Today, you can chose from a slew of large, luxury SUV’s. But 40 years ago, this was the only luxury SUV on the market. I’ve always liked these Grand Wagoneers (a great name by the way) that had an upscale, boxy, Jeepish, 4-Wheel Drive exterior (complete with Ford Country Squireish faux station wagon wood paneling on its sides and tailgate) combined with a plush, inviting, luxurious interior. You didn’t see too many, but when you did, they really stood out. If you’re a fan of “Breaking Bad,” you might remember that Skyler White, the wife of protagonist Walter White, tooled around Albuquerque in a red Grand Wagoneer. It was a much cooler car than Walt’s Pontiac Aztec, that’s for sure. Well, here’s your chance to own an attractive-looking 1984 Jeep Grand Wagoneer. It’s located in South Lake Tahoe, California and is for sale here on Facebook Marketplace for $45,000.
The seller doesn’t give us any background or history or if it’s been a California Jeep all its life. The seller states that it’s had two owners, it’s been driven 37,100 miles, it has had no significant damage or problems, and that it’s paid off. The seller then lists the “options” that are on the Grand Wagoneer although I suspect many were standard given the luxury nature of these vehicles. Rust can be an issue with Grand Wagoneers but I’m not spotting any, and the Deep Night Blue paint looks very presentable and compliments the faux wood paneling very well. (I read where blues, greens, and whites are the most sought-after Grand Wagoneer paint color by collectors.) The bright stuff, trim, glass, lenses, and 15″ aluminum alloy wheels all look good as well.
“In Grand Wagoneer, luxury is standard. Everything you would suspect in a luxury car is already there…from supple leather and country cord seats to air conditioning and an electronically tuned AM/FM setter cassette radio.” That’s how the sales brochure describes the Grand Wagoneer’s luxurious cabin. This is one handsome looking interior and it appears to be in great shape for a 39-year-old SUV. Given the condition of both the interior and exterior, it’s possible that the 37,100 listed mileage could be original (but you’d think the seller would advertise that important selling point).
Some of the luxury touches and comforts include a wood-tone trimmed steering wheel, power steering, power brakes, power driver and passenger bucket seats, cruise control, power rear window, and on and on. Plus it has thick, soft carpet everywhere (even on the back of the front bucket seats) that looks to be in very good and clean condition.
For some reason there are no photos of the engine and engine compartment. There were two engine choices available on the ’84 Grand Wagoneer: a standard 4.2-liter straight six or the optional 5.9-liter V-8 which produced 140 horsepower when new. Since most Grand Wagoneers were ordered with the V8 (the straight six wasn’t popular and dropped starting with the 1987 model year), I’m guessing that’s what’s under the hood. It would be mated to a three-speed 727 automatic transmission sourced from Chrysler and paired with Selec-Trac four-wheel drive. The mileage is listed as 37,100. From 1984 through its final model year in 1991, 101,637 Grand Wagoneers were produced. 1984 was the best sales year with 20,019 finding nice garages (I doubt many of these were subjected to car ports or driveways), and here’s a chance to own one of them. Happy bidding!
You’d think that for a $45000 asking price they’d at least replace the busted hood piece and the dented grillwork.
I thought the same thing at first, but “upon further review,” it appears to be the reflection of the guy taking the photo…
Your right, Ron-when I got home and looked at it on my tablet (as opposed to earlier on my old iPhone) his reflection was obvious!
Thank you.
Gotta love the “luxury” AMC Hornet instruments and factory A/C that looks aftermarket found in these rigs!
I was about to say that, its true that most of the tooling to build that baby already dated from Eisenhower so a knee knocking a/c was about the only place they could put it and i’m guessing one of the engineers must of said ” oh wait i found a stash of instrument clusters in the back of the warehouse. ;)
I remember in the not so distant past a vehicle in this shape would have been hard pressed to get 4k. I kept a decent 70 version that sleeps. At 9 miles to the gallon sleep was best. Rust is the big enemy on these. This one is nice but you have to really WANT one of these to shell out 45k IMO.
There’s a shop in the Texas Hill Country … Wagonmaster… that is taking these things, restoring some, doing a Gen III Hemi swap on others, and getting over six figures for all.
I had an ’81 in the 90s, and I was TERRIFIED of driving it in any amount of snow. One of the worst cars I ever had. $45,000 is absolutely absurd.
My great grandparents had one of these and when gpa was in hospital they let me have it so I could pick gma up to take her to sit with him. In those days many women never drove. All my grandmothers didn’t drive. Had 4 counting the great grandmothers. My girlfriend hated it lol
Good looking Wagoneer.. With that low mileage must be a vacation lake house keeping the Jeep indoors. But… $5,000 more I can get a 2022 Jeep Grand Wagoneer with low mileage. The question is …. Do you like the old style or new? Good luck to the seller.. 🐻🇺🇸
Absolutely LOVE these, bought one in 95 had a 427 and Chevy running gear installed by my navy buddy WHAT a STUMP PULLER ran Crager’s on it BUT divorce made it go away, Shoulda KEPT that great Wagoneer.
Most likely has the smogged-to-death 5.9 V8, which “fueleconomy.gov” has rated as getting 10mpg in town and 12mpg highway! I’d be looking at either older or newer (than 1984) SUVs, especially after seeing the price tag listed here.
That truck was only $33K when it only had 6 miles on it and IMO $45K is a ridiculous amount of money to pay for one of these! I’ve seen MINT CONDITION 1991’s go for half that and in 91 Jeep didn’t have all the “Quality Issues” they had in the early 80’s trying to stay afloat before Iacocca started straightening out the money problems that plagued Chrysler and Jeep. Maybe if it were an 88-91, but not an 84!
12mpg is a pipedream (lol). These are airplows…I’ve owned more than a dozen of them. The faster you go the more air these bricks have to push out of the way so 10mpg city/10mpg highway. Maybe 11mpg if you had a tailwind. One of the last carbureted vehicles on the road with miles of vacuum lines, cto’s to manage emissions and a bear to get through smog tests in a lot of states.
Like all things Jeep, they were quirky as all get out…in the snow they had few equals, cushy and very capable offroaders, a turning circle that was smaller than a lot of cars. And yes, they used a lot of old engineering parts from old parts bins. We all (the full size Jeep community) used to laugh at the strip of duct tape that held the cruise control module up under the passenger footwell…it even had a catalog pat number lol
Owning a full sizer was a love/hate relationship…often many times a day
I like these, before I read the article I saw the picture and said to myself “oh, another old Jeep that they will want $25k for…”
If you have $45k for this then you have $100k for a brand new Grand Wagoneer, and I’m not sure which one is more ridiculous.
Back in the late 80’s an elderly neighbor in my apartment complex had one of these, brand new, and decked out with all the toys. He hardly ever drove it, and when he did he complained about the gas mileage. He said he loved how it rode even though the most 4wd it would have seen was him driving to the market in the rain. It was a fantastic looking vehicle and he kept it in impeccable shape. I asked him once if I could drive it around the block and he just smiled and said no. I moved away and never saw him or his Jeep again, but it wouldn’t surprise if it showed up in a garage or barn 35 years later with low miles, assuming it didn’t rust in place.
I know the market has changed but IMHO 45K is ridiculously high for this. It’s a beautiful car and I’ve always liked them but I’m hoping the market course corrects soon. I feel like others have posted if you have 45k for this 84 wagoneer you have the money for a brand new Wagoner.