Why is my TJ not selling?
- Thread starter Hoosier
- Start date
243k, obvious rust, looks beat. You'd probably be better off parting it out if possible.
xackley
TJ Enthusiast
There is no money in parting out unless you run a salvage yard.
Show pictures of a healthy frame and floors and floor supports.
The pictures in this thread tells me very little about the core of the vehicle and on the surface it ain't pretty.
Maybe pop the top and show it in a separate picture. Roll bars are prettier than a hard top.
Show pictures of a healthy frame and floors and floor supports.
The pictures in this thread tells me very little about the core of the vehicle and on the surface it ain't pretty.
Maybe pop the top and show it in a separate picture. Roll bars are prettier than a hard top.
I vote parting out as well. You would probably end up with somewhere around $3500 in the frame, doors, and hardtop alone, assuming they're rust free and the hardtop is straight. Sell the engine, transmission, transfer case, and axles on top of that and you're good to go. Not too many people are going to touch a 20 year old vehicle with almost 250k on it that looks like that.
Hell, if its rust free, I'll buy the frame off of you when I'm out west in the fall.
Hell, if its rust free, I'll buy the frame off of you when I'm out west in the fall.
As much as I hate to say it it there is value in the parts. The hardtop if in good condition thats probably about $800 by it self and you could probably get a bit for the fenders as that stuff is rarer.
Jeepaholic
TJ Enthusiast
In a nutshell, it looks like nobody cared for it. Nobody wants to buy something that looks like the owners didn't care about it. Clean it up. Paint the hard top. Buff the paint that is there. Get rid of those trashy looking black spray painted steel wheels, even if you just paint them back to silver. This might be hard to hear, but that's what I see, and I'm sure that's what alot of ppl see. It plain looks like it needs 5000 to get it to be nice and reliable, even if it doesn't.
Xposure
TJ Enthusiast
I’m someone who does not have a Jeep and is looking for one. Here is my take....the price is very low and the first thing I see is rust on the body. That would (and did) make me instantly think that the undercarriage or floorpans are full of rust and that is part of the reason it’s priced so cheap. The next issue is all the miles, I just wouldn’t consider a vehicle with that many miles but some people will.
If the rust is just on the body then I’d probably have the hood and fenders painted, it’s a 98 so paint doesn’t scare me away, it’s needed way before 20yrs unless it’s a garage queen. The rust is what instantly scared me away.
If it runs good and has been maintained good then I’d make a list saying it has a ton of miles but in the past 18 months it’s got new blah blah blah....brakes, water pump, whatever....list the maintenance and let them know the miles don’t keep it from running good. Explain how you have maintained it well (if you have). Then sand down the rust, treat it with inhibitor, have the hood and front fenders painted and you pull the plastic flares off and paint them with a can of black spray paint yourself or use the stuff that turns your plastic black again...then ask 6k
If the interior is a mess clean it up real good, maybe shampoo carpets or if they look terrible just pull them out and bedliner the floorboard.
People see the rust and price, it feels like a money pit and they don’t even ask the first question. You have to dress it up and let them know otherwise...after you dress it up you can bump the price up to prob 6k and negotiate down. ALSO pictures speak a 1000 words....you need to take pictures that inspire someone to get a Jeep....take pics in a cool setting. In a field on a pretty day or something like that...no mudthough, and wipe the tires down with the wet looking stuff right before you take the pics.
If the undercarriage is eat up with rust and gonna crack on someone I’d probably just part it out like the others suggested.
The way it ‘feels’ right now is your trying to get out of a money pit with what’s left of your ass and I’m going to pay money to inherit it.
If the rust is just on the body then I’d probably have the hood and fenders painted, it’s a 98 so paint doesn’t scare me away, it’s needed way before 20yrs unless it’s a garage queen. The rust is what instantly scared me away.
If it runs good and has been maintained good then I’d make a list saying it has a ton of miles but in the past 18 months it’s got new blah blah blah....brakes, water pump, whatever....list the maintenance and let them know the miles don’t keep it from running good. Explain how you have maintained it well (if you have). Then sand down the rust, treat it with inhibitor, have the hood and front fenders painted and you pull the plastic flares off and paint them with a can of black spray paint yourself or use the stuff that turns your plastic black again...then ask 6k
If the interior is a mess clean it up real good, maybe shampoo carpets or if they look terrible just pull them out and bedliner the floorboard.
