I have found a 97 tj with 98000 miles on it, the car looks really good inside and out and I didn't notice any mechanical issue. I will have it check with a mechanic if I decide to buy that though.
Do you recommend buying this old car as a first jeep? what should I check before buying ? should I expect lots of repair and maintenance?
I want to use it as a daily car and I want something reliable.
give us a bit more detail, what engine, what trans?
In general check the frame for rust, floor boards, etc. Those early years had issues on the 6cly with the exhaust manifold crack, and the 4cly had issues with one or two bolts busting on the manifold. Though with the age I would think those would have been taken care of. Check for leaks, make sure 4wd works. make sure HVAC works on ALL settings.
A 97 is fine, I bought mine new in 96 and loved it until it was stolen 6 years ago. I only question that 4 cylinder 2.5L engine in the one you're looking at. The 2.5L is fine off road but it's a dog on the highway. Unless it's for off road use only, I'd hold out for one with the 6 cylinder4.0L engine which is torquey and darned near bulletproof... and superb both off road and on the highway.
Not risky at all in my opinion, bought my 97 two years ago with 105,000 miles. It's like any other vehicle, check for rust and look to see if it's been well taken care of. Mine is my daily driver and with normal maintenance ito been great. To add to what jerry said, I would have bought the 4.0 knowing what I know now, I don't take mine off road much, and it's a dog on the highway with bigger tires.
I had a 97 4 cyl 5 spd and thought it was great, easy to work on and very reliable. It had oversize tires on it and had not been regeared so it was a bit of a dog on the highway, I went back to stock rims and tires and found it to be great driver and had no problem keeping up with traffic and you no longer had to downshift up hills on the highway. If you want to go to big wide tires plan on regearing or you may also want to wait and find a 6 cyl.
I bought my '97 almost 2 years ago with 130k miles for a good deal knowing it had a few things to work on - clutch, exhaust manifold (common), cat, etc. Not quite a year ago (and about 18000 miles ago) I had it fully serviced when I had the clutch done - clutch, full tune up, all fluids changed, RMS and oil pan gasket changed, etc. I'd have no worries to hop in and drive across the country in it in a moment's notice. I'll be putting it up for sale in the next month or so as I just picked up an LJ ... and while my wife is apparently ok with me having 2 mountain bikes, she's not so fine with 2 Jeeps.
Get it checked out by a mechanic and you should be fine. I bought a 98 4-cylinder last year. Love the Jeep - but I agree with the comment above, it's a dog on the highway. No power. But as a starter Jeep, your 97 would be great if it's mechanically sound.
I bought my 97 last summer with 69k miles and a 4" lift with 35s. As stated, make sure you check everywhere for rust, drive it up to speed and make note of any wobbles/vibrations. I lifted carpet, had him start it while listening under the hood, crawled under it, everything. Some lifts can be installed incorrectly so make you check all the susp. out before buying. Mine had 35s with a d35 which scared me, but once I drove it everything checked out, so my first change was ditching the 35s for 33s until I could beef up the rear axle.
I have owned two 1997 Wranglers; one of them was a 4cyl 5-speed. That was the smoothest, nicest, easiest-driving Wrangler of all five I have owned. I'm not sure why. All the major controls (shifter, clutch, steering) were just so smooth and easy to operate.
Yes, it was basic. Yes, it had less power than my current 4.0L Wrangler. Even still, I'd own that Jeep again in a heartbeat.
Be prepared to always be fixing something if u decide to wheel it hard, if u ain't fixing something you'll be installing upgrades which leads to harder wheeling which leads to another fix and upgrade,lol. I bought a nice garage kept Calif no rust jeep and it rode great. I've been working on it ever since, there's a reason we're all on this forum and why jeeps take over your life, but it's a great vehicle I love mine! Wait for a inline 6, if can buy a non lifted stocker it has a better chance of not being rode hard
3 years ago I bought a '97 4.0L with 160k miles on it. It was stock all around which is what I wanted and it had no rust. I paid $6500 for it and I went into it expecting to drop at least another $3 or $4k on the unexpected mechanical things. Well, I'm glad I was realistic when I bought the thing regarding repairs. The prior 4 or 5 owners probably didn't do much in the way of improvements or maintenance as I had to do the following:
-new rear differential including the housing
-water pump
-passenger side wheel bearing
-forgot the official name, steering something or other
-recent cracked exhaust manifold
-one of the knuckles on the front axles
-new heater blower motor
It appears the clutch is going out as I am getting the shudder when I shift out of first gear or into reverse.
Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining one bit. I am actually quite excited that I am getting these things replaced because I am that much closer to a very reliable daily driver and I don't have a car payment.
Also, aside from the rear differential, I have done most of these things myself and with the help of a buddy. I purposely bought a 97 because it seemed like a very low tech and easy to work on vehicle.
I would take advice from the other folks as well, hold out for the straight 6. Even this struggles at 70 on the highway, I can't imagine what the 4 cylinder would be like.
Thank you so much for all the information. And sorry for using car for a jeep, yes it is not a car, it is a JEEP.
I will check all of those items you mentioned and will looking for a 6 cly instead of 4, I am expecting to spend 7-8 k for the jeep itself and another 3-4 k for making it daily driver and reliable. I am so excited to be a part of jeep family
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