On or around Tue, 12 Aug 2003 12:19:07 -0700, "SA" enlightened us thusly:
>What if any is the best year to go for? I live in San Diego,California and
>there a few available nearby.
presume you're looking at V8s... but there's not a lot to choose, really. Mileage and service history are the most important things, more so than the age; given the choice go for a later rather than earlier 5-speed manual transmission, although I think by '96 they'd fixed the wear problems in the transfer box anyway.
The 4-speed ZF auto transmission is reckoned to be pretty tough, and provided it'e been properly maintained (oil changes, etc.) it should be fine.
Proper servicing includes changing all the transmission oil (gearbox, transfer box, diffs and swivels at 24K mile intervals, and this is often neglected, though if it has a dealer service history it should have been done.