As "Billwill", I had a Landrover Freelander but with the 1.8lt petrol engine. It had full time 4 wheel drive, but it was unreliable and so underpowered that I decided to sell it in 2004 and buy the Jeep KJ with the 3.7 petrol engine. I have it since then, and I must say that with the addition of the OME lift, it has been upgraded to another level. It has served me right all those years!
How did you end up with your KJ?
- Thread starter Robsama
- Start date
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My first jeep for my first post...
While in community college and working, I had a 2.7L 2005 Dodge Magnum with all these cool bells and whistles and sh*t... At the time, it was finals of my last term for my associates degree so i was already feeling it, 6 college classes feeling it.... With all of my studying done, I managed to pack the next day in with 6 hours of cutting and splitting tree's\logs starting at 7:00AM, helping my dad change his rear axle in 4-door v10 triton f-250 (holy sh*t everything is heavy!) for 5 hours and then decided to go to my girlfriends house at the time and yes...just as you expected....we got to the nitty gritty 2 times.....:winner_third_h4h::gr_grin: Left her house around 1:00AM the next mourning. Fell asleep during the drive and hit a guard rail almost completely parallel with it, the car went into the air and everything from my seat forward was damaged to hell. My insurance company got lazy tho and considered it totalled.....one month later, I bought a reconstructed 3.7L 2004 jeep liberty for 2800$...I ******* LOVE IT THO!!!!!!!!!
While in community college and working, I had a 2.7L 2005 Dodge Magnum with all these cool bells and whistles and sh*t... At the time, it was finals of my last term for my associates degree so i was already feeling it, 6 college classes feeling it.... With all of my studying done, I managed to pack the next day in with 6 hours of cutting and splitting tree's\logs starting at 7:00AM, helping my dad change his rear axle in 4-door v10 triton f-250 (holy sh*t everything is heavy!) for 5 hours and then decided to go to my girlfriends house at the time and yes...just as you expected....we got to the nitty gritty 2 times.....:winner_third_h4h::gr_grin: Left her house around 1:00AM the next mourning. Fell asleep during the drive and hit a guard rail almost completely parallel with it, the car went into the air and everything from my seat forward was damaged to hell. My insurance company got lazy tho and considered it totalled.....one month later, I bought a reconstructed 3.7L 2004 jeep liberty for 2800$...I ******* LOVE IT THO!!!!!!!!!
grasshopperkj
New Member
Traded my LR Disco II for it, having recently checked KBB values I got the better end of the deal. NAS Discos are so computerized to pass emissions restrictions here, impossible to work on.
Rockefeller
New Member
Also, when we saw it originally, it was at night, and it was night again when we picked it up, so we thought it was gold. Got it home, saw it in the daylight for the first time, and I panicked because in the lighting that morning it looked pink.
They found me...
I took one on an extended test drive (rental) in late 2001 and loved it. I wanted one ever since. A few days ago me and my wife were cruising through some used car lots looking for a more fuel efficient vehicle for her. She was driving a GMC 1500 4x4 70 miles a day to work. We saw this 2006 Liberty there, they had just got it at auction the day before. I wanted to test drive it so I went and got the keys. The lot owner told me it had a growl/grind in the rear and he hadn't got it checked out yet. I drove it and realized right away it was the right front wheel bearing hub assembly. Other than the driver side rear window not working I couldn't find anything else wrong. Knowing that Liberty's don't stay on lots long around here I offered to trade my 2005 GMC straight across for it never believing he would go for it. He test drove my truck and said he would do it. So, I traded a 2005 GMC Sierra crew cab with 237K on it for a 2006 Liberty Sport with 148K. I think I got a good deal, lol.
Palfreyman
New Member
Never wanted a Jeep....
