Help buying a TJ

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grabeb

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Jun 29, 2021
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260
Location
Kansas
Years ago I had a CJ5, so I'm not a novice to Jeeps by any means, and I bought my oldest daughter an 01 Sport about 3yrs ago. That said I'm not an expert either. I am looking for a TJ just for kind of a 2nd/spare car for myself so I don't have to put the miles on my Yukon XL, which I'm also considering upgrading. Most of my driving is a mile or two or less and I want something more fun to run around in. Need to teach my youngest to drive and I might pass this onto her or buy another one if she falls in love with it and I'm not ready to part with.

I have some questions, I'm hoping for some input:
- I doubt I take it rock crawling or anything, but there is a place nearby off a river where there are some trails and you can go down on the riverbed and play as well. Took the basically stock Sport with Michelin road tires on it down there and through the trails and it did fine, but I didn't get too risky. It now has BFG KO2's on it. Loved them on my CJ. That's probably the extent of my playing, but I wouldn't mind going out there and hitting the trails and the riverbed. There are some pretty built rigs down there, just not sure of the level of built most of it requires.
- Obviously the Rubicon is the upper tier....will I kick myself for not going that route with what I explained? I know they have the dana 44 axle vs 33 and the lockers up front. Is the Sahara above the Sport? I've been seeming to find a good mix of Rubicon and Sports and then some X's, which I believe are lower than the sport.
- I've been trying to stay below about 150k miles, but I see a lot around 200k. Any reason to worry about that...my issue is price seems the same on both. I seem to be in the $10k range no matter what I see in our area.
- Right now I seem to be floating between an 03 with probably past overheat issue and non-working A/C Rubicon with Hardtop sitting on 35's and it looks nicely done with 190k miles for about 10k. I am also looking at an 01 sport with 135k miles, no AC at all ($1400 to do myself and have charged) sitting on about 30" tires, an aftermarket Targa top hard-top. Everything works, but fenders were replaced due to rust issues, but body and frame look ok. Very clean looking rig. Probably get in it for around $8500.

I likely have more questions, but my brain is fried for now.
 
So I'm newer to the Jeep platform, but not wheeling. I picked up a '00 4.0 5spd, 4" suspension lift on 33's. It has the stock dana 30/35 setup with 3.07 gears, yeah....3.07. I don't do any rock bouncing, however enjoy hitting trails and climbing on things. This thing is way more capable then me and has yet to disappoint me in any situation. The added features of the Rubicon are nice, especially if its within the budget. However I highly doubt you'll ever truly "need" them with what you have described. If buying one now is not a necessity, I'd wait for the right one to pop up. It took me about a month to find the one I wanted. I almost settled on two others, and I'm glad I didn't. I probably looked/test drove about 15 over that month period. Good luck and keep us posted.
 
SouthernTJ2000 said:
So I'm newer to the Jeep platform, but not wheeling. I picked up a '00 4.0 5spd, 4" suspension lift on 33's. It has the stock dana 30/35 setup with 3.07 gears, yeah....3.07. I don't do any rock bouncing, however enjoy hitting trails and climbing on things. This thing is way more capable then me and has yet to disappoint me in any situation. The added features of the Rubicon are nice, especially if its within the budget. However I highly doubt you'll ever truly "need" them with what you have described. If buying one now is not a necessity, I'd wait for the right one to pop up. It took me about a month to find the one I wanted. I almost settled on two others, and I'm glad I didn't. I probably looked/test drove about 15 over that month period. Good luck and keep us posted.
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That's about the look I'm going for. Much taller, I'd feel a bit silly if I wasn't out on a trail or bouncing off rocks. That's just me. I've been looking on/off since I bought my daughters 3 yrs ago, just haven't been ready to do anything until now.
 
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grabeb said:
That's about the look I'm going for. Much taller, I'd feel a bit silly if I wasn't out on a trail or bouncing off rocks. That's just me. I've been looking on/off since I bought my daughters 3 yrs ago, just haven't been ready to do anything until now.
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Yeah, the lift and wheel/tire setup wasn't necessarily what sold me on it. It checked off my "must have" boxes...working a/c (I live in the south), 4.0, 5spd, clean, "lower mileage" (150K). I'd passed it on MP for a few weeks as it was just over what I wanted to spend. One day said, heck with it, and sent them an offer. And here we are...lol.
 
