Hey guys, I'm in need of a secondary car to drive around in the city and in the winter. I live in the suburbs of NJ, but I'll be going to North Philly (Temple area), and that is no place for my primary car.

I looked at Wranglers, but they seem over priced for how old they are. A lot of them have huge rust spots and whatnot for the money I'm looking to spend (which is $4000 and under). I also looked at Miatas, but while great for the city, they wouldn't be practical for the winter. I didn't bother looking at Hondas since I don't like Hondas in general and they are the most stolen cars.

So, I found a 2000 Cherokee Sport auto 6 cylinder on Craiglist going for $3500. My mom had a 97 Grand Cherokee for 9 years, and all I remember was after 7 years or so it broke down a lot. So my question is would I be facing the same kind of frequent mechanical issues with this 10 year old Cherokee? I know that is heavily dependent on how well it was maintained, but in general, are these cars somewhat reliable after 10 years, or will I regret buying it?

 

Mines never let me down and it a 89. It has the 4.0 which is a great motor. But as always thoroughly check the car before purchase.

 

Anything in particular I should check?

I really don't care about body damage, but it looks very clean and well maintained from the pics. It's green.

Also, is $3500 a good price or should it be cheaper? The seller did not list the mileage. I'm guessing it's well over 100,000.

 

The only real 'gotcha' on the '00-01 model years is the cylinder head casting. Those two years are the ones that are prone to cracking when overheated. Other than that, not really. Standard Cherokee's don't have the electrical/transmission problems that were common in the Grands. Engine wise, just normal stuff you should keep an eye on. Check it for leaks (the valve cover will probably be leaking, easy fix), listen for loud clanks, and give it a good test drive. It'll probably tick a lot, most 4.0s do, they have a pretty noisy valve train.

 

Alright guys, I almost have the money to go get one. I'm looking at a cheaper one that is $2200 with 110,000 miles, 2000 model. The seller notes a noise coming from the rear though.

 

What kind of noise? Could be a bad u-joint, stuck brakes, dying gears, or a nest of bees.

 

I don't know. I'm going to go look on Monday. I like to walk into a dealership with the check ready to go.

 

Check the A/C. There's a big issue with the evaporators leaking...big job or pay the $1,200-1,500 to have it done. I did my '97 XJ. X2 on staying away from the Grands. Overall the Cherokees are great, reliable vehicles.

 

moved to chat... not tech...

 

Mine's 19 years old, no major issues. Did replace the front U joints, last summer. other than that the usual, sagging head liner, Crappy factory stereo, And general maintenance. I would have no fears take it across the country.

 

check the before u own a xj manual first. haha

 

what? put down the beer... lol

 

FIFY

 

I believe he was referring to this; https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/bef...-manual-57378/