Decent TJ in Midwest or nearby

[Mr_Stop]

I'm looking to pickup a TJ. I don't want to spend a ton as my teenage son will also be driving it. He just totaled my car and I'm thinking a jeep might be a bit more rugged. That said, Mom and Dad will probably be driving it, so I want something fairly clean. My biggest fear is rusted frames followed by body rust. Other than that, I'm an old gear head and I'm not afraid of a wrench. I'm looking to buy ASAP. Basically, I'm looking looking for a good stable Jeep to build off of.

Mandatory requirements
- Frame in good condition - No patches/repairs, minor surface rust ok
- Body in good condition - no rust through (fender rust might be ok)
- 4.0 6-cylinder (manual or auto (depending on year))
- Air conditioning

Preferred, but not necessarily deal breakers
- Hard top with full doors
- Lower miles (<150,000K)

It might be a lot to ask, but I'm hoping to spend around $5K give or take depending on condition and options.
I'm located in Cincinnati, OH but willing to travel as long as I can be assured of condition and the Jeep is able to drive home.

 

[MrBClark]

I'm looking to pickup a TJ. I don't want to spend a ton as my teenage son will also be driving it. He just totaled my car and I'm thinking a jeep might be a bit more rugged. That said, Mom and Dad will probably be driving it, so I want something fairly clean. My biggest fear is rusted frames followed by body rust. Other than that, I'm an old gear head and I'm not afraid of a wrench. I'm looking to buy ASAP. Basically, I'm looking looking for a good stable Jeep to build off of.

Mandatory requirements
- Frame in good condition - No patches/repairs, minor surface rust ok
- Body in good condition - no rust through (fender rust might be ok)
- 4.0 6-cylinder (manual or auto (depending on year))
- Air conditioning

Preferred, but not necessarily deal breakers
- Hard top with full doors
- Lower miles (<150,000K)

It might be a lot to ask, but I'm hoping to spend around $5K give or take depending on condition and options.
I'm located in Cincinnati, OH but willing to travel as long as I can be assured of condition and the Jeep is able to drive home.

Finding a nice TJ for 5k is tough. I recently was in the market about 7 months ago. I looked for a long time. It is possible, but tough. Since I live in PA, pretty much every old Jeep is rusty. Mine is no exception. PO painted over the frame so it looked good. It was not as good as it looked. Mine also had a cracked head that PO lied about (and many other things). I paid $5200 but the repairs have added another $2k to that. Like you said, main thing is frame rust, especially if you can do your own engine work. Lucky for me, i have a friend that welds and I will be able here soon as well. Just take your time looking. Just don't expect perfection from a sub 5k tj. It is possible to find a nice one though. Good luck.

 

[MrBClark]

Finding a nice TJ for 5k is tough. I recently was in the market about 7 months ago. I looked for a long time. It is possible, but tough. Since I live in PA, pretty much every old Jeep is rusty. Mine is no exception. PO painted over the frame so it looked good. It was not as good as it looked. Mine also had a cracked head that PO lied about (and many other things). I paid $5200 but the repairs have added another $2k to that. Like you said, main thing is frame rust, especially if you can do your own engine work. Lucky for me, i have a friend that welds and I will be able here soon as well. Just take your time looking. Just don't expect perfection from a sub 5k tj. It is possible to find a nice one though. Good luck.

I made a list of over 30 things i have done to my Jeep in the time I have owned it. They are fun to work on though even though every bolt on mine is a challenge. It just adds to the satisfaction when I break it loose

Finding a nice TJ for 5k is tough. I recently was in the market about 7 months ago. I looked for a long time. It is possible, but tough. Since I live in PA, pretty much every old Jeep is rusty. Mine is no exception. PO painted over the frame so it looked good. It was not as good as it looked. Mine also had a cracked head that PO lied about (and many other things). I paid $5200 but the repairs have added another $2k to that. Like you said, main thing is frame rust, especially if you can do your own engine work. Lucky for me, i have a friend that welds and I will be able here soon as well. Just take your time looking. Just don't expect perfection from a sub 5k tj. It is possible to find a nice one though. Good luck.

