How did you first find your KJ?

[dude1116]

Mine's my first vehicle! After searching for everything from Grand Am's to Grand Cherokees to Honda Civics, I decided I wanted a small SUV. So the Liberty was on my list.

I found it on eBay motors at a local BMW dealership, took it for a test drive, loved it. Talked about it with my father. Then I got a text in school a couple days later: "Let's go pick up your new-to-you 2004 Jeep Liberty!"

 

[Hedsic]

Here is my honest story that will probably get me hated around here by everyone but i'm just going to be honest. I didn't even want the thing. my previous car was going to hell, It was just a normal car nothing special that I cared about but it was my first brand new car when I got it in 2005.
I recently went thorugh a divorce and got stuck with a bunch of bills I couldn't afford all by myself plus taking care of my son by myself. Ended up losing the house and moving in to the apartment I am at now. Still trying to get back on my feet. Needless to say this messed up my credit pretty bad which limited what I could get and afford due to crap interest rates etc.

I found one dealer willing to work with me, traded my car in as down payment. All they could get me in to was the Liberty in the range I said I could afford for right now. At first I told them no way, I had no interest in a Liberty at all. After realizing what all I did want was out of my price range/credit limit for the time being I came back to the Liberty. After looking it over, I really hated the way the thing looked but figured it was still better than what I currently had and more reliable in the winters. One of those "beggars can't be choosers" sort of things. When I first got it I hardly drove it because I was emberassed to be seen in it. It drove nice and all of that I just hated how it looked.

After that I discovered this site and LOST and saw what the Jeep is capable of. Since than I've grown to like it. I still can't stand how mine looks right now as it still just looks like every other Liberty on the road but w/ a little bit bigger tires and a tiny bit of lift. With enough time/money I think I can get it to looking as good as most of the ones on here.

That is my story though. I know it's not the best but it's honest.

 

[martin_metal_88]

You can't hate a libby. Sometime it just take longer Don't worry one day you will feel the same we do

 

[Joejeeper420]

I bought mine before my dealer even saw one lol... I got it the tail end of 01... She was born November 17th if I'm not mistaken and I had her by The first week in December... I called the guy and said I need a jeep to tow my car to the strip on a full trailer... He asked how much it weighed.. I told him 4200 with a full trailer... He said the Libby would tow 5000... I then went on about a sun roof and leather... He said your getting a jeep... Your gonna want to go off roading... Don't get the nice one or you'll be kicking yourself... So I gave him 6 gramd and bought the sport... over time ive changed EVERYTHING to my liking

You must be registered for see images attach

lol...

 

[profdlp]

I had a 1997 Geo Tracker which I bought new and paid cash for. I drove it for the next 15+ years. 4WD and came with skip plates, but my idea of off-roading was to drive down to a fishing spot just off the main road. A couple years ago I went back to college to finish my degree (Information Systems) and drove it to Cleveland State University and back nearly every day. Needless to say, after being on the road that long it wasn't much to look at and I said a prayer of thanks every time it made it home.

Last May I went down to Virginia to visit my parents. They knew I was trying to hang in there until graduation when I would be able to afford a new car. My dad suggested we drive over to Carmax and look around, just so I would have an idea of what was out there when I was finally ready to trade the old Tracker in.

I looked at a few cars in the showroom and saw several I was interested in. Just then a beautiful green Jeep pulled up outside the window and I fell in love. I have never been a "car" guy but this one really caught my eye. A guy in a turban got in with a salesman for what was obviously a test drive. I remember thinking "there goes a lucky guy..."

He didn't buy it, though. A salesman came up to me and asked me what I was looking for. (Carmax is very low-pressure; I had been there a while and hadn't gotten any of the hard-sell you usually get at a dealership, especially a used car place.) I told him I was just looking, but that Jeep that just drove off was just about perfect. He and I got in a golf cart with a list of cars I had pulled up from their computer and their location on the lot. Apparently they are haphazard about where they stash their cars, because we couldn't find the first couple cars on the list where they were supposed to be. We went around a corner and there stood my Jeep. (That's when I found out that Mr. Turban-Guy hadn't bought it after all.) I figured, what the heck and we went for a test drive.

