First-time jeep buyer

[Marsattacks06]

Hi everyone, hopefully this isnthe appropriate forum for this. My husband is looking to purchase his first Jeep wrangler. He doesn't want to spend a whole lot and we're in a bit of a hurry. My husband found a wrangler he wants to look at; the body seems ok from the pictures but the engine seems to have a lot of rust. We don't really know what we should be looking for and this jeep is 50 miles from us, so I'd love some opinions on it from those with more experience.

1998 Jeep Wrangler | Cuyahoga Falls, OH | Cascade Auto Group




Thanks!

 

[JPNinPA]

Welcome to the Howard. And Merry Christmas.
Being in a hurry to buy a vehicle is never a good thing. Check the title why duplicated? Not a bad price. Engine does show some odd rusting of the pullies and brake resivor area. Oil or other around the throttle body. Tires are near done and the spare does not match the other wheels. The passenger door does not appear to be closed or doesn't close right. The interior handles show there may have been an issue from the dis coloring.

Take it for a long ride slow seeds and higher. Look for vibrations and overheating. Take it to an autozone or orillies and check for engine codes.

Most of all is there a warrenty? Jeeps have their issues and some could be costly some just a pain.

Good luck.

 

[69jeepcj]

going by photos is hard. This is what caught my eye, first, the pic before last is the tire and wheel that has quite a bit of scuff marks on it (been offroad or an accident at some point). the rust on the engine (indicates moisture), the faded door handle (indicates moisture) compared to the new (looking) window handle on the same door, very clean looking carpet (could have been replaced due to moisture). by the pics I would suspect it could be a jeep that was in deep water for some time or has sat in a moist enviroment for some time. If the frame looks like the engine bay with rust, I think I would pass. I see expenses in the future. If the frame looks clean, then it may have just sat for a few years, (a friend just got a 94 that sat for a few and he has the same issues). so if the frame and axles and suspension parts are like the engine bay I would suspect it got submerged for some time and would pass, if they are still somewhat clean then I would take it for a ride and comsider a purchase.. Good luck. this is only a worst case senario that I see from the pics,

 

[TerryMason]

The thing that I worry about most on a Jeep is rust. If you go do see it then plan on getting underneath it with a flashlight and looking at the frame for rust, especially where the body mount to the frame (you'll see round hockey puck looking body mounts there). I suspect that if the engine has that much rust then the frame would as well.

There are a few other Jeeps near you:
2005 Jeep Wrangler X
2000 Jeep Wrangler SE
2000 Jeep Wrangler

 

[jeephreak]

I had a '98 for 13 years. The door handle plastic faded out like that along with the flares. I just had to treat it to bring back the 'black'. I would be concerned about the amount of rust in the engine compartment. If the vehicle originated in the area, the rust could be from exposure to salt. Being in Maryland where they drop salt at the mention of snow, that was my first thought. I was constantly washing out the engine and underside to stay ahead of the salt corrosion. I don't know how much they use in Ohio though. Like the other posts mention, the frame will probably mirror the engine compartment. As for the other items to check, take it for a spin. It's a shame it's not local. You could take it to your mechanic to do a quick inspection or, like JPNinPA mentioned, to an Autozone. They supply you with the VIN, so it's an easy check to see what its history shows. Good luck.

 

[flatie46]

The only way you would see rust under the hood like that in the south was if the hood had been off and the Jeep had sit outside, say after it had been wrecked and it was in limbo at the bodyshop for sometime. Or if someone had used possibly a strong cleaner and pressure washed under the hood. Maybe they get like that in OH from the salt but like Terry said really look at the frame. You might want to see if you c an get a carfax to see if it had ever been wrecked. On the positive side the miles aren't bad for the year. It has the 6cyl which is a great engine. From the pics it looks ok overall. I would haggel on a set of tires in the deal or at least use it as a bargining chip. Don't be in such a rush if you can help it, they're out there. good luck

 

[Marsattacks06]

Welcome to the Howard. And Merry Christmas.
Being in a hurry to buy a vehicle is never a good thing. Check the title why duplicated? Not a bad price. Engine does show some odd rusting of the pullies and brake resivor area. Oil or other around the throttle body. Tires are near done and the spare does not match the other wheels. The passenger door does not appear to be closed or doesn't close right. The interior handles show there may have been an issue from the dis coloring.

Take it for a long ride slow seeds and higher. Look for vibrations and overheating. Take it to an autozone or orillies and check for engine codes.

Most of all is there a warrenty? Jeeps have their issues and some could be costly some just a pain.

Good luck.

Merry (late) Christmas to use too. Thanks for the response. We'll have to ask about a warranty. We'll check the other things you mentioned, that is helpful. We'd rather not be in a hurry, this is just a difficult situation.

 

[Marsattacks06]

"going by photos is hard. This is what caught my eye, first, the pic before last is the tire and wheel that has quite a bit of scuff marks on it (been offroad or an accident at some point). the rust on the engine (indicates moisture), the faded door handle (indicates moisture) compared to the new (looking) window handle on the same door, very clean looking carpet (could have been replaced due to moisture). by the pics I would suspect it could be a jeep that was in deep water for some time or has sat in a moist enviroment for some time. If the frame looks like the engine bay with rust, I think I would pass. I see expenses in the future. If the frame looks clean, then it may have just sat for a few years, (a friend just got a 94 that sat for a few and he has the same issues). so if the frame and axles and suspension parts are like the engine bay I would suspect it got submerged for some time and would pass, if they are still somewhat clean then I would take it for a ride and comsider a purchase.. Good luck. this is only a worst case senario that I see from the pics,"

I know going my pics is hard, we just want to have some idea of what to look for when we look at the car. We'll definitely take a good look at the frame. I appreciate your opinion, thanks!

