Hi all,

I've been into Jeeps since I was a kid, I'm only 19 right now. I always do things myself, no stealerships. I have had projects that I've bought, fixed up, and sold since I got my license (I use this to fund my car hobbies). I started out with a 2000 Cherokee, which was hit by a drunk and texting driver 2 weeks before I was to get my license. I was crushed by this and sold it for parts (it was a really bad accident). At that point my parents were concerned about safety for crashing so I got a Dakota 4.7 HO that I made cool and used as a dune truck but got bored pretty quickly with that and wanted to get back to Jeeps and do more real wheeling. So I had bought that truck for cheap and managed to sell it for 8200, with this I found the deal of the century on a 2007 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited for 9 grand. This I had for 2 years, did a slow build, wheeled it well over 10 (hard) times, and loved it. I had 173k miles on it when I sold it just this past summer because the market was so hot I was able to make a good amount of money on it. From there I've been buying, fixing and selling government vehicles for a profit to use as play money and managed to get myself a spotless 2014 Dodge Charger pursuit hemi from the south with only 60k miles and I haven't had to put a dime into it in 4000 miles. I am never selling this car as it will be my summer/no snow driver for a very long time as it needs nothing and is fun to daily drive (I live in Michigan so I won't ever let it see salt if I can help it. Now I've been working since I could drive and have decent money saved up even with paying for school. Now I'm looking for a 2nd vehicle and I joined this forum because I am dead set on an xj. I miss my old Cherokee and would probably still be driving it today as it was a free truck from my uncle that was where I learned body work (had been in 3 medium accidents never fixed), replacing seals on everything, doing fluids, and discovering how bulletproof the 4.0 was because I'm pretty sure the oil was 20k miles old. I love the look of them, love the power and torque of the 4.0, and they're very cheap to work on and upgrade. My only thing I'm torn on is getting an auto, or attempting to fine one with the more rare 5 speed (idc if its the ax15 or the nv3550). I know how to drive a manual well at this point. I've driven a bunch of different ones and daily drove one and have taken one off road. I prefer daily driving a manual well over an auto, but autos are easier off road but I'm not looking for easy I'm looking for fun. I will probably make a thread on this if I don't buy a Cherokee soon because as of right now I am torn because If they were the same price, I would buy a manual most likely, but they're almost always much much more expensive than the equivalent auto. I may make a thread on this if I don't manage to find one on which is better. As I am 19 and on a tighter budget, I am looking for cheap but something very solid (little to no rust) I can use as an off road toy for a long time. If anyone who reads this knows of a cleaner, 4.0 Cherokee 97+ preferred (body style of the first one I had) let me know please even if it needs work I am willing to fix stuff. Thank you for reading this post, I am excited to getting back into Jeeping finally now that the Jeep market has calmed down enough for me to afford one.

 

Welcome to the family and the forum

 

Welcome!


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