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An XJ without floor pans (pretty typical for a vehicle in the Midwest) is not a deal breaker, just something you can knock a couple hundred dollars off for in negotiating. Same for rocker panels. If you're buying a Jeep for its "looks" buy a new one and save yourself some heartache. But I may be biased.
Rusted out rockers and floors isn't a deal breaker??? That's the difference between a keeper and a parts jeep. Couple hundred in negotiations? For all the time it takes to do the right way it's a lot more then a couple hundred dollars. There are way too many clean ones out there even in the rust belt to even consider dealing with a rust bucket.
But hey that's just my opinion and I'm just some jackass trying to learn on a jeep forum.
Im really into the look of the 2 door XJ. Just looks badass in my opinion, but with the baby it would be such a pain that I'll probably pass on the one I've found... Probably. And from what I can tell it's not impossible around me to find one with no rust. But pretty hard. And the people with untrusted XJs are asking so much more for them.
my first xj, 2 door 5 speed had rusted out rocker panels and floorboards but i rescued it and it is still the best jeep i ever owned, determination is key. but for a family vehicle, thats a no go ghost rider.
Rusted out rockers and floors isn't a deal breaker???
There's 2 sides to what he's saying. Obviously for the guy that doesn't wrench and don't own a welder / have any experience and does not want to put time into his jeep, it's insane to think about buying a car with holes in the floor and rotted rockers, but for someone who's looking for a project and isn't afraid to tear apart everything, patching holes in a floor isn't too bad.
Yeah I'm actually learning to wrench so to speak. I'll be certified in stick welding end of next week, and start my mig welding class and my intro mechanics class Jan 10th. So I'm not afraid to get something that needs a lot of work. I wanna do fab work eventually. Just don't want to get in too deep right off the bat, I'm still pretty green with the car work. But once I get into something I'm full bore. I can't help myself. That's why I can't chill with this XJ search.
I don't care how qualified ya are. Your nuts to take on a rust bucket. Time is money man. And there are way too many clean ones out there still to be messing with rusted junk.
Like I said though. Just my opinion.
Last edited by abodyjoe; Dec 12, 2015 at 07:02 AM.
This is my experience. Of the four Jeeps I've owned (2 CJ, 2XJ) three have had rust issues, specifically the floor pans. And yes, knocking a couple of hundred off for it is reasonable since we're talking about vehicles that often sell for $2k or less. It'd be awesome to grab one of these $15k survivors with 50,000 miles on them, but I'm happy with a $1500 runner that needs a little sheet metal.
This is my experience. Of the four Jeeps I've owned (2 CJ, 2XJ) three have had rust issues, specifically the floor pans. And yes, knocking a couple of hundred off for it is reasonable since we're talking about vehicles that often sell for $2k or less. It'd be awesome to grab one of these $15k survivors with 50,000 miles on them, but I'm happy with a $1500 runner that needs a little sheet metal.
come on now.. i'm not talking about a 15k vehicle. lets get real now..
paid $2600 for my cherokee. its super clean (red two door below). no rust repair needed. have 200,000 miles on it and still runs great. they are out there all over the place. some times you just have to be patient. no need to rush. find the clean affordable one. you will be time an money ahead in the end.
this is the day i bought it.
a few months before my son got his license he was pointing out craigslist ads every day with junk cherokees in them. my god he was going nuts. i told him to cill out and one will pop up when you least expect it. sure enough the wife came home from work one night and asked if i had seen the cherokee down the road for sale.. i'm like no, i was down that way a few hours ago and there was no cherokee there. so we take a ride, check it out and bought it on the spot. if i remember correctly he paid $2700 for it.. i know it was under $3000. very clean (white 4 door below.). interior was dirty but not trashed, had over 200,000 miles on it but ran nice. we had to put a battery and alt. in it and a few other odds and ends but nothing major and no rust repair.
guess what i am saying is be patient and don't settle for a rust bucket. there is no reason to.. drive a few hours if need be to get what you want. i had to do that when looking for my mustang. far better driving a little further and saving a little more and getting a clean unmolested vehicle.
Last edited by abodyjoe; Dec 12, 2015 at 09:13 AM.
So how strongly is it advised to stay from 00-01 XJs. With the 0331 I see people cracking heads at 100k miles. And I see some going past 225k without having any issues. If it makes it past a certain number of miles is it a safe bet it's not gonna have the issue if it is continually well maintained? The late model XJs I've seen are a lot better with the rust.
That is sweet, I got lucky and found my No Rust anywhere 2 door from a friend and it's a one owner from Vancouver British Columbia Canada, they get winters
where they get no snow and if they do it's melted 24 hours later.
this is the day I purchased it, never even got it home for the first picture.
That is sweet, I got lucky and found my No Rust anywhere 2 door from a friend and it's a one owner from Vancouver British Columbia Canada, they get winters
where they get no snow and if they do it's melted 24 hours later.
this is the day I purchased it, never even got it home for the first picture.
Just for the fun of showing it, here is another one that looks like a cool deal in our area. Too customized for me, but looks like LOTS of mods, NO rust, and ultra low miles.
45K Miles - Customized - $7700
If a person gets this for $6000-7000, I think they are getting a pretty good deal. Provided it runs as good as it looks. I noticed there are no internal shots, so I'm assuming that it is in good condition because of the miles...but who knows.
