fantastic advice...

Ok, I went to the Anza Borrego desert in a borrowed Ford Explorer and found some wind caves. Intense to say the least. The trail out there was mostly bumpy and a 2wd truck with good clearance would have done fine. It's first time I've done that sort of thing and had an absolute blast!!! Now I want a jeep more than anything...

So I found a 1995 Jeep Wrangler SE 4WD with 111,163 miles and the dealer wants $6k for it. KBB says it's worth a little over $5k in excellent condition which I don't think it's in. There is some rust on the roof of the driver's side and I don't really care about that so much, I think I can fix that. But I am concerned about the wear and tear on the drive-train and the engine since 1995.

Although everyone says you should go out there with buddies, I know I won't because to me, that seems to defeat the purpose of getting a jeep to get away from everything--including commitments and the dependency on others' schedules. I'm not looking for a new club to join--I basically want to get away from everyone, meetings, associations--my wife and kids are the exception--on the weekends.

So when I break down out there in the middle of nowhere in a 1995 used jeep and don't much about their repairs, how am I going to get it fixed? What solutions do you folks recommend? The park ranger told me, "If you've never been out there on a jeep, get a yellow or orange one so we can find you when you get stuck..."** chuckle**.... he was a comedian I guess, but I'm sure he knows what he's talking about. Novices going out there and getting into situations that they're not used to. I don't want to do any hard-core rock climbing because I really don't know how.

So what do you folks think of that 1995 jeep? what should I look for?

Thanks for you advice so far, you've been great.

-Alex

Reply to
nightrider.36
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Well..... I think you might want to start by knowing what the different 'flavors' of Jeeps are.....

Having 'rust' on the roof of a 'Wrangler' just doesn't make much sense seeing as the only 'roof' they have is either cloth or fiberglass......

The hardtop Jeeps are Cherokees and Grand Cherokees.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail >
Reply to
Mike Romain

I think you can get the price down to $4,500 or $4,000. I have a '95 in excellent shape and when I thought about trading it in several years ago they offered me $5,500 for it. It had like 40,000 miles on it at the time! Remember this is a car dealer, not a living, breathing human being with feelings that can hurt. From the KBB site,

""Excellent" condition means that the vehicle looks new, is in excellent mechanical condition and needs no reconditioning. This vehicle has never had any paint or body work and is free of rust. The vehicle has a clean title history and will pass a smog and safety inspection. The engine compartment is clean, with no fluid leaks and is free of any wear or visible defects. The vehicle also has complete and verifiable service records. Less than 5% of all used vehicles fall into this category."

Wrangler's don't have a metal roof, so I don't know what rust you are talking about. If you can see rust on anything, the vehicle is not "free of rust", no matter what the sales people say about it.

That advice about yellow or orange color is good. Do cell phones work where you are going? If you buy that Jeep, you really need to give it a thorough going over, at least all the maintenance items and a complete tune up. If you do that, then breaking down is unlikely (although possible), but getting stuck or breaking something on a rock for example is not completely unavoidable. A bike rack and a mountain bike are good ideas. Don't forget the tool kit and plenty of tire patches for the bike, and lots of water bottle carriers.

Earle

Reply to
Earle Horton

It helps to know the parts of a jeep, doesn't it... The rust I'm talking about is not necessarily on the roof. Your're right, there is no roof. What I'm talking about is a little flap of metal above the driver's side that connects to a roll bar. There's a vinyl material covering it. You can't see the rust if you're not looking for it. I was, lifted the flap and found the rust. It's in a few other spots around the bottom but probably no more than any other dinged up, used car.

no -- I have Sprint and coudn't get bars out there. But my friend who had T-mobile had three solid bars so I may have to switch providers if I'm going to do this. The advice of a mountain bike is good and ideal.

thanks again.

