Jeep Grand Cherokee? Good Cheapo SUV? >$5k

[SpuGen]

Looking to buy something totally different, and comfy.

I've pretty much narrowed it down to a 96+ Grand Cherokee since I don't wanna spend anymore than $5000.

Uses:
- Daily
- Random Roadtrips cross the border
- Hauling a bunch of car parts from my trip from across the border
- Groceries
- Robson Street pimpin. haha
- Possibilities of going Camping cause I have a vehicle that can.

But yeah. I'm mainly buying it for hauling parts/night out purposes. I'm sick of using my friend's Swift cause I fear that the engine will suddenly eat oil and blow shit up. I dont know. I mainly need the space, and I want some luxuries while not giving a fuck about the car. Plus, I like having more than what I actually need... so it fits the bill. New cars are too baller right now, and I'm not hauling shit in a SC or LS... even though I want to.

Other than that, I'm basically buying it for my Mom so the little Chinese lady can wreak havoc on the hard streets of Vancouver. She's getting old, and I'd rather her curb the shit out of a SUV tire than a rim like she did in the Civic.. I know, it's a huge SUV VS a Normal Sedan. Her driving is fine, she just gets a little too enthusiastic when shes parking.

Also, what led me to narrow it down to a Grand Cherokee, is because my friend's mom has one, and it's comfy as hell inside. Feels big, looks decent, sounds cool with a flowmaster. No idea how it is on gas, because he never fills up if he ever drives. It hauls pretty good and less bodyroll than I thought in a car that size. Plus, the leather feels nice when you're fucked up on stuff.


SO.

Anyone have any opinions on it? Experiences?
Comparable SUV for that price range?
What to look out for?
Anyone know someone with a 96+ Grand Cherokee Limited.. preferably in black.

Thanks!

[Topgrinder]

I have had two of em in the past and they were very unreliable. Busted like 4 trannies

[Harvey Specter]

Stay away, like mentioned above the older Grand Cherokee's have major tranny problems. My parents had a 1997 special edition 5.9l and it had major tranny issues. Also the GC has cv(?) boot, axel and electrical issues.

[SpuGen]

What about the 99+?

[jonny123]

go with a ford explorer that has had its tranny rebuilt.

or a gmc jimmy

both cheap as shit now.

[anti-vip]

i heard they are horrible on gas......

[brute_4s]

99+ with a v8 or a I6??? i had a 4.0 I6 and they are quyite bullet proof from what i have experienced...just make sure the fluids are good and the oil is maintained. btw i never had tranny issues...the 5.2's were known to have bad trannys and the newer 4.7 is apparently very hard on oil and likes to seize up from what ive heard...i would recomend a cherokee "classic" or sport they are a pretty good deal and on craigslist they have some nice lifts for cheap

[91civicZC]

I have been tossing aound the idea of a Jeep as well, but I think I woud have to sell my Legend first. Im blown away by how cheap they are.

Ive been told pretty much the same thing I have read here. Stay with the 4.0, the Grands get prety bad gas milage becouse of the added weight, and that the lift kits are pretty cheap.

Post up some pics and a review if you get one. My mom had two, and I really liked both of them. I really cant remeber what they had as far as maintince on them, but I dont remeber any transmision issues.

[jigga250]

I think you're the first person I've ever heard call a GC spacious and comfortable. In my opinion theyre the exact opposite....for how big they are outside, theyre cramped and uncomfortable as hell inside. Friggin rear doors are like 2 feet wide and if you're taller than 6' your knees will be at your ears.

[SpuGen]

For an Average Asian guy, it's roomy.
My Civic was supposed to be roomier than the previous gens, but the one or 2 times I sat in the back, it was "alright". Definately better than my 240, but the amount of sex room was pretty much equal.

Found a 2000 Laredo for mega cheap. Gonna take a look at it tonight. I don't know though, I'm not totally set on getting one just yet, but if the price is right, why not? It's cheaper to run compared to the Civic. Savings on Insurance and Monthly payments... I'm actually having a couple hundred in spare change even after gas costs. I'm not really concerned about the cost of gas. It'll add up, but it's not like I'm gonna be driving it everywhere like I did with the Civic.

We'll see. If the price is right, and the car is solid, I might just get one. No leather or CD player though..

