High miles concerns

Hi all,
Just joined recently and I'm in the market for a used XJ, 94-99 and most of what I've looked at so far has 100,000+ miles.
Some are bone stock, others are mildly upgraded for off road use.

I realize the 4.0HO motor that Jeep uses is a strong motor and as long as it's been well maintained, it should last a while.
My old YJ I use to own went 140,000 miles before I got rid of it with no issues so I know they can just keep going.
A few that I've looked at had 150,000-180,000 miles but had super clean bodies with minimal to no rust on the underbody.
I seem to be finding low mileage but rusting out floors, or high mileage and clean body/floors.
Should the high mileage concern me that much if I can find one that has a clean body/undercarriage?

Obviously the higher mileage ones should theoreticlly cost less, but should I be discounting them in my search altogether?
I plan on building this XJ up with a lift, 33's, lockers, etc. It won't be my DD but it has to remain streetable as I need it for
winter driving since my rear wheel drive DD car is basically a dead weight when it snows! My budget as of right now is
roughly $6-7000 for the XJ plus any upgrades I want to perform right away. Prices have ranged from $2000 up to $5,500
depending on year, etc for all the ones I've looked at so far.

Thanks in advance for any input.

Well, the XJ ended in 2001 so you're looking at a 6 year old vehicle at best. They're bound to have a lot of miles on them, but with proper maintenance folks regularly get 200k+ miles out of 'em. If you want a decent wheeler/DD, I wouldn't be too scared of a 100k mile XJ as an option.

The other thought is to buy one already built, low miles (relative to age) but in decent condition. With that said, I'd like to offer my '99 XJ, 94k miles, 5" lift, 33s, ARB and more. Details here.

Good luck...

EDIT: Eh, I see your in MA so my rig is probably too far away for you.

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=914558

Once in a lifetime opportunity.

THIS is the vehicle you seek.

Rev

I wonder about the same thing but from a bit different perspective. I've owned a Cherokee for seven years now and kept it pretty much stock. Its got 140K miles on it but runs like new, I keep up religiously with preventive maintainance. But I wonder about making major upgrades with that many miles on it, even though its not unusual to get well over 200K with this engine. What I wonder about is replacement engines, and how many years off into the future they will be available, and would one be worth puchasing at such time as I need one.

By "major upgrades" I mean new axles, bigger tires, and a lift.

Rod Knee said:

I wonder about the same thing but from a bit different perspective. I've owned a Cherokee for seven years now and kept it pretty much stock. Its got 140K miles on it but runs like new, I keep up religiously with preventive maintainance. But I wonder about making major upgrades with that many miles on it, even though its not unusual to get well over 200K with this engine. What I wonder about is replacement engines, and how many years off into the future they will be available, and would one be worth puchasing at such time as I need one.

Click to expand...

I bought my 1990 Waggy XJ 6 years ago with 143k on the odometer. In <4 weeks I leave driving it to Moab for the 4th major trip (>2k miles) in 5 years. It's got 265k miles on it now and is, arguably, the most reliable and trustworthy vehicle I've owned. If I can't find a good solid 140-150k mile engine when it's time to replace mine, I wouldn't hesitate to do a mild rebuild and put it back together.

If you find the right one, and there are plenty of them, buy it and enjoy it without fear. They really are solid.

JSIne said:

I seem to be finding low mileage but rusting out floors, or high mileage and clean body/floors.
Should the high mileage concern me that much if I can find one that has a clean body/undercarriage?

Click to expand...

For the budget you have, seriously consider looking in a dry state or one that doesn't salt the roads, get lots of pictures up front and then fly out and drive it home. A friend has done this a few times and has only been burned once and had to fly home. If you buy one from California, Arizona, the Southwest, there shouldn't be any rust.

Even here in the rainy NorthWest you have to look at quite a few rigs before you find a real rust problem. We don't salt the roads and all that fresh water keeps 'em clean.

I've had 4

It obviously depends on how they are maintained but the 96 I gave to my dad has almost 180K and runs so darn well I can't believe it. It honestly doesn't have a rattle and looks and drives like it has way less the 80K on it

Being from Mass, I know all about rust and hate it. IMO you really can't ever stop it, just slow it down. It would cost a lot of money in either lost time or cash to get it fixed or fix it right yourself.

I had to to get rid of my more then perfect running 94 2 door with a lot of time and $ into it because it was just beyond my budget and ability level to fix the amount of rust it had

My thing with used cars, not just Jeeps, is either go high or low, If you go low mileage you have more control of maintence and should get a lot of use before you have to start replacing parts. If you go high mileage and the car is still running/driving well someone must have done something right as well as a lot of the key parts like the cooling system/alternator/starter etc etc have most likely already failed once and been replaced by the previous owner

As long as it holds good oil pressure and runs/drives/feels good I'd take a high mileage rust free XJ over a lower mileage one with rust any day of the week

Thanks for the input everyone. I figured as much that high mileage by the normal standards shouldn't be much
of an issue with the Jeep 4.0 if it's maintained correctly.

I've got a decent line on a used 95 with 174,000 miles that was supposedly a southern car and has no rust for a
decent price. But other than that I've looked at several that had rotted out floor boards or had engine issues.

John90XJ said:

For the budget you have, seriously consider looking in a dry state or one that doesn't salt the roads, get lots of pictures up front and then fly out and drive it home.

Click to expand...

Now that sounds like a great idea!

JSIne said:

Now that sounds like a great idea!

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Try autotrader.com and look in the Northwest. If it were somewhere around here, guys in my club would likely be willing to go look at something that you thought was a good deal. Try looking in Washington and see what you find. Airfare is relatively cheap and you'd hop on I-90 and be home in 2 days or so.

I agree with the suggestion of staying away from rust as a number 1 priority. Its not just a cosmetic issue, its also a safety concern. Just try and do a repair job on a rusted out rig and have the bolt heads snap off and then decide if you wouldn't want that high mileage unit instead.

heck...150,000 i dont really consider high for the 4.0 at all. ive seen a few around 300,000 that kids my age own and absolutely BEAT on them and they just keep running. everysingle person i wheel with has a jeep with the 4.0, all have well over 100,000 miles, and all run like new

1994 XJ limited 360,000 km still going strong

thanks everyone. All VERY encouraging replies as far as mileage goes. And of course now the trick is to find that 'perfect'
XJ with minimal to no rust and in my price range enough that the upgrades I want to do don't throw me out of budget
right off the bat! And if it has "low miles", say under 150,000, then that's just a bonus I guess!

And as soon as I get my XJ, that's when the REAL questions begin (after using the "search" feature first of course)!
thanks again!

:worship:

J

I already gave you the link to a "perfect" XJ...buy it and beat it.

Rev