My wife had wanted a Jeep ever since she was a kid (probably from watching too much Dukes of Hazzard and MacGyver). Anyway, the 20-year wait was recently over and we picked her up a 1988 Wrangler after my awesome Mazda finally bit the dust just shy of 350,000 miles.
First, a Jeep Wrangler is kind of like a a really cute girlfriend. She’s fun to be with, she’s really cool, lots of fun, and you like to be seen with her. However, she won’t cook or clean or get a job or go to college, she makes you do everything yourself, and everything she wants is really expensive.
If you have considered buying a Jeep, but don’t know anything about them, I have compiled a handy list of things it would be good to know to help you make an informed decision.
- They leak. If you are looking at a Jeep, first look for caulking/silicone around the windshield. Then have your buddy spray it really good with a hose, especially around the windshield and see if it leaks or bubbles.
- They rust. If the leak issue isn’t corrected, the floor is going to rust out. Get your buddy to crawl under the Jeep while you stomp on the floor.
- Parts are expensive. You want a window crank? $15. You want a mirror (not a power mirror or anything fancy–just a piece of glass that bolts onto the door)? $50. Hydraulic clutch goes out? $750.
- The windshields are bug magnets. I mean, it’s perfectly perpendicular to the path you’re traveling; you’re gonna get bug guts all over it.
- The vent. On most cars, setting your climate control to ‘vent’ means that the fan will blow in air from the outside, not through the heater or the air conditioner. On a Jeep, the vent is simply a hole cut in the firewall. You need more air? Drive faster.
- The 4 cylinder model has no power. That’s not entirely true, but it is like Dave Barry said about the Nash Rambler: like those kiddie rides in front of Walmart, but with less power.
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