I have a list of about 30 things I have done to my Jeep in the time I have owned it. They are fun to work on even though every bolt on mine is a pain.

 

[Mr_Stop]

Finding a nice TJ for 5k is tough. I recently was in the market about 7 months ago. I looked for a long time. It is possible, but tough. Since I live in PA, pretty much every old Jeep is rusty. Mine is no exception. PO painted over the frame so it looked good. It was not as good as it looked. Mine also had a cracked head that PO lied about (and many other things). I paid $5200 but the repairs have added another $2k to that. Like you said, main thing is frame rust, especially if you can do your own engine work. Lucky for me, i have a friend that welds and I will be able here soon as well. Just take your time looking. Just don't expect perfection from a sub 5k tj. It is possible to find a nice one though. Good luck.

That is pretty much what I'm afraid of. Probably going to bump up my price point to get something clean. Maybe I need to take a trip to Florida or somewhere south? It's amazing how much people are asking for nearly 20 year old Jeeps!

 

[MrBClark]

That is pretty much what I'm afraid of. Probably going to bump up my price. Maybe I need to take a trip to Florida or somewhere south?

Tbh if I could have, I would have. I have looked on South Carolina Craiglist and stuff. They had some decent ones in good condition if you dont want to go all the way to Florida. If I had limitless money, I would go to Texas to buy one. They have a huge selection of great TJs. If you are able to go south and buy a Jeep, do it. Rust is a pain. Eventually, I am gonna go to Texas to buy a TJ, but that's far in the future. Keep me updated on how it goes.

 

[MrBClark]

That is pretty much what I'm afraid of. Probably going to bump up my price. Maybe I need to take a trip to Florida or somewhere south?

Tbh if I could have, I would have. I have looked on South Carolina Craiglist and stuff. They had some decent ones in good condition if you dont want to go all the way to Florida. If I had limitless money, I would go to Texas to buy one. They have a huge selection of great TJs. If you are able to go south and buy a Jeep, do it. Rust is a pain. Eventually, I am gonna go to Texas to buy a TJ, but that's far in the future. Keep me updated on how it goes.

 

[Mr_Stop]

I was going to buy a cheap car, but got the bug. I had a '78 CJ7 with a 304 3spd. back in college. The jeep was a ratty mess, but it sure was fun!

You got me looking in Texas and South Carolina now...

 

[MrBClark]

I was going to buy a cheap car, but got the bug. I had a '78 CJ7 with a 304 3spd. back in college. The jeep was a ratty mess, but it sure was fun!

You got me looking in Texas and South Carolina now...

Just let me know how your search ends up. Hope it all goes well. All I know, is down south is a good idea. To be honest, I can't picture myself without a Jeep. They are too fun!

 

[Mr_Stop]

Still looking... Ran across a 2004 Sport on the way home tonight from a college visit. Saw it in a car lot and did a quick U-turn. Inside of the frame looked clean and felt as smooth as butter. Supposedly it was a Southern Jeep that recently made its way up here from an ex-military person. Guy at the lot said another guy was on his way to take a look at the Jeep. I gave him my # in case it didn't work out.

There's a 2006 X down the road from me that is also a Florida car with 0 rust.

Unfortunately, both dealers are asking $10K which is above my budget so we'll see.

On the flip side, I saw first hand what can happen to these frames tonight. A bit closer to home, I passed by another place that had a field of Jeeps in front of the shop. I stopped, thinking they were for sale, but they were either parts vehicles or waiting for repair. It was unbelievable the holes and rust I saw in the frames! It makes me nervous too bring a clean framed jeep to this neck of the woods. It seems like I might spoil its state and give it an inevitable death sentence....

 

[MrBClark]

Still looking... Ran across a 2004 Sport on the way home tonight from a college visit. Saw it in a car lot and did a quick U-turn. Inside of the frame looked clean and felt as smooth as butter. Supposedly it was a Southern Jeep that recently made its way up here from an ex-military person. Guy at the lot said another guy was on his way to take a look at the Jeep. I gave him my # in case it didn't work out.

