Used Car of the Day: 1988 Jeep Wrangler YJ

by Tim Healey

Published: November 2nd, 2023

used car of the day 1988 jeep wrangler yj

Today's UCOTD comes from your author's backyard. Not literally, of course -- this 1988 Jeep Wrangler YJ is for sale in Chicago's near north suburbs.

It has some frame issues, but it's also been a daily driver and the seller has a frame repair kit available. Underhood is a four-cylinder engine and the transmission is a five-speed manual.

Both hard- and soft-tops are available, as are both full and half doors.

One red flag? The odometer isn't accurate.

The brake booster, the master cylinder, and starter are new.

The driver's side floor pan was replaced recently, and the passenger's side needs it. There are one-inch lift shackles for all four corners, with the fronts installed.

The ask is a very low $2,000. Click here to check it out.

[Images: Seller]

Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.

#UCOTD #UsedCaroftheDay #UsedCars #Jeep #JeepWrangler #YJ #JeepWranglerYJ #1988JeepWrangler #WranglerYJ #1988JeepWranglerYJ

Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

More by Tim Healey

Comments

Join the conversation

2 of 29 comments

Evan on Nov 03, 2023

I've had a YJ like this since it was nearly new. A later 4.0 5-speed in good shape seems to be worth a few bucks these days, but this isn't. Frame rot on these is something I wouldn't touch. Rust in the floorboards is common and repairable and fenders are replaceable, but this thing is mostly rust and therefore worthless. I'd be afraid to even look under those aftermarket rocker panel covers.

The hardtop and full doors are worth half of the asking price or more, the rest is scrap.

2 Reply
Abraham on Nov 03, 2023

The hard top actually looks pretty good. This guy could probably sell it for $2000 all by itself. I’m guessing all the parts are a-la-cart and you’ll have to negotiate separately.
ONLY THE RUSTY MASS IN THE MIDDLE IS $2000!

Like Reply

Recent Comments

Jalop1991 My wife got a unicorn car, a bright blue with carmel interior. We love it. Too bad more automakers and/or dealers want to go this route.
Kat Laneaux I would if there was a color that was available at not such and large price. If they had the option...I'd bling out the car. I'm just that kind a gal.
Varezhka And the higher you go, the less color choice you get (or rather, fifty shades of grey and one or two colors), it seems. The only cars that are available in rainbow hues are either cheap penalty boxes or uber luxury cars with custom painting options.
MaintenanceCosts I have kids so I'll take the Versa and its big back seat, base manual please.But for $20k, with a focus on low operating cost, I'll take a gently used Bolt. Oh, wait, I have one of those already.
MRF 95 T-Bird The Versa since it’s a more substantial vehicle than the Mirage. Now if you asked that question 30-40 years ago the Mirage aka Dodge Colt would be the value leader. Twin stick for the win. Fiat has a real opportunity to offer here in the states entry level cars in the $20k-25k range like the Tipo and Panda.