As a fellow Ohioan who has searched long and hard for a worthy TJ/LJ, it's not worth it IMO. Even though $14k isn't horrible for an LJ up here, there's a lot of weirdness going on here.
If I am dropping $14,000 on a 20 year old vehicle, it's not gonna spend (or have spent) 2 seconds in the salt. But that's second to my biggest red flag. This is a "Frankenjeep" with a rolled back odometer. This is what I'd expect to see at a "buy here pay here" lot.
This is 100% a no go. The owner has illegally rolled back the odometer to reflect powertrain mileage (which also may not even be correct) and, mind you, you DO have to get a VIN inspection done on the Jeep before the title office in Ohio will issue you a title. IDK if the title office checks the MI DMV/Title records, but this sounds like a potential titling nightmare. An owner changing the odo despite the front end, axles, etc. reflecting the true mileage which is stored in the PCM is honestly ridiculous. What condition was this 73k vehicle in? Was it a rust belt vehicle with the original u-joints who's lifespan will be significantly decreased due to Michigan winters?
Knowing the fact that the owner actually changed the odometer because he replaced an engine/trans (maybe axles/shafts too, which might not even be a good thing...), I find it hard to believe that there's anything more than semi-honesty here. Furthermore, how did the PO beat a 4.0 hard enough to require a powertrain/drivetrain swap at 100,000 miles? I'd delete the conservation the second he said something about changing the odometer. As I said, it's a possible titling nightmare come time to issue an Ohio title...
I have no idea if there are "exceptions", but a quick Google search shows tampering with an odometer in Michigan is a felony lol
