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WTB 2012-2017 2dr Jeep Wrangler

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mr72

mr72

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Cedar Park, Texas, USA
Thought I'd put feelers out on here, trustworthy people to buy from.

My daughter is looking for a 2012 or later Jeep JK 2dr Wrangler with manual transmission and a hard top. A "Sport" model is preferred, with as few owner or dealer installed "upgrades" as possible.

Ideally she'd like a totally stock 2dr Wrangler Sport manual 6sp with under 80K miles on it.

Budget is $20K absolute max. Which should explain why we're not looking for something that's got someone's idea of upgrades already installed.

Manual transmission and 2dr are must have. Hard top is nice to have, but we can swap that.
 
Looks like your raising the kids right. I'm on the hunt for an old manual for the kids to learn in. I've got a few years though. Good luck with the search.
 
My kids are already raised :) They both learned to drive in my Miata with a manual. Both of them first two cars were manuals, Hannah is looking for the Jeep which would be a replacement for her Fiat 500 Sport, which is a manual. She won't have it any other way.
 
I know nothing about jeeps -- please tell me why those certain years.
Also what does the sport have that no-sport does not have.
Thanks
Dan
 
Sport is the base model. Basically don't want to pay more for a Rubicon or Sahara or whatever other trim package.

And 2012 is when they did the interior updates which are well worth it, plus she doesn't want a car older than the one she has. 2017/8 was the last year of JK.
 
I'm a fan of the TJ 1997-2006. It is basically a fancy Willy's jeep. It's 1960-1990 perfected but it's still an old rough ride that's 25 years old. The new ones really improved handling along with a lot of other things. If only they kept the 4.0 I6.
 
ntklr650 said:
. The new ones really improved handling along with a lot of other things. If only they kept the 4.0 I6.
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Maybe it's just me, but I think 95 more HP and more torque across the whole rev range while actually getting better fuel economy in a lighter and more compact package is an improvement. But in any case, the JK is enough heavier and bigger wind profile to make that klunky old heavy cast iron engine totally incapable of powering it.

Case in point, the 3.8L "mini van v6" that first came in the 2007 JKs was derided as way too weak for the platform, and it has 18 more HP and more torque than the old AMC 4.0. And even with the pentastar 3.6, Jeep owners routinely complained there wasn't enough power once they farkled them out with 150lb wheels and tires and 800 lb of accessories bolted on, and in the JL FCA responded with a more powerful and much more torquey turbo 4cyl and even the V8 option.

If I had space to park it, I'd probably have a MT XJ or LJ with that old AMC motor. But a JK is like 1000 lb heavier than an XJ, needs a more powerful engine. Simple as that.
 
We have had a few XJ's in the family and they do have a special place. I had a 91 2 door with a 5 speed manual. Still regret selling that thing. The engine was by far the easiest thing to work on and it just went.

NM back in the day had a fleet of XJ's for a rural transport service taking older people from the reservations to doctor appointments and most of them had close to 500k on that I6.
 
I have a 2-door manual but it is a 2011 and not sure I would sell it anyway.

I bought it in 2013. I am the second owner. It was completely stock when I bought it. I have made some "upgrades" but retained most of the stock appearance. It has the 3.8 but I have not had any problems with the motor (95k miles). I had 4.56 gears installed to turn 35 inch tires. IMO the 2-doors look awesome with 35 inch tires and a 3-3.5 inch lift! The transmission and suspension have been great but I will not win any drag races : )

Good luck with the search. Hope she finds a nice one! They are so much fun to drive.

I wished I still had the CJ7 I drove in high school...



Jeep1.jpg
 
Well, she found one that's close to just right on Carvana, should be here Wednesday. Turns out she was adamant about not wanting a silver one, and it's surprising how many like that were for sale. And it's really tough to find one without 33+ inch tires and a lift. The 4-door JKs are much more common for sale used as well.

After doing a ton of VIN checks to rule out 6sp JKs with 3.21 gears and filtering out the wrong colors or those with lifts and 33+ inch tires she found a black JK sport with good old crank windows and the stock 16" steelies still on it. Only thing missing is a hard top, but that's easy enough to find for sale locally used, and this one was wired from the factory for both tops. She did the entire process including the financing from Capital One from her laptop in about 15 minutes. Sure beats the old days of buying used cars.
 
Sounds like a nice Jeep. Finding one in nice shape that has not been lifted is always difficult.
 
No kidding. She didn't want a Jeep for off-roading or as a testosterone substitute mall crawler, but just for a classic styled modern vehicle that's tough enough to not worry about driving over curbs or rutted gravel roads, big enough to take a couple of young adult sized passengers or carry her music equipment to a gig, which are increasingly at country wedding venue type places with off pavement parking unsuited to her little Fiat. 4wd is a bonus. Dad knows how to work on it and has a garage full of spare parts is a super bonus.

At least with this one she'll be pretty confident it's never been driven off road or likely abused by some bro trying to impress his neighbors.
 
