Shopping for Modified JK - Things to look out for?
 

Long time since I have visited the forums. I apologize if this question has been hashed over many times, but I figured this is the best bunch to bounce questions off of. I owned an 08 2 Door back in 08, and want to acquire another one. The wife and the bank have approved, so now it's just time to shop. I'm looking at 2 Doors between 07-10 that have already have a lift and 35s installed. With that in mind, what major things should I be looking at or make sure have been addressed service wise? Is death wobble an issue? I didn't lift mine, just ran 33s stock. Trying to find something under 90k miles.

If anyone could just hit the major points, I greatly appreciate it :)

So many things out there to look for, drive lines, worn steering components, undercarriage damage, proper gearing for tire set, proper suspension set up, etc. JP Magazine had a pretty good article about this a couple of years ago. If I had to do it tomorrow I would save some coin and get a bone stock jk with low miles and build it with the money I saved for the mods I want instead of settling for the mods that are already on there.

I'm going to agree. There is no way to tell who installed those parts and it would take days to ensure each component was installed correctly and hasn't adversely affected the other parts. Also, if you plan on hitting the trails, understand that everyone drives different and wants a different set up. My old man loves the way his TJ is set up, but I can't stand they way it drives offroad. I think it would be best to buy a bone stock one to be positive nobody has screwed it up and then tailor your build to your needs. Modded Jeeps always seem to be overpriced anyways. As we all know, we have a connection with our rigs, we've put so much money and work into it. It's worth more to us than it would be to anyone else.

There are still some stock ones out there might be a better choice than finding one already modded.

Beware the cheap lift and oversized tires with 20" rims some dealers put in JK's to upsell.

They're completely unsafe at highway speeds and garbage off road.

Even if you find a stock one, you should still take a close look. People are leasing, lifting, beating the piss out of, and then removing the lift/tires before turning in.

Crawl underneath and look. Test-drive at freeway speeds, and over bumps/uneven roads. Get an inspection by a shop you trust. Get a warranty. Get an alignment check (not full alignment, just a printout of current specs). Did I mention crawl underneath and look?

Try to verify the gears that are in it. If you find an early 07, make sure it has a rear d44 and not a d35!!! If it is lifted, find out which company it is and which specific parts are installed. You can tell a lot from the test drive, but also knowing the specific components will help with the decision.

Thanks for the input guys, I greatly appreciate it!

Paper work.
Receipts of items bought and shops that have installed.
That will tell you when parts were bought and installed and how many miles are likely on them. Then research the parts to gain knowledge on "quality", and the shops that did the install for their reputation. Then, contact the shop and question them on how much they know about the rig.

Also look for ones from warm dry states. The undercarriage will be in a lot better state for an 08-10. I looked at one that had spent some time in Washington and the underside was quite badly corroded.