.. always been a sporty car kinda guy (Mustangs/Camero/Fiero and such since high school) but a few years back I suddenly couldn’t drive the cars I had any more. One was a super peppy and fun to drive Chevy Beretta, 1989, that I bought in 2014 with 10k (!) original miles for $1200 and someone’s abandoned-in-a-barn 96 Mustang buildup for $500 (both from widows, sadly)
But 4 years ago a spinal cord injury rendered my left leg paralyzed, so no more manual transmission cars for me.
As luck would have it a friend of mine happened to be trading in his 2002 Liberty Sport and was complaining that the dealer was only offering him $500 in trade (130k miles, in “Good” condition).
I joked that I’d double that and he countered with “Hell, for you I’d take $750) and I accidentally ended up with a Jeep. I’ve put another 80k miles on it, upgraded the sound system, added a roof rack, light bar, got all the recalls done... and this last week just had the front/rear diff. rebuilt....
And last week my wife’s 2000 Chevy S10 truck hit 200k, needs a new timing chain, and took a rear impact sufficient to render the towing hitch inoperable (required to tow my disabled wife’s scooter) ... so for half the price of repairs of all that, we found a local 2006 Liberty Renegade. 190k miles, some minor cosmetic damage (cracked front bumper cover), with tons of options, a clean pre-purchase bill of health from my mechanic... and the clincher for my wife.... heated leather seats (warm, and a lot easier to slide in/put on leather for someone handicapped)
.. always been a sporty car kinda guy (Mustangs/Camero/Fiero and such since high school) but a few years back I suddenly couldn’t drive the cars I had any more. One was a super peppy and fun to drive Chevy Beretta, 1989, that I bought in 2014 with 10k (!) original miles for $1200 and someone’s abandoned-in-a-barn 96 Mustang buildup for $500 (both from widows, sadly)
But 4 years ago a spinal cord injury rendered my left leg paralyzed, so no more manual transmission cars for me.
As luck would have it a friend of mine happened to be trading in his 2002 Liberty Sport and was complaining that the dealer was only offering him $500 in trade (130k miles, in “Good” condition).
I joked that I’d double that and he countered with “Hell, for you I’d take $750) and I accidentally ended up with a Jeep. I’ve put another 80k miles on it, upgraded the sound system, added a roof rack, light bar, got all the recalls done... and this last week just had the front/rear diff. rebuilt....
And last week my wife’s 2000 Chevy S10 truck hit 200k, needs a new timing chain, and took a rear impact sufficient to render the towing hitch inoperable (required to tow my disabled wife’s scooter) ... so for half the price of repairs of all that, we found a local 2006 Liberty Renegade. 190k miles, some minor cosmetic damage (cracked front bumper cover), with tons of options, a clean pre-purchase bill of health from my mechanic... and the clincher for my wife.... heated leather seats (warm, and a lot easier to slide in/put on leather for someone handicapped)
crasher
New Member
A woman I knew had a 2005 diesel KJ, so when I was getting to the end of needing my '97 diesel Ram Supercab 4x4 (about 300K miles), I started looking for a reasonable replacement.
Every truck I've had was 4x4, most were Dodge Power Wagon/Ram trucks, and the smallest I had before the ''97 was an '88 Ranger STX 4x4 Supercab that got me through about 350K.
I didn't need the huge footprint anymore, I liked the diesel, the 4x4, and the additional room inside, so it just seemed like the way to roll.
This one was super clean, had about 118K on it and had 99% of what I was looking for.
The only option it didn't have was the 4 tire psi display. I'm still looking for the correct EVIC that mates to an '06. I have a few in a box on the shelf from '05s and before that don't measure up.
Every truck I've had was 4x4, most were Dodge Power Wagon/Ram trucks, and the smallest I had before the ''97 was an '88 Ranger STX 4x4 Supercab that got me through about 350K.
I didn't need the huge footprint anymore, I liked the diesel, the 4x4, and the additional room inside, so it just seemed like the way to roll.
This one was super clean, had about 118K on it and had 99% of what I was looking for.