[godwin]

First gen Grand Cherokees were horrid.. had a few friends' V8 blew up..

Get the base model none of that gold Limited crap.. less electronic problems to deal with.

[1990TSI]

with your mechaniks skills you'd be fine with a early 90s cherokee (not grand) for under 2k. everything is easy to work on with them, and the 4.0L, while as reliable as a turbo mitsubishi engine, makes a fair bit of power and can be fun on and off the road.

I bought one a few years back for $500 cuz it had no aircare(fine for me)and a missing control arm lolz, and I managed to lift it 6" for under $100. then proceeded to drive it for about a year with only scheduled oil changes. By far the best value vehicle I've ever owned.

The grand cherokees are a bit nicer with coils all around and the V8, and nicer inside, but you don't get that much more truck for your money. I think from what you've mentioned, find a early 90s cherokee with a clean inside and <200k kms. Watch out for oil leaks with the 4.0L, it's prone to leaking out of almost everywhere, but if it hasn't started by now, you should be good. the 4cyl is garbage, don't bother

[1983 Z28]

Look up Land Rover Discoverys. They're dirt cheap; there's a '99 for $3,000 on Craigslist right now; just needs a windshield and two windows (just say hello to a month's worth of comprehensive insurance). Otherwise, there's plenty of Disco I's for cheap.

And before anyone says anything; NO THEY AREN'T HORRIBLY UNRELIABLE. But there are a lot that are poorly maintained. They are retardedly overbuilt, and designed to go off-road. That means it trades some the maintenance-free nature of other vehicles for better build quality. Buy one with a good maintenance record and that's been well looked after, and they'll run for a damn long time. Good value, overall.

[too_slow]

^They're hard to find...

On a side note 99+ GCs uses the same brakes setup as an intrepid sedan.. :S

[1990TSI]

^^

They are quite a bit more $$$ to maintain though. I can understand why they're hard to find with a good maintence record.

It would be like maintaining a bmw or mercedes, as apposed to a nissan or honda or cherokee.
Cool trucks though and worth a look at!

[1983 Z28]

If I had a need for a more civilized 4x4, I'd buy a Disco, drop in a Megasquirt n' Spark for a few hundred bucks for simplicty and access' sake, then drive it. The maintenance is easy to do, parts aren't terrible expensive as there is a lot of cross-platform sharing with the Range Rover products... and parts have a long life (the same part number will service a lot of model years'), and they aren't that hard to work on.

EDIT: Then again, I have a reasonable skill level, and a well equipped garage...

[valent|n0]

how about a forester
known to be easy to work on the engine in case trouble comes and they are pretty cheap 98 - 2000

watch out for the head gasket problem though

for your convenience .. these are above $5000, but from my experience you can bargain $1000 to $2000 in craigslist easily

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/cto/911525141.html
http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/cto/920558585.html
http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/cto/929043450.html
http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/ctd/945021555.html

[SpuGen]

The Cherokee was.. not great. Needed tires, lights, gas guage doesn't work, seat is super worn, dead battery, engine didn't sound happy...

Im gonna try and contact that Land Rover guy. If it's in any remotely better condition, I'm keeping my eye on that instead.

[godwin]

If you just want something for parts hauling why not get a cheapo Ranger / S10 etc?

Originally Posted by SpuGen

The Cherokee was.. not great. Needed tires, lights, gas guage doesn't work, seat is super worn, dead battery, engine didn't sound happy...

Im gonna try and contact that Land Rover guy. If it's in any remotely better condition, I'm keeping my eye on that instead.

[BNR32_Coupe]

Originally Posted by SpuGen

For an Average Asian guy, it's roomy.
My Civic was supposed to be roomier than the previous gens, but the one or 2 times I sat in the back, it was "alright". Definately better than my 240, but the amount of sex room was pretty much equal.

Found a 2000 Laredo for mega cheap. Gonna take a look at it tonight. I don't know though, I'm not totally set on getting one just yet, but if the price is right, why not? It's cheaper to run compared to the Civic. Savings on Insurance and Monthly payments... I'm actually having a couple hundred in spare change even after gas costs. I'm not really concerned about the cost of gas. It'll add up, but it's not like I'm gonna be driving it everywhere like I did with the Civic.

