Advice on 2003 Rubicon I'm looking at purchasing

hofersf49

New Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2018
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3
Location
NN, VA
Hello to everyone just another noob here. Looking for some advice. I have a 2003 Rubicon that I am looking at. The link will be below if you want to check it out. The Jeep has 70k miles on it and I can get it for 12k. KBB has already told me that this is not a bad but not a good deal. Where I am looking for advice is can it be a daily? I have a Corvette that will never be my daily and would love to have a Jeep but I'm just not sure it's a good idea to use as a daily. My research has turned up that the TJ is super reliable but not extremely to fix common issues. Any help would be appreciated.

http://www.goodesautos.com/2003-Jeep-Wrangler/Used-SUV/NewportNews-VA/11110080/Details.aspx
 
Okay, well first off, a Rubicon for 13k is a hell of a deal, in fact it's a STEAL! I paid 20k for mine with 60k miles on it, and they sell for 20-25k all day long here in the PNW, assuming they are clean, low mileage, and rust free.

Now, I will say that if that the number one thing to look for on a used TJ is a rusty frame. Given the price point and the fact that it's in VA, I'm pretty sure that thing is rusted, in which case that price would be too much.

No one here can tell you if that is a solid buy without seeing many more high resolution photos, particularly of the underside. The mileage is good, and it looks pretty clean from the outside (minus those ridiculous looking YJ esque fender flares).

A rusted TJ is not something you want to buy, and these things are notorious for rusting. When sellers don't upload photos of the frame (or other high resolution photos), I immediately assume they are hiding something. Don't bother going to look at it unless it's either close by, or you can get good photos of the underside. A TJ with a rusted frame isn't worth anywhere near 13k if the rust is bad.

I'm also always weary of heavily modified Wranglers. You don't know who owned it, what they did with it, how they wheeled it, or what quality of parts they used. There's a big difference between a modified Wrangler that uses high quality parts like Currie, Savvy, Metalcloak, etc, versus one that was thrown together with a large body lift, coil spring spacers, Rough Country or Skyjacker lift kits, etc. The latter are considered cheap, lower quality parts, while the former are considered expensive, high end parts.

Can it be a daily? Sure... As long as you don't mind the worst fuel economy you'll ever get in your life... seriously. If you can deal with that, then you'll be fine daily driving it.

Don't go off KBB for Wranglers, it's usually very inaccurate. The Jeep Wrangler is consistently ranked in the top 5 highest resale value of used cars, and it's true. Clean ones without rust (which are harder to find, but out there) will be upwards of 18k at least with low miles and Rubicon trim.

Oh, and check out this thread as well: What should I look for when buying a used Wrangler TJ?
 
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Advice to save you time and money...

Read as much of this forum as you can BEFORE making a purchase. I did the opposite and knowing what I know now, I would have bargained down on my jeep.

I found a super clean LJ with low miles but I did not realize the lift it had was done incorrectly and dangerous to drive. I had to put another $2k into it to fix the issues.

Rebuilding the suspension was fun and I learned a lot but the time and money expendature was not planned and a bit painful.

Read, Read, Read.

Good luck

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
Rust, rust, rust ...get some detailed frame shots and post em up...people here will tell you all you need to know. They will be able to tell you what lift, rust, steering and many other items by undercarriage pics. For what it is worth, I have a corvette, an 05 TJ and my DD is an explorer. Many people here use them as a DD but around here (NY) I chose not too.
 
If you don't mind 13 mpg's on the average daily would be ok. I have DD mine for the 13 years I've owned it.
 
That is an amazing deal IF it looks as good underneath as it does on the outside. They failed to give any pictures of the areas you really want to see. Either they are lazy or hiding something. If it’s under 2 hours away I would go look at it personally.
 
Well I went and looked at it (with my Jeep buddy). Long story short it was not worth the money and had some pretty significant issues.

Having a Jeep buddy is key... with this forum as a guide, someday you will be someone's jeep buddy :)
 
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