spare? ferm?
 

gonna bounce a few cars off you guys in the next couple weeks or so. trying to narrow down my choices.whaddaya think of this one?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-C...item337f00215b

or this?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1999-...item337f1a4a44

Ferm can fill you in on teh Cherokee, i had a 95 and it took more abuse from me with out leaving me stranded than any car I've ever owned. For what i had in that thing, and what it got me through, i don't think I've ever had a better car, that being said, teh 2000 is a different vehicle, Ferm can explain the differences better than i can. My 99 Suburban was the first car i ever financed( my wifes Ford was never in my name), It was teh first time I bought what i called a nice vehicle. Its been a good one, its got over 200,000 miles on it right now. Its had a few issues, but nothing I haven't been able to take care of. IF it wasn't for my want of a diesel tow vehicle, i would probably keep it till the wheels fell off. Best thing you can do for a Tahoe/Suburban is put LT type Michillens on it,not P rated tires, LT type. They cost a lot, but are worth it. The Burb/Tahoe issues are the intake gasket leaking, heater hose fittings, and the transmission issues. Otehr than that, the 5.7 is rock solid. The interior is fairly cheap compared to newer models, but its better than a lot of other vehicles.

My vote would go to the TAHOE anyday of the week. The milage on the 2 of them will be surprisingly close with the TAHOE only getting about 1-1.5MPG less than the JEEP. The amount of room in the TAHOE is more than worth it. The only real downfall to the 5.7L VORTEC is intake gaskets, and the fuel injectors don't do so well with ethanol fuels. Both issues are easily resolved with updated parts available today. The only other weak points in it will be the idler and pitman arms in the front end. Starting in 96 JEEP changed the drivetrain some and created vibrations when they did it. Many don't notice it, but they drove me nuts. The 4.0L is a good solid engine, but by 2000 it had been choked down for emissions and was run so lean that even brand new many of them wouldn't idle for crap(I routinely relocated the intake air temp sensor in them to make them idle better for customers). Also the 8 1/4" rear axle in the JEEP is known for going out and needing bearings. My 97 had had the rear end done to many times to remember. U joints were always going in it due to the changed driveline, and I eventually changed the transfer case and driveshafts to the 95- style to fix it.

Nothing really against the JEEP, but the TAHOE is the CLEAR winner of these 2(and the price looks pretty right in that ad to boot). And if you ever plan on towing, the CHEROKEE will make you understand the meaning of "PUCKER FACTOR" if you have to panic stop or get caught in a tight situation. I couldn't tell you how many times I left skid marks in my underwear towing with my CHEROKEE's, and is the main reason I now have a full size SUV. Power was never the issue, stopping and handling were HUGE issues!

I love the Jeep... I have a 98 Cherokee and it's been reliable to a fault... but like Ferm said, the braking is a problem... NOT that the Jeeps brakes are not strong.. they are fine.. but the vehicle itself is so light that a V20 will push you several feet beyond what you need to stop in. In fact, if you recall from a previous post where i described being pushed into an intersection, it was the Jeep i was driving. Now, the fix is really, really simple...put surge brakes on your trailer. As soon as i did that i never had another problem with stopping while towing with the Jeep. And the 4.0L inline 6 cylinder engine is a great, torque filled engine for towing. In fact, it has more starting out from the line torque than a same size or slightly larger V8.
I get an honest 20.4MPG with my Cherokee. (Less when towing of course) I don't know what the Tahoe's MPG is.

That Tahoe is a nice looking vehicle, but that drivers seat looks like it was beat with an ugly stick, and I'm a little leary of that rear bumper.. if you look at the one picture you can clearly see a crack in a part of it.

Both vehicles look like they have been really, really cleaned... and since there are a ton (29,000) of vehicles in NY that have been and are being auctioned off because of flooding, I'd be VERY careful of either of them. Demand to see the carfax report.. Also, that Cherokee is underpriced a little. They have been pulling a higher price for a long time due to being in high demand, ...usually in the 4-6K range... makes me wonder why that one is being sold so low...especially from a dealer.

Oh, for what it's worth, the Cherokee has a cross over radio in it. It has a cassette player in the botom, but if you look real carefully, right above the dial you can see the slot where the CD player is. Chrysler made that radio in that style for a very few years, and they are in high demand because of the CD player and also because of the joystick on the lower right side of the radio for setting the front and rear speaker levels.. typically they will bring $100+ on eBay.