I probably gonna get a lot of hate for that… but I’m very likely gonna sell my beloved 2002 TJ after 7 years of “Jeep Life” in exchange for this new EV - the iCar V23 - once available here in Thailand (hopefully within this year).
Bought the TJ with 24,000 miles, now at 43,000 miles. Over the years, I’ve replaced nearly every part on the TJ with OEM parts imported from the US. I even got a fresh paint job inside and outside, using the original paint codes (getting the original sticker sets alone set my back like $500). I’m a DIY guy and kind of love working on it - but maybe that’s just me trying to romanticize constantly fixing something.
About a year ago, I bought a Surron electric bike and absolutely love it - the acceleration is crazy and it's zero maintenance compared to the 50 different fluids and gaskets I have to keep up with on the Jeep - besides other parts failing over the years. The TJ is my only vehicle (besides the bike), so based on the mileage I ran you can see that owning two cars absolutely doesn't make any sense.
The only thing I’ll probably gonna miss is the soft top - I always drive half-open "sunrider" style, though honestly here in Thailand I kind of have to, since the AC doesn’t stand a chance in this climate. That's also why in 7 years I only had the besttop completely open probably 3 times - otherwise you're toast in the sun. I even considered getting the electric one, but they don't make those for the TJ - probably to my luck or I would have thrown another 3 grand at it.
Still struggling with the thought of letting go of the TJ I’ve put so much time and work into...
The only silver lining is that I’ll probably still get around $40,000 for my Sahara. They’re extremely rare here - especially in this condition, and we’ve always had 150–200% import tax on vehicles – which also makes parts incredibly expensive. A brand new Wrangler is about $130.000 here lol
the iCar is supposed to start around $15.000 and $20.000 for the 4x4 AWD version.. but nothing confirmed yet..
Bought the TJ with 24,000 miles, now at 43,000 miles. Over the years, I’ve replaced nearly every part on the TJ with OEM parts imported from the US. I even got a fresh paint job inside and outside, using the original paint codes (getting the original sticker sets alone set my back like $500). I’m a DIY guy and kind of love working on it - but maybe that’s just me trying to romanticize constantly fixing something.
About a year ago, I bought a Surron electric bike and absolutely love it - the acceleration is crazy and it's zero maintenance compared to the 50 different fluids and gaskets I have to keep up with on the Jeep - besides other parts failing over the years. The TJ is my only vehicle (besides the bike), so based on the mileage I ran you can see that owning two cars absolutely doesn't make any sense.
The only thing I’ll probably gonna miss is the soft top - I always drive half-open "sunrider" style, though honestly here in Thailand I kind of have to, since the AC doesn’t stand a chance in this climate. That's also why in 7 years I only had the besttop completely open probably 3 times - otherwise you're toast in the sun. I even considered getting the electric one, but they don't make those for the TJ - probably to my luck or I would have thrown another 3 grand at it.
Still struggling with the thought of letting go of the TJ I’ve put so much time and work into...
The only silver lining is that I’ll probably still get around $40,000 for my Sahara. They’re extremely rare here - especially in this condition, and we’ve always had 150–200% import tax on vehicles – which also makes parts incredibly expensive. A brand new Wrangler is about $130.000 here lol
the iCar is supposed to start around $15.000 and $20.000 for the 4x4 AWD version.. but nothing confirmed yet..
