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Jeep Wrangler 1990 YJ - Am I getting ripped off?

2K views 17 replies 8 participants last post by  GunHo198 
#1 ·
Whilst looking through car ads on Craigslist the other day, I came upon a seemingly gorgeous Jeep Wrangler YJ circa 1990. It's white, has a gorgeous body, and comes with a bikini top - everyone's dream, right? Haha

It's automatic transmission with an inline 6 cylinder engine. Power steering, tilted wheel, power brakes, four wheel drive, a backseat, and even working A/C. Comes with a hard top as well as the bikini top, and a trailer/boat hitch.

It has 132k miles on it though. How bad is that for a Jeep? I did a carfax on it, and it says it has had approximately 7 owners over the years, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, and that's not TOO many, considering it's an old car. I'm just concerned that they might have made some changes to the body or to the engine that could have been detrimental to the overall health of the car, so to speak.

The thing is, it was originally listed for 8,900. Which is QUITE a bit. When I saw the listing, it was "reduced" to 7,900. When I spoke to the owner, they did agree to reduce the price to 6,500. From what I've been reading on NADA/Kelley's Blue Book/general Wrangler forums, this is overpriced. The average being around 4,500 or so on the websites and 7,000 as "high retail value," which they consider the car to be.

From looking at this car, I have of course fallen in love with it. But I want a car that will last and be reliable that I am not necessarily getting for a steal, but something that I'm not going to have to steal to pay for.



Any suggestions?
 
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#7 ·
Are you skilled at working on a carburetor? The 90 YJ uses a carter carb which is junk. You will need to learn how to make carb adjustments yourself or this vehicle will be a money pit.

The miles really are not that low. My 45 year old chevelle has fewer miles. The condition seems normal for a vehicle that was not abused but nothing special.
 
#11 ·
24 mpg :laugh: maybe a lil more than half the mpg is the truth.

I would walk away. I'd find a 91+ wrangler with the 4.0. It'll have better mpg, more power, and no carb to mess with. Where you live at I'm sure it's easy to find nice rust free jeeps.

To be honest I wouldn't even want a hardtop if I lived in Fl. You would rarely use it, pain to take off and on, and takes up a lot of space when it's not on.
 
#12 ·
They finally agreed to lower it to $5,800, if I got it at this price and they claim it's perfect and won't need any work... do y'all think it's a good price? I have no experience with cars and car repairs so I don't know how the cost to fix any issues on a Jeep would be, especially a Jeep this old. How much money should I have saved up for emergency repairs for the next 7-8 months?
 
#13 ·
No. This is a horrible deal. For $5800 you can get a fuel injected TJ. If you must have a YJ get a 94 or 95. This is a $4500 jeep max.

There are a bunch of very expensive issues that are about to happen on that jeep which you admittedly aren't going to be able to diagnose and fix yourself. If this were a TJ you would at least be able to let the parts store run codes and the codes will get close. Here you have ancient carburetor technology.

This is the best this jeep will ever run. Unless you are ready to become a decent mechanic and drop some more money, I would keep looking and aim newer.

Edit: for some perspective, my 90,000mile, 1994 YJ with a new engine and $3000 in axles/lockers, new paint, etc isn't worth $5800.
 
#14 ·
Thank you all so much for any and all input I've gotten for this Jeep! I'm going to keep talking to them and hopefully we can come to a reasonable agreement. If anyone has any more input, I'd love to hear it with what Jeeps are good to own and would be excellent for a first-timer like me :) Also try to keep in mind I prefer the style and look of an older Jeep
 
#15 ·
Walk away. get a TJ with 4.0. more power, better mileage. the coil springs will give you a better ride. I Florida, you do not need the hard top unless you want to ride around with the air on. I sold my hard top when I moved here. they want too much. the best I ever got with my 2112 is 22 and that was driving very conservative.
 
#16 ·
A nice looking red 1993 YJ with 99,000 miles just popped up here in Oklahoma for $2800. It looks pretty decent.

I may have come off as being harsh earlier when I said this was a horrible deal. I wanted to let you know that I see nicer jeeps go up for sale for a fraction of your jeep's price.
 
#17 ·
Not trying to start a fight here. But here in texas a '91+ YJ in good/great condition is going to cost at least $5500. Most people here are asking ~8k. You can find them in the 3-4k range but they will take at least another 2K to get to any reliable shape. I can't speak for florida prices, but here, if you're looking for a "reliable" YJ that will not require much TLC off the bat then you are going to spend some money.
 
#18 ·
As a comparison here in Florida. 4.0 Jeeps for sale are not cheap. Once in awhile a good deal comes around, but the older the Jeep the fewer there are. Old Jeeps here usually end up getting parted out and the parts sold up north. After all, there worth more in parts than as a whole vehicle. My son looked for 2 years and most he could find were Red 2.5 liter Jeeps. He finally got a 1999 4.0 Sahara for $5000. But even then it has 322,000+ miles on it. If That Jeep runs as good as it looks I think it's a great price and you should Jump on it even if it's not fuel injected.
 
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