hello all, finally sold my car! and getting ready to purchse an XJ. This XJ is on a chevy lot a couple hours from me and the dealer is usless on getting any info out of. I tried 10 different ways to get him to tell me tire size and or lift height, but he failed miserably. Can you guys tell by looking at the picture ~ how much lift this Jeep has on it. What tire / rim size? Also what should I be looking for as far as problem areas when buying an XJ already lifted. The hood scoops and bra are not my style at all. The rim tire isn't either. If I do get this Jeep the bra and rims will be the first to go. 16" Moabs is the route I am wanting to go.

 

From the looks of it it looks like the rear has a shackle the height im not sure it appears to be a maybe 2 inch budget boost and tire size look on the side wall it will tell you the size of the tires

 

The first Jeep I pictured SOLD literally 20mins before I got to the dealership. Here is the current Jeep that I have looked at and they are holding until Monday morning for me.
2000 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4x4
92,400 miles, auto, I6
$6,400 +tax, title, warranty.

The Jeep is in good shape cosmetically and everything mechanically apears to operate great. Starts easy, idles smooth, accerlatates smooth, no smoke, or engine odors, shifts smooth, 4x4 HI and Lo works with no grinding etc.

The issues:
Oil pressure gauge stays at 80 or all the way to the right. Is this common on the Cherokee's. Bad sensor or a bigger issue? Should I be concerned. From what I can tell the engine has no knocks, ticks, and operates smoothly.

There is some oil on the bottom of the engine and on the oil pan looking from underneath. Is this common on a 11yr old 4l I6?

Headliner is sagging pretty badly. Common? IS there a simple fix? Cost?

Hydraulics on the rear hatch need replaced. Cost?

Needs front pads and rotors. Are these expensive on the Cherokee's?

Overall what are you guys take on the Jeep. Would you buy it.

I am purchasing a 6mo warranty for $350. Covers engine, tranny, 4wd, axles, differential etc. I was thinking about just taking it in the a shop and having them go over the whole Jeep before the warranty runs out. Anyone hace experience with doing this and these warranties?



These ugly 17" wheels will go almost immediately. Looking for some stock Ecco's.

 

6400$ < NO
4000$ Maybe

Has low miles but a lot of little problems.


Oil pressure gauge stays at 80 or all the way to the right. Is this common on the Cherokee's. Bad sensor or a bigger issue? Should I be concerned. From what I can tell the engine has no knocks, ticks, and operates smoothly.
- This is usually caused by the sensor. Replace it.

There is some oil on the bottom of the engine and on the oil pan looking from underneath. Is this common on a 11yr old 4l I6?
-My 99 does not leak at all at 169k.

-It could be rear main seal or oil filter adapter o-rings or the valve cover gasket.
-O-ring is a 5$ fix but a pain. Rear main seal fix is expensive if you do not do it yourself. Valve cover gasket is not to hard.

Headliner is sagging pretty badly. Common? IS there a simple fix? Cost?
-Usually not a "simple" fix. It can be done your self for cost of cloth and headliner glue. Taking it to someone will set you back somewhere around a 150$.

Hydraulics on the rear hatch need replaced. Cost?
-Two brand new ones for me were 34$.

Needs front pads and rotors. Are these expensive on the Cherokee's?
-Not to expensive.

Overall what are you guys take on the Jeep. Would you buy it.
-For the price, no way.

 

6400 is a bit steep.... For that price they should fix everything wrong with it before it leaves the lot.Have you looked on your local craigslist.

 

Moved to Chat.

 

Thanks for the insight guys.

Here is the deal I am financing this through penfed credit union @ 1.99%. They will only loan NADA and has to be under 100,000 miles. I have been looking for a month autotrader, craigslist, aol auto, ebay, local dealers, newspaper etc. Everything is either full of rust and dents or has well over 100,000. The clean XJ's under 100k are going for $8,000+ on ebay and autotrader. I had a dealer in Indy tell me the best he could do on an 01 Limited XJ with 102K was $9,899. I test drove it, it was nice, but not mint by any means.

