Buying a wagoneer

[lionus88]

Hello ya'll! I'm new to the board and new to jeeps. I am planning on buying my first wagoneer tomorrow, been looking forward to this for years. I was just wondering if ya'll had any tips for what to look at before the purchase. I have no experience with them and not very much experience with engines in general (hopefully, ill learn something). would be up for any opinions on it. here is the link. i'm not paying what they are asking, but wouldnt mind any input on how much you would pay for it. supposedly the engine has 20k miles on it. thoughts comments? looking forward to getting to know ya'll.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/88-Wagoneer-Jasper-360-Auto-4x4-COLD-A-C-/130448609691?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item1e5f57d19b

[HRK]

Welcome! Just purchased my first Wagoneer on Ebay last week as well.

[Perfex]

Look at the frame near the drivers side, where the gas tank skid plate is attached to
In this spot can rust pretty bad

does the tailgate window work?

look for rust

look for a cup holder, not found one on mine yet though
(glove box doesn't count)

[Jomax]

Well, one key thing is to try and find one with little to no rust, but unless u live in dry climate like me in AZ its nearly impossible i payed 1,000 for mine it needs a paint job and some interior work but the engine was just rebuilt with 8,000 miles and not one spot of rust, the under body is like NEW Good luck and Welcome

[Jomax]

Look at the frame near the drivers side, where the gas tank skid plate is attached to
In this spot can rust pretty bad

does the tailgate window work?

look for rust

look for a cup holder, not found one on mine yet though
(glove box doesn't count)

Without is working u cant put the rear door down kinda dumb design.

[FSJ Guy]

The BIN price seems rather high to me. It's been RE-painted, too. The pictures are CRAPPY. Sun flare and too small. Are they hiding something? As mentioned, look for rust on the gas tank skidplate and frame rail. Look for evidence of panel repair and/or bondo.

How is the headliner? They are known for sagging (fabric pulls away from cardboard)

Just because they SAY it's a rebuilt motor, doesn't mean that it is. Don't let that claim persuade you to pay more than it's worth.

If you pay 1/2 of the seller's BIN price, that would be a bargain. Fair price IF and ONLY IF everything else checks out, would be around $3-$4K.

If you've never looked at one of these old beasts, it would be money well spent to have a mechanic look it over. That usually only costs around $100- $150. Look for an older guy. Not some guy with super clean coveralls and a new "ASE Certified" patch sewn on the front!

[jaber]

Welcome to the land of empty pockets and unfinished projects...

It looks like a clean rig, but as stated above, I would also proceed with caution. Some times it looks purddy and is hiding abuse, and others you get lucky.

Heres hoping it works out for you. It looks nice.

[lionus88]

thanks for all of the feedback

thanks for all of the comments. i have already looked it over once. the undercarriage did not look too bad at all. i didnt notice that much rust. i am about to leave to go check it out soon.

let met make sure i am hearing you right, it will not open if the window is broken? i gave it a real quick look over when i checked it out and was having trouble with the back opening, but figured it was just me doing something wrong.

the headliner is coming apart, and the interior is not that great. not terrible, but not pristine. i've already done some research into that fix last night.

i have some questions about the 4x4. so, there is a lever on the floor to put it in 4x4. do you just pull it while it is neutral and it should go into gear? i did not play around with it when i checked it out and the sales man had no clue. how does it go back into 4x2? is there a way to check if it is working properly? i'm not use to driving a truck this old and am a little lost.

the hood of the thing is going to need repainted, there is a about a 3 inch wide circle where the paint has chipped off and there is slight surface rust there.

the dealer does have receipts for about 3k worth of repairs that have been done since the summer on it.

thanks for your help. ya'll are a great group.

[Brizio]

Looks nice, but little pricy...

[krek]

The door panels have been dyed or replaced, they didn't come in black.

The carpet has been replaced.

It has definitely been repainted so you might want to take a picture of the hood issue and post it here for input.

The washer fluid reservoir is missing and the overflow tank has been replaced with a non-oem unit.

IF it was painted well and if it really has a Jasper rebuilt engine (paperwork and warranty?) and if the frame isn't rusted out by the gas tank skid plate (if you don't know exactly what this means, search and check that rig... don't make the same mistake I did on my first Waggy) it would be worth $4,000 to $5,000 to me (your mileage may vary).

[vintagetrks]

Welcome from sunny Az. Listen to the folks here they are an invaluable source of information. They are very helpful and knowledgable. There are several things suspect in this rig as pointed out. I also would question the Jasper engine unless paper work and warranty were provided. Also do as others have suggested and inspect the frame by the gas tank as that is an area that is prone to rust as well as the fuel tank skid plate which rusts out on these rigs. Also check the floor boards driver and passenger side to see if they have rusted thru or have been repaired.
Hope this helps and good luck on your first waggy.

[HRK]

i have some questions about the 4x4. so, there is a lever on the floor to put it in 4x4. do you just pull it while it is neutral and it should go into gear? i did not play around with it when i checked it out and the sales man had no clue. how does it go back into 4x2? is there a way to check if it is working properly? i'm not use to driving a truck this old and am a little lost.

The lever on the floor is to shift from 4-lo to 4-hi once you're in 4wd. To switch INTO 4wd, put the gear selector in neutral and flip the switch under the steering column into 4wd. If the light does not illuminate, put the truck in reverse and back up 20 feet or so. It should then go into 4wd. You can drive at any speed in 4-lo, but 4-hi is for low speed, low traction driving only.

[lionus88]

thanks for the advice. i've already been crawling all under this thing, but now I what to look for. the undercarriage doesn't look rusty, but it doesnt look exactly rust free. i think it was used off road a lot. is this typical?

Thanks for the info on the 4x4. I feel a little more comfortable about making sure it works now. Of course the sales man had no clue about it.

I will ask for the papers on the engine. I'm not sure what they have since it was a trade in.

Any input on the rear door?

[EBCIII]

Welcome to the site. Very glad to have you on the site! Beale.

[joe]

You can drive at any speed in 4-lo, but 4-hi is for low speed, low traction driving only.

Actually thats backwards. Lo range is only for slow speeds and low traction surfaces. The dash vacuum switch controls 2WD/4WD, floor lever is H-N-L. to go bewteen 2and 4WD you don't need to shift the trans into neutral, just flip the switch on the dash at any speed(within reason). To get into LO range you first "must" be in 4WD or tcase won't allow the shift into LO, then slow down to barely rolling, shift trans to neutral then shift the floor lever firmly while still moving.
When you check for rusted floors look under the carpet, the floors rust from the inside out. If you're paying as much as $3,000 ALL the electric fluff should work well. Run all the windows up/down etc especially the tailgate window they should work well(smoothly) or deduct repairs from asking price. You can go cheapskate on a dealer, as a trade-in they prolly only paid a few hundred for the rig. A $3000+ Wag should be near perfect to perfect.
If you need to pass smog test make sure all the smog vacuum bits are there and functioning. If it's been removed it's expense and a hassle to replace.