Thoughts on buying this 2005 TJ Sport

[yuma0711]

Hi everyone, this is my second attempt at purchasing a TJ and would again appreciate y'alls advice! I plan on checking it out in person and doing a PPI before I buy, and I intend on paying with cash. It's a pretty far drive from me, so I'd like to be pretty confident in my decision before I make the journey. My plan is to try to negotiate for $8000. Please let me know if you notice any issues, if I'm overpaying (or if this is a steal and I need to grab it fast!), or if you have any other general advice as I seek to join the TJ community.



2005 JEEP WRANGLER X
Asking price: $9,500
170,000~ miles
4.0L 6cyl

Seller's description:
"2005 Wrangler with custom grill guard, aftermarket bumper, upgraded driveline for light towing. Clean title, one previous owner who had the Jeep in covered storage while deployed overseas.

I've taken great care of her. I'm a mechanic and any issue has been addressed immediately. Hasn't been much to fix though.

Update: brand new soft top installed, resealed top end of engine."


Pros:
-6 cyl engine
-few previous owners (CARFAX says 3 but owner says 2)
-in my preferred color
-little rust (I'm an absolute novice, so please let me know if I'm terribly wrong here)
-170k~ miles (seems pretty good for a 15 year old car?)
-current owner seems to care about maintenance (maybe I'm reading into it, but calling it a "her" seems like a good sign)

Cons:
-Dana 35... I think... (I don't plan on putting bigger wheels or doing *serious* off-roading so I'm not sure if it's worth holding out for the 44. I am curious how this should affect my negotiating, though)
-Minor accident reported
-She's spent some time in Wyoming, so probably driven through snow and salt?

CARFAX and other images attached!

 

[JKP]

Appears to be a 6 spd, which means it won't have the auto trans PCM issues.

05 has possible issues with the OPDA. Need to ask if he has checked it and if it has been replaced.

If he takes pics of the diff covers and tags you'll know what the rear axle is, if it has limited slip, and what gears are in them assuming they haven't been swapped out.

 

[DropTopDon]

Frame looks clean, no visible leaks, paint looks good, I'd say its a pretty good deal. One thing you'd want to look at is the ball joints, which if they are bad should not serve as a deterrence, but rather something you could use to lower the price. One thing you might want to keep in mind is if the transmission goes out on you soon. I've seen here on the forum that a good amount of TJ owners end up replacing their tranny at around 200k miles. Doesn't mean you will have to, but just putting it out there. I myself am at 230k and have yet to replace it. As you said, Dana 35 shouln't be an issue for you since you dont plan on putting bigger tires on, but it wouldn't serve as a negotiating factor just because the jeep has a Dana 35.

 

[bobthetj03]

Other than filthy, the frame looks fine. It's got a Dana 35. It also has a JKS adjustable front track bar, so maybe lifted? Not sure what he means by "upgraded drive line for towing"? Looks like a stock drive line to me.

 

[Nickgsjeep]

From the pics it doesn’t appear in bad shape.

Great color too btw and I love the wheels

 

[Darkwing327]

I agree, looks good. The only thing I would put through the wringer other than what was mentioned is the transmission. Take it for a drive as normal, but don't just concentrate on the highway manners. Do lots of in town start stop driving to put it through the gears. AND put it in reverse a lot. You are looking for popping out of gear in 1st and reverse; and grinding or notchiness 1st to 2nd especially or grinding going into reverse. 2005 was the first year of this trans. Reverse gear and synchros had multiple updates, as did the shift assembly.

The upside is that the manuals generally don't blow the PCM's but they do have trans issues. That being said, I have a 2005 6spd and love it. I just know that it will need a trans rebuild at some point in the future and it will be a $2500 bill.

Not trying to scare you off, but it is the big spendy bit on the 2005-2006's. Other years and models had PCM problems or head issues, or....you get the idea.

 

[Fishtaco]

I agree, looks good. The only thing I would put through the wringer other than what was mentioned is the transmission. Take it for a drive as normal, but don't just concentrate on the highway manners. Do lots of in town start stop driving to put it through the gears. AND put it in reverse a lot. You are looking for popping out of gear in 1st and reverse; and grinding or notchiness 1st to 2nd especially or grinding going into reverse. 2005 was the first year of this trans. Reverse gear and synchros had multiple updates, as did the shift assembly.

The upside is that the manuals generally don't blow the PCM's but they do have trans issues. That being said, I have a 2005 6spd and love it. I just know that it will need a trans rebuild at some point in the future and it will be a $2500 bill.

Not trying to scare you off, but it is the big spendy bit on the 2005-2006's. Other years and models had PCM problems or head issues, or....you get the idea.

There is no synchro in reverse so dont try and put it in reverse too quickly or dont just stop in gear and try to put it straight into reverse, put it in neutral come off the clutch then back on it before shifting into reverse and the gears will mesh not grind. But Hey if ya cant find it grind it

 

[Plumber1]

Why do pictures 5 & 6 almost look like a different yellow jeep. Those last two don't have the same front bumper or nerf bars and seam to be a brighter color ?

