[JK-Tony]

Hey everyone, i know i kind of skipped over the newbie section, but i'm kind of stapped for time here and need some pointers on buying a wrangler.

i dont know an aweful lot about JK's. the only jeep ive ever had was an 87 cherokee, and it was awesome until it took the trip to the mud hole in the sky. (by way of rolling down a steep hill) lol.

anyway, im looking at buying a 2008 rubicon 2d with 54k miles on it. ive been through it with a fine tooth comb and everything looks great. the front diff cover is leaking, but i figure they could both use a good service anyway.

so i guess what i need to know is, are there any objections from anybody or any known problems with 2008's or jeeps with the 3.8 and auto trans up in the 50k mileage range?

am i buying a bucket full of problems or a life long reliable companion? it appears to have been very well maintained and cared for. also it doesnt look to have more than 5 minutes of dirt time under its belt.

any help or info would be awesome as i am looking to get it tomorrow. dont really want to debate about price and what everyone thinks i should pay, just want to know about any potential problems or bad situations i may be getting into.

Thanks all-

Tony

 

[billytheyj]

Lifts of course cause things to wear prematurely so just fyi. Check out the lockers and 4wd well. Look at tires closely for uneven wear and bring a buddy a large pry bar and a jack to check for excessive wobble (bearings) in the tires. By jacking one up and see if you could move it around easly with the bar. The wheel bearings have been known to go out within the first 30,000 miles before. Also have th friend/buddy or salesman play with the steering while you look at the linkage for slop. Check the oil... if its low that's a good indicator of it burning some up. Find out why the front diff is leaking. Get a car fax and don't let the "pizazz" of this badass jeep in your midst overcome your common sense. If you have a gut feeling of something is not right with this buy don't get it intuition works pretty well and good luck!

 

[jkjeeper06]

Best advice is to check the axles and skid plates. People wheel jeeps and you want to find one that hasn't been wheeled much. My previous owner was an older woman who just used it to drive to the beach. Needless to say tho, I checked all of the skids and axles. If there were scratches I was hesitant. If there were dents I said "I'm sorry I'm no longer interested in this jeep. Do you have any others in this price range?" you can get scratches coming down on dirt and rocks usually from hitting the skid on rocks. Now my skids are scratched and dented but at least I know how they happened and that the jeep is ok

 

[jkjeeper06]

also it doesnt look to have more than 5 minutes of dirt time under its belt.


Tony

Looks can be deceiving. Mine probably looks like it doesn't have much dirt time under its belt either but that's just cuz I like wider trails where I won't scratch it. If sneck (another member here) gets the scratches buffed out on his door, his will look pretty good too. And that jeep has been on its side before

I am certainly not saying don't get it. After you look at the steering, 4x4 and skids, If they look good, please buy it and enjoy it and increase its dirt time a little

 

[kjeeper10]

Oil consumption and leaks plague earlier wranglers.

I don't know how you would know about the oil

If I were going to take the risk on a used wrangler, it would have to have lower miles and possibly some factory warranty left over. And only from a Jeep dealer..
Oh wait-I did :whistling:

 

[i82much]

I came at the used Jeep thing from a different angle. The resale is so frickin' high on these things that I think you really have to do your homework to make it worthwhile to buy used. I say get a '12 and deal with the higher payment. You'll get some of that back in gas money, some of it back in repairs. It will still cost you more, but not as much as you might think at first.

FYI I put my money where my mouth is -been looking at new and used JK's for 2 years and finally bought a 2 door '12 Rubi last night. I just looked at all of the different factors involved in cost of ownership and came to the conclusion that a new one, while clearly more expensive, isn't *that* much more than a used one unless you make a very, very good deal on a used Jeep.

That said, if you are set on a used Jeep, I agree wholeheartedly with kjeeper10. Low miles, factory warranty, Jeep dealer. I would add that you should buy from a dealer with a good reputation and ask to see some maintenance records.

 

[JK-Tony]

thanks for all the info guys. i did run a carfax and i have already had it on my lift at work to check everything and it all looks good. i took it on the freeway last night and its really tight and nice. no wobble or anything like that. the diff is leaking because the cover on the front needs to be resealed.

all looks good and i think im gonna do it.