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Jeep Advise on potential XJ purchase

J

Jeepj667

Active Member
I'm looking at possibly getting an XJ in the $5000 range. I've never owned a Jeep and don't know what to watch out for.
Any pointers on things to look for? Things to avoid?
How about the 2001 that's for sale on the. forum?

Any info will be greatly appreciated.

I guess I should also add this vehicle will be daily driven by my wife and also our overland/adventure/camping vehicle. No heavy rock crawling or anything but maybe pulling a small tent trailer (JJ/Neon) down the road.
It will be replacing my Trooper with a limited slip, riding on 255/85/16's
 
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N-Smooth

N-Smooth

Smooth Gang Founding Member
Location
UT
My advice would be to not spend $5k on an XJ. There are nice ones out there for much less. Most people also recommend '97-99 because they don't have the stupid cats or the "bad" head.
 
smartass_kid

smartass_kid

Well-Known Member
Location
Cottonwood Heights, UT
post a link to KSL ad, but i like the 97-01. better looking and interior doesn't look like a 87 camaro.

for what you want to do i would get a clean, low-mileage XJ and decide what you want to add to it. good lift, decent tires, some body protection...etc. you could be happy with a total cost of about 4K after everything is done.
 
rustyjeep21

rustyjeep21

Member
Its often cheeper to buy an XJ already set up. check for unibody damage from heavy wheeling, look around the doors and you can usually tell if anything is tweaked, look at the crossmember and gas tank for evidence of its use/abuse. Avoid ABS models with the dana 35. For instance I bought mine with a long arm lift 4.56 gears w/detroit in the rear and good rubber for $2400. I wouldn't hesitate to drive it cross country even though its getting ready to turn 200k. Really with patience you can find nice XJs for 5k, and possibly you could use the recent gas tank issues to get a better deal.
 
J

Jeepj667

Active Member
Thanks for the info. Unfortunately I don't have patience. My Trooper is dying a quick death and I need to replace it quickly. Im going to look at the one for sale here this morning.

I also prefer it to have some work done to it already (lift,tires,gears) if I don't buy one already set up the chance of having the spare money later is slim. Example my Trooper. In the three years I've had it I've put maybe $400 into mods and that's using only my holiday money.
 
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sixstringsteve

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
What about a other trooper? I've seen a lot of nice ones for well under $5000. Being a Toyota guy, i would get a 96 or newer 4runner.
 
N-Smooth

N-Smooth

Smooth Gang Founding Member
Location
UT
The market is pretty inflated right now. I had two friends buy CLEAN '99 XJ's for $3k, 2-3 years ago... I also just recently had two other friends complaining about the prices of them but they both found good deals after a little searching. I just hate the idea of spending $5k on an almost 20 y/o vehicle.

That '95 looks okay and if it really has 95k on it that's sweet. My '93 just rolled over 200k. As with any vehicle, go out and test drive some and see what you like
 
J

Jeepj667

Active Member
Well we went out and test drove that '01 this morning. My wife hated it. She thought the truck was fine untill she drove it. Said it was way too cramped feeling and she would rather spend money fixing our Trooper.

Thanks for all the info though.
 
kmboren

kmboren

Recovering XJ owner anonymous
Location
Southern Utah
QUOTE=xj_nate;921090]^funny stuff^

They're not for everyone. I'm 6'6" and I love XJ's[/QUOTE]

Yea. I love XJs to. I am 6'7" and 250lbs and have always wheeled one for the last 10 years or so. I have room but the seat behind me is tight. Its great for my kids though.
 
STAG

STAG

On my grind
Location
Pleasant Grove
In building my YJ I've noticed it's more cramped feeling than my XJ was. Maybe I grew, maybe I'm wrong. But it seems like a Mini Cooper ha, I hope noone big ever wants to ride in it.
 
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