Jeeps

emzdogz

emzdogz

Aunty Em
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Why are Jeep Wranglers and CJ's so expensive? There's seems to be like a "floor" and the price people ask, no matter how crappy the vehicle never seems to go below this floor. OTOH, Cherokees, you can find way cheaper.

Are they that different underneath and gut-wise?

Thing is, even 4 WD Cherokees can be had cheap, so that can't be the only price difference.

hmmmm.... I have a 95 Cherokee that I love and will never part with, but I'd love an older Wrangler, or even like a CJ5 or 7 - but dang, there's just practically nothing under $4k, except junks.:wtf:

Is there some obvious reason I'm missing?
:)
thx
 
90s Cherokees rust as bad as old Brit cars. Might have something to do with it. Jeeps are bodies bolted onto the frame, or at least the ones my brother has done are. Jeep is way more more versatile of course. Basically the same inline 6 motor I believe.
 
hmm. Mine isn't rusty, 'cept the rims.... and one bullet hole. lol, there is some rust around the hole. (attempted bullet hole - it doesn't go all the way through)

But I bet what you're saying about body bolts onto frame has something to do with it. I notice there's like a gazillion aftermarket parts for Wranglers.

Anyway, re: the rust - there's a real funky old CJ that parks near my work - you can see through the floorboards down to the road. He locks it with a chain around the steering wheel that attaches to something - not sure what.

I guess the Cherokee "is what it is" (an SUV), whereas maybe the CJ's and Wranglers are easier to take apart and mess with.

Would love to have one.
 
I'm not saying Jeeps don't rust, but rather that being body on a frame, you can do something about it. My brother has one with badly rotted body but has a replacement body under a tarp.

He recently also bought a 350 Sprint to restore that I'm envious of. I told him it would be worth a fistful down here where they pay big cash for a Honda 350 and I bet they'd pay bigger cash for a Harley 350.
 
Wranglers were, and I believe still are, the #1 vehicle for retaining their value. Someone that wants a Wrangler doesn't really want anything else except a Wrangler and is typically willing to pay a higher price to get what they want.
 
I've had YJ and TJ jeeps. THe TJ is worlds better. also, my TJ will whoop the crap out of a similarly outfitted CJ on the rocks. You try scoring a 960 on an RTI ramp with a CJ that only has a 3" lift, 33" tires but looks stock.

As far as jeeps rusting, my YJ was horrible but my TJ is 13 years old and just got its first bit of rust this winter in Minnesota (salt on roads). Thankfully its on the window hinge so it'll be easy to fix and paint.
 
CJ's and Wranglers are Off-road toy platforms with gazillions of mods. My little brother bought a cherokee for 800 bucks and made a cheap crawler, but his wrangler is pretty sick. Check out Poor Boy Offroad on Youtube. Bunch of Kentucky Rednecks. My brother's is the White wrangler with cut away fenders, 44's, and drivetrain from a 1950's Power Wagon. He works on that thing constantly. That's why I'm picking up the XS650 when I go back thru there. He does not have any time for it, but I do!
 
I worked at a Jeep dealer for about 5 years. It's one of those things where people just like them as much for the image as anything and that jacks the price up. It amazes me the amount of time/money people spend on them; me, after driving my brother's 304 V8 QuadraTrac CJ7 ~200 miles on the Interstate I wouldn't give a plugged nickel for all of 'em put together. Hell, my Jensen Healey has a much more weathertight top and damn sure handles better. I'd grab a 95-up Cherokee (the earlier ones have truly awful steering) for next to nothing first and if building a really sick trail rig make the doors quick removal.
 
I wouldn't knock the weather tite top on a TJ. (the CJ one's suck) but the one's from a YJ or TJ are both warmer in 50 below weather than a white removable hard top. Been there done that after living in Duluth. Also the tops last. I finially replaced my TJ's after 11 years.

Most people will never know the capabilities of their jeeps since they don't off road them. I don't even off road mine much since its my primary vehicle. But I built it specifically to handle anything a Minnesota winter can throw at it and it performs its role perfectly.
 
I drove my '82 CJ-5 (2.5L Chevy 4 cyl.) from Ft. Lewis, WA to West by-God Liberty Ky via I-90. Rag top, loaded with junk, and pouring rain. I thought I was going to get blown off the mountain below Deer Lodge Montana. I stopped at the Deer Lodge Cafe and had breakfast at 3 AM. The tech from the rig garage next door offered me a complimentary "mountain tune" after listening to me bitch. He fixed 'er up, and it ran passable until I got to Missouri. Thanks dude!

That was a shitty ride at 25-30 mph with big rig triples blasting by me. This was all in 1991 when I left the Army. I've learned a few things, like, go to New Mexico to cross the divide next time! Beautiful drive, except that night, of course.
 
I had two or three girls with softtop Wranglers complain that the A/C did not keep the car cool on stinkin' hot days.

:doh:
 
I've never understood the whole Jeep thing. I was always the one out there driving circles around them in my Samurai. These days I have a full tube chassis crawler... sucks to have to trailer it everywhere though.
 
Phail said:
I've never understood the whole Jeep thing. I was always the one out there driving circles around them in my Samurai. These days I have a full tube chassis crawler... sucks to have to trailer it everywhere though.
Click to expand...

Yeah I want a tintop samurai so bad it hurts. I ease the pain with my fj40 though so it helps.
071711150324.jpg
 
as a transmission mechanic i am not a fan of yj and tj. I could care less about the body but the frames on them are junk. they rot out in just a few years. They rot out right where the skid/ trans mount plate sits. They rip the nuts out that the bolts go that hold up the skid/mount. Try welding new nuts to the frame that is just solid rust. No fun and no thanks
 
I like FJ40's but they share one CJ and early Wrangler/Cherokee characteristic I do not like: the world's most dead steering. I drove one ~250 miles to Cherry Point, NC and swore I would never drive another on the highway. The steering was so 'wandery' you couldn't even sneeze or you'd find yourself in the next lane. I bought a '92 Cherokee in 1998, less than 50k on it, and it did the same damn thing. The '95 and up Cherokee/Wrangler is MUCH better.

My 1997 Isuzu Trooper steers about as nice as my Jensen Healey even with power steering. Direct, slop free, good road feel even at ~185k miles. For that matter, every Isuzu 4x2 or 4x4 vehicle I ever drove steered like a sports car.
 
Anyway, re: the rust - there's a real funky old CJ that parks near my work - you can see through the floorboards down to the road. He locks it with a chain around the steering wheel that attaches to something - not sure what.
Click to expand...

I used to have a tj too and my buddy had a cj, he took a cutter to the floor pan found some galvanized speed limit signs and welded them in... that seemed to do the trick.
 

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