so my lady friend turns in her lease this weekend and actually wants to buy an XJ.
not intending to do any serious off roading just very light trails at Joshua tree national park, sequoia, Yosemite etc.
i found this 2WD with 150k for $3.5k
current owner has been daily driving it since 2010
lots of recent work including:
new radiator & electric fan
head gasket
oil pan gasket
rear main seal
valve cover gasket
transmission output seal
front and rear brakes
new tires
not stoked on this stuff:
cheap 2.5" rear add-a-leaf
cheap 3" front spring spacer
sagging headliner
bright side:
power windows and locks work
all doors open and shut smooth (no body twist)
ac works but could use a recharge
really clean interior
cruise control works
am i crazy?
will it nickel and dime me to death?
to me this thing looks pretty solid.
seems like the 2WD XJ chassis is a bastard child and people unload them cheap. this one has been taken care of particularly well…?
Nobody wants 2wd XJ’s. I would highly reccomend a 4wd XJ, miles don’t seem to matter too much if they are well maintained. The 4L I6 walks all over the 4 cyl version. I would wait to find a 4wd one
They’re less analog than this Jeep for sure, so there is that “more to break” factor. I supposedly had the lest reliable drive train (2003-2005, BMW 4.0 V8) but other than replacing a coolant hose and like 4 expansion tanks over 250k miles the motor / trans never let me down. I think I replaced two air suspension units and that was the biggest expense at ~$700 a pop, however each had a lifetime warranty. Most impressive to me was that I never had to replace any exhaust components, despite submerging it in Lake Erie almost on a daily basis in the summer and tons of salt miles in the winter.
That same phobia though keeps the used prices low though, and for a former BMW bro like yourself it might present an opportunity?
Still have mine. Upwards of 115k miles now and no slowing down yet. 2006 with the Jag supercharged 4.2. I recently replaced the throttle pedal because a sensor in that was not communicating the right signal to the throttlebody and the truck was in limp mode. Easy to swap and she’s running fine. I take it on longer road trips for work (~5hrs) to save the S6 from logging miles and gets ~20mpg highway and hasnt let me down. I trust it enough to make these meetings, so I guess that says something.
Only real problems I have had been all steering components (ball joints, control arms, sway bar end links, etc.). Still chasing down a clunk I hear/feel at low speeds at sharp inclines, but other than that, she treats me right.
With the Nitto Terra Grapplers, it will never get stuck in anything. Stopping on ice may be another story.
walker i almost bought one as a daily before i bought my explorer. all the rust bs here you won’t have to deal with there. the 4L last forever, but get a 4wd one otherwise don’t waste your time. other options are late 90s explorers, highlanders too. all of which i looked at.
i think we are pulling the trigger on the one i posted tomorrow.
Range Rovers you mentioned are going for roughly $6-8k out here which is about the same price for a 4WD version of this XJ would cost.
and for that kind of money i would just force her into a CR-V.
Of course the AC wasn’t working and it was throwing a CEL but a quick search and found it was literally just changing a fuse
So no more CEL.
AC is ice cold.
Replaced a headlight ballast
Replaced the fucked up battery terminals
Threw on a cheapo light bar with windshield mount ($89 via Amazon)
Wired the light bar to the factory fog switch
eBay roof rack ($112)
Installed some low milage take off XJ Rubicon shocks ($25)
Raised the rear to highest setting on the shackles
this weekend we took a trip to Red Rock Canyon State Park area.
Did some reading about the Burro Schmidt Tunnel and Walt Bickel Mining Camp on BLM land a bit north of the park.
It was roughly 10 miles of very light 4WD trails with no problems at all. Mostly just light rocky climbs and loose sand in the wash areas., either way the 2WD XJ did great
:thumbup: