Jeep Wrangler TJ 4.0 Build Log

[Martynt74]

As some of you might've read elsewhere i'm in the market for a soft top SUV. Because, lets face it. They're awesome. Initial thoughts were to a Suzuki Jimny/Jeep Wrangler. With the Jimny generally winning due to price, despite much preferring the look of the Wrangler.

The issue then became availability. My wife needs an Automatic. From looking around, finding an automatic soft top Jimny is damn near impossible. This meant a Jeep became the front runner. Whilst still restricted on options, i find that around 20% of Jeeps for Sale are autos and it's just a case of finding the right one. It does however, push the budget up to €15k-€20k to get something which is decent all round. Which goes against my plan for something cheap that i won't be precious about when someone inevitably drives into me, or i scrape it on a wall on some ridiculously narrow street.

I then started to play with the idea of having 2 cars. It frees up myself to have a soft top 4x4 without the restriction of transmission. It then also means the wife can have an auto which is likely going to be a nicer place to be inside, and probably better for any longer journeys. It also means the 4x4 can be a "beater" style car. Throw stuff in it for the beach etc without worrying about it being tidy for day to day use. (Gonna be in Spain)

I then came across an Asia Rocsta, now i've never heard of one before, but it certainly looks good. This one in particular looks ideal.

ASIA ROCSTA ( LEER BIEN EL ANUNCIO ) 2.0TDI 85CV

ASIA ROCSTA 2.0TDI 85CV (AVERIADO JUNTA CULATA) EL COCHE FUNCIONA PERFECTAMENTE SE USA CADA DIA ITV RECIÉN PASADO LIBRE DE IMPUESTOS DE CIRCULACIÓN NO NEGOCIABLE NO CAMBIOS.

es.wallapop.com

It's effectively based on a South Korean military jeep which was based on a Willys Jeep. It's made by Kia and has a Mazda engine. My concern being that availability for spares could be limited should i have problems in the future, whilst countering this. I imagine it's a pretty basic/bulletproof designed car and so there's probably not a lot that could go wrong, and i'd hope that anything that did go wrong could be repaired by a competent mechanic or fabricated easily given the abundance of metal workers over here in every town.

Is it stupid to go for something like the above over a Jimny/Jeep which has a bigger following for someone who has little mechanical knowledge (but happy to learn, and with it being a second car isn't as imperative to be 100% functional all the time)

Is it also daft to have 2 cars, rather than just waiting and biding time to find the one that suits both needs.

 

[Yaayuh!]

I'm sure your husband would love it

 

[Chris Wilson]

There was a popular TV show called "Through the keyhole" where viewers had to guess the owner of a house from its interior, decor and personal belongings. The catch phrase after showing the house was something like "So who might live in a house like this?"

I recall it this morning as now I know who might buy a car like that....

 

[Martynt74]

There was a popular TV show called "Through the keyhole" where viewers had to guess the owner of a house from its interior, decor and personal belongings. The catch phrase after showing the house was something like "So who might live in a house like this?"

I recall it this morning as now I know who might buy a car like that....

Someone incredibly cool with dashing good looks, a 6 pack and long wavey hair cruising to the beach with his surfboard?


Or a 36yr old bald fat accountant…

 

[Rroff]

It's effectively based on a South Korean military jeep which was based on a Willys Jeep. It's made by Kia and has a Mazda engine. My concern being that availability for spares could be limited should i have problems in the future, whilst countering this. I imagine it's a pretty basic/bulletproof designed car and so there's probably not a lot that could go wrong, and i'd hope that anything that did go wrong could be repaired by a competent mechanic or fabricated easily given the abundance of metal workers over here in every town.

Probably going to be like with brands like Infiniti where the parts are standard Nissan, often Bosch, but unless you actually know the parts there is a lot of hassle sourcing stuff due to the layer of obscurity and garages want to charge you like 10x the actual price compared to the same part on a Nissan, etc.

Living in Spain it makes a lot more sense heh - was going to say in the UK the chances of actually enjoying a vehicle like that how it is meant to be is often rare and fleeting.

For some reason the Jimny (hard top) has become popular around where I live in a somewhat rural area with people who aren't really country types but feel more comfortable in something which is a 4x4 if they are in and out of the back roads, etc.

 

[Greebo]

fabulous off roader but you will hate it if you have to drive anywhere on tarmac.

At the end of the day its basically a Kia. parts should be plentiful and easy to come by. Even the engines were built by kia although based on Mazda engines.

