So I am a jeep guy.  I refuse to shave on consecutive days, dress in layers, and have yet to pay for a haircut this century (though that is also a part of me being cheap, but I digress).  My dad gave me the fever when he got his first wrangler when I was in the third grade which he just said goodbye to after almost two decades and 300,000 mile, and it has been with me ever since.

Somewhere along the line I lost my focus, and I blame my move to Georgia.  I purchased my first  jeep when I was in high school, a 1974 cj5 which I promptly almost rolled a few times until it Chevy Big Block ripped its axle in half and I decided to send it out to pasture.  In college I saved up and bought my first new jeep, a 1999 wrangler sport, only to sell it a couple of years later when I thought I might be a full-size truck guy instead.  Boy was I wrong.  All I needed was a confederate flag in the back and my conversion would have been complete.  What was I thinking!

Anyway, here I am, back in the CO, and I got the itch back again.  The Jeep itch.  And my wife has it too.

So after a long search lasting a few months, we decided to flop on this 1992 Wrangler YJ.  Isn’t it a beauty?

At least it looks good on the side of the road

Why is the hood up?  Oh, that’s because we broke down…3 MILES FROM THE DEALERSHIP!!!  Oh, you couldn’t make this stuff up.

God Bless AAA

Driving off the lot I noticed that the Jeep was a bit sluggish, but I convinced myself that after sitting on a lot for a while it just needed to get out and stretch its legs (though it drove fine two days earlier when I test drove it.  I can rationalize anything).  Just as I turned on to a main artery and started to gear up…

***pa thud thud***

…and I was done.

Not quite how I envisioned driving it down the road

Fortunately we had the coolest tow-truck driver in the history of the world, who recognized my 5 year old was on the verge after being stuck on the side of the road for over two hours.  He invited Tyler to push the levers on the tow truck and drag my lifeless wrangler into position for the short ride back to the dealership (WE ONLY MADE IT 3 MILES IF YOU RECALL!) so we could get our money back.

Author’s Note: So today the dealership called, informed us it was a blocked fuel cell which they repaired, and offered to let us keep it for a few days and get it inspected by our own mechanic if we wanted to consider buying it again.  I just don’t think that’s a relationship I believe I could salvage.