New buyer help + rust concerns

Jadelizard

Jadelizard

New Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2018
Messages
15
Location
Spokane, WA, USA
Hello everyone!

I’m in the process of finding a TJ to purchase. I test drove one today and loved it. However, it seemed really rusty underneath. Is this surface rust normal?

Also, are there other things I should be on the lookout for (besides the obvious)?

Thank you in advance!

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There is nothing there to worry about, that's just old age. My 97 is just like it.

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Jadelizard said:
Hello everyone!

I’m in the process of finding a TJ to purchase. I test drove one today and loved it. However, it seemed really rusty underneath. Is this surface rust normal?

Also, are there other things I should be on the lookout for (besides the obvious)?

Thank you in advance!
Click to expand...
I don’t see a lot of frame rail shots but looks pretty clean underneath to me
 
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Jadelizard said:
Hello everyone!

I’m in the process of finding a TJ to purchase. I test drove one today and loved it. However, it seemed really rusty underneath. Is this surface rust normal?

Also, are there other things I should be on the lookout for (besides the obvious)?

Thank you in advance!
Click to expand...
That is a minor cosmetics rust. check the engine and drive it in service roads with the 4x4 engaged and listen carefully for strange noise, you will be good.
 
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I've seen worse rust. However, my big concern is that it looks like someone parked that thing outside it's entire life and neglected it. Usually someone who does something like that isn't the type of person you want to buy a used vehicle from.
 
Chris said:
I've seen worse rust. However, my big concern is that it looks like someone parked that thing outside it's entire life and neglected it. Usually someone who does something like that isn't the type of person you want to buy a used vehicle from.
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Thanks, Chris. The Jeep is at a dealer right now. They bought it from the original owner who towed it behind a motorhome. It has 75k miles but roughly half of those were from being flat towed. I'm going to take a second look at it in a hour. When I drove it yesterday it ran really well.

A head gasket seal has already been replaced. I assume it dried up due to it sitting. Assuming the ordinal owner had it neglected it-- what else should I be on the look for?

Thank again! :)
 
Jadelizard said:
Thanks, Chris. The Jeep is at a dealer right now. They bought it from the original owner who towed it behind a motorhome. It has 75k miles but roughly half of those were from being flat towed. I'm going to take a second look at it in a hour. When I drove it yesterday it ran really well.

A head gasket seal has already been replaced. I assume it dried up due to it sitting. Assuming the ordinal owner had it neglected it-- what else should I be on the look for?

Thank again! :)
Click to expand...

Yeah, from what I can tell that's all UV ray damage. Hence all the paint fade, bumper fade, etc.

Aside from rust, I'd be checking the 4WD to make sure it works, inspecting the bell housing to see if the rear main seal is leaking oil, and checking little things like the AC and stuff to make sure they work.

Other than that though, the engines are pretty bullet proof if properly maintained. The rust is the big thing you have to worry about with these vehicles.
 
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I’m with Chris ; That Jeep has lived outside .

Bad deal? Not necessarily.

I noticed the fade and the motor home bumper.

It depends on what it cost , what you want and how you treat things-or plan to do to it.

A Jeep that is a little less than perfect is a little more enjoyable in some ways....you aren’t nervous when kids scramble up the back tires to get in or a tree limb whacks it.

That Jeep could look awesome lifted a little with killer wheels and nice bumpers.

The head issue bugs me, run it up to temp and watch the gauge and for smoke at the pipe...white smoke. Ignore condensation from pipe from test drives.
 
Jadelizard said:
Thanks, Chris. The Jeep is at a dealer right now. They bought it from the original owner who towed it behind a motorhome. It has 75k miles but roughly half of those were from being flat towed.
Click to expand...

If the dealer tried to sell that story to you, I'd be leery of them. Flat towing does not add miles. If it has 75k miles, that's driven miles. Not to say 75k is bad, I just can't stand dealers feeding potential buyers a load of bs.
 
Older cars with mechanical speedos will add miles. However, this Wrangler should not. I know someone with a YJ that it did, but have never heard of a TJ where it does.

I would also see what you can find out about the head gasket. What year is it? 2000-2001s have a head crack issue, not all but some.
 
glwood said:
If the dealer tried to sell that story to you, I'd be leery of them. Flat towing does not add miles. If it has 75k miles, that's driven miles. Not to say 75k is bad, I just can't stand dealers feeding potential buyers a load of bs.
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Wow, thank you very much for this info. I've been a bit leery to begin with. I didn't realize that flat towing the TJ does not add miles to the odo. That might push me over the edge to try to find a different TJ. He, (single dealership owner) is asking 15k for this one — I was able to negotiate down to 13.5k but that still seems a bit high compared to other comps in my area.

There no service records from the previous owner and I got the sense that this jeep was neglected and not taken care of properly. :(
 
dmatt13 said:
Older cars with mechanical speedos will add miles. However, this Wrangler should not. I know someone with a YJ that it did, but have never heard of a TJ where it does.

I would also see what you can find out about the head gasket. What year is it? 2000-2001s have a head crack issue, not all but some.
Click to expand...

This TJ is a 05'. It sounds like, when done right, flat towing will not add to the ODO. This is a big red flag for me-- especially since this was a "selling point" from the dealer. Thank you!!
 
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Jadelizard said:
Wow, thank you very much for this info. I've been a bit leery to begin with. I didn't realize that flat towing the TJ does not add miles to the odo. That might push me over the edge to try to find a different TJ. He, (single dealership owner) is asking 15k for this one — I was able to negotiate down to 13.5k but that still seems a bit high compared to other comps in my area.

There no service records from the previous owner and I got the sense that this jeep was neglected and not taken care of properly. :(
Click to expand...

Yeah thats quite high for the state it is in. For comparison mine is for sale for 13.5 and I'm biased but would say its in better state :)

It should be closer to 10 in my opinion but the PNW is a bit more expensive, I wouldn't pay more than 11 though. The good news is there isn't much rust up there!
 
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tomtaylz said:
Yeah thats quite high for the state it is in. For comparison mine is for sale for 13.5 and I'm biased but would say its in better state :)

It should be closer to 10 in my opinion but the PNW is a bit more expensive, I wouldn't pay more than 11 though.
Click to expand...

I agree, I thought a fair price was 12-13k (ish). Your jeep is awesome-- exactly what I want. Too bad you're not up in WA. :) Goodluck with the sale and thank you for your help.
 
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The rust is not a problem on this jeep. If the mileage is a concern to you, do not pull the trigger.
With the majority of us TJ owners, between 150k to 200k is where you need some major preventive maintenance (if you are a TJ enthusiast).
However, this is the way I take this; if the rig is over 200k it's a bonus because price (market value) will go down tremendously and more likely it's from road mileage (not off-road) lot's of parts (from typical wear & tear) were already broken and replaced. So it is a good time to buy it.
Now, if you rely on shop mechanics to fix your rig, Do Not Buy It.
 
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