People see the rust and price, it feels like a money pit and they don’t even ask the first question. You have to dress it up and let them know otherwise...after you dress it up you can bump the price up to prob 6k and negotiate down. ALSO pictures speak a 1000 words....you need to take pictures that inspire someone to get a Jeep....take pics in a cool setting. In a field on a pretty day or something like that...no mudthough, and wipe the tires down with the wet looking stuff right before you take the pics.
If the undercarriage is eat up with rust and gonna crack on someone I’d probably just part it out like the others suggested.
The way it ‘feels’ right now is your trying to get out of a money pit with what’s left of your ass and I’m going to pay money to inherit it.
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Excellent write-up from @Xposure and others. You have to be completely upfront and let people know what they're getting.. including pics of the undercarriage, more information, etc. Turn it from a head-scratcher to an opportunity for someone wanting an inexpensive start to a decent project to build on because that's what I basically see here. Especially if everything underneath is original factory stuff.
Xposure
TJ Enthusiast
Hoosier, after rereading my post I hope it didn’t come off as being harsh. I’m just trying give you my honest perspective as a buyer to help you sell it. For my advice about pictures, my wife and I have a online store and I can tell you that when it comes to online sales like putting things on FB marketplace and Craigslist...good ‘lifestyle’ pics are extremely important...they are the bait that draws someone to take the first step of contacting you and inspiring pictures that plant a seed of what they can have with your Jeep (like it off road overlooking a cliff or something) will sell your Jeep MUCH better than just snapped pics in a parking lot. Just don’t do a lifestyle pic that would suggest it’s been abused like one tire on top of a 2 foot rock or something like that.
I usually peruse the net for vehicles and I can never stand the ones that show soda bottles in the cup holder, bag of doritos in the door cubby hole, gym shorts in the back, and an aux cord hanging out the radio. Take some time and clean it up!
My take.
Chopped front bumper screams wheeled to death. Remove all lug nut covers unless you have all of them on.
Parked in the weeds like it has sat for ages.
I’m a jackass so I would send an email and offer you $1000 if it was running.
Chopped front bumper screams wheeled to death. Remove all lug nut covers unless you have all of them on.
Parked in the weeds like it has sat for ages.
I’m a jackass so I would send an email and offer you $1000 if it was running.
Your ad has zero details. No interior pics.
You need to highlight the positives. If the frame and tub are not rusted take pics of the areas that normally rust and state those areas are rust free.
You add literally makes the vehicle sound like a heap.
Drive it and tell buyers how it drives.
You need to highlight the positives. If the frame and tub are not rusted take pics of the areas that normally rust and state those areas are rust free.
You add literally makes the vehicle sound like a heap.
Drive it and tell buyers how it drives.
Xposure
TJ Enthusiast
So I checked out your ad. So you’ve replaced the engine, trans, and transfer case and your selling it for less than $4k? How many miles are on the replaced drivetrain? Do you have any proof of their mileage? You have to take out that you “really want it gone” that sounds like you’ve spent a ton of money on it and your still desperate to get rid of it because it’s a money pit. Literally the way your ad is wrote scares me away from it
Instead you might try something like this....odometer shows 242xxx but the engine, trans, and transfer case have been replaced and only have X miles. It runs great! Will make a great daily driver that you can also have fun with.
Also what I said about the pics is important but at least spray some tire wet stuff on the tires and take pics.
Sounds like a great deal man. You just have to ‘sell it’
Instead you might try something like this....odometer shows 242xxx but the engine, trans, and transfer case have been replaced and only have X miles. It runs great! Will make a great daily driver that you can also have fun with.
Also what I said about the pics is important but at least spray some tire wet stuff on the tires and take pics.
Sounds like a great deal man. You just have to ‘sell it’
GTboosted
TJ Enthusiast
I would put the original bumper if you didn't cut it.
Remove the faded end caps of the rear bumper.
Clean the the entire jeep real good. Including the glass and tires. The dirty sidewalls on the tires alone make it look a few points worse.
Then take better pics, not like it's been sitting at a shop's parking lot... abandoned. Show that it can take you places.
Remove the faded end caps of the rear bumper.
Clean the the entire jeep real good. Including the glass and tires. The dirty sidewalls on the tires alone make it look a few points worse.
Then take better pics, not like it's been sitting at a shop's parking lot... abandoned. Show that it can take you places.