The only option it didn't have was the 4 tire psi display. I'm still looking for the correct EVIC that mates to an '06. I have a few in a box on the shelf from '05s and before that don't measure up.
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That's not why I ended up with my KJ but it's the same reason I can't drive a manual trans anymore.
Kim'sJeep
New Member
I have an 04 Limited. It was towed into my hubby's work. Law enforcement had it towed off from where it was sitting because it was tagged with a 72 hour notice. It went through the lien sale process and ended up belonging to the tow yard. Hubby had me go down and hook my scanner to it to see what the codes were because it didn't run well and the check engine light was on. I gave him the codes and went home. It was hot that day and I really didn't want to be there. LOL
A week later we were sitting on the back porch of his work looking at the Jeep and he was telling me about how our neighbor wanted and SUV style car and that he was thinking of taking the Jeep down the the mechanic he knows, to have him find out what was wrong with it. He was saying the only bad thing with it was she is short and would have a hard time getting in and out of it. Well, the more I sat and looked at it, the more I decided I wanted it. LOL So I told hubby that I think I want it. So that Sat, I drove it to the mechanic and that was it. I had to have it.
Here it is at the mechanic.
And as of right now. I bought a bull bar for it but so far haven't had a chance to install it.
A week later we were sitting on the back porch of his work looking at the Jeep and he was telling me about how our neighbor wanted and SUV style car and that he was thinking of taking the Jeep down the the mechanic he knows, to have him find out what was wrong with it. He was saying the only bad thing with it was she is short and would have a hard time getting in and out of it. Well, the more I sat and looked at it, the more I decided I wanted it. LOL So I told hubby that I think I want it. So that Sat, I drove it to the mechanic and that was it. I had to have it.
Here it is at the mechanic.
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And as of right now. I bought a bull bar for it but so far haven't had a chance to install it.
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We have four daughters and when it was time for the driving lessons to begin, we were set on a smaller, used SUV in a manual transmission. In our price range, since we knew we had to repeat this process three more times, we found limited choices, like the Ford Escape, Nissan Xterra, Toyota RAV4, Honda CRV, etc.,...and of course, the Jeep Liberty KJ.
Other than minor things, we had no preference for one over another for a teenager's first car. It was simply about finding one, and as fate would have it, we ended up with an Xterra. About a year into driving, our oldest had an accident where she ran into the back of a Suburban that came to a sudden stop. No one was hurt, and no damage whatsoever to the Suburban, but the Xterra was totaled out.
With the insurance check in hand, we were scrambling to find a replacement when a dealer friend said he just took a 2006 KJ in on trade. We snapped it up and fell in love.
Now we have three [emoji4] ....and our youngest is fourteen, so yeah, we'll be looking for another!
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Other than minor things, we had no preference for one over another for a teenager's first car. It was simply about finding one, and as fate would have it, we ended up with an Xterra. About a year into driving, our oldest had an accident where she ran into the back of a Suburban that came to a sudden stop. No one was hurt, and no damage whatsoever to the Suburban, but the Xterra was totaled out.
With the insurance check in hand, we were scrambling to find a replacement when a dealer friend said he just took a 2006 KJ in on trade. We snapped it up and fell in love.
Now we have three [emoji4] ....and our youngest is fourteen, so yeah, we'll be looking for another!
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Joenavy85
Full Access Member
in 2008 I came back from deployment and needed a new vehicle as my 99 Cavalier was on it's last legs. Looked around at a few dealers and nothing caught my eye. My wife was interested in getting an 06 Lancer, but we came across an 05 Liberty 3.7L first. Took it for a test drive and thats all she wrote. got it July 08 with 35k on it, still my daily driver with 189k on it and about to be the recipient of an engine swap.
