People do the same thing with Jeeps they do with dirt bikes ...they see knobby tires , envision themselves conquering every imaginable terrain , get excited and pull the trigger ..normally on the first one they see.
the first thing to do is figure out what a nice tj is ...and isn’t .
A stock 4.0 sport or x , non rusted and with 75,000 miles and not really wheeled, is usually a very nice one .
One with 35’s, 3:07 gears , cut up , scratched up , wheeled to death , crappy parts and drives sloppy isn’t. It looks great ,but it isn’t .
Think of women....the girl next door is a keeper . The cocktail waitress in the Dolly Parton wig is probably a great house keeper ...she will end up keeping the house.
My second TJ purchase was fun..I drove it , no differential noises , pulled good..,I’m , yep, this has got 4:88 or 5:13 ( because I know exactly what 4:56 feel like) , good tires . Drove a little loose...had 2 stabilizers and a history of death wobble , so I did a dry test . We negotiated a little....
And I said I’ll take it ....took it home , tightened the track bar and removed the extra stabilizer , tightened up odds and ends and new fluids ..Drove like a champ. But before I said yes, I knew the Jeep was ok for a Rubicon for 9300.00 with under 100k. Wasn’t perfect ...but I saw a fresh zone lift , straight body , no drive train issues or vibes , and a loose track bar bolt .
More than anything , look for one that has really been kept up ....for the most part , don’t buy one from anyone under 30 years old . I know I’m categorizing, and some of you are good kids ...but I’m just giving you the “ what I do “ version.