Are the Scramblers getting to valuable to enjoy

[TexasAg77]

Mine is waiting for the call from the shop to be redone. Paint, stripes, etc. Gonna be me daily driver as needed. Luckily am retired, so only drive where I want to! Will still wheel it and tow behind the motorhome too. Can always have the paint touched up!

 

[designerRob]

But at these prices who can afford to buy and do 4 wheeling in them.

They are getting just to expensive to rag out.

A lot of people can buy old Jeeps and wheel them. Look at all the people that will spend twice as much on a new Wrangler and wheel it. Also, you can do a lot of 4 wheeling and not 'rag it out'. And I would argue an 83' Scrambler would cost less to repair than a 2021 Wrangler.

I don't really think Scramblers are much more collectible/valuable than a nice CJ 5 or 7. Look at the asking prices for some of those.

As they say, if you're lucky enough to own a Jeep Scrambler then you're lucky enough. 🍻

 

[TexasAg77]

I don't really think Scramblers are much more collectible/valuable than a nice CJ 5 or 7.

Might agree on the 5's, but not the 7's. Way more 7's out there. Only 27+K 8's total ever made, so much more limited supply.

The 7's are being priced by folks who think all buyers are like the ones at B-J Scottsdale, IMHO.

 

[sdsupilot]

If I would have bought a clean original or nicely restored 8 I may have a different opinion. When I got mine over 10 years ago it was nearly stock with an older I6 from an AMC hornet in place of the original Iron Duke I4. The right front fender had been resprayed due to a fender bender at some point. Unfortunately it had a fair amount of rust (by midwest standards). I suppose the back story is how I justify modifying nearly everything on the Jeep over the past decade. I bought it to be a fun haver full knowing it will see wear, scrapes dents and dings along the way. I honestly wish the values wouldn't have gone up so much.

 

[Chamba]

Having learnt my lesson from restorations which got out of control in the past and led to cars I no longer enjoyed, my goal was mechanical 'perfection' with aesthetic acceptability. I'm pretty happy with the result because I feel like I can trust the vehicle's reliability but if it gets bumped in a parking lot it doesn't ruin my weekend

 

[GreatCJ8]

Having learnt my lesson from restorations which got out of control in the past and led to cars I no longer enjoyed, my goal was mechanical 'perfection' with aesthetic acceptability. I'm pretty happy with the result because I feel like I can trust the vehicle's reliability but if it gets bumped in a parking lot it doesn't ruin my weekend

I've never learned my lesson, never had money when I was younger to get in that position.
But this current build of mine was like you described above perfectly. Mechanically solid, acceptable aesthetics. Well this build has gone far better than I dreamed of. Lots of little details only a caring, expert enthusiast would suggest or do, from their experience. That's priceless IMHO.
But the rhinolined tub put things in perspective 🤣
Sometimes I see completely rebuilt beautiful scramblers & can't imagine wheeling those 😬
I hope I can daily drive mine again, for years & will be adding some modern comforts... Next year

 

[bigwalton]

“if you’re not gonna drive it then get professional photographer to take amazing pictures and blow them up to hang in your office. Then sell the damn thing. You’ll get the same amount of enjoyment and you’ll have the money.”

This is PERFECT and it precisely sums up what I think when I see car collectors with a barn/shop full of perfect vehicles sitting there never being driven. I totally get the investment aspect similar to buying art, but CJs will NEVER be that kind of investment.

JUST DRIVE THEM.

I got one of only 230 Alaskan Postals ever made. I built it the way I wanted and I only have a few more states in the US to hit before it's been driven to-and-through all 50 (Hawaii will be last and will stretch my "to-and-through" rule )

I always hate seeing people building them so pretty that they won't use them (I'm looking at you @Randyzzz , you better not sell that damn thing!!!) and, conversely, I LOVE seeing people building them well and then USING THEM (I'm looking at you @jims chop shop and I can't wait for @wjtstudios to have his out with us!)

 

[Randyzzz]

You talking to me?🤣

 

[Chamba]

I'll talk to you Randy: finish it. Drive it. Enjoy it. You live in Oregon, you could drive it every single day for another 10 years and it'll still look amazing.

Why sell it to some wanker who will either drive the hell out of it for years, enjoying the fruits of your skills or park it in his garage to show off to his friends with "check out my Jeep". In a year you'll forget where the money you got from it went.

Drive it. Be proud every time you drive her.

 

[wjtstudios]

This is PERFECT and it precisely sums up what I think when I see car collectors with a barn/shop full of perfect vehicles sitting there never being driven. I totally get the investment aspect similar to buying art, but CJs will NEVER be that kind of investment.

