Hi. Newbie here. I've never owned a Jeep before, but just bought a 2002 Wrangler with 153K miles, full doors, new soft top, MT, and completely stock. That picture in my avatar is not mine, but it's close. I'll get some pictures up soon. Heck I haven't even driven it a mile yet! I'm not planning to do any difficult off-roading with it. Light duty dirt roads and some paved roads in the back country with my wife and the top down, that's our speed.
For a four wheel drive, open-air, MT, small, nimble vehicle, this was just what I was looking for. Love the torque and reliability of the 4.0 with MT.
My buying experience was mixed. The Facebook seller has learned throughout his 68 years how to act like a nice guy, but he is really just like a certain percentage of people out there who are going to try and get the best of the deal no matter what. It was fairly well described and had some good pictures in the listing. I went through the listing with him before going to buy it. Things that really stood out for me, besides being stock and setup just the way I wanted, were that he installed a new soft top, that it was very clean inside, and he put five new tires on it and they were stock size and based on the picture, had a tire tread type that would be quiet on paved roads. When I got there everything checked out except for a non-disclosed power steering leak (no big deal) and the tires. Ah yes, those 'new' tires. First thing I saw was the front drivers side and it looked to be about half tread. I said to him, that's not a new tire, he said it's like new. I looked closer. No it's not, it has hundreds of dry rot cracks in between the treads. He said well they are only a year or two old. I said you told that you put new tires on it. He said no, I said they were like new. I took my phone out and showed him the listing which clearly says new tires. He didn't have much to say after that. I found the date codes and the tires were eight years old. The spare wasn't matching and was 12 years old. I said we had an agreement, which was $8000 price (full asking in the listing) for what is written in your listing. I said I even asked you what brand tire you went with and you said Firestone. The tires are crap. He bought a set of old tires off FB and said they were new in his listing. One of the tires even had a broken belt. I asked him to work with me on it out of good faith and honor. No way he said, you're getting a steal on this as it is. He gave me two choices. Buy it as is for the asking price or get back in my truck and go back to where I came from, wasting 11 hours of my time and about $450 in out of pocket on fuel and trailer rental. Yes, I wanted to make a point and drive away. But it would have been a pointless point, because given that I was already into it for so much of my time and money, it made sense for me to take it as is.
My wife says karma is a bitch and what goes around comes around. I believe we all make our own luck in this world, good or bad.
I'm not unhappy with my new Jeep, but the buying experience took a bit of shine off the apple.
So I need new tires. Actually, I love buying new tires for a vehicle. It's usually transformative. But I look at this as an opportunity to change both tires and rims. Rims and how they are placed in the wheel wells of a vehicle are make or break for me regarding aesthetics. I believe tires are the most important part on a car for safety and performance. I've read about JK takeoffs and how with adapters they can be put on a TJ. But all of what I've read so far are threads on people lifting their TJ's when they do it. Please help me learn about the possibility of using JK takeoffs on a stock TJ. What about clearances and offset and handling changes?
If not JK takeoffs, then what? I don't know if I trust 23 year old wheels to be running straight anymore, and that's critical to me. So I'm inclined to change both tires and rims. When I get done putting new tires and wheels on, and also fixing anything needed mechanically, and getting an alignment, I need my TJ to run straight and smooth on paved roads. That's the starting point for me. The light off-roading comes second.
JK Takeoffs are so appealing in terms of price, and you know that new ones will be new and all balanced and ready to go. A deal. Buying new rims and new tires and paying for balancing and install is going to be a lot more expensive. I'll do it, but just wanted your thoughts on alternatives. Used set on Facebook where the seller says they run smooth and still have good tread left is not going to be good enough for me. I'm very particular about how my vehicles drive down the road.
Thanks for enduring my long first post on your forum
Greg
For a four wheel drive, open-air, MT, small, nimble vehicle, this was just what I was looking for. Love the torque and reliability of the 4.0 with MT.
My buying experience was mixed. The Facebook seller has learned throughout his 68 years how to act like a nice guy, but he is really just like a certain percentage of people out there who are going to try and get the best of the deal no matter what. It was fairly well described and had some good pictures in the listing. I went through the listing with him before going to buy it. Things that really stood out for me, besides being stock and setup just the way I wanted, were that he installed a new soft top, that it was very clean inside, and he put five new tires on it and they were stock size and based on the picture, had a tire tread type that would be quiet on paved roads. When I got there everything checked out except for a non-disclosed power steering leak (no big deal) and the tires. Ah yes, those 'new' tires. First thing I saw was the front drivers side and it looked to be about half tread. I said to him, that's not a new tire, he said it's like new. I looked closer. No it's not, it has hundreds of dry rot cracks in between the treads. He said well they are only a year or two old. I said you told that you put new tires on it. He said no, I said they were like new. I took my phone out and showed him the listing which clearly says new tires. He didn't have much to say after that. I found the date codes and the tires were eight years old. The spare wasn't matching and was 12 years old. I said we had an agreement, which was $8000 price (full asking in the listing) for what is written in your listing. I said I even asked you what brand tire you went with and you said Firestone. The tires are crap. He bought a set of old tires off FB and said they were new in his listing. One of the tires even had a broken belt. I asked him to work with me on it out of good faith and honor. No way he said, you're getting a steal on this as it is. He gave me two choices. Buy it as is for the asking price or get back in my truck and go back to where I came from, wasting 11 hours of my time and about $450 in out of pocket on fuel and trailer rental. Yes, I wanted to make a point and drive away. But it would have been a pointless point, because given that I was already into it for so much of my time and money, it made sense for me to take it as is.
My wife says karma is a bitch and what goes around comes around. I believe we all make our own luck in this world, good or bad.
I'm not unhappy with my new Jeep, but the buying experience took a bit of shine off the apple.
So I need new tires. Actually, I love buying new tires for a vehicle. It's usually transformative. But I look at this as an opportunity to change both tires and rims. Rims and how they are placed in the wheel wells of a vehicle are make or break for me regarding aesthetics. I believe tires are the most important part on a car for safety and performance. I've read about JK takeoffs and how with adapters they can be put on a TJ. But all of what I've read so far are threads on people lifting their TJ's when they do it. Please help me learn about the possibility of using JK takeoffs on a stock TJ. What about clearances and offset and handling changes?
If not JK takeoffs, then what? I don't know if I trust 23 year old wheels to be running straight anymore, and that's critical to me. So I'm inclined to change both tires and rims. When I get done putting new tires and wheels on, and also fixing anything needed mechanically, and getting an alignment, I need my TJ to run straight and smooth on paved roads. That's the starting point for me. The light off-roading comes second.
JK Takeoffs are so appealing in terms of price, and you know that new ones will be new and all balanced and ready to go. A deal. Buying new rims and new tires and paying for balancing and install is going to be a lot more expensive. I'll do it, but just wanted your thoughts on alternatives. Used set on Facebook where the seller says they run smooth and still have good tread left is not going to be good enough for me. I'm very particular about how my vehicles drive down the road.
Thanks for enduring my long first post on your forum
Greg
