Need Your Opinion on Cherokee's
 

Hey guys, I'm letting my parents have my JK because I cant handle the car payment right now while I'm in college, and was hoping to buy a cherokee outright, so i have some questions....

What's your honest opinion on the cherokee?

I was wanting to get a 2001 because it would be the newest one... is that a good choice? If not, what year should i get and why?

How reliable are they? I realize every older car will have problems but I've got class 3 days a week, and work the rest of the week, so I want to know I wont have to fix something with it every week.

How is the power in it? I would like it to have more than the Jk did... As much as my parents suburban would be nice...

How much should one that is ready to be a daily driver cost?

Bottom line, is this a good choice? I would really like to not have a car payment, or atleast a very small one, and i would like whatever i get to be a jeep... But if you have any suggestions on a different vehicle you think i should get please post em up and let me know why.

Everyone's help is really appreciated... :thumbsup:

c'mon, no one has anything to say about the XJ's? :dontknow2:

I had a '91. It was the most reliable vehicle I have ever owned, but I have heard of some people having the opposite experience. I sold mine with about 150k on it and never had to put money into it apart from standard maintenance.

Yes they were good vehicles, especially with the 4.0 inline six. But you are talking about a +10 year old 4wd (I assume 4wd). Anything can break at that age.

From experience if you drive an old 4wd you either are a good mechanic, are becoming a good mechanic, or have money to pay someone to be a good mechanic. Not actually trying to deter you but just expect break-downs. You have to do what you have to do in life and for some ungodly reason the worse you have it the better person you become.

Traded my 2001 Limited for the JK. JK has a better ride and tons more comfy. With that being said, I loved my XJ. Select Trac is the optional transfer case which gives you AWD feature.

Mine was reliable for the most part, in 2001 they moved the EGR valve to the fuel tank, so a $200 repair turned into $750 as I was not going to drop a fuel tank in a Minnesota winter in the parking lot.

One point of note, my insurance agent hated this Jeep. They tend not to have ABS. Now many of the high school kids are getting them and wrecking a bunch. My liability rate was the same for full coverage on the JK. That's with me being 34 and no violations. My agent would call me every 6 months and beg me to get rid of it.

Bottom line, simple to work on, great to drive, and a blast to own.

Good luck on the search. Sorry to hear about the JK bro, hopefully you can get it back when your out of school....:thumbsup:

They are pretty bullet proof. My 97 XJ has 202,000. I drive it 120+ miles a day. It does get run hard on the highways. I should be easy on it but why it runs a 5500rpm till it get to highway speed and still it averages 20 mpg. The 00 and 01 did have a head cracking issue. Because of a bad casting just google it 0331 head and you will find all you want on it.
The EGR thing the nofr13 was talking about is misleading. XJ's haven't had a EGR since the renix engine. I assume he meant fuel pressure regulator which is part of the fuel module. But pricing has come down on those and it easy to change in about a hour in the driveway. Good vehicle to own, btw my wife has a 00 with 153,000 mile on it too.

My bad, I did mean fuel pressure regulator. Only on the 2001 is it in the tank, pre 2001 it's in the engine bay.

Well I understand normal wear and tear, but I was told the reliability for a car that old was pretty great. So just wanted to see what some people that owned the vehicle thought.

I owned an '86 XJ for 6 years, the only reason I sold it was because the JK became my new toy.
my XJ was the 4 banger with over 300,000 km.
the thing ran like a top, and the guy I sold it to loves it like you wouldn't believe.
I will say that the XJ was the 2nd best vehicle that I have owned.
My JK being the best.

I had a 1988 XJ. One of the best vehicles I ever had. Sold it because I left the country. Wheeled it hard before I knew anything about lifts, airing down or disconnecting sway bars! It still went everywhere. Now my son has a 1993 XJ. x2 on the comment about fixing. He has around 350,000 km and we just changed a head gasket. But with the 4.0 you can pull the head with the block still in the jeep. Good vehicle to wrench on.

I trust my XJ more then I do my wife's JK with a fraction of the miles on it. The consensus is the 99 is the best year. It has the HP dana 30 front and non ABS equiped models have the chry co 8.25 rear diff. The 2000 and 01 have a crack prone 331 head.

Also with the exception of the TJ of the same years, the XJ has the better resale value compaired to the WJ

Cherokee's
 

It should have a little more power the the JK but don't expect to much out of a straight 6 except for longevity! My friend bought one for 1200$ needed some interior work but other wise runs great except for his dead battery. I've know a few guys with these the only thing is they sink in the sand so stay outta there! other wise enjoy and if anything happens to break its easy to work on!:beer:

Have owned an xj and a wj both within the last year. The xj had 200,000 miles on it and had been in two crashes...the thing ran like a top!! I regret everyday getting rid of that thing! I traded it for my wj, ran great never had an issue except a cracked exhaust manifold (extremely common).

Just to prove how well those inline 6's were made here is a pick of my wj after I went through a 4ft deep puddle and it died after getting a huge gulp of water...after turning over for a few mins, it started right up and drove the next 6,000 miles perfectly until I traded it for my jk!!!! (best decision I ever made!!)

my brother had one for 10 yrs.....no problems, traded it for a grand cherokee, a friend had one and lifted it, looked really good

good luck , use good judgement purchasing a used vehicle, check everything out thoroghly

I drove the wheels of my '95, and took it to elk camp every year. It was very bullet proof as Jeeps go.

