Help! I am stuck in a tough Jeep situation without any knowledge!
#1
Newbie
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Model: Cherokee
Help! I am stuck in a tough Jeep situation without any knowledge!
Alright, so I have a little bit of a problem I would REALLY appreciate you guys' help with. You definitely have the wealth of knowledge and experience that I completely lack.
My father passed away last year and I inherited a '79 CJ-7 with a 90's-era Wrangler body on it. It has a 304 V8, custom headers, and could be mildly built (not sure). The odometer reads 71,000 miles.
Now I am a college student, and really need a good daily driver. Seeing as that the CJ gets about .5 miles to the gallon, my first instinct was to sell it and try to upgrade my daily driver since my current one is about to bite the dust.
Anyways, long story longer, I found the person my dad bought the CJ from and called him up to find out more about it. Turns out he was thinking about tracking it down and trying to get it back because he had bought it as his first car and did all the custom work himself. He said he had to sell it when he got divorced. My dad bought it for $7,000 in 2004.
This person cannot afford to buy the CJ back from me right now, but instead offered me a '99 Cherokee Classic with 60,000 miles on it. However, he got the '99 XJ from an auto body shop that had it sitting outside their place for a year. Turns out it was a lease vehicle that had been in an accident in 2004. So this guy bought it and repaired the damage because he is a body guy himself. Sounds like it has been sitting in his garage as a side project for the last year. It sounds like the passenger side door and front fender was replaced along with the passenger side rocker panel. he also said he had another body guy put it on a rack to pull out the door frame as well.
I have no idea what I should do. I understand the market for a '79 CJ that gets 8 miles to the gallon probably isn't that big right now, but I don't know if I should trade it for a vehicle that hasn't been on the road in at least 4 years and has a history of damage.
Do I take the (good?) daily driver? Do I then try to sell it? Or do I try to sell the custom '79 CJ-7? What do you think something like that is even worth anyway?
I really appreciate any insight you guys may have. I trust that you are the experts! I know nothing about Jeeps, and have thought this through so many times my brain is about to explode. I figured it was time to seek outside advice!
Thank you to anyone who actually read all this!
Here are some pictures of the aforementioned Jeeps-
'99-
'79-
My father passed away last year and I inherited a '79 CJ-7 with a 90's-era Wrangler body on it. It has a 304 V8, custom headers, and could be mildly built (not sure). The odometer reads 71,000 miles.
Now I am a college student, and really need a good daily driver. Seeing as that the CJ gets about .5 miles to the gallon, my first instinct was to sell it and try to upgrade my daily driver since my current one is about to bite the dust.
Anyways, long story longer, I found the person my dad bought the CJ from and called him up to find out more about it. Turns out he was thinking about tracking it down and trying to get it back because he had bought it as his first car and did all the custom work himself. He said he had to sell it when he got divorced. My dad bought it for $7,000 in 2004.
This person cannot afford to buy the CJ back from me right now, but instead offered me a '99 Cherokee Classic with 60,000 miles on it. However, he got the '99 XJ from an auto body shop that had it sitting outside their place for a year. Turns out it was a lease vehicle that had been in an accident in 2004. So this guy bought it and repaired the damage because he is a body guy himself. Sounds like it has been sitting in his garage as a side project for the last year. It sounds like the passenger side door and front fender was replaced along with the passenger side rocker panel. he also said he had another body guy put it on a rack to pull out the door frame as well.
I have no idea what I should do. I understand the market for a '79 CJ that gets 8 miles to the gallon probably isn't that big right now, but I don't know if I should trade it for a vehicle that hasn't been on the road in at least 4 years and has a history of damage.
Do I take the (good?) daily driver? Do I then try to sell it? Or do I try to sell the custom '79 CJ-7? What do you think something like that is even worth anyway?
I really appreciate any insight you guys may have. I trust that you are the experts! I know nothing about Jeeps, and have thought this through so many times my brain is about to explode. I figured it was time to seek outside advice!
Thank you to anyone who actually read all this!
Here are some pictures of the aforementioned Jeeps-
'99-
'79-
#2
CF Veteran
Sweet, your the first person I've ever seen put a YJ front clip on a CJ. Is it a YJ tub also?
Makes me miss my YJ, I really need to build another...
Makes me miss my YJ, I really need to build another...
#5
CF Veteran
Trending Topics
#8
Newbie
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Model: Cherokee
Wow. Thanks alot for the advice guys. I will definitely be asking for some cash if he wants to do this deal. If not, then I will walk away.
I really really need a good daily driver though, so I will probably have to sell the '79 CJ...what do you guys think something like that is worth? I know its hard without knowing all the details, but can you guys at least point me in a general direction?
Thanks for the replies, guys!
I really really need a good daily driver though, so I will probably have to sell the '79 CJ...what do you guys think something like that is worth? I know its hard without knowing all the details, but can you guys at least point me in a general direction?
Thanks for the replies, guys!
#10
Newbie
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Model: Cherokee
#13
Newbie
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Model: Cherokee
#14
::CF Administrator::
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Okc area
Posts: 10,039
Likes: 0
Received 16 Likes
on
11 Posts
Year: 1991
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0 I6
I'd ask for more then 3k..That CJ is worth about $8k easily and that XJ has a history of body damage and what not. So I'd say that XJ is worth no more then $4k at best..I'd ask for the XJ and $4k if it was me..
#15
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Katy, Texas
Posts: 60
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Year: 1998
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0L
I'd hang on to that CJ. You'll kick yourself down the road no matter how good a deal you get. If you have to put it in storage and buy you a $700 dd.