Interestingly when launched it was the same price as a Suzuki Vitara. You considered one of them perhaps?

Cars That Time Forgot: Asia Rocsta | Hagerty UK

Let's off-road! The Asia Rocsta was a hardcore 4x4 that arrived in the UK in 1994, but its road manners were poor and sales slow.

www.hagerty.co.uk

 

[Uther]

For Spain? I would.

 

[Martynt74]

Interestingly when launched it was the same price as a Suzuki Vitara. You considered one of them perhaps?

Yeah, it's another on the list. It was always ruled out when needing it to be an Automatic because of availability, but it's now back into contention. Similar with a Suzuki Samurai.

Interesting point on the tarmac as that's obviously what the car is going to be used for, for 95% of it's life. Hate it in what way? My theory is i could happily swap out seats for something more comfortable, although the gearstick looks like nothing i've ever seen before. Is it down to the gearing being horrific for road use? A shame as it has fantastic looks like the Jeep at a much cheaper price point. Only downside is the central cross bar is elevated which could make mounting a paddle board on the roof difficult.

EDIT - Just seen 23 seconds to 60. Yeah i can imagine that being a painful drive around towns!

@Rroff I think that's a big plus for them, they offer that high up position people like whilst still having the small size of a hatchback, rather than bloating outwards like most modern cars. If they did the new Jimny in a convertible i'd be all over it!

 

[Greebo]

Yeah, it's another on the list. It was always ruled out when needing it to be an Automatic because of availability, but it's now back into contention. Similar with a Suzuki Samurai.

Interesting point on the tarmac as that's obviously what the car is going to be used for, for 95% of it's life. Hate it in what way? My theory is i could happily swap out seats for something more comfortable, although the gearstick looks like nothing i've ever seen before. Is it down to the gearing being horrific for road use? A shame as it has fantastic looks like the Jeep at a much cheaper price point. Only downside is the central cross bar is elevated which could make mounting a paddle board on the roof difficult.

@Rroff I think that's a big plus for them, they offer that high up position people like whilst still having the small size of a hatchback, rather than bloating outwards like most modern cars. If they did the new Jimny in a convertible i'd be all over it!

Just going by that review

Despite its incredible talents off road, the Rocsta didn’t have all that much ground clearance, but it did have high-profile tyres and these, combined with the short wheelbase, ensured that the ride comfort was comparable with a pogo stick’s; Complete Car reckoned that ‘ride comfort is absurdly bumpy by normal car standards’. Its author also introduced the car by saying ‘the Rocsta (pronounced rock star, as in Gary Glitter)…’

When Roger Bell tried a Rocsta for Car magazine, he also came away impressed by its off-road abilities, less so by its on-road talents. He wrote: There’s no incentive to drive quickly, even if you could. The low-geared, unassisted steering is heavy and ponderously unresponsive – you twirl the wheel madly on sharp bends. Despite the short wheelbase, the turning circle is abysmal. Ten miles on tarmac was more than enough to expose this vehicle’s limitations as normal transport’.

plus dont forget its painfully slow. 0-60 in 23 seconds when new.

 

[Martynt74]

Yeah, just reading that now. Hadn't assumed a car could be so horrible for road use! Think it's being removed from any plans. Unless people have managed to modify it over the years to be a better option!

 

[Greebo]

Personally I would get a Jimny. Have you considered a Toyota Land Cruiser FJ

 

[Martynt74]

Personally I would get a Jimny. Have you considered a Toyota Land Cruiser FJ

I did read a few things about them, but couldn't find any for sale over here. Although it's not as easy here as using AT in the UK. There's so many competing websites. The best i've found is www.coches.net but it's still fairly limited.

My other thinking is to wait till i'm in the UK and pick up a Jimny over there and ship it over. I had a quote of ~£1200 for shipping which added to the import costs would probably still be less than buying one in Spain. Benefits being i could communicate easier to buy something. Downsides is it's obviously RHD, but if it's only my car it's not something i'm bothered about.

Dream would be to find a LHD car in the UK. Then PX my car for it, and be on my way.

 

[Greebo]

I did read a few things about them, but couldn't find any for sale over here. Although it's not as easy here as using AT in the UK. There's so many competing websites. The best i've found is www.coches.net but it's still fairly limited.

My other thinking is to wait till i'm in the UK and pick up a Jimny over there and ship it over. I had a quote of ~£1200 for shipping which added to the import costs would probably still be less than buying one in Spain. Benefits being i could communicate easier to buy something. Downsides is it's obviously RHD, but if it's only my car it's not something i'm bothered about.

