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Prospective Jeeper Switching from a Mustang to a Wrangler

4K views 59 replies 24 participants last post by  steele55lp 
#1 ·
Hi All,

First off thank you all for you dedication to the forum and all the great information that you provide here. I have been lurking as a guest and doing tons of searching on the site for some time as I have been doing extensive research to narrow down the type of Wrangler I want.

Based on initial research and my findings I have chosen to purchase a TJ. I am located in Boston and am currently selling my 2012 Mustang, but am hoping to keep the TJ purchase to around $9k to $13k. I am currently hoping to be around 100k miles or less and have decided to go with the Sport, Rubicon, or Sahara trims. Basically I would like larger tires and the Dana 44 as opposed to the Dana 35. I won’t be doing much off-roading on rocks but perhaps some beginner type stuff.

I will be entering officer school for the Navy shortly so I won’t have much time to make modifications to the Jeep. Because of that I am definitely leaning towards the Rubicon (good value without having to make Mods).
So my questions to you all are: 1) Should I even bother searching in the salt belt or will I only find rusted frames and 2) I am going to test drive some jeeps today and I have read extensively about deciphering between frame surface rust and rot. However, after crawling under a few Jeeps I can certainly tell some that are rotting, but then there are some that are in a gray area. So I please see the attached pictures. Is this just surface rust or rot?

Thank you all so much!
 

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#2 ·
U may end up waiting forever if your holding out for Dana 44. A Dana 35, properly geared will likely suffice, unless ur a hardcore rock hound.
Just FYI, I found a Dana 44/30 pair geared the way I wanted for about $1300, spent $1000 having them installed, with a few other new parts, so you can factor that in if you go D35 rear.
 
#3 ·
Good choice. I love my TJ. The pics you provided look like surface rust. Hard to tell. If you can tap on it and it starts to come apart, you can tell its deep. I live in NM and there are lots of options for stock to built Jeeps on CL. You can look there or eBay. Lots of people come west to make a purchase for a clean vehicle. Just have to factor in travel. Don't be afraid of the D35, it is fine unless you are building a serious rock climber or such. It will still take a beating. Good luck and welcome to the forum.
 
#4 ·
Third photo looks to be deep.

Remember that rust that has been painted over will cause the paint to be loose or to bubble up funny. Take a small flathead screwdriver and do some surreptitious scraping and poking around. Be thorough. Recently I have seen horror stories about the mating area between the transfer case skid and the frame rails. The third photo would make me walk away from the deal without any investigation on my part.

Of course, I am in Mississippi and have two 2003 TJs with only very minor surface rust that is the norm in wet, super-humid, but salt-free environments.

If you look out of state I would avoid used TJs in Florida. Florida has become one of those title-washing places where dealers move the vehicle to the new state to get a clean title. Lots of northern cars and trucks with massive rust damage are sold quick and cheap in Florida because so many people shop online for used cars there.

Recently I have read here and in other places about several jeeps and trucks from used lots in Florida with intentionally hidden rot that rendered the vehicle unsafe to drive. One was a TJ that was discussed here. The transmission and transfer case were hanging loose on one side because the skid simply pulled free from the rotted frame rail.

Another guy bought a Nissan truck in Florida. It had been flooded in Missouri and was auctioned off to the FL dealer who did a quickie cleanup and sold it with a clean title.

I have come to distrust any vehicle sold used in Florida if it came from out of state.

CARFAX does not always catch this sort of stuff, either.

If you go out of state to look, stay in the South or the Southwest. Keep in mind that jeeps are *very* popular to own down here. You will see them where I live in numbers that are almost as high as pickups. So they command a premium price. I think TJs in good shape down here will actually go for more than up north. But if you have ever seen a rotted TJ frame, that price is pretty much worth it, in my opinion.

With that in mind, your criteria for a Rubi will not get you many to choose from, even here in Mississippi. They go for more like $3500 to $5000 more than your stated budget.

A *nice* Sport with D44 and 3.73 gears will run you about $12000, more if it has low miles. Mine was beat to hell and cost me $8000.

A 4 banger SE in nice shape around here goes for about $8000, maybe $6000 if it has been off-roaded much.

Good luck!
 
#6 ·
Thanks to everyone! I will definitely check out Gary's - seems like he has lots of good jeeps based on the website. Interesting about the Dana 44 - I thought I had read that this is what you want with any sort of 31" + tires and lift? Sorry if I confused my facts. I think I am going to wait it out for a nice clean one up here if one ever shows up. I may also be more flexible and move to the $15k max budget so I can get what I want. Any additional input is truly appreciated!
 
#7 ·
Attention on deck!!!! (salute), I'll have to tell you a funny story from my sailor days, but getting you the right rig is the main goal right now. In my opinion, I would stay far from Gary's Jeep, unless you're looking for a pig with lipstick. I have been there and that's my take and opinion. I finally found mine in PA which is out of the salt belt as others have stated. StoneyLedgeAutoSales. Dale is the owner arnd he and his son run the place...A+ deals and straight up service. I am sure there are other establishments that live up to that standard.
My suggestion is to get Autocheck or Carfax...the AC is cheaper and works well. Run VIN's and compile a listing for rigs with the amenities that are important to you. Use Autotrader, cargurus, etc. throw out any vehicles that don't make the grade...price, options, color, etc whatever. Don't be shy about distance. I saw pics, checked history, called Dale several times and after talking to him I knew it was the vehicle for me. I bought a one way ticket to Ephrata, PA and purchased the vehicle. On the train down the worrys started to set in....when I got there and did my initial inspection I was blown away. It was described exactly and way above my hopeful expectations.
I will never buy another used car without this method. I also bought a Honda CR-V using this system.
 
