The Road To My Jeep, Part III

The Jeep: The vehicle that won the war.

Their heritage as the vehicle that won the war, and its popularity after WWII have given the Jeep brand a unique foothold in American culture. This foothold and unending popularity make finding a Jeep Wrangler at a reasonable age, and economical price, virtually undoable. As I’ve made it known before, it’s not easy finding a balance between price and a properly maintained Jeep. So I went back and forth between wanting a new Jeep, and a used-but-not-too-old-Jeep. It was a little disheartening looking at the prices for a Jeep that was 2 or 3 years old. They do not lose their value much. Especially if the previous owner added any mods. Modifications is another part of the Jeep culture that is hard not to get swept up in, but that’s a story for another post.

As I waded through countless listings, and pictures of Jeeps for sale in Tennessee sent by my Mom and Step-Dad, I slowly narrowed on what I was looking for. I wanted something with a lift, wheels, and tires. A manual was a must too. I didn’t want too much else done to it, because I wanted to put my own fingerprint on the Jeep. Deciding between a 2 or 4-door is what took me the longest to decide. Slowly, though, I started to think about my family, and how it would be more comfortable for my daughter and dog to be in the back of a 4-door. Still, I went back and forth on that decision until early 2017 when I decided a 4-door was the best choice.

With my choice made on a 4-door, the hunt became more about which color, which wheels, which mods (if any), and so forth, did I find appealing. Then comes the price range I was willing to work with. Initially I set mine pretty low at around $13,000, which I quickly found will not cover the year I wanted the Jeep in. Slowly I started to raise the price until I decided that somewhere between $21,000-25,000 was the magic number. That wasn’t a hard set, though, I could go up if the right vehicle presented itself.

Once I upped the price range, my search turned up some good choices, but things like color, and too many mods, turned me away from them. Meanwhile, as I looked around town I often saw a silver Jeep parked right next to the entrance gate to my work. I often saw it, and wondered how much that Jeep would go for. It looked really nice and well maintained, with the exact lift, wheels, and tires that appealed to me. I started noticing this Jeep in late 2015 I believe, but didn’t really start looking at it until early 2016. Sometimes it would be there in the mornings, sometimes it would be there in the evenings as I went home, but I always looked at it thinking, “That’s what I want my Jeep to look like.”

In early to mid 2017 I was getting a little frustrated at the Jeep prospects, which is what brought us to nearly buying new. I never thought I would find something, and I was feeling the tug to change up our ride to a Jeep more and more. Thankfully we held strong and waited, because in early August 2017 as I was driving back into my shop in the evening from one of our off-sites, I once again eyed the Jeep parked right next to the gate. This time, though, there was something different about it; there was a sale sign on it. I quickly got on the brakes, made a u-turn, and pulled up next to the Jeep. I couldn’t believe it. The one Jeep I had been eyeing since early 2016 was for sale, it was a 2011, it was a manual, it was a Rubicon, and the asking price was close to my limit: $29,000.

I took pictures and sent them to Meghan with something like, “Look at this.” She responded saying, “Let’s get it.” I didn’t hesitate, I said ok, and messaged the owner. We arranged to look at it the next day with the whole family. The owner was a great guy, and we talked about the Jeep for a while as I looked it over. He didn’t hide anything and didn’t have the Jeep detailed clean, which I appreciated somehow. It was as if he was letting us see the Jeep in its natural state. We then arranged for another day to have us test drive it. He met us in the parking lot of a nearby park, handed us the key, and let us go on our way. We pretty much fell in love with the Jeep, and there was no doubt this was going to be our first Jeep.

Even with our minds made up, we still had the Jeep inspected at the local Jeep dealership. They performed a check of all the major components looking for signs of leaks, or obvious defects, and the Jeep came out clean. This is something I suggest for anyone who is going to buy a used car. Especially if it’s meant to be your main family car. Afterward, I spoke more with the owner, we came to an agreement on price, and I bought the Jeep from him on September 7th, 2017.

I believe this is the first time I can say I bought a vehicle I was genuinely excited about owning. This isn’t a car to just get me from point A to point B. This is a car to have experiences in that will create memories to last a lifetime. In the year we have owned the Jeep we have gone on many trails around the Pacific Northwest. We have gone on trails around the Olympic National Forest, and have traveled to the Cascades. It’s been a great year with this car, and I wouldn’t trade it for any other. The experiences range from scary to wonderful, and they all provided an opportunity to learn, and improve our off-road confidence and skills. I still have a lot to learn, and much more to experience, which I hope to share with you. Stick around, so we can all teach and learn from one another.

Until next time. Go explore and increase your experience level.