2005 Liberty Jeep Limited

[ssheldon]

Hello! I currently have a 2007 Liberty Jeep Limited, and my husband and I love it. We bought the 2007 6 years ago at $9500 with 82k miles and it now has 144k. My husbands vehicle died recently and we just saw a 2005 Jeep Liberty Limited (in another color) with only 36,400 miles. It's in excellent condition but we would still get an inspection. The dealer has it at 19,995.00, which seems crazy to me for a 2005 even with the low miles. I know the market has changed but to that extreme? Advice needed! Thank you.

 

[klc]

Good grief! I see used Wranglers going for less than that over here.

 

[ltd02]

That seems like a ridiculous price to me. It's not really a collector vehicle. Inspection would be critical! Sometimes too few miles is just as bad as too many. I had an 05 limited that I bought in 2016 with 42k on it. It had a lot of little things wrong with it. Bushings and boots etc. I could do that stuff myself but made sure the dealer selling it knew and priced accordingly. Still not sure how they put an inspection sticker on it...

 

[seafish]

Unless it comes with lifetime oil changes and a reputable "bumper to bumper" 5 year warranty, (and maybe even a chauffeur ) , that price is WAY too high.

That said, if the dealer already suspects that you "love it", then you are going to have to work them down hard to something much more reasonable. Of course, reasonable also partly depends on what you can afford.

More importantly, while low original miles on a used car is always good, you should know that anything made with rubber or plastic, continues to degrade even when the vehicle is not being driven, especially if it has been kept outside. That means a VERY close inspection of ALL of the suspension and driveline components and if there is any cracking or looseness on the bushings etc, you are looking at several thousand dollars in replacement parts and labor at the very least.

ALSO due to UV degradation, you will need to closely inspect ALL door gaskets and window seals for their integrity. And while your there looking at doors and windows, you may as well carefully look for proper and accurate body panel alignments to try to make sure that the Jeep has NOT been involved in a collision that maybe wasn't reported.

Dont forget about the tires...if they are older then 6 years and the car was kept outside, they will also likely need replacing, no matter the tread depth,

The above statements are somewhat mitigated if you can ACCURATELY determine that the vehicle was garage kept while not being driven, but if it has been stored outside for most of its life, then fair warning that you'll be looking at additional parts and repairs, even on an otherwise low mileage car.

And of course as an existing KJ owner, you already know that oem parts are getting harder to find and ever more expensive for these great little trucks.

 

[ssheldon]

Unless it comes with lifetime oil changes and a reputable "bumper to bumper" 5 year warranty, that price is WAY too high.

That said, if the dealer already suspects that you "love it", then you are going to have to work them down hard to something much more reasonable, and reasonable also partly depends on what you can afford.

More importantly, while low original miles on a used car is always good, you should know that anything made from, or including rubber or plastic, continues to degrade even when the vehicle is not being driven. That means a VERY close inspection of ALL of the suspension and driveline components and if there is any cracking or looseness on the bushings etc, you are looking at several thousand dollars in replacement parts and labor at the very least.

ALSO due to UV degradation, you will need to closely inspect ALL door gaskets and window seals for their integrity and while your there looking you may as well look at body panel alignment just to make sure that the Jeep has NOT been involved in a collision.

Dont forget about the tires...if they are older then 5 years, they will also likely need replacing.

The above statements are somewhat mitigated if you can ACCURATELY determine that the vehicle was garage kept while not being driven, but if it has been stored outside for most of its life, then fair warning that youll be looking at additional parts and repairs, even on an otherwise low mileage car.

And of course you already know that oem parts are getting harder to find for the great little trucks.

Thank you all for the responses!

 

[ssheldon]

@seafish @ltd02 @klc

Thought I'd call the small dealership with a few questions to see if maybe they priced it wrong Salesman said the price is correct because it's a diesel engine which is hard to find, and it came from out west (Horicon he said?) so there is zero rust. A one-owner, no accidents (per carfax that I can see when I come out). After a little research I know it's been for sale there since December. My guess is they won't budge much on price, so I won't even bother driving out to take a look. I'm sure they have my number if they have caller ID. So, is a diesel engine really worth that much of a price jump? and would I even want a diesel? lol

 

[seafish]

So, is a diesel engine really worth that much of a price jump? and would I even want a diesel? lol

Well the diesel IS a premium engine, but certainly not worth THAT much more ... Also YOU need to be prepared for the higher maintenance and repair costs of the CRD as compared to the V6.
Furthermore, parts for the CRD in particular are getting even harder to find then parts for the KJ in general. That said, there is a hard core and knowledgeable CRD community that continues paving at least a trail to the future with some aftermarket parts and stuff which actually enhance the engine and keep it running right.
That said, while the advice is always free, the parts are not.

 

[seafish]

and would I even want a diesel? lol

This actually is an excellent and CRUCIAL question.

IMO you should at least test drive a CRD to see if you like it.
The ONLY problem with test driving one is that you and your hubby might easily fall even farther in love with that CRD...it is a torquey little beast that snorts on startup and is defiantly fun to drive.

