Buying Jeep Comanche

[robbie95]

Hey guys, my first post here.. been kinda lurking the forums trying to learn as much as I can. I've been looking for a jeep comanche in my area for about 2-3 months now and finally came across one, only problem is that it has 233k miles on it. Haven't seen for myself but the man says it has one rust spot on the passenger's side door and that is it, oh btw the motor is a 4.0l I6.

I'm gonna probably go look at it sometime soon, anything I should look for to see if it has been well maintained?

[CoryMJ89]

Make sure no front end damage front frame horns can be tweaked with the right amount of impact and bed the unibody

[relyt120]

There's not much that can't be overcome.

Many a MJ has seen that many miles and still road off into the sunset so don't let that deter you, if it runs well.

Check for rust under the carpet, at the rockers and fender flares. Also check the frame rails for rust.

If it is a manual check and see if any of the fuses are melted from a leaking clutch master cylinder, that can be a lot of work to fix, or a simple fix depending on severity.

If it runs drive it, make sure it shifts well just as you wood any other vehicle.

Check the fluids, i find that if someone claims that a vehicle is well maintained then it aught to have good fluid levels when you look at it.

Be wary though as some sellers may top off the fluids to give the illusion of regular maintenance.

Try as many of the electronics as you can if you can, non functioning blinkers, headlights, break lights, radio, etc can be symptoms of rotten wiring. If one or two things don't work it may have an easy fix but just be aware there be gremlins.

 

If you don't find anything that you don't think you can handle and it runs well then snatch it up, but if its a POS that needs every single thing replaced and you don't have the time, money, or patience to bring it back to its former glory then bide your time and find a nicer one.

 

I'm sure I forgot something here but this is what I would go through in my head if looking at another MJ.

[ftpiercecracker1]

There's not much that can't be overcome.

Many a MJ has seen that many miles and still road off into the sunset so don't let that deter you, if it runs well.

Check for rust under the carpet, at the rockers and fender flares. Also check the frame rails for rust.

If it is a manual check and see if any of the fuses are melted from a leaking clutch master cylinder, that can be a lot of work to fix, or a simple fix depending on severity.

If it runs drive it, make sure it shifts well just as you wood any other vehicle.

Check the fluids, i find that if someone claims that a vehicle is well maintained then it aught to have good fluid levels when you look at it.

Be wary though as some sellers may top off the fluids to give the illusion of regular maintenance.

Try as many of the electronics as you can if you can, non functioning blinkers, headlights, break lights, radio, etc can be symptoms of rotten wiring. If one or two things don't work it may have an easy fix but just be aware there be gremlins.

 

If you don't find anything that you don't think you can handle and it runs well then snatch it up, but if its a POS that needs every single thing replaced and you don't have the time, money, or patience to bring it back to its former glory then bide your time and find a nicer one.

 

I'm sure I forgot something here but this is what I would go through in my head if looking at another MJ.

 

 

:teehee:

[dasbulliwagen]

True about the milage on these. The 4.0 can go almost forever if taken care of, They do like to leak oil though, but thats not usually a huge problem, as the rear main seal can be done without removing the trans, and all other gaskets are accessable. My 2.5 liter is coming up on 211,000 miles on its current engine, original owner replaced it at 140,000 due to oil leaks... CRAZY! Like was said, check underneath for rust, but otherwise once you start driving one, youll be in LOVE!

[robbie95]

Thanks, got another call today from an old man that has 3 of them and he is willing to part with them, he told me one might have had rats in it but the odometer reads 78k miles, one is his daily driver with around 188k on it, and the other I have no idea about it. What damage can rats do to an engine exactly besides ruining the wiring?

[relyt120]

 

There's not much that can't be overcome.

Many a MJ has seen that many miles and still road off into the sunset so don't let that deter you, if it runs well.

Check for rust under the carpet, at the rockers and fender flares. Also check the frame rails for rust.

If it is a manual check and see if any of the fuses are melted from a leaking clutch master cylinder, that can be a lot of work to fix, or a simple fix depending on severity.

