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Newby with pricing question

cypressbog

New member
City
Green Bay
State
WI
Hello,

New member here, thanks for allowing me here. I'm interested in buying a Scrambler however the prices seam largely unsupportable. A look up of values in "Old Cars Report - Price Guide 2016; the Scramblers are valued at $7,000 in mint #1 concours restored or original. NADA has values that top out at $16,000 for a perfect example. Haggarty goes as much as $30,000. What the heck is going on? 6-7 years ago I could get a base Scrambler in nice daily driver shape for less than $6,000.
 

barrys

Scrambler Junkie
Lifetime Member
City
East Norriton
State
PA
Older vehicles, especially non big 3 ones don't tend to stick to "pricing books". Scramblers are a deal compared to restored or clean survivors compared to early Broncos and FJ40's. There have been quite a few clean ones that have sold close to Book value. Some forum members have bought them and enjoyed them. Other ones have been bought and resold for sometimes double the original price.
 

certifiablejeep

Definitley Certifiable
Lifetime Member
City
Bedford
State
NH
Simple supply vs. demand... there is not a lot of supply... they aren't making anymore, and people want them.
The math does itself and whatever the market will bear will bear.

cb
 

Scramblin Man

Beyond help
Lifetime Member
City
Woodway
State
Tx
That NADA book is 2 years ago and the market price for Scramblers has taken an upswing since then. Also IMO the NADA value has traditionally been low.
 

walkerhoundvm

Just trying to stay upright
Lifetime Member
City
Cave Creek
State
AZ
Also, where could you find a nice base model daily driver for $6000 six years ago? I'd suggest you look through old sales here for a better idea of average sale prices. Ebay also maintains previous sales for some period of time.
 

cypressbog

New member
City
Green Bay
State
WI
I guess I'll sit back and wait to see what the new JT will be like. Order banks are supposed to open in January with delivery in April 2019. Only problem is they are going to be 4 door and that takes away from the nostalgia of the 80's Scramblers. All I was looking for around here was a good cheap reliable runner I could use as a winter beater until the JT comes out. I'm wanting to sell my 2012 Ram 2500 with 2007 27 foot 5th wheel RV before winter.
 

DeLuke

Scrambler Junkie
Lifetime Member
City
Dallas
State
TX
That NADA and Price Guide are not truly reflective of market. I just looked at the Hagerty pricing tool, and there estimates seem reasonable or at least not unreasonable based on what I see in the market.

With details and pictures, we can throw out some actual price ranges for you.
 

walkerhoundvm

Just trying to stay upright
Lifetime Member
City
Cave Creek
State
AZ
I guess I'll sit back and wait to see what the new JT will be like. Order banks are supposed to open in January with delivery in April 2019. Only problem is they are going to be 4 door and that takes away from the nostalgia of the 80's Scramblers. All I was looking for around here was a good cheap reliable runner I could use as a winter beater until the JT comes out. I'm wanting to sell my 2012 Ram 2500 with 2007 27 foot 5th wheel RV before winter.

latest


I'm planning to wait for the resale market on the jt. They're going to be ridiculously priced on release. Wait two years and they'll be half off.
 

designerRob

CJ-8 Member
Silver Member
City
Allen Park
State
MI
I guess I'll sit back and wait to see what the new JT will be like. Order banks are supposed to open in January with delivery in April 2019. Only problem is they are going to be 4 door and that takes away from the nostalgia of the 80's Scramblers. All I was looking for around here was a good cheap reliable runner I could use as a winter beater until the JT comes out. I'm wanting to sell my 2012 Ram 2500 with 2007 27 foot 5th wheel RV before winter.
If you think CJ-8s are expensive, what do you think a new JT Scram will cost? I have to think $40K+.

And in my opinion, you'll never get the nostalgic, classic CJ feeling of the CJ-8 in a new JT.
 

cypressbog

New member
City
Green Bay
State
WI
I hear ya Rob. Wife’s 2018 JLU stickered at $52K, I’m thinking the JT will be equal to that without many options. Might be $60k loaded with Diesel engine option, But I can drive it year round. I’d couldn’t imagine paying $20k for an 80’s Scrambler and drive it all winter, lol. I could, but ya’ll would kill me, lol
 

designerRob

CJ-8 Member
Silver Member
City
Allen Park
State
MI
Ya, I wouldn't ruin a nice CJ by driving it through Green Bay winters. I'm in the metro Detroit area and wouldn't dream of it. I drive a Grand Cherokee through the winters here and it's just about perfect for me. Good luck on all your selling and buying.
 

Moabite

CJ-8 Member
City
Moab
State
UT
Scrambler prices took a substantial jump in the summer of 2016...right after I bought mine back. I was pleasantly surprised. I'll probably get flamed on this forum, but I've decided to order the new JT as soon as order banks open, hopefully in January. From everything I've read, I expect a well-optioned Rubicon JT will be in the neighborhood of $60K. Buying the JT will most likely mean I will need to sell the Scrambler...again. That will be difficult. As for driving during the winter, I don't. I won't even drive mine if there's a slight threat of rain. One problem I've discovered with owning a "classic" is that I seem so intent on preserving it that I rarely drive it.

I will have trouble calling the JT a Scrambler, if that is what FCA decides to name it. Several JTs are supposed to arrive in Moab today for field testing. It's too bad they'll all be wearing camo. A Moab photo of a real Scrambler with the new JT would be great.
 

