Used Car of the Day: 1988 Jeep Wrangler YJ

Tim Healey
by Tim Healey

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]

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Tim Healey
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

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2 of 29 comments
  • Evan 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.

  • Abraham 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!

  • MaintenanceCosts What is the actual out-the-door price? Is it lower or higher than that of a G580?
  • ToolGuy Supercharger > Turbocharger. (Who said this? Me, because it is the Truth.)I have been thinking of obtaining a newer truck to save on fuel expenses, so this one might be perfect.
  • Zerofoo Calling Fisker a "small automaker" is a stretch. Fisker designed the car - Magna actually builds the thing.It would be more accurate to call Fisker a design house.
  • ToolGuy Real estate, like cars: One of the keys (and fairly easy to do) is to know which purchase NOT to make. Let's see: 0.43 acre lot within shouting distance of $3-4 million homes. You paid $21.8M in 2021, but want me to pay $35M now? No, thank you. (The buyer who got it for $8.5M in 2020, different story, maybe possibly.) [Property taxes plus insurance equals $35K per month? I'm out right there lol.] Point being, you can do better for that money. (At least the schools are good? Nope lol.)If I bought a car company, I would want to buy Honda. Because other automakers have to get up and go to work to make things happen, but Honda can just nap away because they have the Power of Dreams working for them. They can just rest easy and coast to greatness. Shhhh don't wake them. Also don't alert their customers lol.
  • Kwik_Shift_Pro4X Much nicer vehicles to choose from for those coins.
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