I guess my dad could see the gleam in my eye because when we got back he pulled me aside and said he and my mom had discussed it and they wanted me to have a new car. I think he was surprised that the old Tracker had made it all the way down to Virginia and wondered if it would make it the 400 miles back to Ohio. He told me they would help with the down payment and I could pay them back when I got a job. (I know the job market isn't very good, but being in my fifties I made darn sure I was getting a degree in a can't-miss field.) After filling out about eighteen different forms I drove off in my beautiful 2007 Liberty. 42,000 miles on it and in mint condition.

I guess it was just meant to be mine. :icon_biggrin:

 

[QuickSilver]

I had been looking for a first generation Jeep KJ for the last 2 weeks. The story of how that came about started with my purchase of a new Challenger in June, followed by the sale of my 2008 Accord sedan 3 weeks later, and then the acquisition of my 2002 Liberty just last Sunday. I had planned to buy a new Challenger since March, but made myself wait for 4 months to ensure it wasn't an impulse buy I would later regret. During this time I realized that the Challenger was not a practical vehicle for cargo hauling and it wasn't the type of car I would feel comfortable driving to certain parts of town. I made the decision early on that I would buy a second vehicle, a "beater" to safeguard the Challenger and keep the miles off.

I bought a 2013 Challenger R/T in June after a 3 week search and immediately focused my efforts to selling my 2008 Accord. During the time I was engaged in my Challenger search, I spent $500 to have the Accord serviced, smogged, and pre-sale inspected. I ran my own CarFax, pulled the service records, and spent a weekend machine polishing the paint. The Accord sold 3 weeks later, and now I was ready to buy my beater.

This was the toughest part of my car buy/sell/buy summer cycle. Since I needed my 2nd vehicle to be the near opposite of my Challenger, I focused on utility and cargo capacity as features most important to me, not fuel economy as many friends had advised. To that end I initially considered first generation PT Cruisers, Toyota RAV's, and Honda CR-V's but soon found my $3000 ceiling would only buy me a used car in need of another $1500-$2000 in immediate repairs. I upped my budget to $4000, and finally $5000.

Unfortunately, I soon discovered PT Cruisers had below average mechanical reliability and 15 year-old RAV-4's and CR-V's were ridiculously over-priced based upon their manufacturers' reputations (and I say this as a 35 year Honda owner). A friend on my Challenger forum recommended keeping it in the Mopar family and suggested first gen Libertys. I started my research anew and soon discovered a Jeep Liberty owner enthusiasm and loyalty on par with RAV and CRV owners. Plus the Liberty is a truck, not a cute ute. The fact that the Liberty boasts a 3.7L V6 engineered with a timing chain (not a flimsy belt) brought me into the Jeep KJ fold

So for the last 2 weeks I looked at and test drove several Jeep Libertys, inspected engine bays, crawled beneath undercarriages, ran countless CarFax reports and took several readings with my OBDII scanner. Last Sunday I found a promising Jeep Liberty on Craigslist that was in my price range being sold in the county north of me. I called the owner and made arrangements to drive 75 miles to see it that afternoon.

When I arrived at the provided address, I didn't see the Liberty and the owner wasn't answering his phone. After 30 minutes I realized I had been hoaxed and went to a Starbucks to regroup and wait for traffic back to my county to thin out. I went online and flagged the hoax ad and on a whim re-ran my search for Jeeps in my county. I noticed a new ad that had just posted 3 hours earlier. I called the owner and he told me I was the first one to respond, and I made arrangements to meet with him that evening after I returned home. The posting owner only lived 10 miles south of my residence making it all that more convenient.

