I have a few questions for ya'll since I actually trust your opinions, unlike some other yahoos on this forum
Obviously since I've moved, a lot of things have been up in the air about my vehicle/driver situation and I think I've finally made up my mind what I'm going to do...my xj has been having a pile of small issues (as a vehicle with 275k thats had the snot kicked out of it) usually does, so getting it registered in nj right away, and having it being a reliable dd is starting to become a worry for me. i've been looking at 2nd driver vehicles since day one, but with no where to work on stuff, and no garage space close by, I haven't made any decisions. Now I have a storage/work spot for the j10 and for all of our apartment junk so I am going to take the money i had been spending on the iowa shop to rent a garage...because of this i'm going to park the xj for a while to fix a lot of the BS that is wrong with it (fuel pump, dead steering box, fully fix the exhaust, new blower resistor, a/c tune up...and i actually think that my manifold gasket is crapping out...not my whole manifold)...to do this i think i'm going to get a 2nd driver vehicle in the next 2-3 weeks (probably after the expense of moving my shop is out of the way. Here are my options...
1.) 5.9 ZJ with 140k 1998 (obviously) guy bought it and cant get it titled in his name because he is an international student. He showed me the valid ny title so it is good to go...its in good shape. Really needs nothing to run...$1400
2.) 1988 MJ...owned by a mopar freak, has too many vehicles and this is the only one thats not a classic car. Runs great, needs a rear brake line...160k, a/c works motor runs excellent, 4.0 auto 2wd...better mileage, but its a 25 year old vehicle. NO RUST...mostly been sitting in a garage for the last 10 years. Never winter driven because its 2wd. This would be a good driver that would replace the mj i sold to move out here and its a very nice truck...guy is asking $1800 but is very willing to negotiate, especially after bs'ing on the phone with him for 20 or 30 minutes yesterday. Regardless of whether or not I get this one...i will be buying an mj in the next year to keep working on...
3.) 94-96 Dodge 2500 with 12v cummins...this is the most expensive option...hardest to park, however it would be amazing to have. I'm not sure that I'm quite ready to pull the trigger on a 3/4 ton truck, but I would guess in the next 2 years I will have one...any diesel that is 96 or older doesn't need to be inspected in nj...not that I would do anything to the emissions system, but it would be nice to not have the yearly inspection headache. I've found several of them with 150-180k for under $6000...it would take me 2-3 months to get there, but I could cut some costs to get me there faster.
With any of these vehicles, there will be issues...but if i have a garage to pull them in close to home, it wouldn't be tough to deal with the issues. I could have the xj back in good working order by next winter and park the mj at my buddies farm if needed for the winter if i went that route...i have all the parts already to convert it to 4wd...
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he sent me pics of it and pics of the title and we were going to arrange a meetup to see it, now i cant find the ad anymore and he is mia...i guess it must have sold, or the guy wasn't telling me something. there is another one for just a hair more money with similar mileage, but it needs a t-case. it runs and drives, just isn't turning the front wheels. i would swap a 242 in anyway, so thats not too big of an issue for me. i don't have to make up my mind asap, but if the right deal falls in place i want to be ready to jump on it. like i said, i know this shop move is going to put a dent in what we have saved since moving out here...so it might benefit me to wait a month or two and see what comes up. i do really like the mj i found though. it would make a good driver till winter, and by then the xj should be back up to par
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