Patioboater
New Member
I was looking around late last year for something to get my father back on the road, since his old pickup had died more than a year ago. I was looking for something with four-wheel drive that would be a good winter driver for him. Since I was going to own it and loan it to him I wanted something with reasonably low miles, so it didn't become a maintenance pit. After a bit of searching I came across a nice, clean 2002 Jeep Liberty with only 58,000 miles on it. I had my mechanic look it over, do a couple of minor repairs it needed, plus the 60,000-mile maintenance, and it was ready to hand off to my Dad.
Alas, long story short ... nobody was hurt, but we soon found out that my father probably shouldn't be driving any more. I'll get the Jeep back from the body shop in a couple of weeks -- nothing major, just broke the rear glass and put a dent in the left rear pillar -- and then I reckon I'll have a nice, low-mileage Jeep Liberty in my driveway for a while.
I'm not really sure what I'll do with it in the long run, since I have a fairly new F150 that I usually use for my winter driver. But I enjoyed driving the Liberty around while I was getting ready to hand it off to my Dad. So, I'll fix up a few things I didn't get a chance to look at before I handed it off (the cruise control doesn't work, it could use wiring for the trailer hitch) learn a bit about Jeeps, and use it for funsies for a while before I sell it off.
Alas, long story short ... nobody was hurt, but we soon found out that my father probably shouldn't be driving any more. I'll get the Jeep back from the body shop in a couple of weeks -- nothing major, just broke the rear glass and put a dent in the left rear pillar -- and then I reckon I'll have a nice, low-mileage Jeep Liberty in my driveway for a while.
I'm not really sure what I'll do with it in the long run, since I have a fairly new F150 that I usually use for my winter driver. But I enjoyed driving the Liberty around while I was getting ready to hand it off to my Dad. So, I'll fix up a few things I didn't get a chance to look at before I handed it off (the cruise control doesn't work, it could use wiring for the trailer hitch) learn a bit about Jeeps, and use it for funsies for a while before I sell it off.
Attachments
Patioboater
New Member
Ahhh, just figured out how to add links to a few pictures of my Jeep:
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SeventyGTX
Full Access Member
We originally got it back in 2014 to tow behind our motorhome since it was already set up by the previous owner. No longer have the MH and have a Ram 2500 and 5th wheel but still keep the little Jeep for errands into town or wandering around in the high Nevada desert...
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Franky
New Member
Gift
Someone gave it to me.
With 242.00 miles
All service history - Dealer maintained
Did compression & leakdown test
Vehicle is clean & runs excellent
Changed ALL fluids , plugs , filters
0/2 sensors. Etc.
Put it on the scope & it runs excellent
On road / offroad & underwater !
Just eventually. heater fan resister ( done needed ball joints.
So i am completely rebuilding the front
And rear suspension
and adding complete TJM lift kit
New Moog upper control arms & lower
Ball joints. , Armor & Tow hooks
And fitting Aggressive 31 " A/T tires
If anyone has a set of complete set of OEM front tow hooks & shocks lying around for a reasonable price , im definitely interested .
Thanks in advance everyone
Someone gave it to me.
With 242.00 miles
All service history - Dealer maintained
Did compression & leakdown test
Vehicle is clean & runs excellent
Changed ALL fluids , plugs , filters
0/2 sensors. Etc.
Put it on the scope & it runs excellent
On road / offroad & underwater !
Just eventually. heater fan resister ( done needed ball joints.
So i am completely rebuilding the front
And rear suspension
and adding complete TJM lift kit
New Moog upper control arms & lower
Ball joints. , Armor & Tow hooks
And fitting Aggressive 31 " A/T tires
If anyone has a set of complete set of OEM front tow hooks & shocks lying around for a reasonable price , im definitely interested .