#13 ·
An officer in the navy might not have too much time to build and play. I spent over 1/3 of my 8 yr carrier at sea. Were I in your brown shoes, I would buy a rig that's already built for the type of wheeling I want to do and have fun with it, instead of waiting for parts to come in during my precious shore time.
 
#46 ·
An officer in the navy might not have too much time to build and play. I spent over 1/3 of my 8 yr carrier at sea. Were I in your brown shoes, I would buy a rig that's already built for the type of wheeling I want to do and have fun with it, instead of waiting for parts to come in during my precious shore time.
steele55lp, you going pilot??? Brown shoes? I got out 7/7/2014 after 8 years commissioned.

Congrats on your commission. OCS shouldn't be that bad, although I wouldn't know since I'm an academy guy and we luck out and don't do OCS (we live it for 4 years pre-com). Be good, be nice, listen to your chiefs and learn, lead by example, and don't let those butterbars go to your head.

Honestly, if you're going active, I'd wait on the jeep. Unless you know what's in store 100% (probably not), see where you end up and go from there. Hopefully it's not somewhere with rust. Not to say the yellow TJ isn't amazing....wink wink I have one..... but you may have some better options down the line when things get less hectic.
 
#15 ·
Hi guys so going to look at a 2005 Rubicon and the dealer has been sending pics. It appears to be exactly what I'm looking for. I may have to come a bit out of my price range but its listed at 15k about and I think I can talk him down. But here are some of the pics of the frame -anything to be worried about?

Also are there any specific questions I should clear up before making the long drive? The CARFAX shows 1 owner from NY and CT so im really working to make sure there's no rust or rot in the frame.

Thanks for all the help!!!!
 

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#18 ·
that has very minmal rust, crawl under and check it out looks like surface rust where there is a little

but that is pretty clean underneath

i got my 02 sport 3.73 gears with a D35, 90k miles 5 speed paid $7400 now i thought i got a hell of a deal most liek that around here sell for 10-12k
 
#19 ·
Rust looks normal for a 9 year old jeep from the northeast. Feel inside the frame for loose rust chunks.

Make sure the 6th number in the VIN is #6 otherwise its not a real Rubicon. Also make check the lockers to make sure they are functional and the D44s weren't removed.
 
#20 ·
STEELE you have done your research well and are on the right track, that Rubicon looks like a nice candidate to meet your needs.....from your pix that frame looks fine but still test it in person with a close inspection.....you did not say how many miles are on this Rubicon but the asking price is not out of the general ballpark as you said you can begin to negotiate from there.
 
#21 ·
Good find. I'll be seeing you in Boston with my 05 rubicon in a year :) my fiancé is moving back to beverly,ma in a few months.
 
#24 ·
Steele55lp

Welcome to the Jeep world. Mustangs and Jeeps go hand in hand… I have an '06 Rubi, 14 Rubi X, 1966 mustang and a 2013 GT500. Love them all.

You OP and research are spot on. Given you situation, I would buy a Rubi for sure. It will give you everything you need with minimal mods and it will maintain its value very well for you on down the line.

The one you are looking at appears decent. The edge where the skid meets the frame is a problem area if the rust is working for the inside out. If it is outside in, then you are fine. Feel inside the frame in the larger holes on the side and see if there is any scale or mud and dirt in there. The TJ frames do not have drain holes and once they start to fill up with mud and debris (mixed with NE salt) they rust rapidly from the inside out. Another good check is to put a wrench on those skid plate bolts and see if they come right out without destroying the frame backing plate.

Once you find one that is solid, I recommend drilling a drain hole in the frame directly under all 4 control arm mounts 1/2" or 9/16" is enough. Flush the frame whenever you wash it and hit it heavy inside and out with fluid film a couple times a year. My '06 Rubi frame still looks near new with this process.

$14.5 for a Rubi with a hardtop in good shape is probably fair. 120k miles shouldn't worry you much if it has been maintained.

Good luck!

Kevin
 
#25 ·
Thank you all for the thorough replies and extremely helpful information! I don't know where I would be if I didn't have your help in this process.

So I thought I was going to walk away purchasing that rubicon yesterday but here is where I ended up drawing the line:

Went in telling them I owe 9.5k on my 2012 mustang with 29k miles on it. Here's the numbers they put in front of me after some discussion:

Trade value: 16k
Jeep value: 14.5k
Amount on new loan after applying 9.5k loan on mustang: 8k

So I told them right away that I wanted to be at a 5k loan and if they could make that happen I would buy it right there.

The only offer they could extend is 7.5k with reg new tires or 8k with new GY Kevlar rubicon tires.

I even told them I would go 7.5k with the Kevlar and they wouldn't budge on the 500 dollars. The jeep was pretty clean and they were putting 2.5k work into it including new sway bar, new tires as mentioned above, fluids, alignment etc. they are a jeep dealership. It also comes with both a hard and soft top.

Should i still go back and take this offer or keep looking. The only negative to me was the white coloring, but other than that I was happy with everything about it. They hadn't detailed it yet and it was pretty dirty inside but nothing worth worrying about I didn't think.

Let me know what you guys think. Just hard to give away a nearly brand new mustang for an 120k miles jeep at near break even value.
 
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