I arrived at his house and ran my usual tests. All of the engine fluids were fresh, topped off, and the right colors. No leaks under the oil and transmission pans. The engine ran steadily and strong with no rocking in the engine bay. I asked permission to run my OBDII scan and CarFax, the owner agreed. The scan found no engine code alerts and the CarFax came back very clean, estimating a value of $1200 OVER standard retail value. The service history indicated the Jeep had been regularly maintenanced and I also discovered this Liberty was a one owner car, something the seller had neglected to list in his ad. I was immediately hooked. After a solid test drive, I told the owner I wanted the Jeep. He had listed the sale price at $4800, so I asked him to give me his bottom price and we shook on $4500.

Nearly one week later I am loving the Jeep Liberty KJ! I haven't even started my Challenger since last Sunday evening after I brought home this feisty little Jeep. The Liberty has become my daily driver and I truly believe I scored a great value in this vehicle. I took it in to my mechanic this morning to have the blower motor repaired (knew about this when i bought the Jeep) and he came back after noting the mileage telling me how clean it looks. Happy to be in the Jeep Liberty fold!

 

[Lester]

I know that I'm reviving an old thread, but found it quite interesting and still pertinent for us newbies.

My wife needed another vehicle. Her '04 Explorer was getting to be a money pit at 190k miles. Went to a local Chrysler/Jeep dealer used lot and found her a nice '11 Ford Edge with only 48k miles. While we were at the lot, I spent some time looking at other vehicles they had. There were several Cherokee's and GC's but I knew that they were priced out of my range.

A few days later I was looking at the dealer's online site and saw a '03 Liberty Limited 4x4. Read the CarFax report on it and called the dealership to see if I could work out a trade. I had a '06 GMC Sierra 1500 WT that only had 31k miles on it, but I really didn't need it. When I bought it new in '06 I needed it to haul supplies while I was remodeling my house. The GMC had outlived its' usefulness to me. I drove it less than 300 miles a year for the last four years and it was paid for.

I drove the GMC to the dealership and spoke to a salesman and told him I was interested in looking at the Liberty and I had my GMC to offer in trade. The finance officer took the GMC out for a test drive and returned with a satisfied expression on his face.
My requirements were simple - even trade, no money out of pocket.
They counter-offered with me paying $500, I said no way.
$250? - Nope.
$100? - Nope.
25 cents? .... I told them, "Forget it and give me the keys to my GMC. I'll just go home. I refuse to pay one penny difference. It has to be NO MONEY out-of-pocket."

The salesman said, "You'd walk out on this deal for 25 cents?". I said, "You would lose this deal for 25 cents. My GMC is has one-fourth the miles of the Jeep and I am the original owner of it. It is worth at least twice what you are asking for the Jeep."

The salesman reached into his desk and pulled out a quarter and said that he would pay the 25 cents.

Sticker price on the Liberty was $5,300 and they sold the GMC for $11,000.
Now I know that the trade I made was not a sound financial decision, but it was the best for me. I love my Liberty. No more miles than I put on a vehicle per year, she'll last me the rest of my life.

 

[Senistr]

Well let's see. I had a PSYCHO ex girlfriend who assaulted me and called the cops and got herself arrested. She blamed me for everything and broke a no contact order twice that was issued to her after being arrested. So she got arrested again. I proved to the courts that she has been to my behavior health appointments and she knew I had PTSD from the military and she knew how to trigger it. That was proven when she tried to get a restraining order against ME.

With that being said, I didn't feel safe out of the house with her knowing what I drove. So during the first couple of court appearances, I went to a dealership to find a vehicle I felt safe in. I knew I needed 4x4 because of the 4 miles of dirt road to my friends house so I set off looking for a used 4x4. I searched a couple of different dealer lots but couldn't find anything reasonably priced. Then I saw my Jeep. Very clean with around 109K miles on it. I always wanted a Jeep and figured, Liberty's have a very good reputation. So I made a few calls and paid for the Jeep outright. It was a little pricey, but before they gave it to me, they put it in a new driveshaft, water pump, and a few others. I couldn't be happier with that!