We'll see. If the price is right, and the car is solid, I might just get one. No leather or CD player though..

Now you're just trying to find reasons for buying a cheap SUV that's horrible on fuel and maintenance. Best thing a seller could hope for is a customer that tries to find reasons to talk himself into buying your stuff.

[RRxtar]

I've got a 96 Grand Cherokee Larado 5.2L V8 4x4 auto. as my daily driver/work truck. bought it over a year ago and its been good to me. i originally bought it jast year as a ski hill and winter truck, but liked it enough to hang onto it.

has 230,000kms and the last 20k have been mine and i've had no unexpected problems with it.

as for maintenance, basically, everything you will need to do with a 12 year old higher milage car or truck or SUV will need to be done eventually. mine is all up to date, ball joints, tie rods, bushings, brakes etc. nothing has broken on me. from all the reading i've done on sites like jeepforum.com, its no more of a maintenance problem than any other vehicle. stay on top of it and it wont cause any problems. i went with a Larado over a Limited because the leather in the Ltd looks like garbage after a few years and the cloth in the larado is actually quite nice and very comfortable. plus the larado still has power everything.

the good news about it is, its a run of the mill domestic SUV/truck so anyone, anywhere can work on it. theres no special tools or hidden problems or secrets. its basic and its reliable because it works and its worked for 30 years. another plus is in 96 alone, jeep sold like 200,000 of them so theres spare parts everywhere.

its also a great base to go a little bigger. the 5.2L has tons of power and it has solid axles front and rear. a real 2N4H4L transfercase is an easy swap. a 2.5" lift, shocks, and sway bar endlinks kit can be done for like $250 and will fit 31x10.5" tires. 4 wheel disk brakes too. not to mention with a tranny cooler, you can easily tow 7000lbs up hill all day long. try doing that in an import.

the truck is built on a unibody and has coil springs and swaybars front and rear so it actually rides quite decent. its not overly heavy either. plus it wont rust to shit like a 4runner.

the bad: as with many of them, my tranny is just about shot. the 4speed OD isnt the greatest one around to begin with. also, being a full time AWD makes it weak for real 4x4ing. however it works amazing in the snow.

as for gas milage, im averaging about 14mpg in the city and over 20mpg on the highway including trips to Big White. in vancouver youd probably be 12mpg. thats not great. it must be added that the 4L gets about 1mpg better, and early 90s 4 runners dont get much better fuel economy either, and they only make half the power.


my suggestion? find one in good shape with solid service records. if the tranny is strong, it should last you quite a while. aside from a GC, maybe look at an early 90s pathfinder, they can be had for dirt cheap now. and forget about an explorer or jimmy, those things are garbage.

[1983 Z28]

The other option, and this going to come out of left field... is to shop for a pre-96 Range Rover. They're known as the Range Rover Classics, and they're incredibly tough trucks. There's one on Craigslist now that is within the budget you specify (http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/cto/933104639.html) but it's got a coil spring swap and 2" lift installed instead of the standard air suspension (and that's a bonus). They ride great, have AWESOME room (I'm 6'1" and I can sit behind my own driver's seat, without adjusting it, and still have a solid 10" between my knees and the seatback in front of me), seem to be more reliable than the Discovery's (less electronic stuff), and get better gas mileage. Oh, and their aluminum, so they never rest. Ever. The engine's are aluminum block 4.0L and 4.2L V8's based on 60's Buick block architecture, so they're bulletproof. They've got an excellent full-time 4WD system with a low range in the transfer case, and they're built like tanks. Honestly, the only thing I've done is replace the rear hatch's glass surround, which is the only steel part on the body, and that set me back a whopping $86 for a brand new one. Parts are dirt cheap, and they were developed by Land Rover back when Land Rover thought they should go about making their money by building tough, reliable rigs. That said, they ride better than any comparable 4x4, they're dead quiet, come with nice stereos, nice big windows (it makes a difference on those nice relaxing drives), and comfy heated seats.

And yes.

I have one of them too.

And so does the Queen.

[gramser57]

Not really a suv but you can pick up a 2001 pt cruiser for 5g's

Also found Dodge Durango's for 5gs

[SpuGen]

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/ctd/947709953.html

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[slow-fastback]

Originally Posted by SpuGen

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/ctd/947709953.html

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917 area code = New York City