My dad is looking for a used jeep and found a 97 TJ with 60,000 miles. It looks brand new and has no signs of being abused. It is listed for $7,000 is this a good deal?

I have never had a TJ is there anything I need to know to warn him about?

 

60,000 miles makes this thing practically brand new and that would give it a higher asking price. at $7k, it's not a bad deal but you could find a better deal out there for sure. 97 is the first year out for a tj and they did have some issues. so long as they were addressed through the dealership, you should be good to go. if not, this jeep would be out of warranty and you would need to pay for any problem you might find. the most common problem 97's had was with their sending unit and not giving accurate info. people would run out of gas on the highway thinking they still had a quarter of a tank. the other down side to any TJ older than 2000 is that they came with a dana 35. not exactly the best rear axle in the world but, if you're not planning to wheel hard and with big tires, they are doable.

 

Thanks WOL, this is kind of what I was thinking. I think we can talk the guy down because it has been sitting on the corner for a while with no takers. We can always upgrade the axels latter.

 

He isn't really locked into anything price wise at this point just didn't want to pay new jeep prices for a JK. Thanks for checking your area for me. I didn't think to try autotrader for some reason. I think we are going to pass because it is pre 2000 and doesn't have the Dana 44s. Also he wanted an auto for rock crawling not a stick.

 

FYI 2000's and later also came with a sport package. Some of the TJ as mine, came with a limited slip and 3.73 gearing in the D44's gotta look around, they were a limited production run unless otherwise ordered that way.

 

Thanks Augie, good to know. I don't know if my dad has looked anymore yet or not. I will let him know.

 

Fyi, A lot of earlier sahara models had the D44 rear, you can find an earlier one 97-00 but they are like finding hen's teeth if you know what I mean.

Do a carfax on that TJ. Looking nice does not necessarily mean for sure that mileage is correct.
Good luck, don't let that D35 scare you from a good deal though you can always upgrade the axle later if need be. Just don't put 35's on it for sure! or a locker.

 

You gotta love that about Colorado. I've never seen anywhere in the US where Jeeps hold their value as well as they do in Colorado.

I just sold my 03 Rubicon with 110K miles for $11,900 here in Kentucky. I can't believe that '97 TJ's are going for comparable prices out there!

 

^^ and hell, if I could have gotten a few thousand more for my Rubi out in Colorado I would have driven it out there for the buyer!