Pros and cons of buying / selling a Jeep from or to a friend
- Thread starter John Cooper
- Start date
OP
The group of folks I hang with the most @Hog @AndyG and @tr21triton are a good bunch of guys!!! We all like something in common, our TJ'S!!!!!
We all like to wheel together and even pick on one another, just see @AndyG light thread for his roof rack.
We all like to wheel together and even pick on one another, just see @AndyG light thread for his roof rack.
SPECWAR
TJ Enthusiast
Friends should be honest with each other, so why not?
I would never sell a Jeep to a friend or relative without making them 100% certain that it is indeed a Jeep and Chrysler product.
Sounds simple enough but they need to fully understand that it can break at any moment without any warning.
While a Wrangler is likely the most reliable Chrysler product due to their simplicity and lack of tons of electronics, they are still full of cost and corner cutting by Chrysler bean counters.
My sister-in-law wanted my 2004 Grand Cherokee Overland but there was no way I would sell it to her.
Granted that an Overland is chock full of electronics waiting for their chance to surprise you (along with a 4.7 HO V8 that is waiting for an opportunity to drop a valve), I doubt that the Wrangler group used better parts and assembly methods.
This is all JMHO and if you combine that with $2.99 at any Waffle House you can get a cup of coffee.
Sounds simple enough but they need to fully understand that it can break at any moment without any warning.
While a Wrangler is likely the most reliable Chrysler product due to their simplicity and lack of tons of electronics, they are still full of cost and corner cutting by Chrysler bean counters.
My sister-in-law wanted my 2004 Grand Cherokee Overland but there was no way I would sell it to her.
Granted that an Overland is chock full of electronics waiting for their chance to surprise you (along with a 4.7 HO V8 that is waiting for an opportunity to drop a valve), I doubt that the Wrangler group used better parts and assembly methods.
This is all JMHO and if you combine that with $2.99 at any Waffle House you can get a cup of coffee.
OP
That's my quandary, I am at work now and can't post alot, but will pick up when I get home.
OP
I have only bought 2 Jeeps from friends, one a CJ5 and then my TJR.
I have owned roughly 20 Jeeps through the years and never sold one to a friend.
Don't know why, heck 2 of my previous Jeeps are running around and the folks that own them live within 5 miles of me. I never met them till they bought the Jeep from me.
I have owned roughly 20 Jeeps through the years and never sold one to a friend.
Don't know why, heck 2 of my previous Jeeps are running around and the folks that own them live within 5 miles of me. I never met them till they bought the Jeep from me.
I would buy from a friend that I knew to be honest. I wouldn't sell though. Anything that goes wrong you are going to be on the hook for in their mind.
Always had Jeeps around as my son was growing up. I am a function over looks guy ,he isn't. In his late teens he bought himself a nice stock Rubicon. He then drove it through the Quadratec catalogue adding all the "essentials" such as light bars, shitty lift kit, angry eyes, CAI and throttle body spacer. Had to buy it off him before the snorkel got added to stop the horror.
Never! Two reasons mainly. #1- The first problem it has, they will think you already knew about it. #2- I don't have any.
p.s. I've bought 4 Jeeps for my wife, but we're not friends. Does that count? 🤫
Last edited:
OP
Lord I would never sell to a family member.......
I have bought and sold over 300 vehicles in my lifetime. One of my rules is I never, ever sell a vehicle to a friend who isn't mechanically inclined. To do so is to either become their on-call mechanic for every little thing that goes wrong, or to risk the friendship when something mechanically catastrophic happens to the vehicle that you could have no way of knowing would happen. A mechanically inclined friend, or better yet, a friend with the same kind of love for turning wrenches and bustin' knuckles, will almost expect stuff to happen, and therefor won't be surprised when it does. Jeep or Yugo, it doesn't matter. It's a used vehicle. Things will happen.
Last edited:
OP
But what if the person you buy/sell to/from is an honest, upstanding pillar of the community, some one who is anal about how they keep stuff up and work on it.
I don't do business with family or close friends. It muddies the water and if anything goes wrong it affects the relationship. Just one perspective.... but it has served me well
OP
So, not a member of this forum?
Time to start work, this will be continued!!!!!!
So, not a member of this forum?
oh we do have a few of them here !
That's even worse. Someone like that probably carries a mini-vac and bottle of Windex with them at all times. They will show up at your house unexpectedly, to clean "their old Jeep" and tell you that you don't keep it clean enough.
Last edited:
That's even worse. Someone like that probably carries a mini-vac and bottle of Windex with them at all times. They will show up at your house unexpectedly, to clean "their old Jeep" and tell you that you don't keep it clean enough.
Damn maybe I should buy a jeep from a friend like that !
My grandpa said (reference money) "Never loan a friend or family money. Give it to them with no expectation of getting it back or don't give it at all. That way you can't get upset at them. Only pleasantly surprised." I think the same general ethos applies for me here. I know I could just fix a jeep I just bought from my cousin when the engine pops the next week and not hold them responsible. If I wasn't sure they would do the same, I wouldn't sell.