shopping... what kind?

[...masterofnone]

My buddy is looking to buy a Jeep, but what he'll be using it for is NOT off road (much). He wants something that he can take his boat to the lake with and to run around town topless in. he's looking to spend $4-7000. I told him to look for something that's not geared for the low end since he's not going to be doing much off roading. My Q to you is... what kind of Jeep should he be looking for? The only one he's test driven was last night, and it wasn't able to get up to 60mph it was geared so low.

[Ray H]

Originally Posted by ...masterofnone

My buddy is looking to buy a Jeep, but what he'll be using it for is NOT off road (much). He wants something that he can take his boat to the lake with and to run around town topless in. he's looking to spend $4-7000. I told him to look for something that's not geared for the low end since he's not going to be doing much off roading. My Q to you is... what kind of Jeep should he be looking for? The only one he's test driven was last night, and it wasn't able to get up to 60mph it was geared so low.

Any stock 4.0 Wrangler. In the 4000-7000 price range he will be looking for a YJ around a 94-95 on the lower end of his price range, or a TJ 97-98 on the upper end. The engines, transmissions and transfer cases during all those years are practically the same. There are some differences between the YJ and TJ axles but if he isnt going to be offroading hardcore, those wont matter. The big difference between the YJ and TJ, aside from the obvious styling differences, is the suspension. The YJ has leaf springs and the TJ has four link coil suspension. If he is going to tow with it, he should get the 4.0 six cylinder engine. A stock wrangler will tow better than a lifted one. Wranglers arent known for their towing ability. If his boat+trailer weighs more than 2000lbs, he should look elsewhere for a tow vehicle. A lifted Jeep with big tires will just reduce the safe towing capacity even more so avoid those.

[...masterofnone]

Thanks Ray, I'll send him this link to pass it on.

[4x4grey88]

I agree with Ray.

You want to purchase the 4.0L OEM Jeep.

I know you talked about driving around with the top down and all but I recommend that your buddy trys to find a Jeep with a hard top and full doors. This way you can remove the hard top in the summer and purchase a bicinni top and remove the doors as required (acouple of screws). In the winter and or rainy seasons you will want the hardtop and doors on. Hardtops reduce the road noise greatly.