spare? ferm? grand cherokee?

[charlie_the_tuna]

looking at grand Cherokees in the 2000 to 2004 range. kind of cheap. what do you guys think?

[bradford]

There's a reason those things are cheap.

Plus I'd really hate to buy a road salted one from up north.

What?? No barn door suburbans or tahoes this year?

[THEFERMANATOR]

I6 or V8? They aren't bad trucks IMO, but the economy will not be much better than a full size tahoe. Brakes gave us ALOT of trouble out of those things, and the full time 4WD system was a PAIN IN THE @$$. Rear ends if it has the dana 44 gave alot of trouble, the 35's not so much, but still more than earlier DANA 35's did. The A/C system wasn't as bad in the WJ as the Zj's were, but still did more than a few evaporator cores in them. If it has the V8, it is a MERCEDES designed V8 with great power output, but it is a european designed engine that does NOT take well to even slightly going past on oil changes and maintence. If it has the 4.0L I6, it's a fairly solid engine, but expect tranny problems out of them. And who can forget about window regulators. I did a SH!T TON of window regualtors when I worked on them. As far as long term holding up, I'm not much help there. I got hurt and left working at teh DODGE dealer in 01, so that platform had only been out since 98, and really wasn't that old when I was wrenching on them.

[spareparts]

Charlie, you should have bought my suburban. I don't know much about the Grand Cherokees, I just bought my daughter a 2001 Cherokee, while looking, I drove several Grands, they definatly drive and ride better, but every one I drove had a sound like a wheel bearing going out, one was real freaking loud. Ended up finding a clean 2001 Cherokee with 180K, I6 2wd for $2400

[Destroyer]

I Have the Cherokee (Sport), My brother has the Grand Cherokee. His is in the shop more than mine. Mine is a 1998 with the Inline 6 4.0L engine. His is a 2003. Mine is just about bulletproof. The only major problem I've had with the car is the brake lines rusted out at around 140,000 miles. She's got 214,000 on her now and still going strong. Just change her oil and she'll purr like a kitten.

[charlie_the_tuna]

i'm looking at Cherokees but believe it or not, they're more expensive than the grand. spare, I just sold my suburban/ Yukon xl. too big. had the 2500. too thirsty. I like the 4runner also but not cheap. saw a real nice Cherokee in CT for cheap.
may go for something like this.

http://hartford.craigslist.org/cto/5783839553.html

or this.

http://hartford.craigslist.org/cto/5750609611.html

[Destroyer]

I know some ppl will disagree with me, but I get an honest 21.5 MPG on the highway with my Cherokee. If that Red one is nice as it looks in the pic it might be a great deal. The reason they are so popular is they are almost bulletproof. The engine is (almost) impossible to kill. I know that some ppl have reported trans problems with them but like I said I've got 214K on mine and she runs smooth as silk. They are a little small in size, so expect that, but I'll tell you something. Mine made the trip to and from Naples, Fla twice towing my V20. 1600 miles each way without a whimper. Oh, and they are phenomenal for turning in a tight spot, Really tight turning radius. (Great for the city)

[phatdaddy]

cant speak to the jeep/cherokee , but if your getting a a dodge 4x4 to save gas, your in for a surprise.

[THEFERMANATOR]

Yeah, that dodge GUZZLES gas like no tommorrow. The grand cherokees have trans problems, but the toyota trans in the regular cherokee is pretty tough so kong as you dont overheat them.