Need some opinions about a beater Jeep Cherokee i want to buy

[Mustang5L5]

I've been racking this in my head for the last week. I cant decide what to do so i'll ask good ole Stangnet.


I need a winter vehicle..something to commute to work in 12" of snow if i have to.

Found a 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee Larado. 121K miles, 4.0L I-6, Automatic 4x4, white exterior, gray cloth interior. Basic power amenities, but no sunroof. Has a hitch, but not sure if it's the tow package or an aftermarket hitch.

It's clean as hell. It's from texas, and looks it. Not a spec of rust anywhere. Engine runs quiet. Not really a whole lot of noise from it. No leaks anywhere...engine, diffs, trans, xfercase, etc. New tires, coolant still green.

Drives smooth, typical 13 year old truck rattles, but not bad considering. Tends to wander slightly when trying to go straight. Buddy who is a jeep guy says it sounds like a bad track rod?

Only other neg i could see was that it needed a brake fluid flush. It was black. Brakes themselves look good. Rotors look good and plenty of pad left. Just felt a little spongy but a flush should clear that up.


Asking $3995. It's a dealer. WHat do you guys think?? I really only want to pay $3K max for this truck. I looked at it a week ago, and it's still there. I figure cash will talk.

A know a lot of guys drive jeeps here so looking for feedback on how they run. problem areas to check out, etc.

I would like it to last maybe 2-3 more years. Possible? I just want something to drive in bad weather, to keep miles off the stang and to carry stuff with when i go to home depot or go paintballin with friends, etc.

 

[SteedaGT9150]

jeeps will run forever, my brother had a grand cherokee that ran to 240k, my mom has a grand cherokee ltd that runs great at 100k. also they are great in the snow, on and off road.

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

I have a '98 Sport with 140k on it and it drives like it's brand new...one of the best vehicles i've ever driven. Don't listen to the Dodge haters just because Jeep is owned by them now, it's a Jeep and therefor it'll get you through just about anything you can put it through within reason. I've had mine up to the frame in mud even on street tires and it just keeps going. The only thing i've ever had to do to it is replace the front track bar because the bushing were blown out of it, and put a new battery in it. Not bad considering i've owned it since 70k miles and put another 70k on it with no maintenance issues at all.

 

[Mustang5L5]

IThe only thing i've ever had to do to it is replace the front track bar because the bushing were blown out of it, and put a new battery in it.

My buddy who is a jeep nut is convinced this one also had a bad track rod.

How is it to install one?? Easy to do? Cheap part??

That and a brake fluid flush is really all it needs....oh and a decent stereo with a cd player. It has a tape deck I've been spoiled by my 6-disk Mach 1000 setup in my GT

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

My buddy who is a jeep nut is convinced this one also had a bad track rod.

How is it to install one?? Easy to do? Cheap part??

That and a brake fluid flush is really all it needs....oh and a decent stereo with a cd player. It has a tape deck I've been spoiled by my 6-disk Mach 1000 setup in my GT

I had the dealership do this one because i couldn't budge the bolts with hand tools and didn't have any air tools. They even said it had to be cut off! I think at the time i also had them pull apart the mass air and clean it all out, i don't recall the bill but it wasn't more than a few hundred bucks with labor and the price of new parts.


Oh i also had to put an IAC on it (idle air control) which is a notorious Dodge problem...they go out and it won't wanna idle right. It's about $50 from Autozone and takes about 3 minutes to install...no big deal.

 

[Mustang5L5]

The one thing i liked about this jeep was how the engine ran. It was smooth. Whoever had it before def did maintainence on it. I could tell the wires were new, new cap, new air filter, stuff like that. I gave it a good looking over and the only maintainece issue i didn't see done was a brake fluid flush.


I looked at this one '98 Jeep Classic that was in rough shape. It idles like crap, made engine noise, nothing was replaced...looked like original cap and wires, oil leaks all over the engine and to top if off...the engine coolant was DARK BROWN!!! The dealer still wanted $5000 for it. I told him if i bought it for $1000 i would feel like i was getting screwed.

