Hey so I am new to this forum and was hoping to be able to post here and get some questions answered.
I am looking to purchase a Wrangler Unlimited, preferably in the years 2012+. My budget is realistically around $20-25k.

I have been looking on the market for quite some time and have quickly come to realize how high the resell value is for these vehicles. Ideally I want to try and get the newest model at the best value but my price range seems to put me right around 2012, which is when they changed physical features. I am looking to build up the Wrangler but I'm not sure if I want to buy a fully built Jeep, because I would like to choose my own mods and know exactly what was put into the vehicle.

So some of my bigger end questions are; how many miles are "too much" in a used Wranger when considering purchasing? How many years back should I be looking(2010,2012,2016)? Should I look for Wranglers with lift kits/upgraded wheels? What Wrangler would you recommend for around $20k?

Some of the more specific questions I have are; What should I be looking for in a used Jeep as far as wear and tear, damage, rust etc? (I live on Long Island so I imagine rust is an issue). I know there will be some wear on a 5 year old Jeep but how much wear is too much?
Is a Sahara that much better than a Sport? I plan on changing the bumpers, wheel flares, wheels and rims etc. at some point and wanted to know if spending extra money on the Sahara would be pointless as I would remove a lot of the included options. Leather seats isnt a need for me and I've seen navigation in Sport models.

I'm sure I missed some things that I wanted to ask but these are the general ones I have. I hope this post was clear and some of these questions can be answered.

Thanks!
ER

 

Good luck in your search! Look outside the rust belt, or North Dakota for a good Jeep

 

Hi Eric, welcome. I’d focus on ‘13+ as there was a redesign in the seats and the newer ones a more comfortable. I think you’re definitely on the right track buying something that has not be modified already. People buying modded rigs have the headache of figuring out what was done (or not done) and with what parts. When you start from scratch there is no guess work. Also, most modded jeeps are not done all that well (most just done for the looks). Although it may be alluring to buy something that has bigger tires and wheels already so you can wrap that stuff in to a payment, I’d suggest you’re always better off buying stock, saving some funds, and buying what you want yourself. These things are really easy to work on if you’re a handy person. Not many repairs that have not be covered ad nauseum already, so the support is there. Rust is definitely going to be an issue where you live, and these things are rust buckets. Very few are diligent enough to combat it on the underside, and even those that are can only do so much (can’t protect every bolt). That said, hopefully the joy it will bring to you will offset some of that stuff. The Sahara isn’t any better than the sport IMO unless you value painted fender flares and hard tops. The difference is mainly appearance packages only between those two (maybe a few more options but nothing big). Not sure what the market is like up there. Around my part of the states finding a ’13 JKU for $20k is tough. Usually for that amount you’re looking at an ’90-’11 with the 3.8L, but strive for a ‘13+ if you can find one. If you have to stretch a couple thousand further for one it’s probably worth it in the long run.

 

Thanks for the reply!
Would you have any opinion on how many miles would be a turn-off for a buyer? I know Wranglers can run for a while I just don't want to get something that has been driven too much. It seems like finding some rust is inevitable so I guess I have to determine how much rust is too much.
I mainly wanted to see if it was even feasible to find the Wrangler I want that's in my price range. I'll find a decent Jeep in my price range only to find that it doesnt have power windows or it has upgraded tires and wheels but it only has 4. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't searching for a needle in a haystack.

 

Do you know how much it would cost to have a vehicle delivered to Long Island? I'm not sure that I would be able to travel to look at a car, so how could I make sure that the car is in solid condition?

Disclaimer - I'm 22 years old and the only car I bought was a 2005 Nissan Altima with my twin brother and I spent $2000. So this is a new experience for me and I know Jeeps are unique vehicles so I want to be overly thorough with my search

 

I can't believe I'm going to say this, but maybe Carvana or one of the other online sales companies might be a great option to browse. They deliver it to you and usually have a week and couple hundred miles to decide if you want to keep it. I've looked at shipping a car from A to B before and it was pretty much around $600-$800 if I recall, but that alone doesn't provide you any assurances as a buyer. I only mention Carvana as I'm familiar with the company from an investment perspective (I'm not an investor in it myself), and I have watched several YouTube videos of people documenting their deliveries. I also know they have a good inspection program and I believe they are no-haggle (this is the price) a lot like CarMax and AutoNation used to be, so at the very least, maybe they are a good judge of what you can get for the price.

 

Just bought a bout 3 weeks ago.

Jeeps are an odd animal. Some get babied and some get abused.
Miles are not as important as to where these they took place. 100k highway miles might be better than 40k miles of rock crawling and river running.

I would want to pay a 3rd party mechanic to look at it before buying one.
For sure, buy one unmolested but some one needs to look underneath it to make sure.

Carfax, build sheet and window sticker are very helpful.
https://www.farkistan.org/votsws.php

I looked at one - carfax started out in Maryland and nothing for 6 years. Sounded great.
On build sheet, it was shipped straight to Cuba (military purchase) where no spare parts were allowed.
So who knows what went wrong and how it was repaired during that time. No warranty work for sure.

good luck, but looking at its better than data.sheets.

 

I actually was considering Carvana, unfortunately I just looked and they really seem to have a limited option. I think my best bet is to see what Jeeps are being sold locally and check those out, while also looking at cars outside of the east coast and try to get good pictures of it to see its' condition. It looks like shipping a wrangler from a different state can be expensive but not astronomical.

 

2012 + to make sure you get the 3.6. I bought my 2012 brand new. It now has 107,000 miles on it. Trouble free except for a bad starter 6 months ago. I have full expectation that this will go another 100,000 miles. I'm 51 yrs old. This has been the most reliable vehicle I've ever owned.

 

https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/market/351373

Posted in the Marketplace today. That seems like a decent price compared to what sells around my area, but I am in a hotbed of JKs in DFW.