Help convince me I am not crazy for buying a TJ (so I can convince my wife)

Johnfromphilly said:
OK, I cannot get a southern jeep as I mentioned. Do you see things in the photos that alarm you
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First, why can't you get a southern Jeep?

Second, we sure do. Rust. All sorts of alarm bells are going off.

Don't buy a rusted TJ.

The cost to fix these type Tjs is typically way higher than buying out of state.

You mentioned you can remove the skid plate. Let us know how how it goes.

Not trying to be a jackwagon or a downer....but you aren't hearing the crowd. Don't start with a rust on a 15+ year old 4 wheel drive. So many moving parts.

We see arguments FOR buying those and all that , all the time.

Like I recently told an employee..."you are mistaking this conversation for an argument, it isn't. "

Just say no to rusted Tj's.
 
AndyG said:
First, why can't you get a southern Jeep?

Second, we sure do. Rust. All sorts of alarm bells are going off.

Don't buy a rusted TJ.

The cost to fix these type Tjs is typically way higher than buying out of state.

You mentioned you can remove the skid plate. Let us know how how it goes.

Not trying to be a jackwagon or a downer....but you aren't hearing the crowd. Don't start with a rust on a 15+ year old 4 wheel drive. So many moving parts.

We see arguments FOR buying those and all that , all the time.

Like I recently told an employee..."you are mistaking this conversation for an argument, it isn't. "

Just say no to rusted Tj's.
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I appreciate your candidness, I do. You are not coming off in a bad way at all.

I did not say I could remove the skid plate, I have a bore hole camera I will be using to look inside the frame. This frame has no flaking around the frame holes or streaking of rust coming from those holes. Both things I have seen with rust on the inside.

I am open to buying a southern or southwestern Jeep I just gave up on that idea because I have no way to be sure it is not a lemon. As I mentioned above, how can I spend $10k without having run the engine or driven the car? These Jeep’s are almost all sold by private sellers and roadside used car dealers. If I found one as a trade at a large new car dealer they would have some backing to the fact that it is a solid Jeep.

I am not trying to argue the rust issue. I am trying to have a conversation about it. There has to be some level of acceptable rust that can be mitigated if the frame integrity is not impacted. I guess I am arguing the issue and you guys are the experts, sorry.
 
Johnfromphilly said:
I will check it out, thanks. that is pretty far and i could not drive there to inspect it before buying.
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Not sure if your definition of far but it’s about 3 hrs away south. Not far by any means. Northern Virginia frames are exponentially better than NE frames.
 
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jazngab said:
Not sure if your definition of far but it’s about 3 hrs away south. Not far by any means. Northern Virginia frames are exponentially better than NE frames.
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I guess far means tough to go look and not buy. I would want to be assured I am going to buy it. Plus it involves another person to give up their day to go with me to drive a car back.
 
There has been one I have been following but it was out of my budget. I just wrote the guy and said it was out of my budget but I could offer less. He said he was trying to weed out tire kickers with the higher price and was open to my offer. It lived in South Carolina and is now about an hour from me in PA.

looks clean.

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Johnfromphilly said:
There has been one I have been following but it was out of my budget. I just wrote the guy and said it was out of my budget but I could offer less. He said he was trying to weed out tire kickers with the higher price and was open to my offer. It lived in South Carolina and is now about an hour from me in PA.

looks clean.

View attachment 220575

View attachment 220576
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I’d go look at it ASAP. Looks clean. Make an offer in person if it checks out.
 
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Johnfromphilly said:
There has been one I have been following but it was out of my budget. I just wrote the guy and said it was out of my budget but I could offer less. He said he was trying to weed out tire kickers with the higher price and was open to my offer. It lived in South Carolina and is now about an hour from me in PA.

looks clean.

View attachment 220575

View attachment 220576
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There's your TJ....and I'm going to tell you one of those rusted ones it's out of your budget too even if you can get it for what you've got to spend.....because your budget ends up being what you paid plus what it takes to straighten it out... When they are rusty salt eats in places that you just don't think about like where the bushings sit in the control arms...I've yet to see a single one of these that somebody can buy that they don't have to do anything to it.
 
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Also I'm not even talking about really bad Rusty ones I'm just talking about any of them... The rusty ones are probably twice as costly at the minimum.

Folks from northern states think that we are shaming them for rust... Not at all. I'm just trying to make the economic argument that you can avoid it and come out ahead and have something that's really special in the area you live in.
 
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AndyG said:
There's your TJ....and I'm going to tell you one of those rusted ones it's out of your budget too even if you can get it for what you've got to spend.....because your budget ends up being what you paid plus what it takes to straighten it out... When they are rusty salt eats in places that you just don't think about like where the bushings sit in the control arms...I've yet to see a single one of these that somebody can buy that they don't have to do anything to it.
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When buying any older used vehicle with 100k or more, I would think it’s at least $300-500 for all new fluids and brakes if you DIY off the bat. But expect to pay if it’s a rust free clean TJ. If your budget is lower then expect to put in some sweat equity.
 
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jazngab said:
When buying any older used vehicle with 100k or more, I would think it’s at least $300-500 for all new fluids and brakes if you DIY off the bat. But expect to pay if it’s a rust free clean TJ. If your budget is lower then expect to put in some sweat equity.
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This is a good post you're going to pay either way... every single one of these out there needs something ...if you show me one that doesn't need anything done to it I'll show you one that somebody like @Jerry Bransford has and it's not getting sold... And when it does it won't be listed anywhere... It will happen in the parking lot after a ride.... Just like the very best jobs in the world... They are almost always inside deals.

Watching this forum for several years I've seen people buy these over and over and most everybody that gets a hold of one and is aggressive about fixing things will spend anywhere from 1,000 to 5 or 6,000 to get it right...I know you don't want to hear that but if you get one that's bad enough that's what you're going to have to do cuz then you're in the game.

It needs to be as close to stock as possible

The tires don't need to be way too big for the gears

It doesn't need to be beat all the crap

It doesn't need to be rusty

It doesn't need to have random things missing or holes cut in it.

It needs to have a top

Even with an all-in budget of $10,000 that's not setting the standard too high.


Also before I got one Rusty I would get one with a salvage title... I picked up a 2006 Rubicon Auto with about 70,000 mi on it was in the best mechanical shape and as clean as anything I've ever seen... It has a brand new winch and off-road lights and draw tight hitch and Bank stainless exhaust... New tires and wheels... And I got it for $9,750.

I still had to fix a leak on the air conditioner.. do all the fluids and fix a loose cross member...it was hit in the right rear wheel and they put a new axle in it and sway bar link and they couldn't get the camouflage wrap again so they did bed liner on the exterior.

You can ask @Hog or @Claybirdd ... It is a really nice TJ.

I bought it too resell and now I don't even want to get rid of it.
 
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I got one!

I bought this 2001 TJ. It is from South Carolina it’s whole life. A local salvage/tow company operator was picking something up in NC and saw this in FB and bought it. He brought it to PA and put it in his pole barn and did not drive it. I had my local mechanic give it a full inspection and he gave it a big thumbs up.

Manual
6 cylinder
164,000 miles
Perfect frame in and out (pictures below)
Stock everything
$9,000


I feel fortunate to have gotten this without having to travel or have something shipped. Thanks for all the help along the way. Now I can move on to the next step of ownership, dreaming of what to do with it! Probably gonna keep it stock, may upgrade wheels and tires.

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