Hey guys I have a quick question. I'm looking at buying an XJ here in the next couple weeks to build into a daily driver and weekend toy. I found a 1998 with a 4.5 inch lift on 33's with only 122,000 on the engine for $2000, but heres the catch its a salvage title.

What do you think? he claims it drives fine no issues at all. what do you think?

 

If you can get title straight it's a great deal

 

I didnt think you could correct a salvage title. I thought once it was salvaged that was it.

 

Ohh, idk. Ask someone more knowledgeable than me in this area lol

 

Iirc there is a way to get a rebuilt title. But I don't think it can ever be a "clean" title again. Some insurance companies wont cover salvage titles. Cherokees are unibodies. If it got into a wreck the structural integrity is compromised. If it is going to be a trail only rig, I wouldn't worry about it. If you're driving on the street I probably would not buy it unless you thoroughly inspected it first. It could also have a salvage title from being stolen. In which case I wouldn't worry either way besides the insurance coverage thing. But would not pay $2000 regardless because of the salvage title.

 

You can not clear a salvage title it is there to protect future purchasers. I would not pay that for it either. There are plenty of clean titled xjs to chose from.

 

The appealing thing about this jeep is its got lower miles and its a newer model. do you think it would be worth the gamble if I get the price down?

 

It just depends on what you want. Do you want to keep it for a long time and not worry about resale? Go for it. If you are in fact concerned about resale of the vehicle then I'd walk away. Also keep in mind that you are probably going to want to get a full inspection to make sure everything has been done correctly and that it's safe to drive. If I'm not mistaken that whole inspection is not cheap nor timely.

 

I'm not really that worried about resale, especially if I can get it at a really good price, cause I wont have much invested, I'm just thinking of the extra money I will have to throw at mods if I can save a couple grand on the purchase price.

I also know that it was totaled due to damage of the unibody,( front impact on the passenger side) the owner claims it was minimal and that there are no issues with the jeep now. I'm not worried about getting a perfect jeep since I plan on using it as a toy, but I also dont want it to impact the jeeps abilities on the trail.

 

Have you looked at it? If you don't care about resale value and it was repaired right it sounds like a good buy. Get some pics of the front end repair if possible.