Dream would be to find a LHD car in the UK. Then PX my car for it, and be on my way.

https://www.my-lhd.co.uk/lefthanddrivecars/result.php?marque=SUZUKI

???

My in laws were the same in greece. Proper small offroaders like the Jimny were stupid money over there like old beat up ones still being 15000 euros so they bought one in the Uk and drove it back to greece themselves.

Kept it in Greece for over 15 years.

 

[Martynt74]

Yeah. I've found that. It seems like it's winning. It's annoying they are free for UK/France delivery but charge for Spain.

I'd need to weigh up the costs for the Spain registration/delivery as it could be cheaper to just have it delivered in Spain ready for me.

 

[Rroff]

plus dont forget its painfully slow. 0-60 in 23 seconds when new.

Ouch - I find anything over 10 seconds painful and I don't aim for crazy fast - but if I put my foot down it is for a reason and I like to have something to back that up heh.

 

[Martynt74]

Also to add following discussions with the wife, i think the current thinking is

1 - If we can get an Automatic SUV, then winning. It ticks all boxes
2 - If the above is too much of a compromise, we get a manual. Especially given my wife drives about 5 times a year at most in the UK and likely even less once we're here
3 - If we get a manual and she finds it too much of a struggle, we then look for something for her at a later point.

It seems like a sensible plan. Downsides being that if it's our only car, then i'm more willing to spend more on something less tatty than i otherwise would. This then means we potentially spend more on cars than we'd like if we end up with 2 cars.


Positives are that it also opens up the possibility of a Jeep YJ which is rare in Automatic form. I know they're the black sheep of the Wrangler family due to the non traditional square headlights, but i think they look brilliant. Especially if you get one with decent paintwork. Although it certainly takes the comfort side of things down a notch!


I should add, that my parents have 2 cars over here. An old Citroen C3 and a Jaguar F Pace. If we ever wanted a road trip, then i'm certain we could borrow the Jag to give us some comforts, or we just rent a car for the week.

 

[Haggisman]

I'm sure your husband would love it

There was a popular TV show called "Through the keyhole" where viewers had to guess the owner of a house from its interior, decor and personal belongings. The catch phrase after showing the house was something like "So who might live in a house like this?"

I recall it this morning as now I know who might buy a car like that....

You joke, but me and a couple of mates rented something similar (iirc it was a Suzuki Samurai) when we were on holiday in Croatia, and it was hilariously fun - basically a life-size Tonka toy. Certainly wouldn't want one as a daily driver, and probably wouldn't want one in the UK due to the 6* days a year it would actually be usable, but for dirt roads and beaches around the Med - perfect!




*(3 when it's sunny enough to take the roof down, 3 when it's snowy enough to make the 4wd worthwhile)

 

[Hades]

I would love a Jimny so vote for that. They have quite a following.

 

[Martynt74]

Ok, starting to get a decent bit of research done now. I'm fairly certain of a TJ model Wrangler. Ideally the 4.0 version, but the 2,5 would likely be fine too for my use. I found the absolute perfect car for me, however it was the other end of the country. I priced up flights since it was suspiciously cheap. However a brief chat confirmed it was suspiciously cheap due to being a scam!

Am hoping to see the two cars below at the weekend. Both a similar price, and each have their positives and negatives.

Main negative being they're both the 2.5 model, and i'm concerned they may be a little underpowered for motorways etc.

The paintwork on this looks immaculate. It's also nice and local, and the owner speaks English (think they're Dutch), seems to have had a lot of work done on it. Downside being that it doesn't have a full roof, just the bikini top.

This one is bright, and i wonder if my wife might regret giving me full decision making responsibilities! It also comes with a hard top, LED headlight conversion, wide arches and looks like the stereo has been upgraded. The seats are also easier on the eye.

I know i need to make compromises. I think looking for an Auto is the first thing which has been removed from the list, second is the 4.0 engine. Beyond that they all seem to be similar. There's stuff i want to do to make it more "daily car", like powererd windows/central locking/keyless and a decent head unit. Possibly also looking at fitting some electric seats.

Main issues being spares here are expensive, so the yellowy green one above has already done a bit of the work, and so that saves me the hassle.

 

[jpaul]

I'd thought you might have ruled wrangler out on the basis of l/100km or spanish road tax ... maybe 2.5's not bad, low emission zones might become a concern too.