Wait for:

  • Mail-2012 JK-generation Jeeps, which accept the 285-hp 3.6-liter V-vi, a five-speed automatic and a nicer interior.
  • An original 2004-2006 Unlimited (long-wheelbase, but 2-door).
  • A 2018 or newer JL with the 270-hp ii.0-liter turbo, if the price is correct.

Avoid:

  • The three-speed automatic transmission (concluding year: 2002).
  • The last of the 202-hp 3.viii-liter Five-half dozen/quondam interior JK years. In that location's a big deviation betwixt a 2010 and a 2012.
  • Anything so new that you may as well become a new i.

So, you want to buy a Jeep Wrangler merely the new ones are merely too pricey? Nosotros feel y'all. Wranglers seem similar they should be inherently affordable, given that they're the closest matter to a street-legal dune buggy that you can purchase. But characteristic pitter-patter means that a new JL, while unquestionably the best Wrangler ever, starts at $29,790 and tin get style more expensive from there, topping $sixty,000 for a loaded diesel model.

So the used market is ever decorated, propped up in role by the iconic Jeep's stylistic consistency—a 2000 model doesn't really look dated because a 2021 even so looks fundamentally the aforementioned. The driving experience and features are going to exist far different, though, and that's where you might demand some advice. So indulge us this primer in preowned Wrangler wrangling, in which we endeavor to steer you to a Jeep that's used, but non used up.

1986-1995: The Square-Headlight One

OK, we know this generation (known as the YJ) has its fans, only we'd confine our Wrangler chase to newer models. The YJ, the commencement with the Wrangler proper noun, has solid forepart and rear axles like the current Wrangler, but what it didn't have was coil springs. Like the CJ and all its predecessors dating back to World State of war II, the YJ Wrangler rode on leafage springs, front end and rear. And if you lot can avoid driving a brusk-wheelbase, body-on-frame, solid-axle, leafage-sprung vehicle, y'all should.

The One To Get: The side by side one that followed the YJ, the coil-sprung TJ. Just if you must, go with the 180-horsepower 4.0-liter inline-six that showed up in the 1991 YJ. If you don't, you'll accept to alive with the earlier 112-hp 4.2-liter inline-six. A C/D test of a 1990 Wrangler Sahara with that engine yielded a 15.4-second time to sixty and a top speed of 81 mph.

1997-2006: The Modern Template

Look, what happened to the 1996 Wrangler? Did Jeep get really into grunge and surfing America Online and forget to build it? Nope, information technology simply got caught between generations, such that by the time Jeep switched production from the YJ to the new TJ, information technology was already 1996. So they went directly from selling the 1995 YJ to the 1997 TJ. If you discover a 1996 Wrangler, y'all can park it next to our 1983 Corvette.

Anyway, the TJ represented a revolution, in improver to the 4.0-liter inline-6 gaining one horsepower bringing the full to 181, it brought four-wheel coil-spring break to the game. (It's possible Jeep got ahold of some '90s North American Spec Land Rover Defenders and realized that they should at least be equally technologically advanced as that.) So the TJ not only rides amend than its predecessor, but it tends to be meliorate off-road, too, with excellent articulation. The interior took a big footstep frontward, every bit well. Or at least, it took a step from the rectilinear 80s into the softer 90s.

And of form: round headlights. Which means that a TJ looks reasonably gimmicky, even now. This is also the generation when Jeep realized that some Wrangler buyers wanted more room, then in 2004 they rolled out a stretched wheelbase version called the Unlimited. It was still a two-door (the name was later applied to the iv-door models) but gained 15 inches of length, 10 of which went to the wheelbase. Back seat passengers got some extra legroom, and cargo space doubled. And if you're into towing, the Unlimited rating was 3500 pounds, well above the standard Wrangler's 2000 pounds. This sought-afterward derivative is known by its devotees equally the LJ.

The Rubicon model debuted in 2003 with the same basic ingredients it has now: heavier-duty axles (Dana 44s front and rear), locking forepart and rear differentials and bigger tires. Expect to pay more for ane of those, with the LJ Rubicon flexing a resale value that might cause yous to look for something newer that might well be less expensive.

The 1 To Go: A 2005-2006 Unlimited Rubicon with the 4.0-liter six and a six-speed manual manual.

2013 jeep wrangler rubicon

Car and Driver | Automobile and Driver

2007-2019: The Popular One

By 2007, Jeep figured out that the Wrangler could go mainstream if it was less painful to alive with and drive. To that end, the biggest revelation was the four-door Unlimited model, which finally made the Wrangler feasible family transportation. Jeep had shown a 4-door Wrangler concept in the '90s, simply information technology took them until 2007 to build it. Sales numbers took off— 2,165,678 were built—and the Wrangler transitioned from a niche off-roader to the ubiquitous sight that it is today.

Inasmuch every bit there's such thing every bit a Wrangler bargain, it's to be constitute in the 2007-2010 JKs, which had different (read: not as desirable) powertrains and interiors. In the transition from the TJ to the JK, Jeep killed the ancient but dearest 4.0-liter inline-six and installed whatsoever was handy, which happened to be a about as old iii.eight-liter V-6 borrowed from Chrysler'due south minivans. Information technology was resolutely acceptable, making 202 horsepower and 237 lb-ft of torque. And the interior in those early JKs was also best described equally adequate. But hey, you still got the essential Jeep goodness—driblet the peak and remove the doors, and who cares what'due south nether the hood?

For 2011 the JK got the new, much modernized interior simply still had the sad 3.8-liter. In 2012, the pushrod 3.8 V-six was replaced past the 285-hp DOHC 24-valve 3.6-liter V-vi that's nevertheless in utilise today—which not only produced a lot more than power and made cruising at expressway speeds less of a chore, but is considered significantly more reliable. Compounding the advantage, the iii.6-liter engine came with a five-speed automatic, while the three.8 made practice with a four-speed machine.

The JK was such a hit that they kept building it for a couple years even after it was replaced by the electric current Wrangler, the JL. As a second-hand-Jeep shopper, the main thing to be wary of with JKs is stupid pricing, which gets stupider the newer they are. Nosotros found a used 2017 JK Rubicon with xvi,000 miles with an request price of $39,000. Meanwhile, new 2021 JL Rubicons first at about $42,000. Don't exist penny wise and Rubicon foolish.

2018-Now: The JL Era

The JL was an uncharacteristically huge jump for the Wrangler, with Jeep fine-tuning the fun while retaining the Wrangler's essential appeal. The doors got lighter and easier to remove and the tops and the soft tops are less of a struggle, with zipper-less windows. The automatic transmission gained 3 more than gears (for 8) and a new two.0-liter turbo iv-cylinder and iii.0-liter diesel fuel joined the lineup. If y'all're looking at a late JK versus a similar (but maybe less decked-out JL) for the aforementioned coin, we'd vote for the JL. But again, if y'all're looking at a used JL, make sure its price makes sense compared to a new one. The new ones tend to have incentives and financing deals. Used ones, probably not. A $32,000 automobile financed for 60 months at half dozen.5 percent is going to add up to nigh the aforementioned total outlay every bit a $35,000 1 at ii.9 percentage. Pay attention to the total numbers, and it might turn out the best used Wrangler is a new 1.

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