With growing interest in off-road trips with club, I am searching for a dedicated off road car. Despite several views on high maintenance costs, I can't stop thinking of Jeep Wrangler. Now comes the budget. I have noted several old models (1992-1994) which are in price range of AED 15,000-20,000 but the question is..."is it advisable to go for an old model, provided the car has been maintained well and has no mechanical / electrical issues at the time of purchase."

Will appreciate any guidance from experienced members.

hi omar ; old shap of nissan patrol 1990-1997 is recommned , less maintance & easy to fix.
but at the same price you can get cherooki 2001 model ( recommend ).

older shap of wrangler does not worth 10k

Hi omar welcome to the club first of all
I have been driving a jeep cherokee for more than 2 years now
I was able to shift from offroader to marshal on it
Its very light and fun car to drive , with alot of space for camping as well
Maintenance.... Parts are cheap and avaiable
Service frequency is almost the same as any other car at the same model
Fuel consumption is perfect
I say go ahead cor the cherokee but get a clean one

Nissan Patrols, especially SWB, are great, but because they,re the Holy Grail of offroading cars, a clean one at a good price is very hard to find. That said, this is the time of year when the population shifts, so there may be some good ones on the market. I,m always surprised to see folks refer to Nissan parts being cheap; that was never my experience when I had a capsula.

I have not driven a Wrangler, but they are of course a popular sand car. I now drive a 2001 manual Cherokee, and I prefer it to a shorter car like the wrangler because its length gives it more stability when side-sloping and side-cresting. I would think that a clean used Jeep at a fair price would be much easier to find than a clean used Nissan.

My mechanic (in Al Ain) is a jeep specialist. If you,d like his nbr, I,d be happy to pass it along to you. Best of luck in your quest!

Khaled SS wrote:Hi omar welcome to the club first of all
I have been driving a jeep cherokee for more than 2 years now
I was able to shift from offroader to marshal on it
Its very light and fun car to drive , with alot of space for camping as well
Maintenance.... Parts are cheap and avaiable
Service frequency is almost the same as any other car at the same model
Fuel consumption is perfect
I say go ahead cor the cherokee but get a clean one

Thanks Khaled. Point noted, though a clean Cherokee is also hard to find. I guess US specs Cherokee is not suitable, or will it survive?

Omar wrote:Thanks Khaled. Point noted, though a clean Cherokee is also hard to find. I guess US specs Cherokee is not suitable, or will it survive?

Clean ones ARE hard to find, but this is the time of year to do it!
You may want to upgrade the radiator and get an auxiliary fan installed.
(I added some comments to my post below, if they,re helpful. I got interrupted mid-stream.)

Omar wrote:Thanks Khaled. Point noted, though a clean Cherokee is also hard to find. I guess US specs Cherokee is not suitable, or will it survive?

As jane said, lil mods can make it survive

Omar wrote:"is it advisable to go for an old model, provided the car has been maintained well and has no mechanical / electrical issues at the time of purchase."

That's a great question - in my opinion, the answer is 100% yes.

The older 4x4 will bring so many positives: great style, tough off-roader, no soft electronics, scratch and bash as you like, cheap to buy, many mods, easy and cheap to fix, excellent resale value with minimal depreciation, old school driving feel, etc., etc.

The negatives are only about worrying it will break down and need continuous repairs. But that is really not an issue.

You see, all cars require maintenance and repairs. Some models are built tougher than others (but that is not about age, it's about the model - for example, a new Kia Sportage will prolly not be as tough as an old Wrangler)

So the key to successfully running an older car is about proper maintenance and repairs, and that's the same with a 5-year-old, 10-year-old, and 20-year-old car.

My advice is to buy a 15k Wrangler, immediately spend 5k for repairs - change all parts that need changing. For 20k you will most likely have a car that will run without problems for 5 years at least. After 5 years, you will sell it for 15k.

Add another 5k at purchase for awesome mods, and for 25k you will have 5 years of awesome desert fun in an old Wrangler 8)

You can't beat that!

PR wrote:
My advice is to buy a 15k Wrangler, immediately spend 5k for repairs - change all parts that need changing. For 20k you will most likely have a car that will run without problems for 5 years at least. After 5 years, you will sell it for 15k.

Add another 5k at purchase for awesome mods, and for 25k you will have 5 years of awesome desert fun in an old Wrangler 8)

You can't beat that!

Thanks PR for useful hints!! And if you are from Dubai, is there any garage with good reputation and reasonable charges?

Joy Ride wrote:Thanks PR for useful hints!! And if you are from Dubai, is there any garage with good reputation and reasonable charges?

in sharjah i know few ones