 

[Marsattacks06]

The thing that I worry about most on a Jeep is rust. If you go do see it then plan on getting underneath it with a flashlight and looking at the frame for rust, especially where the body mount to the frame (you'll see round hockey puck looking body mounts there). I suspect that if the engine has that much rust then the frame would as well.

There are a few other Jeeps near you:
2005 Jeep Wrangler X
2000 Jeep Wrangler SE
2000 Jeep Wrangler

Yes, I suppose that's a good possibility. We'll check the frame for sure. Thanks for looking up other possibles.

 

[Marsattacks06]

I had a '98 for 13 years. The door handle plastic faded out like that along with the flares. I just had to treat it to bring back the 'black'. I would be concerned about the amount of rust in the engine compartment. If the vehicle originated in the area, the rust could be from exposure to salt. Being in Maryland where they drop salt at the mention of snow, that was my first thought. I was constantly washing out the engine and underside to stay ahead of the salt corrosion. I don't know how much they use in Ohio though. Like the other posts mention, the frame will probably mirror the engine compartment. As for the other items to check, take it for a spin. It's a shame it's not local. You could take it to your mechanic to do a quick inspection or, like JPNinPA mentioned, to an Autozone. They supply you with the VIN, so it's an easy check to see what its history shows. Good luck.

They use a ton of salt here so that could be one of the contributors. I wish it was closer, most of the possibles we've found are a distance from us, even if we increase how much we want to spend.

 

[Marsattacks06]

The only way you would see rust under the hood like that in the south was if the hood had been off and the Jeep had sit outside, say after it had been wrecked and it was in limbo at the bodyshop for sometime. Or if someone had used possibly a strong cleaner and pressure washed under the hood. Maybe they get like that in OH from the salt but like Terry said really look at the frame. You might want to see if you c an get a carfax to see if it had ever been wrecked. On the positive side the miles aren't bad for the year. It has the 6cyl which is a great engine. From the pics it looks ok overall. I would haggel on a set of tires in the deal or at least use it as a bargining chip. Don't be in such a rush if you can help it, they're out there. good luck

They do use a lot of salt up here, I don't know how much that would contribute. The carfax says no accidents reported. Thanks for the response!

 

[superj]

the rear window has something wrong with it, where it meets the top of the tailgate. the hard lines in the engine bay are going to have to be replaced, brakes and ac lines. on the positive though, the visible frame in the wheel pics looks nice and black could be paint though

 

[superj]

They do use a lot of salt up here, I don't know how much that would contribute.

it makes enough of an issue that us southerners won't buy vehicles from up north because of the issues the salt causes in the frame

 

[flatie46]

it makes enough of an issue that us southerners won't buy vehicles from up north because of the issues the salt causes in the frame

I remember back in 1991 I was selling an '84 cutlass. A guy from Michigan was in town and stopped to look at it. He kept crawlling under it and looking on both sides, really made me wonder at the time. I finally asked, what are you looking for? He said, RUST...holes...rot...soft spots. I said, it hasn't had a chance to rust yet. He said where he came from a car of that age would be showing some signs of rust. I guess it impressed him, he gave me the $1400 I asked. Wish I had it back, it only had 80,000 on it then. I'm sure it's rusted away now.

 

[69jeepcj]

just an opinion on the salt. I live in ohio as well and have owned many a jeeps and NEVER got one with the engine bay rusted like that, and no other car I have owned looked like that. The frame and underbody "yes", but the engine bay rusted I have never seen except on my friends 94 he just recently got and the owner told him it has sat for a few years. The engine bay, suspension, frame, axles are all rusted like you engine picture. I would role out salt causing that much rust on the engine. over all the jeep you are looking at looks pretty nice. If its only flakie surface rust, it could always be cleaned up and repainted.

 

[JohnnyO]

In my experience the only thing that causes that type of surface rust on an engine is if it sat for a long time without being run. If the brake rotors look rusty too then there's your answer.

 

[69jeepcj]

agree with johnnyO, let us know how it go,s.. Oh, and by the way.. my friends 94 he just got with all that surface rust on it runs perfectly, he did have to put a slave cylinder and a new steering stabiliser on it, but thats it.

 

[xt master]

First thing I would do is pull back the carpet and check the floor pans for rust.Also check the frame,especially around the rear tire where the frame bends to go up and around the axle.Also check the body mounts for rust.last place is check the gas tank skid plate for rust,dents,scratches.It will show you if they have had it off road and played hard.

 

[Marsattacks06]

Well, we did not end up looking at that Wrangler. The weather here has been bad and after considering all the advice we got, we decided not to make the trip up since the likelihood of us buying it was not that high. If it was summer, we might have gone anyway but we decided to try to find something closer to home - and after some searching, we did. We ended up buying an 02' Wrangler Sport, 104K miles...those are pretty much the only details I know. We had a mechanic look at it and he said everything looked good. We used a lot of the knowledge/advice we got here to watch for things we wouldn't have thought of before, so thanks! My husband is loving it already! It snowed a few inches over night and he took it out this morning and was very happy to find out how much better it is in the snow than our cars (we knew it would be).

 

[flatie46]

Congrads on your purchase. Hope you enjoy it, post a pic of it when you can.