ecgleaton

Hey y'all,

I am basically at wits end as to what to do with my '93 XJ. Ever since I bought it in September of last year (financed it, rather, for $2500, $80 a month, couple hundred down with ~$1800 remaining), it has been nothing but a money pit. It has 275k on it, but the top half of the engine was rebuilt just before I bought it. It has excellent vacuum gauge readings, as well as compression readings, and as far as I know, the engine itself is in excellent mechanical condition. That being said though... everything else that could go wrong has. New brakes on the front, one new rotor, still needs 2 rear brakes, so parking brake is inoperable, and its a manual (kind of important, because I think the clutch is going now as it acts like it wants to roll even while in reverse on steep hills). The engine has started skipping sporadically, replaced spark plugs, wires, and dist. cap, no change. Examined and cleaned crankshaft position sensor, no change. I've replaced the radiator, the battery, the alternator (and a custom part inside to regulate the voltage, as the voltage regulator integral to the computer has gone). I had to replaced one front ball bearing, and then the brake booster went out at the same time. It needs a catalytic converter (it is missing) and a new muffler (only a loud as hell "glasspack"). It has spent probably more than four months sitting in the year I've owned it. I love this vehicle so much, and I don't want to get rid of it. But at the same time, maintaining it is killing me. I just replaced the alternator after it had sat for a few months, and I didn't get 5 miles before the other front tire (not the one with the new ball bearing) acted like it was going to fall off. It's currently parked at a shop waiting to be looked at. This Jeep has an amazing custom electric blue paint job, is lifted 3", and has 31" all terrain tires, as well as a custom ram bar that came off an ambulance, and "blacked out" rims. On top of the other problems though, the blinkers don't work, nor the wipers at times, and when the brights are on NO other lights in the vehicle will work, no dash, no parking lights, and no tail lights. Oh yeah, it also needs four new tires (at least two right now), and a new set of gears because it was never regeared for oversized tires.

I don't take this vehicle off road. It is my daily driver.... when it runs. I've driven on several 200 mile road trips, and one 400 or 500 with no problem, and put 10000 miles on it in half a year. I don't know what to do with this anymore though. I'd like to get a vehicle that is reliable, at least not one that is constantly needing to be parked for extended periods. What holds me back is not having the money for a huge car payment, and just loving the style of older vehicles (I grew up in the 90s).

If anyone has some advice, I would greatly appreciate it. I would like to know if this vehicle is even worth continuing to keep, or if it should be sold to a specialist or enthusiast. And just for information, I'm not a mechanic, but I have personally done all the work on this vehicle, with the help of friends, except brakes and oil changes. What do you say?Thanks in advance.

EDIT: This vehicle is also a four-cylinder, which has made it very difficult to find some parts, like a new alternator mount when it broke, or a computer (there is ONE in California that MAY work, though I believe I've fixed my charging problem for now). My main question is, if you were me, what would you do? Which is the cheaper option, buying a newer vehicle, or trying to make this one work? Could I find a ride for a similar price that is equally reliable and has that shock-worthy factor like this vehicle?

ecgleaton

Anyone? All I'm looking for is a keep or sell.

ehall

Cars with high mileage, everything is past the end of the normal wear curve. The economics only make sense on it if you do the labor yourself. It does not make sense to pay a shop to do it--you could make a payment on a newer car with all that money, and come out ahead.

jbsjunk

I'm surprised they financed something that old. It sounds like it was never maintained. Something you found out. Once you get past those issues, you should be fine.

ehall

I have replaced almost everything on my XJ (350k miles). Old cars and high-mileage cars, everything is broken or about to break

Orlo

Honestly, this is a purchase gone horribly wrong. It sounds like you saw the paint, tires and lift and got way too excited to bother checking the condition of the rig. So now you're in a tough place. If you have a Lien on it, you have to pay off the loan before you sell it. And to sell it for $1800 or so, it's gonna take another love-struck buyer who doesn't look past the pretty blue paint. It may take less cash to buy out the loan and get a buyer who wants a project than it would to bring the hulk back to proper function.

RTorrez1

I hate to say it. But, you will never get what you owe in it. At least in the condition it's in. If you started having problems with it soon after you purchased it. You should have taken it back and made them repair it or given your money back. The would of had to under the lemon law. Now your best bet is to try to repair it, which will take a lot of time and money. Or keep paying on it and part it out and repay the finance company with what you get. You may have a few bucks left after you are done parting it out. I know this may not be much help. But, it is a couple of things to consider. Good luck with your situation.

