Is this 2007 Jeep Wrangler Sahara worth it?

Malv

New Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2020
Messages
2
Location
NY
Hello to everyone!

Normally I would do my own homework and figure out everything myself before posting something like this.

I am on a market for a weekend car/truck and mostly was looking at old Dodge trucks and never looked at Jeeps before. So I don't know almost anything about them in terms of reparability or cost of parts/upgrades and etc. With my current load the research will take a couple weeks, but I have to make a very quick decision now. I would appreciate any info or advise.

I just got offered a 2dr 2007 Wrangler Sahara with soft top ~130K miles and A/T. All original vehicle with no modifications. 1 owner clean title. However the owner is a restaurant owner and last few years was using it to carry raw meat and various food into the restaurant so it stinks inside and need very deep cleaning. Overall interior condition is bad (ripped seats, and badly leaking soft top). It was garaged for the most of it's life but still got showered many times. Wear and tear on exterior as well (normal for 13 year old NYC truck).

Mechanically sounds OK. The owner claimed engine does not consumes oil. 2 Years ago the transmission was replaced with a used one,
Also claimed to be rust free. No lights, all electric works. But this all very questionable. I expect hidden mechanical problems.

The owner trying to get rid of it asap and offering it for a pretty good price (~4K).

I will be looking at it Sunday morning (busy all day tomorrow) and either walk away or buy it.
If I will not buy it it will be sold to a local Jeep shop which will build a rock crawler out of it for sale.

What to look and check?

I understand simple stuff and can diagnose engine/tranny issues. But what else? I never dealt with wranglers before.
My scam radar is beeping badly - the owner mentioned that he don't want to drive it at all. So I expect a hidden issue.

Thank you all for your help!
 
The 2007-2011 JKs don't hold value very well, which I blame entirely on the fact that the 3.8 engine that came in them is a genuine turd. I realize that will offend some, but that is not my intention. I'm just saying that having owned many, many TJs, the 4.0 in the TJ is basically just as powerful as the 3.8, however it is way more reliable.

The 3.8 has oil consumption issues, and the 42RLE automatic transmission they paired with it is a very poor transmission IMHO (I've owned plenty of 42RLEs and don't think I've ever hated a transmission more).

If it doesn't burn oil, has a newer transmission, and is indeed rust free, I would say the price is good. However, without seeing photos of it, my scam radar is also going off quite a bit. It's priced so low that my gut just tells me something serious is wrong with it.
 
Thank you for your reply. This Jeep was sold yesterday. So I'm back to looking for an old dodge truck.