I had a 96 and I miss it everyday. I love my JK but the selec trac 4wd was great. Nice DD with decent mileage, sold it with 150k on it and never had a problem except the neutral safety switch. Good luck on your search!

I have a 95 with 180k, the things runs like a top. They are easy to work on
and the parts are available. As they say nothing runs like a jeep!!!

I had a 2001 Cherokee, lifted three inches with some 31's on it. That was a cool truck. My wife drove it mostly. I had to sell it because the transmission tailhousing wouldn't quit leaking even after a couple of seal changes. Plus the big one for my wife was the airconditioner cooler under the dashboard was leaking freon. If I had more time or I was single I could of dealt with it. However, that's not the case so I took the easy route, sold it, and bought a JK.

Had a 2000 Cherokee sport loved it, no issues at all. I bought it used with 80k on it drove it, offroaded it , sold it when it had 125k on it to buy the JK. Still miss that truck, you wont regret it if you buy one. Plus it had plenty of get up an go you will be pleasantly surprised by it.

I'm blessed - have both a JK & an XJ. Had the JKs not been available w/ 4 doors, never would have considered buyin' one 'cause I'm more than happy with the XJ. Other posters here described the XJ as 'bulletproof', they're spot on. Can't kill that inline 6 !

I had a 2001 XJ Sport. Until my sister rolled it. I loved that Jeep and still do. Id buy another one in a heartbeat.

Great vehicles! I just passed on my 2000 XJ to my son when I purchased the new JK Rubicon. The 2000 - 2001 did have some advantages (i.e. simplified distributor with coil packs, latest styling, etc.), but did have a couple issues. The biggest one has to do with a "hot start" issue which results in throwing multiple misfire codes. Other than that, it has been one of my favorite vehicles I've owned.

It's a great vehicle - They had similar issues inherent to the common years - my wife & her brother both had 1988 limited's. They both needed radiator replacements - water pumps - Throttle position sensors - distributor caps - ac condensers - alternators & heater coils. The seat brackets both cracked on the driver side. (power seats in both) and the power distribution panel in the driver doors were issues. They were both ultra reliable vehicles and never gave up the reliability ghost without warnings. They were both fantastic mechanically. I would highly recommend one and still want to own one and make a toy with it...I want to put a v8 in one! They both saw 200,000 + miles and the parts all went within 10,000 miles of each other (weird) - they were both purchased @ the same time with the same exact options so my guess would be they were both built @ the same plant within the same week.

Everything I mentioned could be considered wear items on vehicles...or maybe the maintenance habits of their owners...but my wife was not the best @ it and my brother in law meticulous. They both eventually found their limits - the wife's fell to transmission woes and the other developed an electrical gremlin. with the mileage on both at those times we didn't want to put any money into them and they were sold for parts. Now if they both died @ the same time - then we would have made 1 from 2 and probably would still be in the family.

It's a sound decision as long as you choose wisely and get to know about the common years and their related issues (what to expect). Fuel injection differences - electrical differences - transmission differences - ignitions and other components. Do your research and find the right one for you... The 2 doors usually sell cheaper than the 4 doors, the manual transmissions cheaper than the automatics. The easiest way to tell a reliable vehicle is by how many are still available even though production stopped 10 years ago. :thumbsup: They are cheap to maintain.

Good luck!

my son who grew up wheeling with me, just bought an '89 XJ. Sure it has 22 years of wear on it, but everything works, no smoke, T-case is good, engine runs like new, no leaks. I really like it ! JMHO :thumbsup:

I just bought a xj I love it. It has so much power compared to my two door jk

I had two xj's. Loved them both! A 95 with a 2.5 lift and 32's. ( looked sweet) and a 99. That 99 is still here and running perfectly here in Ohio! Being in Ohio the rust is getting pretty bad but my brother in law doesn't care. Loved it since the day I gave it to him.

I would look for a 97 to 99 they are the best years in my opinion. Some 00 and 01 had the bad cylinder heads that crack. The coil packs go bad. Other then that they Are the same. Sold my 98 with 250k on it with zero problems for the 150k I pit on it

We've had several...my son drives a '98 that we take wheel'in all the time and you can't stop it. He too drove his for school and never had any trouble. over 200K

I just bought a 2000 xj yesterday, love it. It has 133k and runs perfect, got it from the original owner. My sister owns a 1995 with almost 200k, and she can't kill it, it will not stop.

2001 XJ’s are not bad vehicles and the lift kits for them are relatively cheap since they have leafs out back and coils up front. And keep in mind the front axle is a HP 30 which is nice and has a HUGE aftermarket available.

Posted these earlier today, but I'll post them again. Cherokee's are great little vehicles. As others have mentioned, the 4.0 is tough to kill, and usually outlasts the body of the jeep (at least in the Northeast) They are inexpensive to work on and modify because of how popular they are.

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I loved mine. Bought it for $1700 with an inheritance check and from when I bought it to the day I got my JK I spend $800 for some new grizzly gears in the back, and maybe $200 for other miscellaneous things. Plus the look sweet with only 31s, gotta love that!