hi thrid genners

i have a second gen goes ok but i find myself at the wreckers every weekend and im getting sick of it.LOL i have found a 2001 tj vrx tippy with 18's on it, got 120 000 on it, stock as, full service history good tyres, dark green he wants 5000 for it off the road. i got the money saved already just wonderin if thats a ok price and is there anything specific i should check on it (being thrid gen or vrx specific). any advise would be appreciated!! thanks again joel

i paid 8500 for mine and i got it yesterday, umm check if the timing belt has been fixed/replaced. Mine came with a heap some engine and exhaust mods as well as a sound system but it is also 3500 more than urs. i say for 5000 go for it. . .but thats just my opinion

i payed 10k for mine at 98,000kms
if its at $5000 then just make sure that mechanically the car is in order. especially the timing belt and the spark plugs have been changed, coz they are the most expensive service. it should have been done at 100,000kms, but depends on the owner.

just go through everything under the hood with a fine comb. other than that you should be laughing. $5k is a good deal for that car.

That's an excellent price, almost seems too good to be true... The price that ZDK Magna paid for his is the going rate for them lately.

I'd say maybe get it checked over by a mechanic to see if it's been in a crash or anything. If it hasn't, then you got it for $3-4k less than they usually go for, so anything that needs to be fixed that costs less than that, it's still a bargain.

yeah it did seem a bit low to me but its sitting under a tree lookin like a disgrace atm so i can understand the pricetag. i did see the timing belt done once at 105000 so its near new other than that ill be def checking out the body for any signs of repair.

When you say 'off the road' you mean unregistered? if that is the case my question would be why is it currently off the road?

If its in good mechanical order and just needs rego then i'd say go for it, it a good price just keep in mind 100,000km service will set you back another grand if its not done yet.

When you say 'off the road' you mean unregistered? if that is the case my question would be why is it currently off the road?

If its in good mechanical order and just needs rego then i'd say go for it, it a good price just keep in mind 100,000km service will set you back another grand if its not done yet.

yea service is done to the 120000 mark, so all the way. i mean off the road in a backyard because the owner upgraded

yea service is done to the 120000 mark, so all the way. i mean off the road in a backyard because the owner upgraded

Thats a good start, well if its registered and serviced and all it does sound good. See how she looks with a good wash if its been out in the weather under a tree, if its ok then go for it.

I only just brought myself a 2002 VRX about 1 week ago and i was lucky enough to get it down to $7800. I looked around on car sale websites and most vrx's seem to be going for $8500-$12000 depending on mods and how neat and tidy they are. $5000 for a vrx is a steal, just get it checked over before you buy and you should be laughting. Hope it checks out ok :)

Oh and remember to check the box out well, make sure it shifts ok and doesn't slip. Its pretty common for them to fail around those kms.

can someone enlightin me as of the differences between series 1 and 2 as i am new to the thrid gen lux levels and such

how do you know if spark plugs need to be changed?

can someone enlightin me as of the differences between series 1 and 2 as i am new to the thrid gen lux levels and such

Series 2 got climate...umm 17's and im sure there is something else but i forgot

With the auto-trans, check fluid on dipstick for condition - ideally should be a nice pink/red colour and clear-looking, if it it dark and possibly burnt-smelling, it's due for change - and that means a series of "flushes", not just drop trans-fluid and top-up.

The failure of these gearboxes is often due to a wave-spring component buried deep within the box which breaks pieces off and they flush through the box jamming stuff up. There is really no way to know when this would occur, nor what (if anything) encourages the wave-spring to break. Preventing this from happening is almost as expensive as fixing things if it does happen - gearbox has to come out and be pulled-down by specialist...... prepare for big bill. Regular checking and fluid changes, and possibly an external trans fluid cooler is all you can do. Search forums for 'wave spring' if you want to no more.

