Thinking of selling the MJ

[Smokeyyank]

Talk me off the cliff.....

 

So thinking about letting the comanche go and picking up something more family friendly as my second car. I LOVE the MJ but in this past year it really hasn't gotten to be driven and isn't really effective as a second car. Issue is being only able to carry two asses and we got three. My daughter isn't old enough the really ride in it shes 3. She loves to sit in it and say shes driving but most times thats about the most action the MJ gets. The MJ isn't my daily anymore as the WJ has picked up that. I'd rather drive the MJ sometimes but can't because I need to drop the kid off at daycare. Reason this all came up is the WJ got a really bad misfire and I had to limp it home after dropping off my daughter and now it's out of commission until I can get some time. Now rationally having a second car I would have just taken that but.......MJ doesnt work. The plans I had for the MJ where to do a restomod one day but I just don't see that day happening soon. I'd hate to let it go a regret it but also don't want to just have it around because. Only vehicle I ever regretted selling was my old k5. It was fully restored and just awesome. 

 

The vehicle I'd like to get is my old benz back it was a 09 c350. Figure if I'm going to have a garage queen might as well be nice. 

 

So thoughts? 

[fiatslug87]

All I can think about is others that sold their MJs then regretting it.

 

Off the cliff yet?

[buxmj]

I think you should step away from the cliff and take a few days to really think about it. I agree with fiatslug, others have regretted it and I think you will too. Do you have a place you can store it and use it when you need it or is it even in the way?  I will never forget when a friend told me 12 years ago I should do the cash for clunkers thing with my mj, didn't even consider it but would regret ever parting with mine. 

[rylee144]

Is the few thousand you get for it enough to make a difference?  Depends how nice your truck is, could be more. 

Your daughter will love riding in the middle soon as she is old enough 

[JMO413]

You would have to pry mine out of my cold dead hands. My 5 year old doesn't want to ride in any thing but the MJ. I would guess you will definitely regret it.

[Pete M]

no little kid is going to remember the econo blah car that their dad had.

[johnj92131]

Looking for a cheap family hauler?  Buy a new car, like a Toyota Camry LE.  Simply reliable, inexpensive transportation for years to come.

My family has 3 of them, 2018 and 2019. All purchased or leased.  Last 2 purchased for 20k + tax & license.  Leased one for $250 per month.

 

Keep the MJ as your toy.  Don't look back. Having to constantly keep a marginily running vehicle as your daily driver really sucks.

 

When I finally got tired of being a slave to maintaining my VW Passat, I gave it away.

 

Then I leased a 2018 Chevy Volt for no money down and $254 per month for 3 years.  Trust me, getting rid of the Passat means I am saving $500 per month on repairs/ maintenance.  Not to mention all the time and other stuff that goes with it.

[derf]

Good advice.  I have a 2019 Subaru Crosstrek as my daily.  No temptation to mod it like I did with my XJ daily driver.  I just get in the subie and drive.  No problems, no worries, no headaches.  When my Jeeps are down, I still have transportation.

[75sv1]

I basically, did what the last two posters did. I have about 5 older cars. I put some money into them the past few years. It didn't work out well. One was my '98 XJ. So last summer I bought a used 2015 Volt with 33K on it for roughly $15. It has been reliable. Get around 40 mpg on the highway. I do run on electric back and forth to work. I did get my '81 MB 240D back on the road this past summer. Still. its getting cold, so the Volts has been the daily, this week. I did pick up two more XJs. One was to transfer the parts from my '98. Now, the other one is. Someday, I'll get back to the XJ. I will note, you will need to figure out what is possibly with your finances.  So, that includes insurance, tags-n- title etc. But something that gets 35+ mpg does help. Still, I need the XJ (or MJ) to pack and transport stuff. 

[DesertRat1991]

Keep the MJ. Sell the WJ and pick up a more modern and reliable daddy-mobile.

 

It's good to have a truck in the fleet for doing truck things.  Plus, I don't see why you can't mount the car seat in the MJ until the WJ is back on line?

[mjeff87]

I can see all sides of this....'cause I was (kinda still am) in the same boat as you.  My MJ eventually turned into a garage queen a few years ago.  Part of that was the way I built it, with virtually nowhere to legally wheel it near me  but I still kept it.  I had my TJ to use as a DD, and used the MJ occasionally for a fun drive to work or when I needed it as a pickup.  Then the TJ died and I got my KJ, which became my primary vehicle.  Regrettably I sold the MJ to a good 'ol boy down here who lived further out in the county and really wanted it.  I took comfort in the fact that I knew he was going to do the wheeling in it that I couldn't and built it for (and not turn around and flip it or strip all the good parts off it and junk the body).  I miss it every day.

 

Everything was going great until the KJ died and I didn't have a backup vehicle.  I ended up getting my Focus that I'm driving now just to get around in while I repair the KJ and return it to DD/winter driving duty.  My plan was to dump the Focus once the KJ was back online, but it was such a hassle not having a primary vehicle to drive until I got it that I'm going to just keep it now.  My experience has taught me to never be stuck without a reliable backup vehicle ever again.

[JustEmptyEveryPocket]

3 hours ago, johnj92131 said:

Looking for a cheap family hauler?  Buy a new car, like a Toyota Camry LE.  Simply reliable, inexpensive transportation for years to come.

My family has 3 of them, 2018 and 2019. All purchased or leased.  Last 2 purchased for 20k + tax & license.  Leased one for $250 per month.

