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Higher mileage '08 Sahara purchase

1K views 11 replies 8 participants last post by  pchak 
#1 ·
Hi all,
N00B to forum. Had a tJ for several years, went LR for about 12, and I'm looking to go back to Jeep, noe that I can carry the fam in an ULTD. Looking at a '08 Sahara Ultd.

84K miles
33 tires/2 in lift
auto tran replaced 50K
Both tops
air raid
$17K

I've done checking over a lot of forums, and don't see too many issues for high mi (seems steering/death wobble is most prevalent). I put on 4-5K mi a year, and will do light trail at most for now.

My other comparables are in the 55-65K mi, all in the $17-19K range. I just missed a comparably-equipped (stock- sans tires/lift). I planned on doing minor lift/33's anyway, bringing cost around $20K-ish.

Is the 84k Sahara reasonably-priced in consideration of my plans (I'm saving $2K+)?

Is the 84K an issue based on driving habits and potential issues? Would a reasonable (average coverage) limited warranty cover most of the things that would tend to go wrong, or is that a waste?

I need to decide pretty quick, so would appreciate feedback.

Thanks!
 
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#2 ·
I'd love to tell you all will be well but that's a lot to spend on any vehicle with that kind of miles. I spent a lot of years in the car biz--when I see "mods" I see "run through every mud hole in the county." The fact it's already had a new trans would certainly suggest it's lived a hard life. It's one thing to put those hard miles on yourself, but buying one somebody else put hard miles on is another thing. Assuming you finance it, the question you have to ask is how many miles will it have when you make the last payment? Odds are you'll have the worst of all worlds--new car sized payments and big repairs. If 17/18K is what you can afford, you can't afford a Jeep--you need to buy a new whatever for that money, not something with 80,000 miles. If you have to have a Jeep (and I understand) a much better plan would be to lease a brand new one for probably about the same payment you'd have to buy used. At the end of the lease you'd have the option of buying a nice used 3 year old Jeep you know the history of, or you can bail. Yes it's essentially stretching out the payments out over eight years, but at least you're starting out with a new one instead of someone else's sloppy seconds.
 
#3 ·
I really think you should try to get them to go lower. That's high mileage for that price.
 
#9 ·
If it runs fine, you like the color, the interior is ok, no leaks, everything works, brakes don't pull, pads are no more than half gone, tranny doesn't slip, no water leaks in roof, clean, doesn't burn oil, coolant is not discolored, battery is new, air filter is clean, no rust, no rattles, tail gate is tight, cd player works, radio works, no wear on trailer hitch, paint is acceptable without many chips or scrapes... go for it.
 
#10 ·
Thanks for the input! My primary concern was "design flaws" in th eJeep that are particular to the Wrangler, that sooner or later show up (e.g., Porsche 996's are prone to RMS leakage, 2003 Discoveries have oil pump probs, and Disco's in general have the "3 Amigoes"). I was happy to see there really isn't much except normal w/t with the Wranglers. My '97 was bullet proof.

As for price, I had been looking at loaded X's and Saharas in a 500 mi radius (my spreadsheet took into account miles, NADA options, cost to transport v. cost to fly/buy, etc.). The best up to that point was 18.7K for 68K mi/with no wheels and tires).

The tranny was a dealer warranty item (got the papers). The brakes were just done, as well as oil (runs Mobil 1). The only worn items were the neoprene seat covers (and not too bad at that)-the seats look brand new. Paint is really good, with a faint scratch on front fender and on bumber. Engine compartment looks new (not just "dressed"- I'm onto that trick. It has an airaid with K&N filter. For the softie, I got two sets of windows (incl Bestop tints), plus one of those overnight covers.

The only two things that I didn't like was the OEM spare, and a couple of small chips in the windshield . It din't matter, I picked up another one on the way home-stupid @#$!@#$ PA tunrpike.

I still will probably sell the wheels/tires, and get the wheels I like. They are Cepek radials (about 60%) and M/T Classic polished. I'll probably list the on the forum.

I did get an additional $300 to cover airfare and gas, so I was happy with that.

@MYounts, I can appreciate your opinion, but that's why I'm not afraid of high mileage, within reason. There are many people out there that dump their vehicles when they get over 40K mi. If I buy north of 65K, I'm getting some solid vehicles at a fraction of the cost, because someone is afraid of the odo. I look for service records and overall condition. I was hoping that coming back to Jeep would be just as applicable with the logic, which was why I posted my question. This is the 8th vehicle that I've bought on-line in 8 years. It's not aboput affordability, it's about choosing where to spend your money. I'd never buy new.

Thanks again, everybody! It really runs well. We had a 60 degree day on Saturday here in CLE, and I popped off the Freedom tops. The kids loved it.
 
#11 ·
High Miles

I've never been afraid of cars with miles. For many years I bought nothing but cars with 100,000 plus miles (mostly Saabs and Volvos) and it's not unusual to see them with 200 and 300K. In fact I owned a car dealership where I specialized in European cars like that. And having been in the business I'm well aware that depreciation is the biggest expense when it comes to cars not repairs. But the difference is I always paid CASH for my cars so I never had a car payment. Jeep Wranglers are one of those exceedingly rare cars where the resale is so high on them it doesn't make a lot of sense to buy a late model used one (Mini Coopers is another). When you factor in better interest rates, dealer incentives (they had 0% interest when I got mine), for a few bucks more a month you can have a new one. I leased mine for 39 months--at the end of the lease I can buy it for around $15,000. With 3 year old ones going for $20K plus, I could conceivably buy it from Jeep and sell it for a profit! Or I can keep it and have a hell of a deal on a car I know the history on. While buying used makes sense the vast majority of the time, there are some exceptions.
 
#12 ·
I agree with you on the rates and incentives, but can get them on used, too. Since I got 1.99 on my purchase, I'm pretty happy, that I'm practically only paying principal. I keep my cash in the bank for other things. I'm not into leasing, even if I don't keep cars that long. Even with my tier I supplier pricing, a decently-equipped Jeep would have cost $75-100/mo, with no equity, and no modding. I love that new car smell, but not for a premium, knowing I'm driving practically the same vehicle for far less. Different strokes.

As I said, I find it advantageous to capitalize on other people's fear of high mileage. I've had many of my LR's have gone 150K mi or more, before I traded up. My summer car is Porsche, and there's plenty of nice 993/996 models in that 60-90K mi "sweet spot", and they're very affordable.. I'm happy that Jeep follows that same pattern.
 
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