Need vehicle opinions - Jeep Grand Cherokee

[Bugeater]

So I'm thinking about breaking my streak of buying minivans at 5, and am considering a small SUV. I like the style of the 99-02 years, and they're in my price range.

Anyone have experiences with these? There seems to be a lot of them out there. I'm leaning towards one with the IL 6 cyl since it probably does better on gas and the V8 is really crammed in there and likely a bitch to work on.

Thoughts?

[COchief]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

Don't disagree. But the decent ones are waaay out of my price range. Those damn things just don't lose value.

They are in your range most likely, 4runner I'll give you but you pay for a little cushier experience. No better value than a 2000-2004 Xterra/Pathfinder.

[COchief]

Originally Posted by burt

I have owned Pathfinder, 4Runner, Wrangler....all fine experiences....but the Wrangler was the best!!! BUT NOT 10 X's.... Just sayin'.....

Yeah, 2002 Sahara owner with D44 and 3.73. Went from a mint 2002 Xterra S/C, and man were those first couple weeks rough.

I was talking about his SUV class, and was referring to quality of the little things, ride, and reliability. I couldn't shake the thought when I dumped my X and paid almost twice as much for the Wrangler, that I was an idiot. But car guys follow passion, not reason.

[COchief]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

Don't disagree. But the decent ones are waaay out of my price range. Those damn things just don't lose value.

I'm bored and like hunting shit down, give me range and location and I'll see if I can dig up any finds.

[Exoter175]

Originally Posted by kaplin42

Bought a Jeep Wrangler Sport last may. I have to be honest, I was expecting the stereotypical bumpy ride, "it's a jeep, deal with it" type of scene. I am so pleasantly surprised at how comfortable and roomy the Jeep is. It rides smooth, and with the Penstar v6, it has quite a bit of power. On top of that, 4x4ing is a lot of fun. You can get it with nav and power everything, remote start, engine block warmers and all kinds of stuff. If you haven't, take a look at a Wrangler.

I should make a note. The suspension and engine were re-done in the 2012 models. Do not get anything less than a 2012.

Uh, no. If you buy a wrangler, you buy one fromt he mid/late 90's and no newer than early 2000's, after that, the drivetrain becomes dominated by Chrysler and they turn into mall crawlers with bells and whistles that people don't need for what the Wrangler was built for........driving over shit.

I had a 2004 TJ Sport with option Dana 44 in it, it was literally the BEST combination in the world with that 4.0 liter straight six. The only downside is that I had the 6 speed Chrysler Manual in it, which was "meh". I never got stuck in that thing. Went rock crawling, mudding, swamping, you name it. With the 6 inch lift and 35's, never got stuck. I sank that thing in a swamp and was a little over waist deep in the absolute sloppiest swampy mud scenario you could find, kicked it in 4 low and go out. It was awesome. The new jeeps on the other hands, are for people with vaginas.

Originally Posted by gblowfish

Grand Cherokee has the basic Laredo, then Limited, then the super nice one is the Overland. I don't think they made the Limited or Overland with the straight six. I think both of them were V8 only.

Overland? You're talking new jeeps now, and new jeeps are bad.

Originally Posted by COchief

Boiled down legit advice from owning several jeeps and other makes:

- 4.0 only, no exceptions, one of the best engines ever produced.
- Everything around the engine and drivetrain is crappy and will probably break, you want the least amount of bells and whistles possible, cause that is all crap you'll need to fix.
- Drivetrain will rarely if ever, let you down if maintained.
- Best value and honestly ten times the vehicle would be Xterra/Pathfinder/4runner of the same vintage, disagree? Eat shit, I have gone from Cherokee/Xterra/Wrangler. You haven't so . Also drive them, you'll see.

I disagree here slightly, the suspension and brakes in stock form are very good when you put them to the extreme pre-sissy jeeps. In my 04 the brakes should have seriously faded on me on many treks but they didn't, as much shit that was put through them, they worked like a champ.

Completely agree with you on the 4 runner mention, anything Toyota and 4wd is worth the money, especially older 22RE trucks.

[COchief]

Originally Posted by Exoter175

I disagree here slightly, the suspension and brakes in stock form

You're probably a little more mechanic oriented than me, I meant drive train to say basically anything under the body. We're the same guy, 2000-2002 is the ultimate year if you're going non-rubi.

[kaplin42]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

Can't do the Sport. I have driven them and the doors are too small, I have trouble getting in and out of them.

Sport only refers to the version of the model. For instance:

Sport
Sport S
Sahara
Rubicon

The further down the list, the more features you get, with the Rubicon being best if you plan on off-roading at all.

The current Series model is the JK (as opposed to CJ, YJ, TJ). I think when you say Sport, you're thinking of the 2 door model, like I said in a previous post, take a look at the 4 door model (JKU), it has a lot more room in it.

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by COchief

I'm bored and like hunting shit down, give me range and location and I'll see if I can dig up any finds.

Omaha area, $5000-ish budget. Did some digging on Xterras last week but haven't really checked out what's around for Pathfinders. And nothing black in color.

