What would you pay for this Rubicon?

Morks

TJ Enthusiast
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Just went and looked at this rubicon today. 2004, 5 speed, 350k km. I will get straight to it:

- needs windshield frame
- couldn't get it into 4lo (linkage looks pretty shot, so I couldn't test lockers)
- needs water pump
- needs tailgate
- needs fenders
- needs oil pressure gauge (p0523)
- floors have been patched
- needs rms
- exhaust leak
- p0306, I am going to bet spark plug
- p0455 (hopefully a small vacuum leak...)

The frame looks pretty solid, possibly better than my daily/wheeler lol. I checked it out real quick just to get an idea, so going back at some point to take a better look for obvious hoses that are off and put a new plug in, etc... Tranny shifts smooth, the clutch feels solid engine sounds pretty good... Right now it is listed as 6500 (cad), and he said he's willing to negotiate. I figure to get it down to a price where I could sell the axles and transfer case at a minimum and not lose money or lower and go from there. Would be an awesome rig to fix up over the winter, put some 33s and a small lift, and "never" worry about breaking.

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I will add I like the fact that the car has been in the family for 16 years, so they've had it the majority of its life. Here are some better pics of it that he sent me.


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If it runs good, I'd say around 8 grand would be fair where I live. That is a lot of stuff to fix though, and nicer Rubicons can be found for less than what you would have in that one after fixing everything. If you're going to pull the axles anyways, then the only thing Rubicon that matters is the t-case... and you're not even sure that that works correctly.
 
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200k+ miles is a pretty high mileage, but I’m curious is it solid? The pics I’m not following needing fenders?

Water pump BFD, some of those others, no biggie.

That linkage takes little to nothing to alter or fix and see if that works . Hell hand disconnect it and shift it, see if it work, and the lockers too, huge difference, ha. It’s not that hard to make that work.

If He’s listing it with zero effort, go low. If he’s made an effort to make it look great, which he hasn’t, then he gets what you pay.

And those black full doors, keep my name if it goes south, I’m interested ha.
 
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What’s the frame like? The rear passenger corner looks pretty bad which leads me to believe it isn’t in good shape.
 
If it runs good, I'd say around 3 grand would be fair where I live.

Fixed that for accuracy. 🤫
- Over 200,000 miles.
- needs windshield frame
- couldn't get it into 4lo (linkage looks pretty shot, so I couldn't test lockers)
- needs water pump
- needs tailgate
- needs fenders
- needs oil pressure gauge (p0523)
- floors have been patched
- needs rms
- exhaust leak
- p0306, I am going to bet spark plug
- p0455 (hopefully a small vacuum leak...)
 
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Not sure if anyone pointed it out yet, but his asking price of $6,500 CAD is about $5,000 USD. That's honestly not too far off the mark.

If it were me looking to buy a project Jeep, I'd prolly offer the guy $4,000 ($5,200 CAD) and see where it goes? At that price, you could at least recoup the cost by selling the axles and T-case as mentioned.
 
I’d likely offer $4,000–$5000 CAD if I wanted an adventure.

If @TheBoogieman ‘s deal can be duplicated, why not just save yourself time by getting something ready to go?

He'd have to cross our border to get a rust free Jeep. Oh,...... that's easy enough. Bringing prostitutes and fentanyl are a requirement of Brandon though, before entering. 😬 🇺🇸
 
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I’d likely offer $4,000–$5000 CAD if I wanted an adventure.

If @TheBoogieman ‘s deal can be duplicated, why not just save yourself time by getting something ready to go?

Was thinking 3500-4000 and possibly fix up. But a part out seems more realistic for the right price. Just threw it out there as it was close to home and a fairly cheap Rubi (as it should be)
 
Not sure if anyone pointed it out yet, but his asking price of $6,500 CAD is about $5,000 USD. That's honestly not too far off the mark.

If it were me looking to buy a project Jeep, I'd prolly offer the guy $4,000 ($5,200 CAD) and see where it goes? At that price, you could at least recoup the cost by selling the axles and T-case as mentioned.

Yeah without any finagling I asked the lowest he'd go and he said 5500. So When I check it out with some time if it hasn't sold after the weekend, going wheeling :D, I'll just point it all out and see where it gets me.
 
I see you are in Canada (me too), so just an FYI, some of the parts you mentioned are crazy pricey up here right now. Even if you go aftermarket due to the insane shipping costs.

Just make sure you price that in accordingly.

- needs windshield frame
- couldn't get it into 4lo (linkage looks pretty shot, so I couldn't test lockers)
- needs water pump
- needs tailgate
- needs fenders
- needs oil pressure gauge (p0523)
- floors have been patched
- needs rms
- exhaust leak

Likely around 5k unless you can find used parts, but most of the used parts have the same amount of rust. I looked at 3 "like new" window frames that were totally rusted out.

For example $30 USD water pump on Rock Auto is $100 CDN
 
He lives 2 hours from where I do. I paid $9,000 for mine and it was nearly perfect. That Rubicon has way too many miles and issues.

Rubis go for cheaper up your way than here in Hampton Roads. I've taken a couple of road trips up your way and Charlottesville Fredricksburgh area to look at a couple of Rubicon LJ's for crazy cheap prices. Down here people want crazy money even for the 4cyl models with Dana 35 rear axles and 200k miles on them... I paid 12k for my 2004 Rubicon with 72k miles on it, no rust, Clayton long arm lift, 5:13 gears etc. but the rear locker has been replaced with a limited slip, and it had a random electrical issue when I first got it. If I had a trailer and some land to keep them on, I would go up your way and buy Jeeps to sell down here and make some pretty good money flipping them.
 
He'd have to cross our border to get a rust free Jeep. Oh,...... that's easy enough. 😬 🇺🇸

@Boogs deal is not going to be an everyday find- he knows what he is looking for and when to move, he is a pro at acquiring nice ones and I’m confident he makes them better-

To me its like a scale- the less you pay the more you have to wrench generally- but that is fine as long as you know going in-

I don’t think its terrible if it is what you are after at all.

I dated a girl that was like 5’11” once, that was like 7’ Canadian.