John N

Addicted....Ex-SOA VP
BENEFACTOR
Gold Member
Lifetime Member
SOA Member
City
Rockville
State
VA
Scrambler prices took a substantial jump in the summer of 2016...right after I bought mine back. I was pleasantly surprised. I'll probably get flamed on this forum, but I've decided to order the new JT as soon as order banks open, hopefully in January. From everything I've read, I expect a well-optioned Rubicon JT will be in the neighborhood of $60K. Buying the JT will most likely mean I will need to sell the Scrambler...again. That will be difficult. As for driving during the winter, I don't. I won't even drive mine if there's a slight threat of rain. One problem I've discovered with owning a "classic" is that I seem so intent on preserving it that I rarely drive it.

I will have trouble calling the JT a Scrambler, if that is what FCA decides to name it. Several JTs are supposed to arrive in Moab today for field testing. It's too bad they'll all be wearing camo. A Moab photo of a real Scrambler with the new JT would be great.
Sneak up on them, they’ll have to stop to eat at some point.
 

bigwalton

Alaskan Postal nutjob
FORUM MANAGER
SOA Member
City
Dexter
State
MI
I'd suggest you look through old sales here for a better idea of average sale prices. Ebay also maintains previous sales for some period of time.

This.

Looking up any "book value" on anything this old that has any kind of enthusiast following is next to useless IMO.

If you want a cheap winter beater, I'd be going straight to an 4.0L XJ Cherokee or ZJ Grand Cherokee. Millions of them out there cheap as crap with the potential to run well over 200k miles. Not to drive you away from this forum, just my honest :twocents:
 

AK-RWC

Legacy Registered User
Gold Member
City
south central
State
AK
Only problem is they are going to be 4 door and that takes away from the nostalgia of the 80's Scramblers. All I was looking for around here was a good cheap reliable runner I could use as a winter beater until the JT comes out.

There's going to be nothing nostalgic about the JT other than recycling the "Scrambler" name. You should expect that will be literally the only thing in common between a CJ-8 and the JT.

Again, I agree with bigwalton: neither "a good cheap reliable runner" nor "a winter beater" sound like a CJ-8 to me. Definitely go XJ.

The CJ market is driven by the condition of the body and frame, as well as local market forces. There's another new member who just showed up with a super-clean, low-mileage base-model, that is nearly "survivor" status, that I could easily see fetching $15-$20K if he flipped it just because the frame and body are so ridiculously perfect. In Alaska, since the JKs came out, there's been a bit of "Jeep fever" that has drive up the cost of anything that has the "Wrangler" name on it; even a crappy '87 YJ can now fetch what a '97 TJ price was just a few years ago. That being said, the "fever" has only had a moderate impact on CJs . . . because CJs still tend to be rusty old CJs, and even uneducated buyers recognize large rust holes in floor pans and fenders. Even Dean's AMAZING pseudo-postal '84 CJ-8 (TDK frame, LS engine, Atlas, locked 60s f/r, 40"s, MD Juan tub with postal firewall, Aerotank, MD Juan clip, armor, etc.) didn't sell until he came down to like $12K or $14K--he had probably in excess of $70K into it with much of the build done professionally. But then some idiot will spend $4000 for a rusted '84 7 covered in diamond plate just because the seller polished the hood and it still has the "Renegade" decal = "nostalgia." (This Jeep has now been for sale between $3500-$4500 three or four times in the last two years here, and even with the rust, I'm 90% sure it's been repainted at some point.) But a nice rust-free base-model 7, with original paint, the MOPAR MPI kit, and an '86 Dana 44 still has a hard time selling here at $5000 because black paint and no decals = less nostalgia. I think a lot of this has to do with well-heeled JK owners wanting some of that nostalgia, but really having no idea what they are looking at, and thinking that a CJ will run/drive/behave similarly to their JK. Then it doesn't, and shops don't know how to work on a carb, and then the T-5 breaks, and it needs $2500 of maintenance since it hadn't been done when it was parked 10 years ago, and now there's even more rust, and once it runs now the seals start going out = that CJ is right back up for sale, or is parked until the JK owner "gets around to it." Then you have the Jeep-fever that bleeds to the slightly less well-heeled, who can't afford a JK, and so that's further driven the price for YJs and TJs, which many people here don't seem to understand the difference between when they go looking for "an older Wrangler." When a built JK with MOPAR 60s and 40" tires can fetch $50K+, buyers think they're getting a great deal on a 4-cylinder '90 YJ with SOA and lift springs on 37"s and regeared stock axles for $9K. But they think a CJ should be cheaper because it's older, even when that CJ-7 is an '85 Laredo repaint that has almost no rust and a full set of WARN hubs/shafts f/r . . . and can't sell at $7000.

Again, I'm not sure you really want a Scrambler. But if you do, welcome to the madness. Until then, pick up a '90s XJ with a 4.0L. (Or a ZJ with the 4.0L. The ZJs are good too, but the transmissions paired with the V8s tend to have issues, as do the V8s themselves.) Use that as your winter beater, drive it into the ground, etc. It'll be more reliable and definitely less expensive than a CJ-8. Nice running XJs sell all day every day around here for $1500-$3000 that require nothing to put on the highway.
 

cypressbog

New member
City
Green Bay
State
WI
Very well said AK! Knowing these detail helps absorb some of the initial price shock I felt a couple days ago. I had an 86 Cherokee Chief 2 door back in the mid 90's with the 2.8L V6 and loved that Jeep. It's already mid September and if I can't sell the RV in the next couple weeks, I'll winterize it, drive the Ram another winter and see what happens next spring.
 
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