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SouthernTJ2000 said:
Yeah, the lift and wheel/tire setup wasn't necessarily what sold me on it. It checked off my "must have" boxes...working a/c (I live in the south), 4.0, 5spd, clean, "lower mileage" (150K). I'd passed it on MP for a few weeks as it was just over what I wanted to spend. One day said, heck with it, and sent them an offer. And here we are...lol.
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Well, she looks great! I'm in the same boat with the 150k miles, 4.0, clean and I want A/C, but can either install or fix for the right price. I'm torn on the manual/auto debate. Want to teach my 15y/o to drive with it. I have zero doubt she could learn, but at what cost to a clutch!
 
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Search is your friend, lots on here about looking to buy a TJ.
Rust big major problem, have to get south to find one without some. 150k miles OK if taken care of.
Put in low range to learn stick and clutch, gear change etc, then up.
Be patient in looking for a good one.
 
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Anything to check on the lockers on the Rubicons? Fun part will be testing the low gearing on pavement of the city.
 
I bought my 05 LjR with 113K on it. Personally I would not hesitate on a TJ with less than 150K for your needs. Many people here use them as a DD and put on the miles so they want lower miles. I bought my 19 F-250 in Oct of 18 and only have 47k on it. This is with 2 trips each to Id and ND. I fill up every 3-4 weeks. I put on less than 1K on the LJ in 2.5 yrs. When I buy used I look to see what kind of person selling it is like. Do they look like they keep their things nice? I found my LJ just the way I wanted and the only thing I’ve done are replaced heat shields, new injectors, plugs, seat risers and gmrs radio. Only thing I plan to add are lights and BM brakes when the brakes need replacement.
Be patient and get what suits your needs.
 
Went and drove the 03 Rubicon. Guy seemed legit and honest. But to be honest it's 4" suspension on 35" tires. It's a bit squirrelly on steering around town, he had suggested fixes, which I don't argue with. Just not looking for project. Could come back around to it, but I think search still on.

He did try to show me on his inclined drive the lockers and low gear worked crawling up. It does have low torque for certain. The 5 speed seemed loud, maybe that's normal? Felt fine when running through the gears.
 
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This is my issue? Don't get me wrong, I love my daughter's TJ, but can someone explain this? As an old CJ owner, I would still have tough time buying a square headlight YJ, they weren't real jeeps back in my earlier days. The TJs renewed the faith!

But how is a 2001 and a 2012 bringing the same price? FWIW, the 2001 has zero factory air and 40k miles more. So essentially same price.

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If you don't need a Rubicon, don't buy one. The 4:1 transfer case is really low for most people's needs. I bought mine because I couldn't pass up the deal. One owner Texas Jeep with 120,000 miles for $9500. I sold my 00' auto Sahara a few days earlier for $9,000.
 
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The TJ's and wranglers in general tend to maintain value well, especially when preserved in dry climates like that of Kansas. No salt, no rain, no mud. I would try to find a TJ that is stock and not lifted so you can start with a baseline. Most times when buying a lifted jeep you have to redo the suspension anyways to fix the PO's mistakes.
 
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01 TJ, just looking: not OEM top, driver fender replaced/painted, lug nut missing, rust !!
Whole jeep repainted ?? Pass.
 
grabeb said:
Well, she looks great! I'm in the same boat with the 150k miles, 4.0, clean and I want A/C, but can either install or fix for the right price. I'm torn on the manual/auto debate. Want to teach my 15y/o to drive with it. I have zero doubt she could learn, but at what cost to a clutch!
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Thanks. So I will say this. This is by far one of the easiest, if not easiest, manuals I've driven. I've owned probably 10-12 manual vehicles over the last 20ish years. Ranging from small commuter car, sports/muscle cars, to trucks. You don't even need to give this thing any gas when letting the clutch out, it just starts to tractor on down the road and the clutch isn't stiff/heavy at all.
 
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1. My advice would be to read through the information on this forum. There is a lot of experience packed in here.

2. Figure out your maximum price point and put that money in an envelope in a drawer.

3. Take notes based upon number 1 above.

4. Expand your search as wide as possible.

5. Be patient and stick to your parameters developed in number 3 above.

6. There is no perfect Jeep, but if you find one that checks all of your boxes then it is perfect for you.
 
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