Wheeler Dealers: S15 E2 – Jeep Grand Wagoneer

Budget: $6,000
Purchase Price: $4,500
Final Cost: $19,350
Selling Price: $26,500
Profit/Loss: +$7,150

Wagoneers are currently hot property in the US, but this particular example has sagging suspension, a ratty interior, plus a four-wheel drive system which refuses to play ball. But with the smell of profit in the air, Ant gets to work.

The Wagoneer was Jeep’s first luxury 4×4, sold and produced for Jeep by several automakers from 1962 to 1991. Marketed as a station wagon, the design became known as “sport utility vehicle” (SUV) when Jeep first used the term for the 1974 Cherokee version. The Wagoneer stayed in production for 29 model-years (1963–1991) with almost unchanged body-structure, making it the third longest-produced single generation car in U.S. automotive history.

Work Completed: New four-wheel-drive shift motor and vacuum bulbs. Full body respray from white to Dark Baltic Blue. Faux wood trim panels removed; new wood pattern hand painted on body panels. New leaf springs, shock absorbers, sway bars, and steering arm and stabiliser. New tyres and reconditioned wheels. New speedometer gear to compensate for larger tyres. Interior and seats reupholstered. Exterior trim refurbished.