Topic: How long do you see yourself owning your current Jeep?

[chrisfranklin]

Owning a Jeep CJ/Wrangler is an interesting proposition.  The owners who use them off-road are probably more inclined to hold on to their Jeeps for longer than they would a regular vehicle.  You have people who have their YJs and CJs that are 10-20-30-40 years old and that have been upgraded steadily with the times.  Even the early TJs are hitting the 10 year mark.

Ironically, a guy I knew sold his CJ when he graduated college and got his first job - bought an acura integra (had in mind it was a more "professional/adult" vehicle).  Course, now all the guy does is bitch that he sold his CJ  :cry:    

Question I wanted to pose is, "how long do you think you'd hold on to your current Jeep?"  Forever?  Hold it and buy a second updated version (yeah, I know some guys out there buy old Jeeps to restore like Imelda Marcos bought shoes   )?  Sell it when a Wrangler comes out that really has a lot of new things that you like - say a SWB JK Rubicon Hemi, 6spd?

[tommygp]

That's a tough question.  Mine is pretty heavily modded, and mostly just a trail rig.  It's pretty cheap to keep, but I don't get to utilize as much as I'd like due to the distance and time to get to the trails.  Additionally, my wife is about to give birth to our 1st, so I don't know if I'll need to sell it for the money.

Another interesting proposition has reared its head.  I have a friend that builds 67-72 Chevy trucks.  He's got a 68 SWB with a 454 crate motor and basically new everything.  It needs interior, glass, paint and wheels.  He wants to trade straight up for my YJ.  Trouble is that I'm not sure I can afford to finish it and I can't drive it like it is.

[Enjoi]

Good question, the question for me is how expensive will graudate school be? is it low enough to keep the jeep?

[lanulos89]

i will hold onto mine till i cant afford it anymore, and if i can always afford it, then i will have it forever.  I've said so many times i'm gonna sell my jeep and get a car, but never can bring myself to do it, it's my 2nd love, i would literally cry if it ever left me.

[gomi]

Ideally I would like to hold on to my jeep forever, but there is always that urge to buy a newer one. That, and I live in ct, so I hope rust doesn't become a big problem.

[Mozman68]

It's only been a year...but I've almost regretted getting rid of every car I've had.  I can afford to keep this one, so I think I will...and continue to dump money into it....

[Sidscan]

Mine's going to my son so I can get one of the new ones.  Two years and counting.  Then he will be on the board with you folks.  Probably more interesting than me anyway.

[Jeffy]

Hmmm,  I've only owned my Jeep for 15 years now. Went through High School and College with it and still managed to keep it.  Although, I would of had a lot more money if I parked it and bought a moped through College.  I'm still not even close to being done though I long for another car but can't see myself selling the Jeep.  Not to mention many people would be angry if I did sell it.

I don't see myself buying TK.  Everything for it will be expensive.  Just compare the parts between a YJ and a TJ.  To do the same with a YJ will save you $$$. A TK isn't going to be any different.  Mopar Performance has a 5.7L Hemi crate as well as a 6.1L but they are sold as crate.  I doubt you'll see many TK's in private hands doing swaps right away.  Burnsville did a 6.1L but that's is a showcase vehicle.  So unless you're all about looks, you'd probably be able to outperform a TK with the same amount of money.  Imagine what you could do with a $4000 YJ or TJ for Rubicon TK money.  You could run 37's on D60's, have a nice 4 speed atlas, 6pt cage, lift and still have enough for an engine swap.

Here's some sound advice;

If you can't afford it, don't wheel it.  If you're still in HS, take a Automotive class if there is one available.  Learn to do some of the easy maintenance stuff and it will save you $$$.  Even if you don't do your own work, it will help keep you from getting screwed by a shady mechanic.  If you want better gas mileage then limit your lift and tires so a smaller size.  (31's are a good balance)

Gas isn't cheap as it used to be.  When I bought my jeep gas was around $1.19 in CA.  When I left it was $1.27.  When I came back it was $2.95.  If you can afford it get something else to do your daily driving.  Taking the Bus or other form of public transportation would save a lot over time.  I used to have a 40 mile commute.  If I trusted my gas tank, I could make 4 days. That' 320 miles per tank.  If it was raining or just heavy traffic, it could end up on the side of the road looking for gas.  Most of the time, I went 3 days which left me several gallons for any emergency's.  At $2.50 filling 15-7 gallons, that's about $40, ever 3 days and I worked no less then 6 days!  Oh and there was a $3 (now $4) toll bridge, I had to cross.  

Ouch!  I need a second vehicle...

[lanulos89]

i need a new car, im in high school, never bring it to the shop and still am struggling with money, i get 175 miles per tank, which is 4-5 days worth of gas give or take, and 30 bucks to fill up.  :D   but i love my jeep, wouldn't think of driving anything else, when i have someone elses car for the day, i miss my jeep.

[chardrc]

i would like to keep my jeep forever but i would also like to have a old cj2a or 3a for in the woods up north were the trails are to tight for my yj without collecting mas amo8nts of body damage.  but that isn't a problem since i can always use my grandpas cj2a when i go up there anyways. so it looks like the yj is here to stay..
but my other vehicle (94 s10) i dont see myself haveing for more than another year... its starting to rust out adn have little stupid problems that are a bitch to fix so im going to baby it tell the end of senior year and sell it for jeep money.

[Jesse-James]

Couldn't tell ya'. I do know I won't sell it, it'll stay in the family and either go to the wife or one of the kids and only if I get another Jeep. The wife keeps saying she doesn't want her own but still gets all excited when she gets to drive mine on the trail.

[Liljeepz]

I plan on keeping mine tell i just cant fix it any more.... but who knows what the next 10 years will bring. But at least that's my plan.

[cromwell]

I bought mine July 96 and plan to keep it for as long as possible.

Tony

[jagular7]

I had once owned a 87 XJ 2dr. Purchased it for wheeling, dd, and for the bigger interior than the old Nissan 4wd truck. Got married and had 2 kids. Took the XJ to over 220k miles when there wasn't really much left in the engine (blow by). Took it apart and sold the pieces. Over the the nine years I had it, I lifted twice, bought only 2 sets of tirs, 3 sets of wheels, 1 winch (still in use today), geared and locked it, wheeled, drove it where I needed to go, took it on vacations, etc.
Then went to even a bigger 4wd vehicle, 92 Bronco, and a commuter 4wd vehicle (they've vary about 2-3 yrs). Now my Bronco is in a transition for over almost 4+ yrs (its been too long) and I wanted to go wheeling. Picked up a TJ for the ease of maintenance, cost, aftermarket, overall size, etc. I've put money into it with rear axle, gears, lockers, lift, tires, new top, etc.  Since its an auto, I've been letting my kids drive it to learn the basics of steering, gas, brake etc. on the trails.
I'm guessing I'll be keeping this around for another 7+ years or more. However, this won't stop me from looking for another.

[neale_rs]

My ´95, probably until 2013, at which point I'll try to get a 2003 TJ Rubicon.  Ten year old Jeeps tend to be affordable.