north of that number. I told him I would buy it for $24,250. He said he needed to check with the other buyers and would get back to me. Saturday morning, he messaged me and said the other two guys dropped out and it was mine for what I offered. Now begins the story...
I sent the specifics on the Jeep to Blaine and he said it looked very promising. He mentioned that the seller lived about 30 miles away from him and he would be glad to look it over and to test drive it prior to me wiring the money. Obviously, I jumped on that offer. Blaine drove it and gave the approval, but there were more than a few things he was not satisfied with in terms of drivability, but overall the condition of the Jeep was good enough for me to wire the money.
All in all, the Jeep sat at Blaine's for about a month. During that time, he worked on it as time permitted and he solved numerous issues with vibrations, braking, fairly awful steering, the winch, the tire carrier, replaced the front driveshaft, installed a SwayLOC system, performed a forced re-learn of the OPDA and honestly fixed about 15-20 other things. Suffice it to say that his work was impeccable and it was a pleasure dealing with him.
I arranged shipping and got the Jeep home and since that time, I have addressed about another 20 issues ranging from paint correction, installing speakers and a subwoofer because there were none, refinishing the winch, installing a new valve cover gasket, new Mopar hoses that were cracked, changing all fluids, small things such as PCCV valves and grommets, a belt tensioner and pulley and getting new exhaust. I am having the hood repainted because the clear coat has crows feet from the California sun.
So, it would certainly be accurate to say that I have much more than the original list price of $22,250 in it. But, it's a good Jeep, with a rust free undercarriage, 46,000 original miles and it now drives like a dream thanks to Blaine. So much so, that my wife has noticed and is starting to take it on errands quite frequently, much to my chagrin.
Some pics...
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There was a time when my 'I don't want to sell it' price was 25k.
I better raise it to 30.
Depends on the Rubicon and who’s sell
theres a yellow automatic in Alabama on Facebook with 136k from a dealer under $20k. Stk# 1998. Dealer is in the business of making money and I don’t care if the paint isn’t so shiny.
wow! Thank you for taking the time to fill us in! She looks great!
You bet.
I am not saying you can't find one that is nice for a reasonable price. Keep looking and like the other forum members have said, be ready to pounce. You will likely have other competition if it is indeed a nice one and priced appropriately. As for mine, I wanted you to know that it had its fair share of drivability issues when I bought it.
My only regret is that I did not get to drive it as it was prior to Blaine's intervention. I would have appreciated his work even more. He said to me, "if you drove it the way it was when it got here, you would understand why the seller sold it"
Good luck in your search.
Well done. Thats now one slick TJUR! Excellent story of the vehicle care needed and care given. Great perspective for the OP. Im sure that set you back some serious $. Another loved TJ remains! Cheers!
Thanks. I would have been up the creek without Blaine's help, for sure. The Jeep's bones are good. It just needed a little love.
More than a bit of truth in that."if you drove it the way it was when it got here, you would understand why the seller sold it"
If I remember the history of this Jeep, the owner previous to the person @Mike Z got it from was also (pretty) unhappy with how it drove - esp the vibrations that he could not resolve after the TT. That and his general need for more space for his overland adventures made him sell the jeep for pretty low price for a LJR with that kind of mileage. I know because at one point I had talked to him.
I asked for more specific pictures. I ask questions such as why are they selling and what did they use it for. I have a bullshit intolerance and if I catch 1 lie I back away. I always bring my code reader, flashlight, probe for looking and hearing for issues, magnet for bondo detection and proper clothing to get underneath for inspection. I will not meet at a location other than their home and I pay attention to how it looks. In my case PO was an engineer and it was obvious that he had attention to detail. You could have used his garage as a surgical suite. I’ve bought several vehicles far from home and had no issues. I look at the travel aspect as part of the fun. In the case of my LJR the wife and I had a nice weekend in Denver and she got some shopping in herself.
Was it a problem with installation? Set up? Needing different cv or other parts? All of the above?
If that is your deciding factor, you want nothing I've ever touched. I got time to do 1 thing well at a time, a clean work area or a well built rig, you can have one or the other, not both.
It was set up by someone who believed that "it's supposed to ride, handle, and steer like crap because that's what Jeeps do". There was help to be had, they didn't look for it.
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