Notchr302

I'm looking at checking out this Jeep but it's a couple of hours away. It would be my first xj..but one i would want to keep for a very long time as a weekender that i want to lift to the sky.lol. Obvious concerns are the mileage even though many say they can last 300k plus..You never know how people maintain their cars. Provided there is no rust, I'm wondering if you guys think this is still just too high? Dude is asking $2500.

Ralph77

Something a friend once said to me a long time ago that stuck. Go for a good body, glass, and interior. Almost anything mechanical can be fixed easier. Solid rust free '99? Thinking with 183K $2500 sounds kinda reasonable.

RocketMouse

I dont know if I'd call your friend's advice the "golden rule"....but from those things you mentioned, can certainly go a long way towards telling you about how the previous owner took care of it.
Mechanically you don't want a basket case or you'll be chasing your tail and setting your wallet on fire. Because there's no way you'll get the attainable "300k" on it if it wasn't mechanically taken care of as well. But for that price, and condition the buyer claims, it couldn't hurt to take a look. Clean XJ's are getting harder to come by.

firebane

I just picked up a 97 with 440,xxxkm (273,xxx mies) on it for $1000 CAD (780 US) that needed a couple of things with minimal rust. I had no issues buying this as I know the 4.0 are good for a long long time as long as they are maintained.

But mine does need some work but I am lucky to be able to do it.

firebane

Absolutely this! Especially the interior.. It can say a lot of how the vehicle was maintained. Rust is very expensive to fix if its really far gone.

dans98xj

I bough mine with 226000 miles. It has 315000 miles now. As long as the vehicle was maintained and there is no major rust or rot areas you could be fine.

JRusty15

Last year I picked up a '99 with 204,000 miles for just over $1,000 (US). The interior was MINT, ran and drove fine, 4x4 works, heat works, but A/C did not work. Only issue was the hood latch cable broke so we had a hell of a time getting the hood open. Otherwise some minor rust spots underneath that are not structural and can be repaired. Motor runs strong.

PatHenry

My Dad's 94 had 400k original miles on it when he got rid of it due to rust over the windshield. Engine still ran perfectly.

I got my 95 for $800, 295k on the body, 145k on the engine/tranny. I had to drive 2 hours away to get it. It had rocker rust, no muffler, no right side headlight bezel/reflector, a bad wheel bearing and frozen e-brake, but the floors had been re-done and the engine and AX15 tranny run beautifully. Total cost to get it to pass MA inspection (not counting MA's exorbitant taxes, fees, registration costs) was about 1700 (800 + 900 mostly due to completely replacing the rear brakes and the obnoxious MA bumper requirements)

I'm extremely happy with this purchase. If the 99 is solid (not rusted out) and runs well, $2500 is not a bad price.

weld3z

A friend got 96 with 450k km 280k miles and he drive it every day with original engine rebuild transmission no problems offrodaing with us every weekend .. price is good but try for more ..Good luck

extrashaky

The mileage is too damn high?



Seriously though, you're asking a weird question. This vehicle is almost two decades old. While there are still some out there with fewer miles, you're going to have a hard time finding them. I think most of us would consider 183K to be a reasonable mileage for that vintage.

If you're looking for a vehicle you're not going to have to work on, this isn't it. No XJ is. Very few 19 year old vehicles would fit that description. If that's what you want, you'll need to look for something younger.

If you want an XJ anyway, you'll need to expect to have to work on it, regardless of whether it has 60K miles, 180K miles or 360K miles. By this time, things will be going wrong with even low mileage vehicles that old. You'll also have to expect the potential for major replacements, maybe 100K miles from now, maybe next week, depending on how it was maintained.

If that sounds okay to you, then 183K miles is fine.

Notchr302

I'm the OP and I decided to wait. I'd rather find one local that I can go see and talk to the owner. I'm in no rush. I AM however in Maryland (DC area) so finding a rust free car will be hard. Also, this major metropolis is know for high prices, but there are also many people so there will be cars available. My hopes is to find some tender fellow who took care of his car and doesn't know the popularity of them.. Lol!

RocketMouse

^^^ Good luck with that. For some reason when it comes to Jeeps, most people do know what they have. It's weird, but true. Still I wish you good luck with your search.

PatHenry

I have to second what Rocket is saying. Generally an XJ fetches less than a wrangler, but finding decent XJ's is only going to get harder going forward.
I drove 2 hours for mine because I had to have a manual tranny. If you are looking for an auto, it's a little easier.
For some perspective, in my area (Northern MA near NH border - also a high price area), for a "rust free" (there's no such thing for the most part), functional stock XJ the average asking price is $5000. Anything without a major issue is no less than $1000.
There was a guy listing an 88 comanche with 18k miles on it and reportedly was in "showroom condition"/"climate controlled garage"..etc, etc, in New York and he wanted $22,500... That's about what I paid for my brand new top of the line TJ with all the options in 2000...

PatHenry

Also, good luck with your search.

Notchr302

I was sort of kidding but seriously, I live in a very liberal professional area so it's actually not so far fetched. 😊