JUST DRIVE THEM.

I got one of only 230 Alaskan Postals ever made. I built it the way I wanted and I only have a few more states in the US to hit before it's been driven to-and-through all 50 (Hawaii will be last and will stretch my "to-and-through" rule )

I always hate seeing people building them so pretty that they won't use them (I'm looking at you @Randyzzz , you better not sell that damn thing!!!) and, conversely, I LOVE seeing people building them well and then USING THEM (I'm looking at you @jims chop shop and I can't wait for @wjtstudios to have his out with us!)

It's getting closer!! can't wait to hit the trails with you!

 

[Randyzzz]

I'll talk to you Randy: finish it. Drive it. Enjoy it. You live in Oregon, you could drive it every single day for another 10 years and it'll still look amazing.

Why sell it to some wanker who will either drive the hell out of it for years, enjoying the fruits of your skills or park it in his garage to show off to his friends with "check out my Jeep". In a year you'll forget where the money you got from it went.

Drive it. Be proud every time you drive her.

I will, I will, and I will.

Rock chips are about the only road hazard here, well, also deer and distracted drivers… but Oregon is pretty mellow. I will garage if in winter, that is for sure.

The lure of actually making some good money, and buying a nice stock one is appealing. But I don’t think I can part with this one. Ever.

 

[barrys]

Why sell it to some wanker who will either drive the hell out of it for years, enjoying the fruits of your skills or park it in his garage to show off to his friends with "check out my Jeep".

Or ship it to Japan😁

 

[bigwalton]

The lure of actually making some good money, and buying a nice stock one is appealing.

Here's your problem: you, me and everyone here knows you won't leave that stock one alone, you'll start pecking away at it and it will end up in a year-plus-long rebuild where you'll be right back in the same spot, just multiple years of non-scrambler driving enjoyment further along.

IMO, you need to look at this as your "retirement" Scrambler, meaning retiring from working on YOUR Scrambler and just ENJOYING it.

 

[Randyzzz]

Here's your problem: you, me and everyone here knows you won't leave that stock one alone, you'll start pecking away at it and it will end up in a year-plus-long rebuild where you'll be right back in the same spot, just multiple years of non-scrambler driving enjoyment further along.

IMO, you need to look at this as your "retirement" Scrambler, meaning retiring from working on YOUR Scrambler and just ENJOYING it.

Dang, you guys have me figured out better than my wife! Some good advice here. I guess I’d better get to work and get it finished so I can drive it!

 

[jpnmaine]

Need TWO. One for the ride. Other for the financial/time distraction.

 

[Chamba]

People used to ask me why I had two Jeeps. I always answered it was because I could not afford three.

 

[wjtstudios]

People used to ask me why I had two Jeeps. I always answered it was because I could not afford three.

Makes perfect sense to me

 

[Graveltravels]

Man, seeing the prices these things are at blows me away. It was already ridiculous when i found mine in 2015, at $5g canbucks, in the great white north here. And it's currently a lawn ornament. I've debated selling it, I've put it up for sale at the "My wife told me to sell it" price, then turned down buyers who offered me above my asking price. It's been with me thru divorce, remarriage, bankruptcy. I owe it a life. And I want to set it up for long ranging, for trips and trails. I'm gonna build it nice, and I'm gonna wheel it until they peel my cold dead fingers off the steering wheel! I want to get to some scrambler events stateside, I want to hit some jeep jamborees, wheel with a bunch of y'all, and make some memories in it before it's rust and I'm dust!

 

[AJ2393]

As an outside to this post with no Scrambler, todays prices have basically "priced me out" of being able to buy one. Not sure if they will ever retreat again to a somewhat affordable level for people like me with small budgets.

 

[Belizeit]

Man, seeing the prices these things are at blows me away. It was already ridiculous when i found mine in 2015, at $5g canbucks, in the great white north here. And it's currently a lawn ornament. I've debated selling it, I've put it up for sale at the "My wife told me to sell it" price, then turned down buyers who offered me above my asking price. It's been with me thru divorce, remarriage, bankruptcy. I owe it a life. And I want to set it up for long ranging, for trips and trails. I'm gonna build it nice, and I'm gonna wheel it until they peel my cold dead fingers off the steering wheel! I want to get to some scrambler events stateside, I want to hit some jeep jamborees, wheel with a bunch of y'all, and make some memories in it before it's rust and I'm dust!

I went to a couple of the J Jams like 30 some years ago and they were way to crowded then. I think the group things with the forum guys and your video guys up there would be a lot better and maybe some overlanding on both sides of the border would be great. Just my thoughts and plans.