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