Hello!
New to H3s in general but have been doing a lot of research lately in preparation for buying one soon. My background is in Jeeps, I had a 2005 Rubicon new but was forced to sell during the recession and have been street bound since. I loved wheeling though, and I think it is time to get back into it.
I want a good solid rig off-road that I can wheel lightly, daily drive and slowly build with the kids. I found one at a local lot and I would like your opinion. It isn’t perfect but checks a lot of boxes. Here are my observations:
The good:
2008
Adventure package
Newish Kenda Klever tires
Decent paint in a color I like
131k miles / $8900
Underside had some rust but actually less than I expected
The bad:
Numerous messages in the DIC:
Brakes
Fluid
Traction
Failed
Serv tpm
Possible radiator leak, but could be coming from the cap. I’ve since learned that these crack from rubbing on the body?
Rear view mirror doesn’t have power
Side mirrors don’t adjust by the switch (can I manually adjust)
Front washer fluid won’t dispense
Cruise control wouldn’t activate
The ugly:
TPMS light on (didn’t have time to look into it)
Only had 2 keys and no fobs
I5....I’m sure it’s not as bad as it sounds (and actually I liked the way it sounded when I drove it.)
Ok... that’s a lot but I really liked how it drove. I may be focusing on the negative but I think it would be a fun rig. I don’t doubt it’s been used hard at some point. And the price seems ok, especially if they can negotiate a bit to allow for repair costs and the general condition.
Called today and they couldn’t pull any codes from it, which I can’t believe.... so I will likely be on my own with doing any work. It is filthy inside and when I asked about it being cleaned the salesman didn’t seem concerned. There was heavy dust in the air ducts as well, which is a huge turnoff but I’m sure I can figure out how to get them clean.
I’m not scared of doing all work on it myself. Seems like there is great support online for shadetree mechanics and from what I’ve seen the parts are plentiful and inexpensive.
My next step is to give it a better look over and assess the actual work required. I think it is likely (hopeful) that many of the electrical issues may be blown fuses, but if not, I could be looking at quite the project!
Thoughts?
New to H3s in general but have been doing a lot of research lately in preparation for buying one soon. My background is in Jeeps, I had a 2005 Rubicon new but was forced to sell during the recession and have been street bound since. I loved wheeling though, and I think it is time to get back into it.
I want a good solid rig off-road that I can wheel lightly, daily drive and slowly build with the kids. I found one at a local lot and I would like your opinion. It isn’t perfect but checks a lot of boxes. Here are my observations:
The good:
2008
Adventure package
Newish Kenda Klever tires
Decent paint in a color I like
131k miles / $8900
Underside had some rust but actually less than I expected
The bad:
Numerous messages in the DIC:
Brakes
Fluid
Traction
Failed
Serv tpm
Possible radiator leak, but could be coming from the cap. I’ve since learned that these crack from rubbing on the body?
Rear view mirror doesn’t have power
Side mirrors don’t adjust by the switch (can I manually adjust)
Front washer fluid won’t dispense
Cruise control wouldn’t activate
The ugly:
TPMS light on (didn’t have time to look into it)
Only had 2 keys and no fobs
I5....I’m sure it’s not as bad as it sounds (and actually I liked the way it sounded when I drove it.)
Ok... that’s a lot but I really liked how it drove. I may be focusing on the negative but I think it would be a fun rig. I don’t doubt it’s been used hard at some point. And the price seems ok, especially if they can negotiate a bit to allow for repair costs and the general condition.
Called today and they couldn’t pull any codes from it, which I can’t believe.... so I will likely be on my own with doing any work. It is filthy inside and when I asked about it being cleaned the salesman didn’t seem concerned. There was heavy dust in the air ducts as well, which is a huge turnoff but I’m sure I can figure out how to get them clean.
I’m not scared of doing all work on it myself. Seems like there is great support online for shadetree mechanics and from what I’ve seen the parts are plentiful and inexpensive.
My next step is to give it a better look over and assess the actual work required. I think it is likely (hopeful) that many of the electrical issues may be blown fuses, but if not, I could be looking at quite the project!
Thoughts?