Potential SHTF Vehicle

[Jvance325]

So I have been wanting a Jeep Grand Wagoneer for a while and the other day my wife says that she has always wanted one. I thought "Great, now I will have CFO approval, just need to find one."

Lo and behold, a old acquaintance of mine just put of FB that they are wanting to sell theirs. Timing is perfect. It is an 89 with 169,000 miles on it and they want $2000. I haven't went to look at it yet, but from a cursory online search, that price doesn't seem too bad. The owner is a mechanic so I know that it will have been taken care of. Anything I should be on the lookout for?

[SnilloC]

I owned one of these and wished now that I never got rid of it.

[Jvance325]

Anything I should look out for/ask about?

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[Captaintg]

We had one growing up, and we had to be careful not to drive through puddles or the electrical system would be toast. I'm sure that problem has been corrected by now! I kinda wish we still had ours. Sorry I don't have advice, but I'm sure there's a forum dedicated to the wagoneer out there in the internets.

[SnilloC]

Originally Posted by Jvance325

Anything I should look out for/ask about?

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The Wagoneer is solid, the biggest draw back is that it loves consuming gasoline! LOL

I had over 100k on my amc 360 and really the only thing that I had to do was replace the rear main seal, other minor oil leaks and some vacuum lines for the trans/diff (4x4). <<< Pretty common btw.

That's not to say that you won't have any problems with the one above but I have worked on many that made the 250k mark and were still rockin'. Just really depends on the previous owner and how well they took care of it. I think mainly people part from their Wagoneer's because of the gas mileage.

Hope it helps a bit.

[Obscura]

I never understood the appeal of the Grand Wagoneer until I went hunting in one. Compared to our Chevy Blazer the Wagoneer was like riding a couch through the wilderness. Far more comfortable and sophisticated.

[Prothos]

just because they are an mechanic i wouldnt asume its in great shape. some of the worst running cars i have seen belong to mechanics. They work on cars all day and don't want to work on thier own when they get home.

[schwalbe]

Originally Posted by Captaintg

We had one growing up, and we had to be careful not to drive through puddles or the electrical system would be toast. I'm sure that problem has been corrected by now! I kinda wish we still had ours. Sorry I don't have advice, but I'm sure there's a forum dedicated to the wagoneer out there in the internets.

+1
I'd ask about what kind of electrical problems it's had and what work was done to fix it. They're known for issues. Everything from headlight switches to alternators. That's all I've heard complaints on though. Solid vehicle.

[Groo]

there are several problems with them.
1. they left the assembly line rusted it would seam
2. the super soft cushy springs sag pretty bad. my beater's axles smashed away the bump stops and pretty much bashed the "C" channel into "7" with the help of the rust issues.
3. they are a vacuum hose nightmare. I had to occasionally let off on the gas going up hills to build the vacuum store back up or the diff you kick out of AWD and into neutral.
4. mine had a real crappy radiator. I don't know if that is common with them.
5. The carbs are very complex and prone to leaks. I'd think about doing something different with it, maybe an EFI conversion.

I didn't have electrical problems with it, and mine saw more than a few puddles.

[Jvance325]

Thank you. An EFI conversion would defeat one of the purposes of this exact vehicle. They are pretty much EMP proof on the off chance that we experience one.