How much is It worth

Rick D

New member
I have a 97 jeep wrangler with a cracked frame. it is 2.5 5 speed. the bottom is rusty but body and interior are in ex cond.
Thetop and door skins are two yrs. old (half doors) engine has 70k mi. IF I knew how to fix it myself I would never part with it.
the cost of paying for parts & labor would never be worth the the problems. I JUST PUT 4 NEW TIRES on two weeks before the frame broke.
I have no idea what its. thanks for any advice. Rick
 

At risk of sounding cliché, it’s only worth what someone is willing to pay you for it. However, if the frame repair is out of the question for you, there are a couple of options. The first being someone who would like a project Jeep and is willing to do the repair/replacement of the frame, but that is a narrow market and the buyer has the burden of storing the vehicle, finding parts, etc. so he or she is going to want to keep the initial cost low.
Another option is finding a Jeep specific parts broker who is willing (and believe me, they will be) to buy it from you and part it out. Keep in mind this person will have to transport the Jeep, invest in the labor to strip it down, inventory the parts, place ads on various media and deal with the sale of individual parts. It may take this person months to sell enough parts to recover their cost. Depending on want area of the country you live in, I may be able to recommend someone to you.
The last and most profitable is parting it yourself. You will have the same problems that the person who does this for a living. Additionally, depending on the area you live in, you may have zoning law or MVA regs that you’ll be responsible for. It will take you longer, but it would be your money. Look on Ebay and Craigslist, people pay a fortune for OEM and after-market Jeep parts. After you strip down the Jeep, inventory what you have, market it (hopefully haven’t destroyed too many parts- because its your profit), you are still left with getting rid of the scrap material left over. And yes, there is money to be made in scrap steel as well! Make no mistake, you can earn a lot of money doing it yourself, but it can be a gurgling process.
Not try to discourage you either way….. I’ve just been in your shoes.
 
Parting it out is the way to go. I parted out my old CJ and made twice what I would have made selling it whole.
 
Not sure how the frame can rust in half and the body still be in excellent condition. I'd be skeptical of the tub floor. I think you'd be lucky to get $1000 from somebody willing to part it out.
 

Have you thought of taking it to a good welding shop and seeing what they'd charge to fix the frame? Maybe it could be repaired without removing the tub.
 
I would call a few welding shops to get a price range. I have had a few things welded at a shop and it was not as expensive as I had thought it might be. I have had a shock mount welded on, and a u-joint welded to a steering shaft, both were 20.00. I would think "max" price wouldn't be over 200.00 -300.00 at the most and I think that is high. I got a quote to straighten my frame for that price, your just getting some welding done. I would check it out before parting with my jeep.
 
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