I wouldn't buy one with high kilometers, so that cancels out the '97 for me.
In the summer I bought a 2002 Honda Civic. 11 years old now, but it had 118000 kilometers on it. No rust anywhere on it. It was owned by an older lady, but she didn't drive it much. Her husband drove his vehicle whenever they went on trips or long drives. She passed away and he didn't want to keep it in the driveway. I came and scooped it up and have been giving it all kinds of love.
Be careful, man. Everyone says their car has no rust. Go on Google and see if there are major problems for the specific year and model. I almost bought a Nissan Altima from a small independent dealer, which would have been luxurious, until I found out they have rust problems underneath. My dad went under and put his finger through the floorboard. He had a guy cut it all out, weld it, beat it down with a mallet, sand it, then undercoat. You wouldn't guess that it had work done by looking at it. The guy posted it back on Kijiji and said, "THIS CAR HAS ABSOLUTELY NO RUST!" I backed away. Everything else about that car was flawless, though.
Luckily, only a few small issues came up with my Civic, and most of them I fixed myself. Prior to buying the car, I can't say I ever worked on a car. I read a few forums, watched some YouTube videos, and now I don't like taking it into a shop. I had them install my fog lights and replace a module because my high beams didn't work.
I fixed fuel door release cable myself. Every shop you check, and most forums, say the whole cable needs to be replaced. After a bit of searching, I found this little gem for $20:
Fixed. Even the local Honda dealerships haven't heard about this, and that cable is a common problem in many Hondas.
As far as Jeeps go, I can't think of any common problems. Don't be afraid to snoop around. Someone might buy it in the meantime, but more will come.
Before you buy a car it's a pretty good idea to take it to a local mechanic and have him go over it (cylinder compression etc.). A little bit of money for that can save you a huge amount down the road if something bad turns up on the inspection.
