Price! Get a $2,000 XJ, get around $2,00 in lift, tire, bumpers and you got yourself a budget wheeler. Get a Wrangler TJ or YJ for at the lowest 5k, then add in the bumpers, tire, lift. ETC.
I paid exactly 2 for my XJ. I can get a lift for around 700 that will fit 31's. New tires and rimes for about 1500 and I can go just about anywhere an Wrangler can go of equal size (the downfall is the length, the upside is no wind noise from the soft top).
where do you get an xj that cheap that isn't run down?