Bocefus

Well the good news $80 a month isn't that much. I would plan on getting rid of it. Its a money pit at this point, plus its just a lowly 4cyl. You should be able to afford to buy another vehicle while you get this one patched up enough to sell when you get it paid off.

If you are willing to buy some tools and learn how to do basic maintenance and repairs, find yourself a sound, stock, rust free Cherokee with the 4.0 and auto trans and under 200,000 miles, the lower mileage the better. If you aren't willing to do basic maintenance, then get out and finance a later model economy car, which will be cheaper than paying shops to work on older vehicles.

El_Guapo

Old Jeeps are a great way to clear out any spare cash that you may have laying around. That said, if you do the repairs right and try to have some fun in the process, it pays off in the end moreso than it would with most other vehicles of a similar vintage. Prior to the end of the "J" suffix, Jeep vehicles were always an honest, simple ride that a shadetree mechanic could handle 99.9% of repair work on.

I understand the frustration, as I have this weird fixation on owning a CJ at all times. My current CJ3B qualifies as an epic money pit, but at the same time I enjoy having a couple of cold beers and turning a few wrenches on it after work.

toasterknight

I'm looking for a cj6 for the same reason.

TwistedWrench

I hate to say it, but you got took. $2,500 for a 4cyl pushing close to 300K is painfully steep regardless of the cosmetics. Whoever had it before realized the tide was turning, and unloaded before it bled them dry. So now it's bleeding you dry.

The fact that its financed is unfortunate. Due to the age, mileage & price tag, I'm assuming this was just a "personal loan", not an actual auto loan? If so, and the title is in your name, sell it, honestly. You'll likely take a big loss & you'll still owe the money you borrowed. But you'll be out of the pit. Keep making your $80 payments. Take whatever you get for the turd & find a 4.0 XJ... With the focus being the real condition(have a mechanic look it over) & not the way it looks.

Plenty out there for way less than you paid for the 93, may not be as purty, but will serve you faithfully. Paint can be done later.

If there's a lein on the title, you've got a pickle on your hands.

aroundincircles

I would sell it for what ever you can get for it, and cover the rest. if you didn't have $2500 to cash to buy a car it will always be too much, and if you planned to have it be a DD without going through it completely. also, 10,000 miles in 6 months is a LOT of miles too, old cars need a lot of work an maintenance.

When I bought my 89, I knew that any car that old would be a money pit, so I planned for it... I bought it for $500, and put in 10x's that in repairs (NOT upgrades). its not my dd, its paid for, so when its broken it sits until I can deal with it.

ecgleaton

Thank you all for the advice.

I've decided I'm going to repair the Jeep to the best of my abilities. That's the only way I can get what I'd like to back out of it. I may not even break even, but this is the best way to recoup the most of my losses. In the meantime it will still be my daily driver, my 91 Suburban is awaiting a transmission rebuild. Wish me luck

ehall

The good news is these things are dead simple to work on yourself, and the junkyards are full of them so parts are easy to find and usually pretty cheap.

BlueRidgeMark

That was your first mistake. It's one we've all made. Somewhere along the line, after WWII, America bought into the lie that debt is a great way to live. Before then, people understood that debt is slavery. They avoided it. It was considered shameful.

It still should be. It's stupid, at best. I hope you learn that lesson. If you do, you'll be ahead of most people for the rest of your life.

The other lesson here, is well, it's been said. It was pretty and you bought it and you got taken. Yeah, been there, done that too. I once paid basically new price for a used VW that had been in an accident. It's a painful lesson, but now all you can do is learn the lesson or refuse to admit you need to learn it. Your choice, of course.



Yep. I think under the circumstances, you've made the right choice. I suggest you start with an overhaul of your grounds. Clean them ALL up, and make sure your battery cables are in good shape. I'm about to redo mine.


That should be fun. Which transmission? Lots of good info online about rebuilding all of the Chevy transmissions. Don't buy a Monster!



Oh, is there a lemon law in the state where he lives?

What? You don't know where he lives? Then how do you know what the state law is where he lives? The federal lemon law only applies if there was a written warranty. Did the OP say anything about a warranty?