The color combo of metallic green paint and warm wood grain paneling is only the start of the attractions of today’s Nice Price or No Dice Jeep. Let’s see if the list of plusses also includes its price tag.
While it may sometimes be true that “too much is never enough,” it’s more often the case that not enough is actually… well, not enough. That certainly was the case with yesterday’s 1982 Urba Sport Trimuter seeing as it had but three wheels and could only muster a wheezy 18 horsepower out of its lawn tractor engine. All that “not enough” proved to be too much for its $6,500 asking price to bear, and it fell in a 78 percent No Dice loss.
The woody wagon may not be a type of car that’s exclusive to America, but it’s safe to say that the U.S.A. does do them the best. Jeep, on the other hand, is unequivocally a tried and true American icon. Put the two standard-bearers together and suddenly you’re riding a bald eagle to a Lee Greenwood concert while holding a slice of apple pie ala-mode and simultaneously hitting the game-winning home run.
Ok, maybe that’s a bit much, but you still have to admit that today’s 1993 Jeep Grand Wagoneer is pretty sweet-looking.
American Motors debuted the Grand Wagoneer nameplate on the SJ platform in 1984. That was part of a shuffling of model names the company undertook as part of the introduction of the ZJ lineup. As the name implies, the woodgrain and leather-wrapped Grand Wagoneer was intended to be the platform’s ultimate expression.
When Jeep discontinued the SJ line in 1991 the Grand Wagoneer nameplate took a short vacation. It reemerged for the 1993 model year on the smaller ZJ platform, bringing with it the woodgrain appliqué and leather upholstery for which it was known. The ZJ Grand Wagoneer model would last for that one, brief model year, with just under 6,400 produced in total.
This one sports some lovely Hunter Green paint matched to glorious and un-faded vinyl wood trim. The ad describes the Jeep as a two-owner car originally sold to a physician and his wife, and garage-kept for most of its existence. According to that ad, the wife of the current owner thinks that as he is 80 years old, he should buy a newer car. I’m not sure of the logic there, but I don’t even argue with my own wife so we’ll just leave it at that.
The Grand Wagoneer was equipped from the factory with pretty much every bell and whistle Jeep could bolt onto it. Power for all that luxury and convenience comes from a 5.2 liter Magnum V8. That has 225 horsepower on offer, and 300 lb-ft of torque on regular gas. The engine is mated to a four-speed automatic transmission and legendary Quadra-Trac four-wheel drive.
The ad notes a good bit of maintenance having been recently completed, including “all new gaskets” and a “tracbar.” More recently, the Jeep received some new brake lines and new shocks all around.
A mere 112,000 miles show on the odometer and the interior doesn’t look as though it has done even that. The pillowy-soft seats have un-marred leather coverings front and rear, with even more dead cow showing up on the steering wheel. The back bench looks so clean that it may have never even met a butt. There is some evidence of use in the hatch area, and the spare is muddy on the bottom, indicating it has been put into service at least once. The road wheels are factory alloys and show a bit of wear.
Jeep recently reintroduced the Grand Wagoneer nameplate on its impressively large Wagoneer platform. The new halo model will set you back anywhere from $88,000 to nearly $110,000 all-in. That’s a lot of cash and you’d have to weigh the newness of that Grand Wagoneer against the $9,900 asking price on this nearly 30-year old, and much smaller edition.
What’s your take on this rare ZJ model and that $9,900 asking? Does that seem like a deal to take a lap of old-school off-road luxury? Or, is that too much for a Jeep that’s also just too fancy?
You decide!
Boston, Massachusetts, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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