 

[fivespeedsteed]

these trucks really do last forever, 121k it really is just finished breaking in. that price sounds right on the ball too.

 

[Mustang5L5]

The asking price...or the price i want to pay?? I don't really want to go more than $3K on a beater. I kinda want to buy a new car in the spring and would prob give this jeep to my sister.

 

[PJB]

To me that price is a bit high for an almost 13 year old truck with over 100k.

 

[Mustang5L5]

To me that price is a bit high for an almost 13 year old truck with over 100k.

I agree, but when i punch it into kelly blue book it kicks out a retail value of $5060 with the mileage.


To be honest, every cheaper jeep i've looked at has been a POS. I dunno, maybe my standards are high since i've been driving a brand new car the last 4 years. I'd like to get it for under $3K though

 

[svtpower]

go for it

To me blue book is really just a guide. There is such a huge difference between a well maintained vehicle and and average one. I paid blue book for my 2001 Wrangler with the I6 but it was SUPER clean and so it was worth it to me. I had a lot of fun with that truck.

The only thing I thought was strange was that you are supposed to change the plugs every 30,000 miles as regular maintenance? WTF

Mine had 40,000 on them and the thing started running really rough, changed plugs and ran great.

My biggest issues with Jeeps are the brake related issues. The engine should last forever.

Carsurvey.org reviews complain about brakes and the brakes on my father in laws Cherokee have been a source of problem for him.

They are not great on gas.

If you like it, go for it.

 

[Mustang5L5]

If you like it, go for it.

That's just it. I haven't convinced myself I do.


It's a nice truck, but i am prob thinking i should buy some car or honda for $1000 toss some snow tires on it and beat the snot out of it for the winter instead. I just don't want to spend the money to be quite honest.


I really want a G35X, but i need to sell my GT first. Mustangs don't sell in the winter, so i was just planning on waiting til spring to sell it. Good time to sell Mustangs, and good time to buy AWD cars (in winter anything with 4wd or awd sells for a bit more around here)

So i'm stuck on what to do. Found a '98 escort with 77K miles for $2500.

 

[Roland69]

if you can get if for $3K do it my friend has one he loves it. He built some spring spacers and gave it a 3 or 4 inch lift...had some 33 inch tires on it but just bought some 31" mud tires and it looks mean.

 

[Demented4.6]

I wouldn't pay over 3000 for it. Grands are notorious for electrical issues and problems with the rear ends bearings. I was in the same situation as you last winter and after lots of research i went with a regular cherokee, in fact a 98 cherokee sport with 120,000. I paid 3200 for it. But one thing to remember is with any older, used vehicle they will be a money pit in the end.

 

[PUNISHER RACING]

Have a 99 2dr sport I love it: lift it, beat it, and keep the oil changed they run forever

 

[Mustang5L5]

Actually i'm going to check this out tomorrow


http://boston.craigslist.org/nos/car/474711295.html

 

[PJB]

Actually i'm going to check this out tomorrow


http://boston.craigslist.org/nos/car/474711295.html

Listen for lifter ticking.
The 3100 is notorious for it.
My father's Cutlass Supreme has really loud lifter ticking when first started and he bought the car with 57k on it and now its got 80k.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Listen for lifter ticking.
The 3100 is notorious for it.
My father's Cutlass Supreme has really loud lifter ticking when first started and he bought the car with 57k on it and now its got 80k.

Well the carfax came back shady. I know you know about the thread but here it is for others.

Dealer claimed clean and a 1996 model, carfax shows 3 accidents and it being a 1995 model

 

[NKau]

You can't go wrong with the jeep. The 4.0's are pretty much indestructible; too bad it's not a 5-speed though. They routinely go 200k+ miles even with poor maintenance.

 

[blackened88lx]

I'm not a Jeep fan, but those little Cherokees are great trucks. The 4.0 is pretty much indestructable like every straight 6.