But with that said, there IS something practical in maintaining 2 vehicles that use COMPLETELY interchangeable parts!!! And that would NOT be the case if you purchase the KJ CRD to go along with the KJ V6 you already have...of course body and some drive train parts would still be the same, but hey would be subject to different maintenance schedules and engine parts with the CRD likely being slightly more costly to maintain and definitely more costly to repair.

just my .02

 

[duderz7]

If you have to ask the question...most likely you do not want a CRD. Diesels in general require more maintenance and it's my understanding that diesel mechanics don't know their way around the quirky and unique CRD including dealers. It seems that many owners find themselves subject to their own expertise with the CRD engine.

 

[turblediesel]

Run.

Unless you wrench for a hobby. Even then, at that price, run. That's a "last year's model" price for a 20 year old used vehicle.

Diesel's eighty cents per gallon more than gasoline here so no win there.

"mbornTX" On the LOSTJEEPS forum just posted an '05 Liberty CRD with all the cool stuff and upgrades for $6500.00 in Houston for comparison.

 

[Billwill]

Love my 2002 2.5L manual CRD...the first models came out as 2.5 Litres!

Diesel is cheaper here in SA than Petrol....that which you refer to as "Gas"

Trouble is that all KJs are difficult to maintain here as the Dealers do not support them and genuine spares are hard to get.

I have recently replaced the Flywheel, Clutch and Crankshaft rear oil seal with local parts...next step is to replace all Shocks....any new problems will pretty much lead to my Jeepy being scrapped though!

 

[seafish]

I don't want to derail this thread too much, but I easily remember my more youthful days, when diesel fuel was cheaper then gas here in the US as well. Of course, that is how it should be, as diesel was, and still IS, a much less refined product then gasoline which costs less to refine/manufacture.

About 20 years ago, I read a well sourced business article about how US based refineries had found it profitable to export domestically sourced and refined diesel fuel to other countries where demand for it, and thus wholesale prices paid for it, were higher then here in the US. The price difference was, in fact, so great that it paid for the shipping costs and still allowed for increased profit for the producers and refineries.

But shipping US diesel overseas then had a downstream price effect on the US domestic market... With the same domestic demand for diesel (mostly OTR trucking and other heavy transport) , but less supply available due to the exports, big oil companies and refineries were then ALSO able to start charging MORE for diesel sold here, despite it still being a cheaper product to manufacture/refine.

Win/Win for them and of course a big lose for US diesel consumers.

All this may have changed since then, but i DO know that diesel prices NEVER went back below gas prices here in the US since that point in time.

 

[Ksat]

You're dating yourself, seafish, if you actually remember the good ol' days when diesel was cheaper

The gas crisis of the 70's made the public and car manufacturers consider diesel as an alternative, as it was significantly cheaper at the time. Car manufacturers rushed either new engines or converted existing gasoline engines out the door to power their cars and light trucks. Because of this, demand for the fuel eventually went up and, of course, so did the price.

I think the cost for diesel never came down, in part, for the reason you stated- refineries realized it was something they probably had been undercharging for. Diesel has more BTU's than gas and engines that run on it typically get much better mileage, so they probably asked themselves why were they selling it so cheap. I think the other part of the puzzle is that states realized diesel was something they could also charge more tax on. In the modern day, I'm sure even more tax is applied to diesel considering its rather bad-for-the-environment reputation.

You are correct in that diesel is dirt cheap to make, It's not much different than home heating oil, which itself is like not even 2 steps from coming out of the ground.

 

[Deb'nKJ]

I assumed the price was a misprint but it's obviously priced not to sell - ever (even the $6500 mentioned is 1000% o-t-t A clear case of confusing rare with desirable.

 

[blackhawk]

Old vehicles with low mileage can have some hidden engine problems...... The condensation due to lack of continuous use may cause horrible problems.

 

[turblediesel]

I assumed the price was a misprint but it's obviously priced not to sell - ever (even the $6500 mentioned is 1000% o-t-t A clear case of confusing rare with desirable.

Lift, bumper, and all the CRD engine preservation modifications add up to many thousands more than it's worth. Had I known what mine would cost I would have picked something else.

 

[Masterbrewer]

I don't want to derail this thread too much, but I easily remember my more youthful days, when diesel fuel was cheaper then gas here in the US as well. Of course, that is how it should be, as diesel was, and still IS, a much less refined product then gasoline which costs less to refine/manufacture.

About 20 years ago, I read a well sourced business article about how US based refineries had found it profitable to export domestically sourced and refined diesel fuel to other countries where demand for it, and thus wholesale prices paid for it, were higher then here in the US. The price difference was, in fact, so great that it paid for the shipping costs and still allowed for increased profit for the producers and refineries.

But shipping US diesel overseas then had a downstream price effect on the US domestic market... With the same domestic demand for diesel (mostly OTR trucking and other heavy transport) , but less supply available due to the exports, big oil companies and refineries were then ALSO able to start charging MORE for diesel sold here, despite it still being a cheaper product to manufacture/refine.

Win/Win for them and of course a big lose for US diesel consumers.

All this may have changed since then, but i DO know that diesel prices NEVER went back below gas prices here in the US since that point in time.

Actually the main reason for diesel costing more was when the EPA required sulfur be removed from diesel. It added extra steps to the refining. This increased the cost and decreased the amount of energy in the fuel. I didn’t know this either so I asked my son who was involved in setting up refineries what caused the increased cost.