There's a 2006 X down the road from me that is also a Florida car with 0 rust.

Unfortunately, both dealers are asking $10K which is above my budget so we'll see.

On the flip side, I saw first hand what can happen to these frames tonight. A bit closer to home, I passed by another place that had a field of Jeeps in front of the shop. I stopped, thinking they were for sale, but they were either parts vehicles or waiting for repair. It was unbelievable the holes and rust I saw in the frames! It makes me nervous too bring a clean framed jeep to this neck of the woods. It seems like I might spoil its state and give it an inevitable death sentence....

Yea rust absolutely sucks. Mine is pretty rough as it has always been in the rust belt. Not to the point of trashing it, but not great. If you do buy rust free Jeep, which is pricey, then spray everything underneath the Jeep with fluid film. Inside the frame, everywhere. That is a very popular rust preventative on this forum. Searching for Jeep is a lot of fun. I still do it even when I have a Jeep that i love already.

 

[Mr_Stop]

Searching for Jeep is a lot of fun.

I don't know. I thought it would be fun. While there are some sellers who are totally responsive and have been transparent, I can't believe how many flakes there are. The ads give little to no information on the vehicle and often come with few pictures. I have had several not answer questions and completely ghost on me. Some of these are even from dealers! I have been on the other side with buyers flaking, but I would have never thought sellers would be so flakey!

 

[MrBClark]

I don't know. I thought it would be fun. While there are some sellers who are totally responsive and have been transparent, I can't believe how many flakes there are. The ads give little to no information on the vehicle and often come with few pictures. I have had several not answer questions and completely ghost on me. Some of these are even from dealers! I have been on the other side with buyers flaking, but I would have never thought sellers would be so flakey!

Yea finding a decent looking one then finding out the seller is completely irresponsible and annoying was not fun. Had that happen a few times to me. Still enjoyed seeing all the different Jeeps out there. When I bought my Jeep, it stayed in the driveway for like 5 months cause I was fixing it and getting it ready. Unfortunately, because it was not used often, there was not way to know my head was cracked since the PO was dishonest and didnt inform me of that issue. Now, when I need the Jeep, i have to fix the head. Hopefully you find a seller that is honest so you dont have the issue I am having right now. Btw, fixing the head is not fun, I learned that the past three days. Still not yet done

 

[Mr_Stop]

Got to look at and drive a couple today! I posted another thread about it.

 

[MrBClark]

Got to look at and drive a couple today! I posted another thread about it.

Those looked nice. I noticed some saying pass but those are people that can probably pay like 13k for a perfect one. Since I cant see it in person, I can not be sure, but the second one does not seem too bad for the price. Sure, it may need some work, but it's not bad. If the frame seemed good inside, it doesn't seem bad. Also inside of the body mounts are known for rust. If the spots I see are just surface rust, then you can just take a wire wheel are remove the rust, the spray with fluid film. If you like the Jeep, look over everything. Mainly for rust. Most likely a few seals will be leaking, but that is not too bad. Just make sure that the rust is just surface if you are interested. Today, i finally got my Jeep together, just to find out the exhaust leak is much worse and my valve cover is leaking a bit. Now I have to tear into it again. Ugh. Good luck.

 

[Mr_Stop]

The second one does have potential if someone was willing to put in some elbow grease or just wanted to drive it and let it run its natural course. I think he is too high for the amount of work that I would need or want to do. If it were closer to 5-6K it would be a no brainer for me, but he balked at the 7K I initially threw out.

 

[MrBClark]

The second one does have potential if someone was willing to put in some elbow grease or just wanted to drive it and let it run its natural course. I think he is too high for the amount of work that I would need or want to do. If it were closer to 5-6K it would be a no brainer for me, but he balked at the 7K I initially threw out.

Yea the main thing that would scare me with that one is the engine tick that you mentioned. Mine currently has a slight tick to it. They are hard to diagnose. I am just gonna let mine tick for now, hoping its just a lifter. I think it's just a lifter. Yea I would say the price for that Jeep is high especially if it has an unknown tick.