Thanks in advance everyone
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My wife's friend had this 05' Liberty, Rocky Mountain Edition, and she couldn't get it registered because it wouldn't pass a state inspection because the check engine light was on. They just moved into some apartments,,, and most apartments in Houston will have your vehicle towed if it is not current on the registration. She asked if there was anyway that they could park it at my house. I live on five acres in another county, so i didn't mind. It sat there for about 4 months before she said that she'd like to sell it for $1,500. I bought it from her, took it to O'Reilly auto to have it plugged in to see what the trouble codes were. Driver side catalytic converter and passenger side rear O2 sensor. I do my own exhaust work and just happened to have a few fresh converters laying around, so i replaced the bad one, then put in a new O2 sensor. Check engine light cleared after a few trips, so it passed the state inspection and now the registration is current. They too, did not believe in proper maintenance. Entire front suspension is plain wore out, alignment was way out of wack. Had 177,000 miles when i got it. I've put on 11,000 miles since November. Either way,, it gets between 18-20 miles per gallon depending on where my job takes me.
halligan_honey
New Member
Time For New
My first car was an 02 Chrysler Concorde LX, a boat of a car. My great aunt bought it brand new, had it for years, then sold it to my dad. He used it for shopping trips for a few years because his truck (his baby) ***** on fuel mileage. Then I inherited it when I got my license. Well, like any vehicle does, issues came up, and since I had the car as it was, I decided to look around for something.
I went on Craigslist searching, and since I knew eventually I'd like to own a Wrangler, I simply searched "jeep". I didn't want a Cherokee, my ex and most of the people in my area have those, and I was nowhere in the realm of affording even the most basic Wrangler as I needed 4 doors for work at the time and couldn't find one anywhere in my price range. I found a blue 04 KJ with relatively low miles, clean of rust, just needed brakes, tires, and a little body work if I decided to do so from a fender bender. I had seen it once on the way home from work, told the guy I was interested and would be back with cash. In the hour and a half I was gone, someone else pulled up, offered him cash, and left with it. Dick didn't even have the courtesy to let me know and save me the 45 minute drive back out there.
So there I was, pissed off and discouraged, but I took back to Craigslist and found a burgundy 02 sport with rusted out rockers being the only big issue (or so we thought). I paid him 300 cash and drove her home. She lasted me about a year before she started knocking, and I began the search again. I had made friends with a firefighter on a neighboring department around the time he decided to retire his KJ for a Ford pickup, and asked what he planned on doing with it. He offered to sell it to me for 200 and I bit.
Here I am a little over a year later, proud owner of a cactus green metallic 02 Renegade. I just had to replace a laundry list of parts, but she's still my girl.
Next year, the search is on for a Wrangler.
My first car was an 02 Chrysler Concorde LX, a boat of a car. My great aunt bought it brand new, had it for years, then sold it to my dad. He used it for shopping trips for a few years because his truck (his baby) ***** on fuel mileage. Then I inherited it when I got my license. Well, like any vehicle does, issues came up, and since I had the car as it was, I decided to look around for something.
I went on Craigslist searching, and since I knew eventually I'd like to own a Wrangler, I simply searched "jeep". I didn't want a Cherokee, my ex and most of the people in my area have those, and I was nowhere in the realm of affording even the most basic Wrangler as I needed 4 doors for work at the time and couldn't find one anywhere in my price range. I found a blue 04 KJ with relatively low miles, clean of rust, just needed brakes, tires, and a little body work if I decided to do so from a fender bender. I had seen it once on the way home from work, told the guy I was interested and would be back with cash. In the hour and a half I was gone, someone else pulled up, offered him cash, and left with it. Dick didn't even have the courtesy to let me know and save me the 45 minute drive back out there.
So there I was, pissed off and discouraged, but I took back to Craigslist and found a burgundy 02 sport with rusted out rockers being the only big issue (or so we thought). I paid him 300 cash and drove her home. She lasted me about a year before she started knocking, and I began the search again. I had made friends with a firefighter on a neighboring department around the time he decided to retire his KJ for a Ford pickup, and asked what he planned on doing with it. He offered to sell it to me for 200 and I bit.
Here I am a little over a year later, proud owner of a cactus green metallic 02 Renegade. I just had to replace a laundry list of parts, but she's still my girl.
Next year, the search is on for a Wrangler.
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