-jac

Reply to
nightrider.36

A "dinged up, used car" certainly does not qualify for KBB "excellent" pricing. Make sure to point this out to the sales people. If they are pricing the vehicle as "excellent" then it better look new. These bodies are galvanized, but a scratch can leave them vulnerable to rusting, and the frame can rust too.

Go with the cell phone provider that works, and get one of those in vehicle chargers for it. You never know.

Earle

Reply to
Earle Horton

Reply to
L.W.(Bill) Hughes III

Bill, I was just out there this weekend and was thinking of camping out there again after the t-giving holiday is over. I'm thinking that it's going to be somewhat crowded out there this weekend. What do you think?

Feel free to email me at snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com for off-topic answers.

alex

L.W.(Bill) Hughes III wrote:

Reply to
nightrider.36

You're right Earl. This dealer doesn't have it listed as excellent but he's pricing it as such. I see it as "good" and even that's being optimistic. I'm going to offer him $4200 cash take it or leave it Mostly because I'm going to drop another $1500 on it to get it back to kbb excellent condition. I can do some body-work and paint myself but I need a lot of help with the drive-train stuff.

He had it listed originally at $7k.

-jac

Reply to
nightrider.36

Well you can't blame these guys for trying. There are a lot of first time sucker buyers out there. ;^)

Earle

Reply to
Earle Horton

Reply to
L.W.(Bill) Hughes III

Reply to
philthy
95 YJ's (square headlight wranglers) often go for around $3800 to 4 grand on Ebay regularly, in good condition with a 6 cylinder and sometimes even lifted with larger tires...

Usually lifted Wranglers with good paint and no mechanical probs command higher prices on Ebay. Relative to just about any other vehicle, USUALLY Ebay is a bargain hunters dream, but with Wranglers the demand seems to outstrip the sellers.

1) if the Jeep you're looking at is a 4 banger then it's dramatically less valuable than the 5 grand he's asking. try 3 grand... Unless: 2) it's lifted and has big tires, in which case even if it's a 4 cyl there are plenty of takers out there that will buy it around the guys asking price.
Reply to
Simon Juncal

I think Philthy's a little optimistic for the region....

If you don't mind me saying so, I think you should carefully examine exactly what you get for $4200 at a used-car dealer. I, too, was searching for a Wrangler....any reasonably priced one....in Southern California, where used up Jeeps are as inflated in price as the real estate it's parked on. For a '95, which I'm sure is a fine machine, is the dealer is giving you anything more than parts and labor for 30 days? drivetrain only? Or is he selling a warranty ...? I'm only asking to see what the advantage is over a well maintained private sale....I personally didn't find much to cover the grand or two difference.

Granted, I'm optimistic myself and a former professional, but for the exact same kind of money, I dug up and purchased a well equipped but "reconstructed" TJ that had never left the asphalt. I'm not saying anyone else should gamble on a reconstructed title, but it did show me that even late-YJs are riding a bubble that departs from depreciation and follows enthusiasm. My researched showed a steady $4500 for bare bones TJs, bidding starts at $6K even for slightly better equipped early TJs.....maybe someone can shed some light on why .36 should stay in the YJ model.

Reply to
Jon

I thought Jeeps only came in two basic flavors.

1) wax 2) mud
Reply to
DougW

As I recall, there were four versions in '95: Sahara, Sport, Rio Grande, and SE. The Rio Grande and SE versions had the four cylinder. The Sahara and Sport had the inline six (I love seeing dealer ads for YJs & TJs with V6 engines, LOL).

In my opinion, and I'm sure others will disagree, the four cylinder is getting tired at 111k. I'd look for a Sport or Sahara, maybe even a '97 TJ. Check Ebay for Jeeps near you that you can look at.

Reply to
Red Jeep

Mine has mud over the wax.

Reply to
billy ray

I have a model "S", which is a four cylinder, from that year. I don't know about the model "SE", but you are probably right about it being a four too. The four cylinder engine will have the axle ratio you want for this type of thing. The six might have the 3.07.

Earle

Reply to
Earle Horton

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