Settle a bet - Modified Mj Values...

[big66440]

Id gor for #3 myself, then #2 and finally I wouldn't consider #1. For those of you saying that #1 and #2 wouldnt be road legal in your state,why is that? I thought it couldn't get worse than being a car guy and living in pesky California.

[Doc.]

In MN, bumper height and tires sticking out will get ya.  

[Eagle]

For those of you saying that #1 and #2 wouldnt be road legal in your state,why is that? I thought it couldn't get worse than being a car guy and living in pesky California.

I'm in Connecticut. Our motor vehicle regulations don't allow for the tires to extend outboard of the bodywork. On both #1 and #2 they do. Connecticut also has a 4" limit on how much a vehicle can be raised above stock. That means body lift (which I know doesn't apply to MJs), suspension lift, and larger tires. Both #1 and #2 are much, much more than 4 inches higher than stock.

 

Here's a link that summarizes the situation for the Northeast states: http://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/suspension-brakes/131-1010-lift-laws-you-need-to-know/

[64 Cheyenne]

I'm older than 50, so it wouldn't worry me one bit to take a stroked converted MJ and wheel the piss out of it.....you only live once and I want to spend more time wheeling than wrenchin...#1 all the way....someone else can fix the paint when I'm gone lol.

[ComancheKid45]

If you get no change back I'm all for #1....I'll drive the heck outta that!

[schardein]

3-2-1

 

Although I'm hoping #3 has the 4.0!

 

#2 would need a lot of changes to suit my taste

 

#1 I would completely pass on the deal.  As others have mentioned, I'm not interested in someone else's project.  And, I'm not interested in an MJ as a hardcore wheeler.  

[Bonkers]

What's the bet?

I actually had two bets going - the second was $10 scratch-off that

if I posted a question with a "wrong" picture the tread would devolve

by the 12th post... so lost on that one, looks like it started going

off rails on #19... For the record, none of these pics were as described,

I just took three random shots from my GBR list...

 

The original bet started with a conversation on Facebook with DVHarris's

soon to be for sale 1992 Mj. I made several comments that he should not

touch anything because a stock Mj is ALWAYS worth more than a modified

rig, even if its broken. Another memeber insists that "casual" upgrading

is not only acceptable, but can actually improve the value. My take is

that nobody trusts an amatuers work - if any mods are made they only

possess the value of the shop that does the work - AND if that shop will

back its work. So an experiment was designed - take 3 rigs;

1) Modified Unicorn Done Perfect By a Professional Shop.

2) Modified Desirable Very Well Done By an Amatuer Wrencher.

3) Unmodified Desirable with no Work at All.

 

$20 says - If someone had $10,000 sitting in the bank they are going to

spend it on a truck they can modify to their liking. So far it looks

like dinner will be free tonight...

[Eagle]

The original bet started with a conversation on Facebook with DVHarris's

soon to be for sale 1992 Mj. I made several comments that he should not

touch anything because a stock Mj is ALWAYS worth more than a modified

rig, even if its broken. Another memeber insists that "casual" upgrading

is not only acceptable, but can actually improve the value. My take is

that nobody trusts an amatuers work - if any mods are made they only

possess the value of the shop that does the work - AND if that shop will

back its work.

I'm 100% on your side. And for me the same applies to Jeeps, firearms, or houses. Some years ago I looked at a house that was in my price range and looked good in the listing. On the way to see it the broker told me that the seller was a single woman and that some relative (an uncle, IIRC) was helping her out by fixing up some things to get the house ready to sell.

 

OMFG! Doors that weren't straight. New roof shingles that looked like they were put down by a drunk at midnight. And it just got worse from there. After about five minutes I told the agent I was not interested. I also suggested that he tell the woman if she wanted to sell the house NOT to let her [uncle] touch one single thing more.

 

I bought my '88 MJ Chief with a lift installed NOT because it had a lift, but because it was an MJ and I wanted to rescue it from the dweeb who had been hacking on it. The selling price was a lot lower than what he was asking, and I wasn't about to go a penny higher. I ran it with the lift for two years, I think, then took it out and put the suspension back to factory configuration. Working on a truck like that is an exercise in ambivalence for me -- I HATE seeing what people do to perfectly good vehicles, but I derive a lot of satisfaction when I'm able to satisfactorily undue the destruction.

 

The bottom line is that, for most people, NOBODY else would modify a Jeep exactly the way you would want it. And for that reason, IMHO it's just plain silly to expect someone else to pay top dollar for your mo=difications.

[Minuit]

A pre-modified MJ is worthless to me. If I'm going to be driving a 3300lb death machine at 70+ mph for hours at a time, I want to know 100% for sure that it's roadworthy (and I have a pretty conservative definition of roadworthy) I also assume that most people don't care about doing the job right, and take absolutely no pride in their work. I can trust work from two sources: myself and the Jeep factory. If I screw something up, at least I know I'm the one who screwed it up. Basically, I have to know that the vehicle is not a danger to myself or anyone else, and I can't be sure of that if someone else had their way with it.

[Doc.]

I'd like to bring up a small point of view. I've sold a few Cherokees over the years. I got more for the modified ones than I did for the ones left stock. The modified ones sold faster too. Bear in mind it has been a few years since I've done this, and results would probably not be the same in todays market place being there are so many modified XJ's now available. I would think with the smaller amount of nice MJ's available a stock one could be more desirable, but one with minor mods (say done right 3 inch lift 31's) could be more desirable to a good portion of buyers.

[Bonkers]

Thats kinda my point though Doc, i think

"Done right" is a WILDLY subjective term

when is comes to what people would pay.With

Sports and Muscle cars theres a forumla for

Mods - youll increase the selling price 0.10$

for every $1 you put into it. So, do i think

youll get another $500 on your asking price

if you add a lift, winch bumper, and new

tires? Yeah, i think that might be possible...

 

Realistically though, i think if youre going

to sell then the best return on your investment

is to stop all work immediately...