[mymamasaid]

Hi everyone!

I'm so glad I found this forum because I need some help. I hope it is appropriate to post here.

First, I am a blonde with no clue about cars.

Now that that's out of the way, here's my dilemna. My minivan has officially died and I am in the market for a new (used) car. Both of my parents have Jeep Cherokees and love them. And, seeing as how I have 3 kids and a bulldog, I can't go the sedan way, I need a big car. The Cherokee is just the right size.

BUT, I have had so many friends tell me NOT to get a Cherokee! They all say the car is known to have mechanical problems. But that is not my parents' experience, and I have been scouring the internet and can't find very many negative reviews, so I am perplexed as to what to do.

What to do?
Cherokee or Grand?
v6 or v8?
years????

WWYD? FWIW, I'm not planning too many off-road excursioins (not sure about hubby's plans, though!).

tia!
Kristine

 

[Kyle]

Welcome!

First you need to decide which vehicle you want to go with. If you decide you like one or the other then go down to the technical areas and ask away as you will get much better responses from there.

But IMO since you probably want more comfort over anything I would start looking at the grand cherokees because of the extra options they have.

As far as mechanical problems that you hear about, its false. Many people put 200+k on their cherokees/grand cherokees.

 

[marvinsc]

Just an opinion here, You can't beat the 4.0 Straight 6 Motor for Adequate power and Rock solid dependability. They routinely go over 200,000 miles before requiring any expensive attention. Most of the knock on Jeep Dependability is not about the drive train but Electrical Gremlins, A/C problems, etc. If they were bad vehicles You wouldn't see Millions of used ones still on the road. Good luck with the Hunt.:thumbsup:

 

[JeepGodXJ]

I had a 1990 Cherokee with 135,000 that I had no problems with whatsoever. I sold it and bought a wrangler:brickwall:, but didn't like it. Then Bought a Grand Cherokee and I must admit they are very nice and very capable vehicles. Like Kyle said, you can get them with all sorts of options and gizmos to suit your fancy. The one I had came with the I6 4.0L engine with 187,000 and I would say it has adequate power for most peoples needs. I only had trouble in DEEP sand, but I can't really hold that against it. It had a very roomy interior in my opinion and did everything I asked it to do.(not including the sand) It is just my preference to choose the Cherokee over the Grand Cherokee, but then again i'm old fashioned. All in all either one is a GREAT vehicle. I now have a 1999 Cherokee and besides a slow moving passenger window and normal maintinance for a vehicle with 123,000 miles, nothing has gone wrong. Best vehicle ever made! Hope this helps you get an idea :thumbsup:


And ohh yeah , WELCOME TO CT FROM OREGON!!! :hi:

 

[drakan1908]

If you read the Jeep forums you would think that the Jeep is the worst vehicle around but you must consider what a lot of people are doing with their Jeeps. Most vehicles would not hold up like a Jeep does. OH and welcome to CT from Va.

 

[cosxjfan]

Welcome to CT from COS!! Be wary of the Grand Cherokee tranny. They are known to fail. They are different than the Cherokee tranny. The XJ has an AW-4, and the ZJ uses a different one. I don't recall the type right now, and I think that some ZJs came with the AW-4, but don't which ones, sorry. Someone else may have more to offer to as far as help. Either way, you're looking at a great vehicle!! HTH!!

 

[Mudderoy]

I have had my Jeep Cherokee for 10 years now. The only thing that I thought sucked is the engine cooling system. My first major repair was due to the crappy water pump that comes stock on the Cherokee.

I like the Cherokee (XJ) so much that I am thinking about finding one for my daughters to drive in the next couple of years (when they start driving).

I want to get them a 4x4 with a NP242 transfer case. Driving in full time 4x4 in rain is much safer than a 2 wheel drive vehicle.

I would look for a 98 to 01 Cherokee. If you can find one with 100k miles I would jump on it. My 98 has 139k and runs great! You should expect to spend about $5k on a late model XJ.

My personal opinion is I would NOT buy a Grand Cherokee, but there are several people on here that surely would disagree.

 

[Belto]

welcome from PR

 

[drakan1908]

Welcome to CT from COS!! Be wary of the Grand Cherokee tranny. They are known to fail. They are different than the Cherokee tranny. The XJ has an AW-4, and the ZJ uses a different one. I don't recall the type right now, and I think that some ZJs came with the AW-4, but don't which ones, sorry. Someone else may have more to offer to as far as help. Either way, you're looking at a great vehicle!! HTH!!

I think the early 93's had the AW-4. The ZJ tranny depends what motor you have. My 98 has the 4.0 with the 42re. I can't think of what the V8's use....something like the 5.2 uses a 44re? and the 5.9 uses 46re? ..nick n ii would know for sure.

 

[jonb8]

Welcome from W.V. My wife has a 98 cherokee as a daily driver and loves it.

 

[mymamasaid]

Thanks so much for the input and advice!

here's one I am seriously considering. I am going to see it Saturday.

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/cto/896865001.html

It's a 1997 grand cherokee laredo
straight 6 cl 4 l, 4wd
102k miles
asking $4200

what do you think? keeping in mind I don't speak mechanic, is there anything I should look for when I see it/test drive it? my step-dad said to try to get it on a freeway to test for the "jeep shimmy" and my mom said to try to get it around some tight corners to see how it handles.

tia!
Kristine

 

[BlueXJ]

Either way you go XJ or ZJ or even WJ you will be happy out of a mini-van.

 

[mymamasaid]

Either way you go XJ or ZJ or even WJ you will be happy out of a mini-van.

LOL! Thanks, I think! (it did have one big advantage -- the kids all in the third row meant I couldn't hear them fighting with each other very well!)

 

[BlueXJ]

LOL! Thanks, I think! (it did have one big advantage -- the kids all in the third row meant I couldn't hear them fighting with each other very well!)

Don't worry they will eventually grow out of that stage. I know mine did and they are closer today than if they were joined at the hip.

 

[lornix]

That ZJ you are looking at seems like a good deal. The price is in the right range for the age / milage. Give it a good inspection and make sure everything works and you will have a good, strong runner with lots of life left in it.

Most of the hype about Jeeps being junk is false. Like it was said earlier, if they were junk there would not be so many still on the road.

They are inexpensive to repair compared to most other vehicles, and used parts are abundant in pretty much any major city. Even full axle / differential replacements can be had for under $300 in many cases.

If you have a strong community of Jeepers in your area and you connect with them, there will always be a spare hand to help with repairs and save you a butt-load over the mechanic's shops.

I may be biased, but there are many good reasons to own a Jeep.

Good luck with your search.

 

[mymamasaid]

thanks guys!

I checked out the jeep today and absolutely love it! It's so much nicer than my minivan I can't get over it! It was clearly well maintained/loved. I'm picking it up this week!

Yay!
Kristine --> new jeep fan