mad pup

I'm going to check out a few TJs this weekend. Aside from common sense that should apply when looking at any used vehicle, is there anything Wrangler-specific that I should be aware of? Any common issues, failures, etc.

I'm only interested in the 4.0L straight six, stick shift, hardtop.

Advice from Wrangler gurus would be appreicated. Thanks in advance!

asrautox

www.jeepforums.com

Otherwise, the Wife has had both a TJ and now a JK. Overall the TJ was more reliable and only suffered from a weird gas tank issue that caused a CEL. The brakes were also a significant weak spot that really became a problem when we had 33's on the car. Other than that, they are pretty stout..

SpudRacer

I prefer Levi's button fly.

NFRs2000NYC

I used to have one. Great car, lots of fun, cheap to maintain, but you should be mechanically inclined to own one.

1)Don't limit yourself to TJs. YJs are basically the same.

2)When you buy one, try to get under it, and check the vacuum lines for the 4WD, if they are cracking 4WD wont work, or will go soon.

3)Check for rust under the car. If you don't see any, don't be fooled. Check for fresh paint. Many people just spray painted the rust right before a buyer came to check it out.

4)When you are going for a test drive, check out 2nd gear. Those Pugeot trannies were.....well...garbage.

5)Be prepared to own a car with a truly gutless motor, and I mean Hyundai elantra from the 90s, with 2 dead cylinders gutless.

6)Unless you are going offroading, or cruisin to the beach with 3 chicks and no doors, it's a horrible daily car.

Any questions, feel free to ask.

NuncoStr8

The inline-6 is the offroad engine, the four is the "I just wanna Jeep" motor. Beyond that it's irrelevant. If you want one you'll buy the one with the nicest paint and lowest miles. If you are a cheap bastard you'll buy the one with the lowest price and spend twice that trying to keep it on the road and hate the vehicle when you are done.

Don't be dumb. Buy a Jeep from the guy/girl that replaced it with another off-road toy, and ask why they're's selling. Take their comments to heart and *don't* buy the Jeep if it's a deal-breaker. People don't sell cars unless there is a service cost they feel is not justified by the current value of the vehicle. Which means any time you buy a used car you are buying someone else's money pit. A smart buyer compares what he spends in monthly payments to the one-time cost of a used car plus the guaranteed maintenance costs. The smart consumer asks the seller what needs work and judges the answer based on truthfulness as well as pure content. Quite often, to one owner a new replacement is the perfect deal, while to another buyer a slightly used example maybe needing tires today and shocks in a year or two is a huge bargain and no less desirable than new.

And the smart consumer leaves "killer deals" to other people.

Chris S

Where did you get that nuggest of "wisdom" from? You'll find no shortage of folks just in this forum alone (me included) who've sold numerous good cars just b/c we wanted to upgrade or simply experience something different.

curiouz_G

Dang it, you got in before I did

sparrow

JonBoy

Why did you want to get into Levi's button fly? And why are you unhappy about it?

JonBoy

You should do stand-up!