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by Exoter175

In the regular cherokees the only Aisins were Manuals, the Autos were Chrysler. Actually I take that back, I think there were a few model years with the 4 series aisin in it, probably the 92-94.5 model years, somewhat similar to the grand cherokee.

All 1987-2001 XJ's with the 4.0L had Aisin-Warner AW-4 4-speed automatics. The 4-cyl XJ's used a Chrysler 3-spd tranny.

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by kaplin42

Sport only refers to the version of the model. For instance:

Sport
Sport S
Sahara
Rubicon

The further down the list, the more features you get, with the Rubicon being best if you plan on off-roading at all.

The current Series model is the JK (as opposed to CJ, YJ, TJ). I think when you say Sport, you're thinking of the 2 door model, like I said in a previous post, take a look at the 4 door model (JKU), it has a lot more room in it.

Oh, I thought the boxy Cherokees were called the Sport. That's the way most of them seem to be titled in the ads.

[Exoter175]

Originally Posted by COchief

You're probably a little more mechanic oriented than me, I meant drive train to say basically anything under the body. We're the same guy, 2000-2002 is the ultimate year if you're going non-rubi.

In my opinion you don't get anything better than the TJ really. Which is what? 97-06ish I believe.

You get a 4.0 straight six, at least a Dana 35 if not Dana 44 with 3.73's, and some awesome brakes.

My '04 was just a little too new for my liking.

You see, when I think Jeep, I think lifted, 35's, 33's minimum, top off, doors off. I need a heater, I don't need AC, and a radio is questionable.

That's how I like my jeeps.

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by kaplin42

Sport only refers to the version of the model. For instance:

Sport
Sport S
Sahara
Rubicon

The further down the list, the more features you get, with the Rubicon being best if you plan on off-roading at all.

The current Series model is the JK (as opposed to CJ, YJ, TJ). I think when you say Sport, you're thinking of the 2 door model, like I said in a previous post, take a look at the 4 door model (JKU), it has a lot more room in it.

I believe he was talking about the XJ (small Cherokee). He's right about the doors being small and being a pain to get into and out of. That's the reason I got rid of mine (small children at the time). Once you were in, though, they were roomy.

[kaplin42]

Originally Posted by Exoter175

Uh, no. If you buy a wrangler, you buy one fromt he mid/late 90's and no newer than early 2000's, after that, the drivetrain becomes dominated by Chrysler and they turn into mall crawlers with bells and whistles that people don't need for what the Wrangler was built for........driving over shit.

I had a 2004 TJ Sport with option Dana 44 in it, it was literally the BEST combination in the world with that 4.0 liter straight six. The only downside is that I had the 6 speed Chrysler Manual in it, which was "meh". I never got stuck in that thing. Went rock crawling, mudding, swamping, you name it. With the 6 inch lift and 35's, never got stuck. I sank that thing in a swamp and was a little over waist deep in the absolute sloppiest swampy mud scenario you could find, kicked it in 4 low and go out. It was awesome. The new jeeps on the other hands, are for people with vaginas.



Overland? You're talking new jeeps now, and new jeeps are bad.



I disagree here slightly, the suspension and brakes in stock form are very good when you put them to the extreme pre-sissy jeeps. In my 04 the brakes should have seriously faded on me on many treks but they didn't, as much shit that was put through them, they worked like a champ.

Completely agree with you on the 4 runner mention, anything Toyota and 4wd is worth the money, especially older 22RE trucks.

New Jeeps are awesome, just because soccer mom's like them, doesn't mean that you can't actually use them for off-roading like I do all the time. Typical BS though "if it's newer than X year, it's not a Jeep. If it's got 4 doors, it's not a Jeep."

You can lift, and mod, and deck out the new Jeeps just as you could the old ones.

[Exoter175]

Originally Posted by Frosty

All 1987-2001 XJ's with the 4.0L had Aisin-Warner AW-4 4-speed automatics. The 4-cyl XJ's used a Chrysler 3-spd tranny.

I think you're right there, I just seem to remember having a 92 3 speed 4.0 at some point early in my life lol

Originally Posted by Bugeater

Oh, I thought the boxy Cherokees were called the Sport. That's the way most of them seem to be titled in the ads.

That's just one of the most common trim levels for the boxy cherokees, and they are very plentiful. I've had 3 myself, my buddy has had 6 in the last 3 years.

Guess what our common maintenance has been on them?

Plugs, radiator hoses, and differential fluid changes. lol.

And we put them......through......hell..........

[SAUTO]

ive had a 2003 grand since 2004. bought it with 60 K on it and it had been built 18 months prior.


it has almost 200K on it now.

ive done the brakes once. changed the oil every 3000.
routine maintenance. fluid changes.

and the cooling fan relay goes out about once a year. other than that it has been a great vehicle.

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

Oh, I thought the boxy Cherokees were called the Sport. That's the way most of them seem to be titled in the ads.

No, Sport is just a trim level for either 2 or 4 door XJ (mine was a Limited). The whole "Cherokee" thing confuses people. When I was looking for a car for my son, I was considering the small Cherokee (XJ) but it seemed like every add that said something like "2000 Cherokee" was actually a Grand Cherokee. Two diferent vehicles completely. To make matters worse, "Cherokee" used to be a trim level on the big jeeps in the '70's.