 

[libertybob]

First Liberty

My wife wanted a 4x4 to travel rough dirt roads in the mountains. I started looking at Grand Cherokees and Liberty 4x4's. Prices for high mileage 4x4's were what I considered high and none of the vehicles grabbed me. Rust, lots of wear, and condition put me off for the price asked. The wife said she didn't want me to take on a project vehicle because it would take too long. I saw my Libby on craigslist for $2k with a bad transmission. I went to look at her and fell in love. Libby is a 2003 Limited but was filthy, but with great bones. The engine ran fine but had oil leaks and the ****** would not move the vehicle. But it was solid black, had Limited cloth interior in good condition, no sunroof and looked great. She was equipped just the way I would have selected if buying her new. Bought it on the spot for $1.5k. So much for not buying a project vehicle but I was motivated. Bought a used 82k miles trans, engine computer, catalytic converter, new tires and some interior panels from the salvage yard. Financially ended up spending 2/3 of the blue book value. Several people have asked where I got the new Jeep. Yes, Libby cleaned up and looks great. Got all the work done in 4 weeks. The wife loves driving her and has threatened me if I trade off Libby. Have been known to do this with other vehicles wife has liked. So Libby stays. She now drives and looks new, a nice restoration/salvation project as her next stop would have been the salvage yard if I had not bought her. Like Libby so much that I sold my restored classic Saab 900 convertible.

 

[profdlp]

... I was looking at the dealer's online site and saw a '03 Liberty Limited 4x4. Read the CarFax report on it and called the dealership to see if I could work out a trade...

Very nice looking for an '03. Shoot, it would look good for any year.

25 cents? .... I told them, "Forget it and give me the keys to my GMC. I'll just go home. I refuse to pay one penny difference. It has to be NO MONEY out-of-pocket."

The salesman said, "You'd walk out on this deal for 25 cents?". I said, "You would lose this deal for 25 cents. My GMC is has one-fourth the miles of the Jeep and I am the original owner of it. It is worth at least twice what you are asking for the Jeep."

The salesman reached into his desk and pulled out a quarter and said that he would pay the 25 cents...

If I ever need a quarter for a phone call I'll see Sam Swope. He might drive a hard bargain but at least you'll know you can get that much out of him. :icon_lol:

 

[profdlp]

No posts in this thread for over a year? Come on, people!

 

[tommudd]

No posts in this thread for over a year? Come on, people!

Are we bored tonight?:happy175:

 

[Kal-El]

Craigslist!!!!! After almost a year perusing thru Grand Cherokees, Wranglers, Durangos, Tahoes, and Explorers...the KJ'***** my radar and I bought mine within a week!

 

[Tog]

I had a nissan patrol not sure what the US variant is after it destroyed an injector pump $5000 repair it was never the same and i didnt trust it. So I started looking around I've always wanted a jeep so I went to look at a white 04 limited the dealer did me a straight swap. ZI only owned it for 3 mnths and it was written off in a hail storm insurance paid out and I bought a KK the mrs prefered it and it was a really good by with low mileage. But I wanted another KJ so i bought my current 04 limited in Patriot blue.

You must be registered for see images

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

[smittyfromPA]

Found it on the dealers lot in 2005. Bought my first "SUV" a few years earlier (Ford Escape) and did not like it. The KJ is my first Jeep and still going strong after a lot of TLC.

 

[profdlp]

Are we bored tonight?:happy175:

Maybe. :gr_grin:

On the other hand, look at all the new people who have found this thread and shared their story.