 

Keep the MJ as your toy.  Don't look back. Having to constantly keep a marginily running vehicle as your daily driver really sucks.

 

When I finally got tired of being a slave to maintaining my VW Passat, I gave it away.

I take the exact opposite approach to this. No sniping intended here, just giving another viewpoint.

 

Get 2 old (Pre 1996) vehicles. Make sure you get them cheaply, make sure they match. Wrench on them yourself, learn everything about them. Never put on expensive parts or upgrade parts. Just keep them safe & reliable. And I say get two in case on breaks down, you flip into the other one while you repair the first. Keep your eye open for "parting out" sales that match your vehicle choice. No such thing as too many spare parts.

 

I have never (and will never) own a new car for one very simple reason: I don't earn enough money to afford them. We can do some cost break even analysis here, but suffice it to say that for me: a new car will never "pay for itself" either through saved repair money or mpg improvements. I have crunched the numbers often, and every time they show that I cannot afford a new car and I end up paying less with my two beaters in any given year than standard car payments et all. Not to mention that if you are driving something older that you own outright and you get into an accident oh well. Get a new beater and keep going. So much more cost effective, headache saving, and worry reducing. What are you going to do with that brand new car that you don't own and still owe lots of money on if you wreck it?

 

But I understand this philosophy won't appeal to everyone.

[Warren Mohler]

what he said ^^^^^^^^ I had one new vehicle, 91 Isuzu Trooper V6 5spd. great 4x4, drove 11 years 76000 miles frame rotted in half, loved the vehicle, but was worst purchase I ever made

[Smokeyyank]

So to answer a few things. 

- I have bench seats so no car seat in the middle. Plus the wife isn't fond of me having her in the car since no airbags.

- Can't sell the WJ, I just spent a good chunk of change to build it. Has a brand new motor, lift, suspension, etc. Hindsight should have passed on the WJ, but I still love it.

- I can only effectively store 2 cars right now. I have a spare spot on the side of my house I can eventually park, but need to remove a tree there. That can't happen until spring.

- I know how to wrench on stuff bit it would be nice not to all the time. Was part of the reason we ditched my wife's KJ and got her a GX460. Yes it's more but no way was going to pick up a newer jeep and deal with the fiat junk.

-Id rather not have another "beater". I do have a clean 99 XJ that I was planning to flip but may just swap the MJ and the XJ for a bit till I can get the WJ squared away. 

 

Damn cars are a labor of love and a fn money pit. 

[JMO413]

Just a little food for thought. She better if in the truck without air bags. If you not a full size adult or over 100 lbs the air bag would do more damage than help. That's why most newer car have an occupant classification module. It essentially weighs the passenger and shuts the air bag off if the passenger doesn't weigh enough. Just a little perspective on children and air bags. 

[dasbulliwagen]

I have the bench in mine too. I put the car seat on the passenger side and when we needed three to ride, the wife sat in the middle. Yeah there aren't any airbags, but its still perfectly legal. But in our household too, the MJ is the third (spare) vehicle to our regular dailys. Maybe you have a friend that can store it for you for a while until you get everything figured out? But whatever happens you still need to do the right thing for your family, and we can all understand that. Good luck.

[Smokeyyank]

Well for now. Not selling the MJ. It's going back to Denver for a bit while I sort out the dilemma with the WJ. At the point right now of just going and buying some boring @$$ honda so I don't have to wonder what car feels like working today. 

 

MJ is on daily duty this week so go fire it up and gas line is leaking FML.....

[NHMJXJ]

3 hours ago, Smokeyyank said:

Well for now. Not selling the MJ.

 

Crisis averted.  Glad I could help (because telepathically I was saying, Are you crazy?)

[Smokeyyank]

1 hour ago, NHMJXJ said:

 

Crisis averted.  Glad I could help (because telepathically I was saying, Are you crazy?)

 

Hahaha, yeah. I'm sitting in my office right now looking at it and I'm just like you know what...that's a damn cool truck. Then I look at it more and like well it could use some paint, bigger tires, 1 piece windows......and now I'm on CC looking at builds.

[Drahcir495]

23 hours ago, Smokeyyank said:

 

Hahaha, yeah. I'm sitting in my office right now looking at it and I'm just like you know what...that's a damn cool truck. Then I look at it more and like well it could use some paint, bigger tires, 1 piece windows......and now I'm on CC looking at builds.

Yeah! Glad you’re off the ledge It is so hard to let them go, a great looking truck. Now you remember how cool they are! 

[thecodemonk]

Dude...I'm in the same boat right now.  I'm talking with the wife about fabbing up something to make the middle seat more kid-seat friendly.  Hopefully I'll be able to get started on it soon and add it to the build thread. :)

[socomanche]

I bought some bucket seats and harnesses off amazon and turned mine into a four seater. Not sure about the legality of it all, but my 8 and 10 year old love it. I take them on short grocery, pool and sports practice runs. I think it’s legal in Colorado, but the ticket is only $35 if it’s not. Police have seen the kids in it and let us keep on driving. The kids get periodically photographed by other drivers that either think it’s cool or poor parenting. The MJ is a fun family vehicle. Hold onto it!

[shelbyluvv]

I sold both of mine and bought them both back. I gave the 86 to Krustyballer as I knew he would take care of it.

Don't do it unless you know it will be in good hands.

[MiNi Beast]

If your looking for someone to talk you out of it then you really don't want to sell it. If it isnt costing anything then its not worth it.