I'm looking at a 1988 Jeep Comanche. 4.0 inline, automatic, 100,000 mile on it, private seller. Are they good first cars
The 4.0 is about as solid as you can get. Plenty of reliability there. Automatic trans is weak. That would be a concern of mine as well as the overall condition of the vehicle. Generally speaking People beat the crap out of those things and they are usually full of rust, at least the ones I’ve seen but if the it got a clean bill of health the automatic is really the thing to worry about.
The 4.0 is a great engine but of course that one is 33 years old so it should be carefully checked out by a mechanic. If that's the actual mileage that engine is barely broken in. Electronics and fuel injection on that truck are via the "Renix" system (Renault/Bendix). No OBD2 diagnostics of course in 1988. Some tips on dealing with the Renix system can be found here:
Careful of rust. If the uniframe is rusted through, run away. (You should not be able to poke a screwdriver through healthy metal.) Depending on the price a little rust around the edges (like door bottom) would be tolerable. If possible pull the carpet back to check condition of floors. New floors are available but you don't want to go there if you don't have to. The passenger side is particularly susceptible to leaks from under the dash which over the years will eat through the floor.
Automatic trans is an Aisin-Warner/Toyota AW4 which is pretty bulletproof if you don't abuse it. (Mine has about 250K miles and still "shifts like a dream", to coin a phrase.) They do run hot so an auxiliary transmission cooler would be a good thing if you plan to do any towing or hauling heavy stuff. Check trans fluid and make sure it is not burnt and gritty. Proper trans fluid is Dexron/Mercon (Dexron III).
