CJ Prices Higher Then TJ

[JAG811]

Ok can someone please explain to me why CJ owners are asking such bug bucks for them.

Story goes - My first three cars were CJ's and I've got the big boy toy thing now were I thought I'd find a 79 (my birth year) to restore. Look for something around 5k, spend another 5-7k on parts and end up with a fully restored CJ that shouldn't be far off it's actual resale value.

Only thing is for the last 6 months I've been flat out finding anything under 9k. Check out Carpoint and the same CJ's haven't moved for 6 months with people asking 9-10k. There's a VERY average V8 for something like 30k ??
The vehicles are between 25-30 years old. Most have the old juice guzzling steam engine 258's and those that have a V8 expect an extra 10k sale price. They steer like boats, usually full of rust, you can't see the speedo, and if you take your eye off the road you end up on the other side of the road.
Overlanders in bad condition still ask minimum 10k under the pretense their rare.
Spending 20,000 bucks restoring them doesn't make them worth $25,000 ??

There is however a great example of a really tidy restore on Carpoint at the moment and they're asking $14,000. That, I think is a fair price for an immaculate rebuild.

So after 6 months looking around, I began to look at TJ's again as the project vehicle. $6 - $8,000 buys you coil springs, airbags, injection, real dash, tidy bodies (no rust) and you can even pick up some renegades (full doors, hardtop) if your quick with the cash.
I sat down and looked at all the mods I wanted to do to the CJ and most parts are actually marginally cheaper for TJ's.

So TJ it is for me and the project can begin in a couple of months .... I'm still just a little baffled over CJ prices ... Is it just because you can slap a "Real Jeeps are made of steel" . . . .

[CJ6np435]

just tell em there dreaming!!
guess a TJ would be ok, but all the elec gizmo......mmmm I don't know
I like something pre ADR bollocks

[Xauterus]

Ah man it's the nostalgia!!
Theres all this hope around that because it is old it is worth a lot of money. Look at the prices of GT Falcons and correlate that and old and you have the reason old cars like the Jeep are expensive. People look at the restored price and think there's is close.

Corey

[AussieCJ7]

It's simple demand and supply TJ's had 1000's of them bought in CJ's were much lower production numbers in Aus and people want them so they sell for more and the price seems to be going slowly upwards


I agree many are asking silly prices and they havent moved but those serrious about selling will set a price at the real market price to me the range seems to be 10K to 15K for a ready to drive machine and 5 to 10K for a solid base to fix up

Less than 5K will cost you a lot more in the long run as you buy a whole CJ brand new in parts to replace the crap you bought to get the vin

[Richo]

Yep, a $5k CJ will generally be a rusty POS that has had 10 owners, maybe 8 who flogged it to death and drilled a dozen holes all over it to mount stereos and crap.

Spend $10-$15 and get a better one, 2-3 owners who actually cared enough to spend $$ occasionally and maintain it with orig Jeep parts, not bodgy up a chrysler ignition a ford heater box and a holder PS pump.

Good clean old Jeeps are going the same way as any old 60's/70's/80's collectables, and there's nothing wrong with that. I almost cry when I think of the cars I've had and let go- a really clean XU-1, a LC GTR with a strong 308 fitted, a Lx 308 hatch, a Xb GT Hardtop.

All would be anywhere from $20-$50k now. I even very nearly brought Peter Jansens A9X for $25k in about 1988 complete with all cams log books etc, but it had a blown head gasket and I thought, nah, too much.
I heard it changed hands in the last year for somewhere north of $300k. D'OH!

[TOYROX]

CJ owners are sadists who love inflicting pain upon themselves.
So to pay to much for it in the first instance is no big deal.
Its the tens of thousands you continue to spend in the years that follow that make the pain all the more fun.
CJ owners could make it on Jackass no worries.

[TOYROX]

But in reality the ones you see not moving are there because they are overpriced.
CJ's at the right price are sold quickly and usually before they hit the press.
Keep an eye on Ebay as they do come up often enough. Just be prepared to pay a little more then you think you should. They all need work on them as they are now old.
But if you fix them right the first time you will get a good run and a lot more looks then any show pony TJ.

I do know of very clean CJ's selling for 25k. So your 14k for an imaculate is a little short of the market.
Why do old Kingswoods sell for more then late model Comodores. Becasue they do.