....and behind door 3

[Alacran]

Thanks for all the great replies I've gotten. http://www.jeepz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20094. But I need to make the choice even more difficult.
First a little background. My wife and I have retired and live just south of the second largest city in Mexico, Guadalajara. Having gone the dirt bike route and that not working I'm looking for a Jeep that will take us on those dirt roads that I'm not willing to take our primary vehicle. Being retired my budget is not unlimited. Any Jeep I choose will pretty much stay that way, no higher lift, bigger tires, fancier stereo. To compound the difficulty of my choice is the fact that I can't be there to make the final decision. My son-in-law, whose decisions I respect, will be inspecting these Jeeps and relaying the information to me.
I've found three Jeeps that all fall within my budget. Appearance is important but reliability is even more so. Hopefuly the choices will remain with these three vehicles. Even if these three end up being unavailable I feel they run the range of choices that I should come across.
Now to the fun.

Door 1:

91 Jeep, 4 cyl, 5 spd, 90k miles, newer tires and rims. Hardtop which I'd replace with soft top. Stereo not working at present, no rear seat. Asking price $3800

Door 2:

95 Jeep, 4 cyl, 5 spd, 165k miles. New 31" wheels, Pioneer stereo, Eclipse speakers, Borla exhaust. Slight rust in drivers door. Original soft top. Asking price $3500 OBO.

Door 3:

88 Jeep, 6 cyl, 5 spd, 107k miles. Newer tires, new carpet, new seat covers, good stereo. Nearly new soft top. Asking price $3900.

All three Jeeps have been well maintained. Carfax reports good. Just looking at pictures I really lean towards #3, but will I have more problems in it being an 88? I'm giving great weight to all replies in making my decision (helps to spread the anxiety around). I don't want to choose something that I will regret.

 

[pinaplebob]

I like number the third also,which engine does it have (i'm not sure on the YJ's) but if it's got the 4.0 inline your good to go, they are built like tanks IMO.

 

[pinaplebob]

I guess I need to move to mexico to find a decent price on a non-beat on wrangler.

 

[redrooster]

Although I prefer fuel injection, I think for your particular situation, #3 would be the best choice. The 4.0 is reliable and simple. The mileage is not too bad and it is a lot better engine than the 4 cyl IMO.

 

[currupt4130]

#3

 

[southtj]

3 looks like the right choice to me.

 

[TwistedCU]

#3 would be my last choice for your needs. The Carter carb is far from reliable, and it isn't a 4.0L, the 1988 had the 4.2L 258. It's a good engine but it's no 4.0 and combine that with the carb and the Peugeot transmission I'd say no way.

#1 looks like a winner to me. Assuming that being retired means your income is fixed, it will be far more reliable than #3. A fuel injected YJ with 90K miles for under $4K :shock: That's a real hard deal to find around here, and personally I'd jump all over it if I saw it down the street, if for nothing else to turn a profit. If it looks clean that makes the decision all the easier. So what if it has a hard top, you can make $$$ off that and get a Bestop Supertop for it.

 

[mingez]

#3 would be my last choice for your needs. The Carter carb is far from reliable, and it isn't a 4.0L, the 1988 had the 4.2L 258. It's a good engine but it's no 4.0 and combine that with the carb and the Peugeot transmission I'd say no way.

#1 looks like a winner to me. Assuming that being retired means your income is fixed, it will be far more reliable than #3. A fuel injected YJ with 90K miles for under $4K :shock: That's a real hard deal to find around here, and personally I'd jump all over it if I saw it down the street, if for nothing else to turn a profit. If it looks clean that makes the decision all the easier. So what if it has a hard top, you can make $$$ off that and get a Bestop Supertop for it.

That's was my original contention, and now I'm going back to it because of his situation. He needs longevity out of the rig he chooses, and not necessarily a better axle, clutch, and a problematic Carter Carb.

 

[mingez]

And yes, the picture isn't as appealing as the others, but that's deceiving.

 

[OutOfStep]

The carb issue is an easy fix but the french transmission is the fly in the ointment; can you keep looking? A fuel injected 6 cylinder later-model YJ with 110,000 K miles or less seems to be ideal for you. You could then easily stick some 31's on it for the sand/bike trails

 

[Alacran]

Wonderful responses guys, just what I was hopeing for. After re-reading my post I realized that I didn't mention as I did in the original thread that these vehicles are in the States. #1 is in Phoenix,#2 in San Diego, and #3 in Riverside.I've just kept my eye open on Craigs List, Autotrader, and Cars.com. You guys don't know how lucky you are when it comes to finding a good vehicle, any one of these Jeeps if it was here you could add at least $3000 to the price.

As I mentioned I've been checking the 3 websites for Jeeps and this is about the best that is available for my price in the west and southwest. I've seen those low mileage, newer model, cheaper vehicles, and almost all are scams. When I first started looking I was amazed at the number of scams, especially on Craigs List. You know the ones, 2000 Jeep, 40k, beautiful condition, for only $3000. When you inquire you find that though the ad was placed in San Diego the Jeep is in Georgia or as in one in case Denmark. All you have to do is send your money to a 3rd party that will hold it until you inspect the vahicle. Yeah right! Fortunately I wasn't born yesterday.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that after this weekend I'll have good news to relate. Thanks again for all the advice.