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Originally Posted by Cmike2780
No, I completely agree. It's the least expensive option if you can do a lot of stuff on your own. Out of the box, the TJ just looks the part IMO. My dad had a CJ when I was younger and I guess its partially sentimental. I never took mine to any extreme trails, just some rough dirt roads and farms upstate.
Let's be honest, it really depends on how far you go with the mods and where you intend to drive it. Its probably cheaper to build an old Civic hatchback to go stupid fast in a straight line than buying a new Z or mustang for example... I just don't think cheap is the only factor for most people.
The XJ was my first car. Had about 120k miles on her before she was gone. I worked all through high school and summers to save up enough to buy a car. I remember the insurance per year was almost as much as the car, but to be fair, I was a new driver at the time. Everything ran fine when I got her, then I had to replace the radiator, the fan, the injectors, the water pump....just about everything under the hood except the motor. Damn thing would still overheated. I loved that car. Engine blew while driving home from school, about halfway between Buffalo & NYC.....something ignited and that was that. Lost all my stuff in the process. Insurance didn't cover anything, so I was pretty much screwed. This was sophomore year in college, about three years of ownership. As much as I hated the problems with that car, I still miss it. A lot of awesome memories.
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Yeah, I think the only difference is the inherent risk of damage when offroading which pushes a little bit more towards the cheap option.
While you can take your bone-stock (well, with oil cooler) Z out for a track day, keep it at 8/10s, and then drive home with fairly low risk, the same cannot be said for a real wheeling trail. I figure you are generally dropping $5K just to get the underbody protection you need, nevermind all the other nice-to-haves.
Cheap tends to get people into a much more capable car, because an XJ with five grand in it will spank a bone stock TJ, and probably cost less.
When you get to anything really extreme, your base platform is pretty much just providing a frame, and there's a different set of concerns. Once you get to that point, it's probably best to get advice someplace other than a Z forum.
Bummer to hear about your XJ. I miss all my jeeps....posting in this thread has me browsing Craigslist for replacements
Quote:
Originally Posted by UNKNOWN_370
Basically, I want to learn to drive off-road for survival reasons. I don't know anyhting about AWD trucks. I never liked trucks as a bodystyle. I learned to drive a van first. Then i learned to drive stick in a corolla. Every car I've ever owned was sport oriented except the altima. I always liked jeeps though, but never gotinto them deep enough to know a whole lot about them. living in nyc all my life. Jeeps were cool but never necessary. (I guess neitther were sports cars but... lol)
Times are getting crazy and I think I may need a vehicle that can go off the beaten path if necessary. I guess call me a minor prepper. I'm not crazy with the idea, but i've come to realize there are some things I might want to prepare for...
I am doing pretty good so far. Huge emergency medical kit. 3 months of water and purifiers. I have about 3 months worth of canned food that I rotate in terms of use. fishing rods axe machete's etc... 10 days of MRE for 4 people. Enough arms and ammo to protect my extended family. if need be. I wont be buying a bomb shelter. lol. But if I had a vehicle that could get me the F... out of dodge and into the mountains. off a road, that would be kool. I don't want to hardcore, but I would like to get into it enough to be proficient at driving off road. While i have a reason for doing this off-road thing. I also think it could me a fun and sporting experience.
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One thing to keep in mind if you are the prepper-type is the limited storage inside the Wrangler, unless you get an Unlimited. You also might consider a hardtop if you go that path.
For your goal, you don't need much in the way of capability. I would spend your mod funds on underbody protection (especially oil pan), perhaps a small lift, and some knobby tires. Once you get a little more proficient, you'd probably look at lockers and some other items, but really armor should be all you need to get going.
My platform suggestions would be LJ or XJ, but I think you could get away with most cars, provided you were willing to take on the risk, as well as spend the money protecting the critical components.