 

[Airjunky]

Why do pictures 5 & 6 almost look like a different yellow jeep. Those last two don't have the same front bumper or nerf bars and seam to be a brighter color ?

License plate is the same. Probably just pics taken over a long time span.

No salt in Wyoming.
Nice looking Jeep.

 

[Fishtaco]

Why do pictures 5 & 6 almost look like a different yellow jeep. Those last two don't have the same front bumper or nerf bars and seam to be a brighter color ?

The plot thickens! but you are right 5&6 were possibly taken years ago when it was still looking good.

 

[TheBoogieman]

Why do pictures 5 & 6 almost look like a different yellow jeep. Those last two don't have the same front bumper or nerf bars and seam to be a brighter color ?

Those are the pics when it was newer. Way before the trips through the mud, faded fender flares and mismatched Smittybilt bumpers.

 

[TheBoogieman]

It's worth $6500 tops in that condition and with those miles.

 

[Fishtaco]

Those are the pics when it was new. Way before the trips through the mud, faded fender flares and mismatched Smittybilt bumpers.

And the 3rd owner who is supposed to be the 2nd puts his front licence plates (Tags for you guys) on a black bumper with White (opaque) cable ties lol This says a lot to me, I at least would have used Black even though I am rough as the bush with repairs

 

[jazngab]

I agree it’s priced a bit high for that mileage

 

[Darkwing327]

There is no synchro in reverse so dont try and put it in reverse too quickly or dont just stop in gear and try to put it straight into reverse, put it in neutral come off the clutch then back on it before shifting into reverse and the gears will mesh not grind. But Hey if ya cant find it grind it

Not sure about NSG370s on that side of the pond, but as far as I know there is a reverse synchro on mine. Or at least that's what the parts list shows. But yes, the process you describe does help.

Unfortunately on these, it is not always the reverse synchro or gear that causes the problem. Another (driver related) issue is that reverse isn't locked out and if someone has missed a shift from 5-6 and hit reverse forcefully at 60 miles an hour it bends the shift fork assembly and/or breaks the non-replaceable synthetic sliders, so a whole new inner shift assembly needs to be fitted.

 

[yuma0711]

Appears to be a 6 spd, which means it won't have the auto trans PCM issues.

05 has possible issues with the OPDA. Need to ask if he has checked it and if it has been replaced.

If he takes pics of the diff covers and tags you'll know what the rear axle is, if it has limited slip, and what gears are in them assuming they haven't been swapped out.

He says he hasn't had any issues with the OPDA so didn't replace it. I intend on replacing it if I were to buy this Jeep.

Didn't show me pictures of the diff covers and tags, but tells me the rear axle is a Dana 44 with a 3.73 ratio and limited slip.

 

[yuma0711]

I agree, looks good. The only thing I would put through the wringer other than what was mentioned is the transmission. Take it for a drive as normal, but don't just concentrate on the highway manners. Do lots of in town start stop driving to put it through the gears. AND put it in reverse a lot. You are looking for popping out of gear in 1st and reverse; and grinding or notchiness 1st to 2nd especially or grinding going into reverse. 2005 was the first year of this trans. Reverse gear and synchros had multiple updates, as did the shift assembly.

The upside is that the manuals generally don't blow the PCM's but they do have trans issues. That being said, I have a 2005 6spd and love it. I just know that it will need a trans rebuild at some point in the future and it will be a $2500 bill.

Not trying to scare you off, but it is the big spendy bit on the 2005-2006's. Other years and models had PCM problems or head issues, or....you get the idea.

Thanks for the tip! I'll try to negotiate down given the fact that I'll likely have to rebuild the transmission later. When you say it'd be a 2.5K bill, is that to do it myself, or to hire a mechanic to do it?

 

[yuma0711]

Those are the pics when it was newer. Way before the trips through the mud, faded fender flares and mismatched Smittybilt bumpers.

Thanks for noticing the difference. I've asked the seller for updated photos and will post here once I get them. Hopefully the different photos were an oversight or the seller being lazy, rather than an attempt at misdirection!

 

[yuma0711]

It's worth $6500 tops in that condition and with those miles.

Do you mind elaborating a little further? I haven't really seen any decent Jeeps around where I am (West Texas or Austin) listed for anything less than $7K, and that's been mostly older 4cyl models with comparable miles. And from reading previous comments, the condition seems pretty decent for its age.

 

[yuma0711]

Frame looks clean, no visible leaks, paint looks good, I'd say its a pretty good deal. One thing you'd want to look at is the ball joints, which if they are bad should not serve as a deterrence, but rather something you could use to lower the price. One thing you might want to keep in mind is if the transmission goes out on you soon. I've seen here on the forum that a good amount of TJ owners end up replacing their tranny at around 200k miles. Doesn't mean you will have to, but just putting it out there. I myself am at 230k and have yet to replace it. As you said, Dana 35 shouln't be an issue for you since you dont plan on putting bigger tires on, but it wouldn't serve as a negotiating factor just because the jeep has a Dana 35.

Is there a way to properly inspect ball joints without jacking it up (which I know is required for replacing them)? Or is this something I can just ask the mechanic conducting the PPI to check for?