Shopping for KJ

[bguetter]

Hi all, just joined. I have my 05 Pathfinder for sale (2wd). Its been a good suv, owned it since new and never had a problem. Its 2wd and im looking at 4wd vehicles as more and more i find myself camping, mtn biking, etc and would like to venture further offroad. I have owned a wrangler in the past and have always liked the jeep brand.

Im looking to spend around $8k. Seems like i can find many Sport models in that range. Is the Renegade worth the extra? Other than skid plates, what would i be missing over a sport? How much are aftermarket skids? THis will be my daily driver but im sure it will be offroad 2-3x per month.

How concerned with mileage should i be. Common problems on KJs that come with higher mileage? In my price range, most of the KJs are 80k miles or more.

My other choice is a 2004 land rover discovery (they put the center lock diff back in the 04's), great offroad, but horrible with gas and reliability/maintenance is iffy and costly.

 

[HoosierJeeper]

On the 02-04 Reney's, other than standard skids and hook, was the lightbar, and heavy duty alternator. Other than that, it's the same.


And (welcome)

 

[bguetter]

Ok, just did some more searching and found that the renegade is mostly appearance. I'll prob stick to Sport/Limited models and add a few items like skid plates, rock sliders, tow hooks, etc as i go.

Good sites for aftermarket KJ gear? Seems not a whole lot out there.

 

[Jeepin05]

This thread goes into detail of the differences between the Renegade and the Sport/Limited - http://www.jeepkj.com/forum/showthread.php?t=40583. It's mostly cosmetic, the Renegade generally came with skid plates and potentially the towing package. They have cooler looking fender flares, but I think you'd be happy with a Sport.

I would agree that a KJ is more reliable than a Land Rover, I have also heard of reliability issues on those and the KJ isn't too bad. The KJ could be better on gas, but it isn't extremely terrible either. I just went on a 1,800 mile trip to TN and averaged about 20.5mpg completely stock. I think the key would be to ensure that all the recalls have been serviced.

80k is a little high on mileage but some of the forum members have upwards of 150k on their 3.7l KJ and seem to be happy. Lately posts have been popping up regarding radiator replacement, that may be something to keep an eye out for.

Hope this helps, I'm sure others will chime in with other key info.

 

[HoosierJeeper]

For new parts (and majority of parts) are from Mopar. AllJ products carries most non Mopar parts....

 

[HoosierJeeper]

One more thing- All 02's and half of the 03's came with the 45RFE, which is stronger than a 42RLE. And 3/4 of the 02's rode an inch higher, but now there sagged out enough that it's not noticeable.

 

[yellocoyote]

Ok, just did some more searching and found that the renegade is mostly appearance. I'll prob stick to Sport/Limited models and add a few items like skid plates, rock sliders, tow hooks, etc as i go.

Good sites for aftermarket KJ gear? Seems not a whole lot out there.

Where are you located? I know someone locally that is selling their modded KJ... in case you're interested.

 

[ChiefRudy]

On the 02-04 Reney's, other than standard skids and hook, was the lightbar, and heavy duty alternator. Other than that, it's the same.


And (welcome)

Don't Renny's also come with the HD version of the Command-Trac?

 

[guitarzan]

The Renie may be worth it *IF* you can find one that doesn't have the skids and/or other items deleted. I just bought an '07 Sport yesterday (9073 miles on the clock!). I decided to go ahead and get it because the low miles made the difference. Every and I mean *EVERY* Renie I looked at was missing the skids and only one had the light bar. To me, in the '06-07 year range, it was no where near worth the difference in price.

'06 Renie Khaki w/31,000 miles, no skids, no top light bar... $17900

'07 Sport green w/9073 miles, stripped down, never off pavement ... $16,000

Those are just starting prices, but I can buy a LOT of stuff for the difference. And I can add on what I want.

Also, the chances of getting a KJ that hasn't been run hard is much easier in the Sport model. There's more to chose from.

 

[kb0nly]

I got an 03' Sport with 44k on it for $6000, it looked like some soccer mom used it twice a week, mint inside, very clean.

Good deals are out there!

Of course i have put a couple grand into improvements but thats inevitable with any vehicle i own.