Ok, it's definitely a Rubicon. Axle locking controls on the dash confirm, and the differentials are Dana 44 Rubicon variant as confirmed by the very helpful pictures in the FAQ.
I took a much better look at it and test drove it. Overall it's amazingly clean. Low mileage, still under factory warranty for 8 more months. There are a couple of things that concern me.
1) Original wheels have been replaced with 15" Jeep wheels. Should have 16" right? The salesman told me that one of the wheels had been damaged, so they put a whole new set on. There are curb dings on the wheels, so they're probably junkyard wheels. Could it be the whole set was cheaper than just buying a single replacement wheel? :dunno: Since my primary purpose in buying the vehicle is to use it off-road, I'll at least need tires. Preferably I'm assuming I should replace the wheels with 16"? Thoughts?
2) Car had a notable shimmy coming from the front drive side. The saleman noted it, and they're going to check it out. Could be something as simple as a bad balance, tire or wheel. Otherwise, the car drove really great. Best used jeep I've driven yet (although, I've only test driven three so far.) Smooth, and surprisingly quick.
3) In 4 wheel low, with locked axles, there was a rather large delay before the car accelerated off the line from idle. Like almost one second of delay, then it would lurch off the line. It felt like a huge drive-line lash. The transmission is an automatic. Is this normal? It seemed very odd.
4) The dealer printed off the CarFax. The car is from the other end of the state. On two occasions, it has been back to the dealer for "Steering/Suspension Checked". On one of those occasions it says "Parts Ordered".
Another interesting thing is that it has an aftermarket roll cage. I don't mind it, but I'm not wild about the bar across the dash which obscures my view a bit. I have a short back and long legs, which causes me to sit low anyway. So the bar doesn't help. Maybe I can lift the seat, but the roll cage has overhead bars that are fairly close as it is.
Here are a couple of pics.
Aside from the concerns mentioned above, I really like the car. It's amazingly clean, and under 30K miles. But it's already way more money than I originally budget for to buy a Jeep. I know I'll need tires, and maybe wheels. So if it turns out to be a lemon, or need anything expensive, then I'm really screwed.
Thoughts anyone? Thanks again.