If it runs drive it, make sure it shifts well just as you wood any other vehicle.

Check the fluids, i find that if someone claims that a vehicle is well maintained then it aught to have good fluid levels when you look at it.

Be wary though as some sellers may top off the fluids to give the illusion of regular maintenance.

Try as many of the electronics as you can if you can, non functioning blinkers, headlights, break lights, radio, etc can be symptoms of rotten wiring. If one or two things don't work it may have an easy fix but just be aware there be gremlins.

 

If you don't find anything that you don't think you can handle and it runs well then snatch it up, but if its a POS that needs every single thing replaced and you don't have the time, money, or patience to bring it back to its former glory then bide your time and find a nicer one.

 

I'm sure I forgot something here but this is what I would go through in my head if looking at another MJ.

 

 

:teehee:

lol i guess thats what happens when i'm on CC at 2 am!

[jimoshel]

Thanks, got another call today from an old man that has 3 of them and he is willing to part with them, he told me one might have had rats in it but the odometer reads 78k miles, one is his daily driver with around 188k on it, and the other I have no idea about it. What damage can rats do to an engine exactly besides ruining the wiring?

Pee on any and everything that can be rusted, eroded, corroded or just plain jambed up.

[TheDirtyJeep401]

That kind of depends on the use of the MJ, like if it is going to be a daily driver or project, or maybe both. but these are the things id look for:

 

If its a Daily driver look/check for

Rust (floorboards, rocker panels, body damage etc)

Lights, at least make sure that the electrical works, light bulbs are easily replaced

Gauges believe me, you want your fuel gauge and spedometer 

Clutch/Transmission, make sure the clutch actually works(If its a standard), and that all gears work properly

Check under the hood, see if they have torn the crap out of it or if it was well maintained. 

 

Basically in the end, if you see or know whats wrong with it and you believe you can put the money into it to get it the way you want it, thats your choice. But if you don't think that its something worth dealing with, I wouldn't mess with it. 

 

But if you do find the one, good luck and have fun, they are good trucks!!!! :thumbsup:  . :MJ 1: .

[robbie95]

Going tomorrow to look at it, taking a good mechanic friend of mine along, so hopefully it pans out. thanks for all the replies

[robbie95]

So, I went to go look at the comanche today, may I add it was WAY back in the boonies. I'm under the impression that it runs when I get there and after about 20 minutes of talking about the car, we try to start it and it doesn't crank. My friend said it sounds like the relay something, forgot exactly what he said.. but something like that. Also he was replacing the shocks in the back so the tires were off and I couldn't drive it. The body was rust free but was in extremely poor condition from him drilling like 40 holes in the bed and in the side of the truck for some unknown reason. It was also rear ended so the back bumper is gone.. I would really love to give it a go but the guy won't get it running and I don't want to spend money on it when it's not even my truck. I might try to add some pics on here to show you what it looked like. I would give it a go if he'd just get in running for me where I can drive it around. The motor itself is a 4.0 i6 high output with 188k miles on it, the trans fluid was running low on it and it smelled a little burnt. It desperately needed an oil change but it didn't smell like anything really. The radiator had just been replaced because when he rear ended someone he also hit a car infront of him. Also, when going under the truck we saw oil was leaking but we couldn't exactly tell where it was coming from, so, so far it needs a relay something, shocks, tlc, bumpers, 1 blinker. We haven't really found anything else out about it. Might look at it again but don't really know yet. If I don't I might just buy one off someone on here or on ebay. Anyone know how much shipping a car is?

[jimoshel]

Offer him $200. Pointing out ALL the faults youve posted here. From your description of the truck  I would offer $150-$200 as is but would go as high as $400. Knowing the location would help. A $200 rust free junker in Colorado would be worth $600-800 in the rust belt. Screw, bolt holes are a pain in the butt but they can be repaired a darn sight easier than rust holes.

[AMCJeepMJ]

Shipping a car isn't cheap and may cost as much as you pay for the rig itself. Do some research but its going to be high triple-digits from across the country.