I would appreciate you advice...

[jracer98]

I am retiring to Belize C.A. in a month.

We want to add a little "beachy" car and a Jeep seems like it would be fun. My house is literally on the beach in Hopkins so high humidity, salt and rust are all in play.I have never owned a Jeep and would ask if they can be purchased with an absolute minimum of switches and power this and that? Paved roads so not alot of off roading. Off roading would be more like going down a dirt farm road after a rain. 2 wheel drive would be fine but bad for resale so 4wd but don't need super duper lockers, lifted or really large/high road noise tires, etc.

They have a dealer there and you can buy off the lot (small inventory) or custom order, so I can get what I want ala carte

Asked another (and maybe clearer) way...if this was your deal, how would you spec this car out to minimize service/problems as I would suspect both parts inventory and up to date service tech is "limited"?

Best Regards

jay

 

[Mtpockets]

Have you thought about an older('75-'84) fully restored CJ model. They are about as bear boned you get. I haven't priced new jeep's but I would think if you were patient one could be found for much less the cost of a new one.

 

[superj]

I would look for a 91-2006 model. They are bare bones, no frills but still have fuel injection. Dependable fuel injection.

 

[dalenielsen50]

Mostly pavement? Do you plan on highway or just around town? If your going to be under 50 mph a yj would be great, there's a bunch out there and get one with a/c or you can add it for about a grand. If you want to go highway speeds much I'd lean towards a 4 door and if you can afford new get a good undercoating sprayed on.

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[jracer98]

Have you thought about an older('75-'84) fully restored CJ model. They are about as bear boned you get. I haven't priced new jeep's but I would think if you were patient one could be found for much less the cost of a new one.

hmmm...

no such thing as a decent used one there...salt. Can't take a used one with me as I am pulling a big boat down thru Mexico with my f 350. Would have to pay a large import duty to bring one in on a ship (not counting the ship freight).

Leaning toward buying a new stripper (warranty) but don't have the real world experience to know what items to avoid...


thanks for the reply and all the ones "below"... and agree on the goopiest undercoat available HA

jay

 

[JPNinPA]

I would agree with the restored older model. You could get a fully dipped tube frame and fiberglass body.
The 2003-2005 have the best 4.0 fuel injected engine. Most electrical connections are sealed. Though I would repack the with of dielectric grease.


Regards,
JPNinPA

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[jracer98]

I would look for a 91-2006 model. They are bare bones, no frills but still have fuel injection. Dependable fuel injection.

2006 is 11 going on 12 years old at the beach... might be scare but good intel on stripper and FI

thanks

jay

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

Love Belize, I see you'll be pretty close to PLacencia.

 

[98Chero]

I have been to Belise to buy property and cars. no matter what you are going to pay an import fee. I didnt see to many if any jeeps down there. Mostly GEO Trackers and Suski Samiri/ Sidekicks and Land rovers ( remember it was a British Colony till 1984) If I was you I would take the above advice and totaly restore and old cj with goop undercoating get everything fixed here in the US and pay the import fee and of course have Fun ! Get your wife to drive the Jeep or buy a GF to drive it LoL. If you fly/live close to Liberia contact Ana Arata and tell her fox/mike refered you. Your a Lucky dog to live there ! try Flamingo and Tamarindo. Learn to scuba dive and swim with the Giant Manta Rays... its a life changer.

 

[jracer98]

I have been to Belise to buy property and cars. no matter what you are going to pay an import fee. I didnt see to many if any jeeps down there. Mostly GEO Trackers and Suski Samiri/ Sidekicks and Land rovers ( remember it was a British Colony till 1984) If I was you I would take the above advice and totaly restore and old cj with goop undercoating get everything fixed here in the US and pay the import fee and of course have Fun ! Get your wife to drive the Jeep or buy a GF to drive it LoL. If you fly/live close to Liberia contact Ana Arata and tell her fox/mike refered you. Your a Lucky dog to live there ! try Flamingo and Tamarindo. Learn to scuba dive and swim with the Giant Manta Rays... its a life changer.

thanks to all for the responses

jay

 

[superj]

I live about 1/3 mile from the ocean, here in south texas, so I understand about the salt and rust. I never had problems with our 87 yj, 93 yj, or the 07 jk four door. in reality, you could get a four door jk and not really have to worry either. our 07 jk was a bare bones, no power anything model. it was a good jeep. in reality, of all the jeeps we have owned, I never did any work on the one that wasn't something I was doing because I just like to tinker. all the others would need an alternator or waterpump, brakes, something, but that 07 never needed anything the whole time we owned it. I would just do the oil changes and that was it. everything else stayed good the whole time so you could easily live with one of those too.

ours was a two wheel drive wrangler, too. but it had a lift and tires so it looked cool. my wife never went off road so I had no reason to buy a 4x4

 

[jracer98]

I live about 1/3 mile from the ocean, here in south texas, so I understand about the salt and rust. I never had problems with our 87 yj, 93 yj, or the 07 jk four door. in reality, you could get a four door jk and not really have to worry either. our 07 jk was a bare bones, no power anything model. it was a good jeep. in reality, of all the jeeps we have owned, I never did any work on the one that wasn't something I was doing because I just like to tinker. all the others would need an alternator or waterpump, brakes, something, but that 07 never needed anything the whole time we owned it. I would just do the oil changes and that was it. everything else stayed good the whole time so you could easily live with one of those too.

ours was a two wheel drive wrangler, too. but it had a lift and tires so it looked cool. my wife never went off road so I had no reason to buy a 4x4

super helpful

thanks

jay

 

[bek]

Hey, congratulations on retirement and Belize! I am about 5 years from retirement and looked into Belize, but it's still a bit pricey for me. I am probably headed to Ecuador.

Jeeps are the perfect vehicle for what you are desiring. The older (model) you go, the simpler they get. I have a '97. No air, not much to break down, super easy to work on. I am not mechanically inclined and can do a lot of things on my Jeep anyway!

Jeeps are all 4WD, so you are covered there. When you take the doors off (and they come off easy), it is like some sort of fun dune buggy. Perfect for South or Central America, imo.

I would personally get a 2006 model (the last year of the TJ), simple audio (not integrated with climate control), I'd probably get air conditioning though, because Belize can get pretty warm. I'd get the 6 cylinder just because the 2.5L 4-cylinder is really sluggish, and I promise you, I am not a speed demon. It's just incredibly slow! If you do buy used, I'd immediately check/replace the spark plugs, distributor cap, rotor button, oxygen sensor and clean the throttle body. Get any existing rust blasted off the frame and then immediately get it undercoated, to protect from the salt.

You're pretty much good to go at that point. You can do the fun stuff if you like... bed-line the rub, fancy up your audio system, interior/exterior lighting, etc.

Enjoy Belize, and whatever vehicle you buy. (But buy the Jeep... you can't beat those doors being off in the cool summer nights.)