Hi all,
Been trying to find an xj for a reasonable price that isn’t too far gone to fix. I’m new to xj’s and looking for some advice on if this one has too much rust to consider buying. It’s a 1997 with about 185k miles. I’m located in Wisconsin and it seems hard to find any without a good amount of rust. It’s posted for 2000 but I’m thinking I could get them down to 1500 any input is appreciated, thanks.

 

"too rusty to fix" of course depends on how much fixing you want to do but:
1) Those pictures don't really help too much, you need to get under there and start shoving a screwdriver thru what used to be steel The fact that you mentioned that you're new to XJ's and the fact that the pictures don't show the typical rust areas (rockers, floor, front spring seats,etc suggests that if you are serious about this thing you need to have someone who knows XJ's look at it.

2) with that said it does look pretty bad. And keep in mind that these days your not going to find a decent XJ for 1500.

3) more importantly, looking at stuff like the bald tires , the blocks on the rear leaves, the rusty shocks I suspect the thing has been neglected for a long time and it's going to have a lot of problems in addition to rust. Think money pit.

I wouldn't touch it, but that's me

 

Yes, pics are not revealing enough, but if the cost of fixing the rust exceeds the value of the vehicle, look for a better one. I think I see some uni-rail rust in one pic

At the end of the day, its much better to pay $5k for a good one, than $1500 for a piece is **** that will cost $$$ to fix

Its common to have to replace most suspension parts on an XJ (unless already done), that is another 2K, tyres etc, soon adds up

 

I could work with that. It's up to you to decide if you want to or not.

 

If you're a pilot (XJ? I once worked for Mesaba...) then fly out to DEN. There are many rust-free XJ's out here. I just bought one a month ago that had a cracked head and it's so clean. I was considering starting a side gig buying and hauling them East. Otherwise I have a 2000 Limited 4x4 with a recently refreshed motor that runs excellent that I'd consider selling for a non-gouging price. It has rust but I have new slip-on rockers for it. Structural unibody is fine. It's located between Madison and Steven's Point. PM me if your interested.

 

Thanks for the feedback guys, it’s much appreciated I’m not very experienced with those type of repairs so I think I’ll just have to spend a little more than I originally planned.

 

Well, aside from rust it looks to me to be not well maintained, you'll be doing everything to the front end, complete brakes, lines, bearings rotors etc and then you get to the rust frame which doesn't actually look unfixable at all but you will need to get welding skills and you have a road in front. Maybe keep looking unless you're prepared for all that. I think I'd be a buyer at around $600.

 

for rust repairs, cost your time vs a pro. I can form metal, weld, fill & paint, but it is time consuming

Unless you can weld, it would be beyond you, once the rust gets in, its all over, panel steel and uniframe need some good MIG welding

If you are working a paid job, it doesnt add up (usually), bit different if you are retired

rust and bad electric are the hardest things to fix on an an XJ, everything else is easier (auto trans is hard)

As I said, pay 5k, be mile$ ahead, no rust repair, no repaint. if you want one, pay more for perfection, they are out there

I have personally saved a large amount of money by buying vehicles near the bottom of their depreciation curve, I fix them up and they actually appreciate, so I sell them for more than I paid, not counting my labor. Never owned a new car, so my depreciation is a + number, my insurance is negligible, and my maintenance bill is on the low side of average, so in the instance I have been doing that for over 40yrs, and depreciation is 3-5k pa, insurance +2k, my average maintenance budget on my XJ over 5 years is $800, probably comparable to a new vehicle over 5 years

So that is ~6k per year over 40yrs adds up, especially compounding. If I had a big enough shed, I wouldnt sell much, had to downsize sheds, that was cruel
In addition my iconic old cars, Jeeps and parts will likely be worth more than most used cars when I croak, be a good barn find for someone

 

This is ready to rock: [type in facebook dot com] /marketplace/item/244507778578491
I have a '97 that's identical but I'm not letting it go!

 

Any update?


 

Ended up finding and purchasing this 96’ 2dr manual xj with about 133k on it. Not in perfect shape but mechanically it’s great just needs some tlc on the body.

 

That's great news! Looks great; was it from the Midwest too?