The popularity and rarity of an XJ with under 100K is getting ridiculous at least around here. I drove 3hrs to see the Jeep I pictured. The last 3 XJ's I went to look at and ended up being too late for all sold for on averae 1K over NADA. The market is stupid right now.

I have to turn over my car by Wednesday and with this Jeep actually being below NADA value for once I feel like I am out of other options if I want an XJ.

They will not go any lower on the price as I had to badger to get them to $6,400. I do not want to make a bad investment obviously as this will be my daily driver and needs to be reliable to make 50mile round trip 5 days a week. I do beleive seals and gaskets are covered under the warranty of course it will be a $100 deductible for them to replace them.

If you guys have a chance check your craigslist etc to see if you can find any XJ's under 100K for cheaper.

 

If you like it then go for it. When you get a deal like 1.99 financing and you find something a bit higher than normal price but it's what you want and not too bad of shape why not. As far as oil leaks around the pan I'll say 90 percent of i6 jeeps I've been under (auto mechanic since 1993) has had a leaky oil pan. Imo it's not that big a deal assuming you're not having to dump a quart in every few hundred miles. Even if so it's the oil pan on a i6 4wd Jeep...about as easy as it gets as far as oil pan removal goes.

Brakes are a maintanance issue so I would not hesitate to buy a vehicle based on a maintanance item, you're gonna have to do them sometime.

 

Honestly, I'd find a different loan company and buy an xj with around 135k for 3,000.
But if you feel this is your only option, then go for it.

 

1.9 finance is insanely cheap. I thought I did good at 3.9. Besides It's a big hassle to get a loan nowadays and if he's already approved at that rate. heck the payments can't be much more that 150 or 160 month, probably cheaper. That's my .04 cents

 

before you sign on the dotted line, check the head....2000 and 2001 xj are notorious for having problems with it....let the jeep run for a while then shut it off...with a flashlight look inside the valve cover with a flashlight through the oil fill ....crack is usually right there between cylinders 3 and 4

 

This is something that can be seen by someone who has no idea what they are looking for? As far as I can tell the oil was coming from somewhere lower than on top of the motor. It was right above the oil pan and the oil pan that had oil on it. I will definitely see what I can find though.

So is the $350 warranty a good idea. SHould I save that money and use it to fix the little issues on the Jeep. OR should I drive the Jeep for a couple months and then take it into a shop and have them look over everything. They can pinpoint the leak and it would cost $100 to have it fixed. If it a huge issue like a cracked head it would cost $100 to fix also. Would the Jeep run smooth and idle smooth with a cracked head? Would thier be smoke?

 

Warranties on used vehicles are sold to make money for the car dealers, if you think they will rebuild your Jeep for $100 ($350+100=450?) read the warranty. As far as $6400 @ 1.99% (how many month's?) for an 11 year old Jeep, I think I would keep looking for a $3000 XJ and pay cash.

 

36mo although the payments are about $175 less than the Mazda3 I just sold. So technically once I get the issues fixed and I get the 3" lift, Ecco or Moab wheels, and some A/T tires I will start really paying down the loan. Goal is to be payed in 2 years.

I am no mechanic and this is my daily driver. I can't afford to have it down for extended periods of time. If this was a pure pleasure vehicle like I hope it to be once my wife gets out of Dental Hygiene school it would be a different story. The $3K XJ's around here have been beat to hell and would need work. I am not wanting a trail rig or a weekend type vehicle.

I am looking for a solid daily driver, small lift for looks and the occasionally off road trip to our camping spot.

I have always heard the warranties are a rip off, but I have never purchased a vehicle this old so I was nearvous when I saw the oil underneath and the pressure gauge pinned over at 80. I had my 99 Ranger 4x4 with 189K and it didn't leak or burn oil at all. In my mind if the engine scattered or the tanny dropped paying 500 to get it replaced would be better than 2k+.

BTW: This warranty is one of the nation wide things and not from the dealer itself. You take the Jeep into your mechanic of choice and then they get the work pre-approved through the warranty company.

 

I wouldnt buy from a dealer, for some reason they like to try and sell xj's for like $6500 all the time... Go on CRAIGSLIST