Climate is nice, if this car has it. Fuel gauge sender units can have gremlins in the 3rd Gens. VRX may get door-mounted tweets in the audio, which are better than nothing - stock audio is likely to have in-dash cd-stacker, possibly below the main HU. It will have parabolic headlamps - if one-piece they have polycarbonate lenses (best kept out of sun, no over-wattage bulbs, need UV-cut bulbs), if two-piece parras they are glass lens. Will have foggies which can look cool, and all these lights are pricey - so look after em!! The body-kit on VRX is well-regarded, might pay to check its in good nick - no cracks, crazing or grazes. Likewise, std rims are popular - be good if these are not rashed or dinged, including a spare. Is paint a plain colour, or a pearl? Plain colour cheaper to touch-up or repair - try to have a good look at paint - my TJ Sports is faded to the max and its always disappointing to se that! Check engine oil for condition, also for presence of coolant additive in radiator - no water in oil or oil in water obviously. Check for sludge under rocker covers n under oil filler cap. See how much blow-by when running? Also ask if water-pump was replaced with Timing Belt change? Lots of labour just getting to water pump is all.

$5k is ridiculously cheap considering the kms, and the fact that it has actually had the 100k service done. Even by the time you get it detailed and registered, you've got a bargain - I'd be going over it with a fine tooth comb just to be extra safe. As mentioned, the auto is always a weak point, so check that out in particular.

If it gives you any idea, my 2001 VR-X with 120k kms is insured for $9,800, so to get it at half its insured value is a bargain!


can someone enlightin me as of the differences between series 1 and 2 as i am new to the thrid gen lux levels and such
The first VR-Xes came with 16" wheels and the two-piece parabolic headlights. Mid 2001 came the one piece paras, the highly sought after 17" wheels, and black door handles (earlier models had a silver strip). The proper Series 2 model (late 01/early 02 I think) added climate, digital odometer and a slightly better stereo (added tweeters, so 'six speaker' instead of 'four speaker').

are there many difs between a vrx tippy and a standard tippy if later on i had to swap gearbox.are they any stronger than standard

are there many difs between a vrx tippy and a standard tippy if later on i had to swap gearbox.are they any stronger than standard

there are 2 versions of tiptronic box, 4sp and 5sp. Both have different ratios. 5sp is superior and better matched to engine.

Great price for the car if all checks out mate.

Question for the difference between S1 and S2 VRX's, mine had the 17's has climate but no digital odo and was made december 01. What exactly is mine lol :confused: also S2 had electric aerial S1 im pretty sure didnt.

Question for the difference between S1 and S2 VRX's, mine had the 17's has climate but no digital odo and was made december 01. What exactly is mine lol :confused: also S2 had electric aerial S1 im pretty sure didnt.

i just had alook on red book apparantly there were 4 dif 2001 vrx including the limited edition

The first VR-Xes came with 16" wheels and the two-piece parabolic headlights. Mid 2001 came the one piece paras, the highly sought after 17" wheels, and black door handles (earlier models had a silver strip). The proper Series 2 model (late 01/early 02 I think) added climate, digital odometer and a slightly better stereo (added tweeters, so 'six speaker' instead of 'four speaker').

Are you sure the Series 1.5 (between S1 and 2) didn't come with climate? My sisters S1.5 TJ Advance has climate, seems odd the VR-X wouldn't get it too.

I'd be spending an extra $100 cash getting it checked out by a mechanic. If it's a good car then you just paid $5100 ..... if its crap say the gear box is on the way out...you just saved a couple of grand.

Yeah I know ..... I'm the mature deep thinker.

Series 1.5 have climate

Also no one has mentioned to get the security checked to make sure there is no money owed on it, is not registered as a write off, is not stolen etc etc

Are you sure the Series 1.5 (between S1 and 2) didn't come with climate? My sisters S1.5 TJ Advance has climate, seems odd the VR-X wouldn't get it too.
I think there was a pre-series 1.5 update VR-X which debuted the 17" alloys etc, but not the climate. Series 1.5 then debuted climate.

There was an article on Autoweb about the update but I can't seem to find it. All very confusing.

Damn man, for 5k that is a steal. I have been looking to buy one around December and was planning to spend up to $8500 (was more looking for manual), so if it all checks out good, nothing mechanical wrong/stolen then go for gold.