Sounds like you are in the market for a JK model. They have a lot of great amenities. Just in case you are look for one, I have a nicely built 2002 TJ two door with a 4.0 standard that I'm going to sell. It has a reasonable lift, off road tires, winch, stinger front bumper. Comes with a hard top, soft top, bikini top, half doors, real doors, etc. It has been a road queen since I purchased and built it about 6 years ago.
 
Moto Gal said:
Sounds like you are in the market for a JK model. They have a lot of great amenities. Just in case you are look for one, I have a nicely built 2002 TJ two door with a 4.0 standard that I'm going to sell. It has a reasonable lift, off road tires, winch, stinger front bumper. Comes with a hard top, soft top, bikini top, half doors, real doors, etc. It has been a road queen since I purchased and built it about 6 years ago.
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Post yours up on the sale forum when your ready. It's sounds like a nice one.
 
I can't add much about the Jeeps but that Chrysler 3.8L has been good to me. We need a valve job but mine is at 218K. In the 4200 pound mini van I have towed a 2500 dual axle trailer a thousand miles no problem. The van before it with same 3.8L also was passed 200K when we dumped it because of a bad tranny. I would think they have the power but it is different than what extreme jeeps do.
 
My [likely] <4100 lb Wrangler Unlimited with 33" tires, 3.72 axle ratio and 6sp manual transmission with the 3.6L 285hp V6 will do 0-60 in under 8 seconds, maybe close to 7.0 if you really lean on it. Which I don't.

The big problem with the 3.8 is that it's like 87 lb heavier than the 3.6 that replaced it, and also has 83-90 less hp and 28 fewer lb-ft of torque, and the newer engine makes the torque peak at a little bit lower rpm, but the torque CURVE is way different, very flat from about 1800 rpm on up until it starts to taper off at like 5200 rpm.

1661798763427.png

Once you are turning bigger than stock wheels or tires or trying to climb a very steep grade, this big power and meaningful torque difference really shows up in real world performance, not to mention shedding nearly 100 lb of weight over the front axle.

With a mostly stock, stock wheel/tire size 2-door JK driven primarily on the street with excursions into off-road besides graded gravel roads, it's probably fine. But I've been driving my JKU lightly loaded in real off-road situations and there's NO WAY I would want nearly 90 lb more weight in the front end and 1/3 less power.

Plus, there's wind. For example, while driving in Wyoming heading west into a really serious headwind on I-80, I had my Jeep pedal flat on the floor in 6th gear and the maximum speed it would go was about 50 mph. Once driving down to South Padre Island following my wife in her Expedition the speed limit on the interstate was like 70 or 75 mph and with the typical south wind that time of year it took the pedal flat on the floor to keep up with my wife in 6th gear. I don't know how you'd drive one of these things in the wind on the highway with the 3.8. I guess you'd be ringing it out in 3rd gear and get about 8 mpg. A JK, BTW, has a cD of about 0.5-0.6.

A minivan is a whole different animal aerodynamically. I can see how you could get away with 200 hp with an automatic transmission in a vehicle with much lower rolling resistance and a cD more like 0.33... nearly half the drag of a Jeep JK.

So given aerodynamics and intended use, I can definitely see why that 3.8 would be totally acceptable in a minivan and totally inadequate in a Wrangler.
 
Welp, the Carvana Jeep fell through. After a number of delays, they finally called to inform her that they discovered it was not as described, namely it had no AC (which I don't believe) and that it needed expensive brake repair (which I also don't really believe, but anyway...). So she canceled it.

Now she's back in the market.

Again, anyone else know of a Jeep for sale, or have one, she has cash and is ready to buy.

Jeep Wrangler JK 2012+ <80K miles
2-door, manual 6sp transmission
prefer minimal or no mods and hard top
any color but silver
 
mr72 said:
Yeah, those are in Illinois and Arizona... maybe too far to go check out. I am hoping to find one within 3 hrs of Austin.
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Completely understand the distance. Plus I'm not sure I would want anything from Illinois with the potential for salt issues.
I'll keep looking as living vicariously through other people disposable income is a favorite pass time of mine. ( I am always looking at classifieds so I might as well be helpful)
 
ntklr650 said:
dallas.craigslist.org

Excellent Condition! - 2012 Jeep Wrangler Sport 2 Door - Soft top -...

Excellent Condition! - 2012 Jeep Wrangler Sport 2 Door - Soft top * CLEAN Texas Title, no liens. * Low mileage: 73k miles * Both exterior and interior are taken good care of. * Newly installed LED...
dallas.craigslist.org
Click to expand...

Thanks Michael. We actually called about that one, and were ready to go to Dallas and check it out but the seller will *only* take cash in the form of regular currency, not any kind of electronic transfer or a check of any kind. And since he can only show it between 6 and 9 pm, it's basically impossible to go up to Dallas, check it out and test drive it, and then go over to the bank and withdraw $17,000+. I guess he expects people have $20K worth of walking around money, because otherwise he's not going to sell it. I'd have to say most $17K car buyers are going to need a loan anyway.
 
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