Inherited a 1999 TJ

[Goflight2]

So, my father in law passed away, and we had a chance to buy his Jeep from the estate for $2500. All I knew about it was rust free, looked pretty decent, and ran.

I am aware that it was a salvage title. I had my mechanic buddy inspect it for me. He said that the frame is straight and all bodywork original.

Damage looks like it came from a low speed front end collision. Both bags popped, water pump and radiator are new, and the grill was smashed. (thence the “angry eyes” grill,that was put on to cover it. (currently looking for a chili pepper red grill)

Doesn’t leak anything.

Now, considering I already have a dedicated off road SXS, the main goal of this Jeep would be a weekend beach vehicle, with an occasional trip to the mountains for some light off roading.

What I have done so far:
Replaced seat covers with Rough Country. Really like these.
Added weather tech mats
Replaced soft top
Found an original bottle jack on eBay (so now the HiJack is more decorative lol)
Upgraded speakers and head unit. (big difference. Not great, but at least I can stream music and hear it now)
Added new fender flares
Had a cheapo Craigslist paint job on hood done. (looks better, but meh)
Good,old detail job. Was able to blacken up much of the other plastics that turned white.
Replaced cracked windshield.
Recharged AC, but of course now it’s not blowing as cold anymore.
Looks,like,the lift is a Rough Country, don’t know much more about that.
Really looking at some advice/direction as far as what I should do next. Being a salvage titile, I am hesitant to put much money into it.
It’s a 4.0 Automatic, BTW. 157,000 miles.

 

[Chris]

For $2500 I would say you got a hell of a deal.

Good call on replacing the grill with a stock one. I was looking at the photos thinking to myself, "I like it, except for that horrid grille!". Sounds like you're on the right track to finding a new one and getting that classic Jeep look back.

Might I suggest http://car-part.com

You will likely find a grille on there, and possibly even in the same color as well. Though if it's not the same color, it wouldn't be that expensive to have the grille painted to match.

 

[glwood]

Nice TJ for $2500. The salvage title only comes into play when trying to sell a vehicle. Some buyers are ok, most avoid them. If you plan to hold on to the TJ, the title doesn't matter. Some insurance companies limit or won't offer coverage for a salvage title, but it varies by company...

 

[Kiwi TJ]

Great look ..and that colour is awesome....half the battle with buying a 2nd hand Jeep is know who owned it and its history especially with a salvage title.
Good looking though......welcome to the forum

 

[Flivver250]

Nice clean Jeep. +2 on ditching the grill. Don't worry about the title. You got this at a good price. I read about plenty of people paying a lot more for rusted old parts donors.

 

[Tray Burge]

Looks great, and I agree, the Darth Vader grille needs to go.

 

[Goflight2]

Thanks! My search for the grille is on.

 

[Tray Burge]

Thanks! My search for the grille is on.

You have a stock grille underneath that one don't you?

 

[MountaineerTom]

That’s a nice looking Jeep. If you can’t find a reasonable chili pepper grille, a stock black one would look good on there too.

 

[Goflight2]

Stock grill is there, just bent up.