Looking at a Jeep, Opinions?

[schwagoo]

first post, yay me!

I'm looking at this 2003 Wrangler Sport. 68K miles. Asking 11,995.at a dealer here in town (comes with a 30 day warranty pfffft)

CD, AC, 4spAuto, Hard top, custom bumpers, soundbar...

I took it for a spin and it drove really nice. I was amazed at how much better it rode than my old 94 YJ that I sold a few years back. The suspension has really come a long way.

There is a hint of rust on the bumper, and on the rear door hinges. I looked carefully under the carpet and saw no rust anywhere there. The interior is clean and perfect.

Engine compartment looked OK, had some rust buildup as the pics show.

What do you think? Any other ideas of what to look out for?

If they give me what I want out of my trade-in tomorrow, I will be a Jeep owner once again..

Thanks for your opinions ahead of time,
Brian

 

[SteelHeadz]

It looks nice. You can treat the rust with a rust inhibitor and re-paint it. It doesn't look like it's flaking yet. Are they a Chrysler dealer? it's got an AC delco filter :0..

 

[Saddle Tramp]

Where are you? I don't see any licenses plates on any of vehicles in the pictures. I do see the word Kent, Kent Washington?

 

[currupt4130]

I wouldn't pay a dollar over 10,000

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

Where are you? I don't see any licenses plates on any of vehicles in the pictures. I do see the word Kent, Kent Washington?

Can't be Kent WA, it's not raining.

But seriously, looks like Kenny Kent is the name of the car lot.

 

[schwagoo]

I'm in Evansville, IN. Dealer is Kenny Kent.
Yes I was curious about that rust. No they are not a Chrysler dealer.

I got the wife approval. We had the (even though it isn't practical....) discussion and we are on the same page about it.

I think its a pretty good deal.
any other opinions or warnings of what to look out for?

 

[Saddle Tramp]

12K does sound a little high, particularly from a gipsy (non major) dealer. I asked if you were in the State of Washington because we get a lot of jeeps here that started their life in Hawaii as part of the rental fleet and most of them have a little rust when they get here just from the salt air, nothing much to worry about though.

BH-

I remember a day that it wasn't raining in Kent, I think I was 6 years old…….

 

[schwagoo]

strangely enough, according to the carfax report this Jeep came from Canada. It started its life as a lease vehicle in Ontario and was imported to the US after about 2 years in the Great white north.

I don't see any issues with that, except for the extra salt applied to the roads up there I suppose.

 

[Fireguy]

A little extra salt.........I guess you have never driven in Ontario in the winter.......They even spray liquid salt on the roads before it snows.......never mind the crystals they spread when it's snowing.

POR15 works well to convert rust in hidden areas and stop the advancement of it.

 

[Saddle Tramp]

I guess I should have caught that the jeep came in from Canada from the pictures; we get some of them here too. Under the Jeep lettering on the side it says "TJ"; Jeep up until last year or so was not able to use the "Wrangler" name in Canada so they used "TJ" instead. Guess who owned the "Wrangler" name? GM, and you know they weren't sharing.

 

[schwagoo]

Well, I passed on this one. The rear transfer case had a small leak (no puddle, just some drip build-up.
And they made a crappy offer on my trade-in.

I am going to try selling my car outright and look for a deal on an unlimited.