Jeep Wrangler Review from a spare parts interpreter
So here it is, if your pondering buying a Jeep Wrangler and would like as much information as possible as to what you might be getting yourself into parts wise, then i really feel that there is absolutely no one more qualified to write this post other than myself.
So what should you expect parts wise if you intend on joining the world of jeep wrangler owners.
The truth is that mechanically these cars are actually quite good and don’t really have to many common faults.... BUT........
When it comes to second hand parts, aside from prestige vehicles Jeep parts are probably one of the highest priced parts in the second hand car parts world.
WHY IS THIS ?
Reason 1
Wrangler wrecks for us to buy are expensive!
For example, A TJ Wrangler ( 1997 – 2006 ) 4 litre petrol would more often than not set a jeep parts supplier like myself back between $500 – to $2000 depending on where we bought it and what kind of damage the Wrangler has on it ? to give you a better idea, if the car was damaged in the front and the bonnet, front bumper bar, head lights were damaged it would probably be about a $500 wreck.
Unlike other mainstream makes like ford, Holden, Toyota etc etc Jeep Wreckers have to search far and wide for their inventory, its not un usual for us to purchase a wreck from other states, us being in Victoria.
We purchase our stock from car auctions like Manheim auctions www.manheim.com.au who have depots all over Australia, freighting Jeep wrecks from different places in Australia can cost anywhere between $660 – to $2200 just to being the vehicle to one of our parts store.
Ok so I know what your thinking... a whole TJ wrangler costs us $2000 and we sell the motors for $1500 ??? So yeah the car is almost paid off and we are making millions ??? I wish!!!
In the interest off full disclosure, there are quite alot of costs that you the public need to understand, we need to pay for top of the line computer systems ensure accurate parts supplying, a top of the line inventory system like pinnacle pro will set a spares parts supplier like myself back around $30,000 with on going costs of about $1500 per week.
We need to warranty the parts !!! All of our parts are sold with a three month warranty.... warranty on second hand items can be quite costly when you factor in the time it takes to remove items especially jeeps! - My dismantlers dont work for free.
LABOUR
Unlike brand new parts that are manufactured and boxed up, second hand parts suppliers like me have to pay a mechanic to remove the parts... I know what your thinking wahh wahh wahh wahh cry baby.... but the truth be told when it takes one of my mechanics two hours to remove a part from a jeep its already cost me at least $100 for my staff to have removed that item... and believe me there is absolutely no jeep that parts are easily removed, they are all quite difficult and only the most experienced parts dismantlers are capable off removing the parts in a timely fashion.
Storage
For people like us to have all the parts available most the time we need to have the facility’s to store wrecks, forklifts racking etc etc, this is all a very costly pre req.
All this needs to be taken into account when pricing our parts & nothing on jeeps is easy.
Reason 2
Supply and demand!!!
Even though the audience or customer base for Jeep’s isn’t quite as large as a typical audience like ford or Holden, If a customer was after for example a JK Wrangler 2.8 litre diesel engine.. they would be looking at a minimum price of $7500 and beyond....And would probably only have a choice of one or two proper jeep wreckers to choose from.
If you were to drive a main stream Holden commodore SIDI and you required a LLT engine 3.6 litre, the going price for one of those is about $3850 – but the pool of people of which you would be able to source one off would be quite larger.. so naturally the competition between suppliers will bring the price down, and its not un common to pick up a VE Sid engine LLT for around $2200 - $2500.
Common faulty parts in Jeep Wranglers
All in all with the early jeep wranglers when it comes to small parts like starter motors, alternators, coils, suspension parts like wheels and hubs, diffs these wranglers are usually quite competitively prices when it comes to second hand spare jeep parts price.
The only knock I really have on the Jeep Wrangler is the JK model tends to blow front differential a lot, they come out in a 3.21 ratio and a 3.73 ration and both parts seem to be problematic.
If you go four wheel driving expect to blow a front diff or two on a JK, that will set you back second hand around the $2200 mark.
The TJ wrangler is prone to blow up rear diff’s, especially those who choose to use a 4.0 litre petrol for four wheel driving purposes.
The roofs (both soft tops and hard tops) from both TJ and JK wranglers are prone to vandalism and the plastics getting discoloured, a soft top for the wrangler will set you back $900 - $1500 depending on which parts suppliers you buy from.
Below is list of parts we request for on a daily basis
1 JK 2.8 diesel engine - $6600 ++++
2 JK front diff - $1500 - $2200
3 JK front axels - $440 each
4 JK RHF seat belt - $330
5 TJ Wrangler six speed and five speed manual gearbox’s - $880 - $1950
6 TJ Wrangler rear diffs $1100
7 JK 3.6 Litre engine $5500
8 JK 3.8 motor $4500
9 JK 2.8 and 3.8 alternators - $330 each
10 ECU KITS - Engine computers can be very problematic and a security set ( ECU ) can set someone back anywhere from $440 to $1650.
Got any response or questions or feedback from my review ?
Please let me know info@justjeeps.com.au