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]

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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.

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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!

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