 

[KJ604]

I had a 2000 sportage as my work vehicle. It was a beater but for the value I will say they are a good little truck. It was on the verge of needing some TLC and I had been debating upgrading. So I had been checking out the libertys since they came with a stick shift, proper 4x4 with a transfer case, and some upgrades available. Kept looking at the libertys for sale around me. Went and test drove one that was in terrible condition. I was set on finding an 05. 03 or 04 if it was a really good deal. Only saw one for sale it was an hour and a half away from me. 83000kms but they were asking way too much. Actually decided against a new vehicle was just going to run the Kia into the ground. Then some guy changed lanes into me on the hi way. The Kia was a write off and with the insurance money I broke even on it after owning it for a year and a half! So this was my opportunity. I went and saw the Patriot blue 05 kj with 6 speed manual that was an hour and a half away. It was in good condition and obviously hadn't seen alot of kms in its life. It took me two weeks to talk her down in price. But I got it!

 

[TwoBobsKJ]

Was looking for a fun, heavy duty offroad-capable vehicle and a local used car lot had a black Renegade sitting on the front row. Took it for a couple of test drives, it was the right price, was riding a sagged suspension and the engine had a slight tick but the dealer cut me a deal I couldn't resists. AND he agreed (in writing) to contribute financially if the engine or trans gave way (he did pay for a replacement trans.)

I've since put 104,000 miles on it and tell everyone my '03 Rennie is the best, most fun vehicle I've ever owned.

Bob

 

[CrazyDrei]

My Liberty Pickup

You must be registered for see images attach

A good friend of mine had an 07 Liberty when I started building my Suburban for over-glorified car camping (overlanding), it had a Trail Rated badge just like the Rubicon so it had to be capable off-road. He has never been off road and joined me when i went out on adventures in my Suburban. He was impressed by the Suburbans capabilities just as much as I was impressed by the Liberty's.

When I was done building my Suburban I had 37" tires, 14.5" minimum ground clearance, same approach angle, departure angle and break over angle as a 2-door Wrangler Rubicon, and was outrunning pre-runners at the Mint 400 and Vegas to Reno desert races with two toddlers in the back. My friend's Liberty kept up, slowly, very slowly but it kept up and never broke down.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

I was impressed with the Liberty but could not figure out how I could justify getting one. Then I retired, left Vegas, moved to Maine and decided that a I needed a UTV or RZR for yard work but could not afford one.

All of a sudden my buddy's Liberty came to mind. It was the perfect length, perfect width, selectable transfer case and parts dime a dozen. I knew that Liberty is a unibody construction however after much research I realized that the roof offers absolutely no structural rigidity to the vehicle, sunroof offers more structure than the sheet metal on the roof.

There is a pseudo frame that's tied into the body making it more of a unibody than a traditional body on frame construction. Which means that I can put the roof off and make it into a convertible or a pickup like I did or even stretch it out 30" and turn it into a 6x6, wink, wink, without compromising too much structural integrity.

eBay spacer lifts are dirt cheap. And best of all I can fit narrow 33" tires as long as I stay reasonably close to the scrub radius of OEM 235/70r16 tires.

My budget for a yard tractor Jeep was $1,000 including $100 lift kit and $600 tires, so I started looking for a $300 running, driving Jeep Liberty.

You must be registered for see images attach

After a few weeks of searching I found my perfect little jem. $350 with a couple scratches, new tires, 2 owner, custom bumper and 412,000 gentle commuting miles on original motor. I had to have it.

This little Jeep is so cute, cuddly and easy to work on that I have another fun idea for my next Jeep Liberty project which will require at least 2 or possibly 3 Jeep Libertys so now I'm looking for my next two.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[DadOSix]

Mother-in-law was going to trade 04 kj because it had a knock in the front end. Not constant, just on a hard right like doing a donut in the lot. Fwd and reverse. S-I-L is impatient and I caught them at the dealer after i told them i’d give em what the dealer offered. They were scared of the kj noise and would not wait til I looked at it.

she ordered the renegade and i brought the 04 80kmi home for a grand.

OhYeah! I found the knock too! Her tire shoppe left the right lca front nut loose and it would shift about. Noticed when I was doing my first oil change and looked up and saw the shiny spot.