Long time coming on this thread, but we stay busy with kids, sports, and other activities. So to begin, a little background. I had a new 2005 Light Khaki TJ X that I sold after a few years (2008) because of kids and commute to work. Truly hated parting with it, but at the time it was the best decision. I also didn't love the 3.07 gears so it worked out for the best based on where I am now. Hindsight being 20/20 and all. I bought a used 2003 Honda Accord for a little more room and a lot better fuel economy.
Anyway, fast forward to late 2016/early 2017 and the Jeep bug has grown to mutant proportions. After working on my wife a bit and hinting that it was happening with or without her, we decide to pull the trigger. She required an Auto - which to me is fine, I love manuals but I did need to give a tad to her on the deal. Happy wife, happy life. Looked at many Jeeps and found several that were in good to great shape but not in the budget. Everything was in the $14k range which was more than our agreed upon budget of around $11k.
Found a 2004 Stone White Sport (3.73) online from a private seller not far from us in March 2017 . She was flaky as hell, and it seemed like she didn't really want to sell it. Met up with her to take a look, and found she didn't really want to sell it. She and her husband bought it for their 16 y/o son, who (for some reason) didn't like it. They were asking $12,500. It wasn't washed, had a rough soft top in need of replacing, and general maintenance was lacking a bit. Nothing that a little love wouldn't take care of though. Needed a bit of cleaning and servicing is all.
I offer her $10k in cash that day because it's in good shape, had 93k miles, and no rust. Born in Maine and per records lived there for one whole year and in SC and GA after that. She didn't bite, and said the offer was too low and wasn't ready that day without her husband. I said that's okay, talk to him, and get back to me with a counter offer. I don't hear back from her for maybe a week. I texted again asking if she'd thought about it any more - she said yes, but the the price was firm. I told her that the Jeep needed a top, tires, some maintenance (valve cover gasket, probably service diffs, maybe a RMS, etc.) so her price was too high. She said she'd talk to her husband. We came to an agreement on price after that - $11,000. Deal was made and we were happy Jeep owners again. More to come. Pics in this post are from when we purchased.
Of course, I let my wife drive it home after buying it. Daughter approved as well.
Anyway, fast forward to late 2016/early 2017 and the Jeep bug has grown to mutant proportions. After working on my wife a bit and hinting that it was happening with or without her, we decide to pull the trigger. She required an Auto - which to me is fine, I love manuals but I did need to give a tad to her on the deal. Happy wife, happy life. Looked at many Jeeps and found several that were in good to great shape but not in the budget. Everything was in the $14k range which was more than our agreed upon budget of around $11k.
Found a 2004 Stone White Sport (3.73) online from a private seller not far from us in March 2017 . She was flaky as hell, and it seemed like she didn't really want to sell it. Met up with her to take a look, and found she didn't really want to sell it. She and her husband bought it for their 16 y/o son, who (for some reason) didn't like it. They were asking $12,500. It wasn't washed, had a rough soft top in need of replacing, and general maintenance was lacking a bit. Nothing that a little love wouldn't take care of though. Needed a bit of cleaning and servicing is all.
I offer her $10k in cash that day because it's in good shape, had 93k miles, and no rust. Born in Maine and per records lived there for one whole year and in SC and GA after that. She didn't bite, and said the offer was too low and wasn't ready that day without her husband. I said that's okay, talk to him, and get back to me with a counter offer. I don't hear back from her for maybe a week. I texted again asking if she'd thought about it any more - she said yes, but the the price was firm. I told her that the Jeep needed a top, tires, some maintenance (valve cover gasket, probably service diffs, maybe a RMS, etc.) so her price was too high. She said she'd talk to her husband. We came to an agreement on price after that - $11,000. Deal was made and we were happy Jeep owners again. More to come. Pics in this post are from when we purchased.
Of course, I let my wife drive it home after buying it. Daughter approved as well.