Squelchtone

Hello,
I have wanted a Jeep Cherokee XJ for a few years now, and now that I have the means to buy one, they of course don't make that body style anymore. I've spent the last few months watching ebay and craigslist and have my eye on a couple of XJ's. I already drive a 1999 car and I know 2001 isn't much newer but it is the newest available so I only want a 2001.

Who knows maybe one of you has one for sale, I'd rather buy from someone here than a stranger on craigslist.

Here is a list of the basic must have needs:

year: 2001
color: Forest Green
trim: Classic or Limited (I like all the trim and bumpers to match the paint job) if the right Sport trim comes along, and is Forest Green, I'll be glad to look at it.
grille and license plate trim: Forest Green
interior: really want beige, but grey is ok
doors: 4 dr
transmission: automatic, 4x4, 4WD
miles: less than 140,000
rust: as little as possible
must have cruise control, AC, working heat, electric windows, doorlocks, and rear privacy glass tint.

I prefer a soccer mom sleeper, or grandma estate sale find, as I like to do my own mods and pick my own accessories such as safari racks, but if you have one already lifted, I'm open to looking at it. Looking for a clean Jeep, fenders intact, no cutting on the body panels, no check engine light issues.

Basically I'm looking for one exactly like this:


My budget is $4000 to $6500 depending on mileage and how nice the paint and interior are and how little rust it has. Want to buy something by June 1st as a birthday present to myself.

I live in Western Massachusetts and would be going to Endangered Species Jeep in Holyoke to have them install a basic 3.5 inch lift kit and bigger tires to improve the stance. (I expect this all to cost about $1800.) Jeep will be daily driver, and maybe some trails on the weekends, but no rock climbing or mud.

I am in the Northeast and willing to bus/train/plane to you and drive Jeep home or hire a carrier to trailer it and deliver it if it is far away like Colorado or California.

I am still learning about XJs so if I said something wrong or called a part by the wrong name, I welcome corrections, but please take it easy on the new guy


Thanks for an awesome forum, I can't wait to read for hours and hours!

Squelchtone

ps. I run an internet forum myself, it's very interesting being a member and not an admin or mod)

Big David

I see it's your 1st post, welcome to CF.

Pretty specific XJ you are looking for, at least you have a decent budget to work with. I would look for a early 2001 if you are dead set on that year. People tend not to care about the quality of work when they realize they are loosing their job.
The best year IMHO is the '98 or '99.
The '97 are suppose to have electrical issues & the '00 & '01 have cylinder head issues.

Good luck in the search.

OP_Rover

Yup, the 00 and 01 are notorious for cracking the head, due to a change in the build material. They also changed the front dana 30 axle from a high pinion (used before 00) to a low pinion set up. This was due to the fact that they where phasing out the xj parts, and in this case, began using tj front axles, which where low pinion. If you stay true to your plans of very light use then it will be alright, but it is a known fact that the low pinion is weaker and less favorable than the high pinion axle. Btw forest green pearl is the best color!

Big David

Yep, forgot about the LP axle.

Squelchtone

Thank you for the speedy reply.

the local Jeep shop near me where I would be getting the lift done also warned me about the heads on the 00 and 01's and I fully understand what you mean about not getting a Jeep that was built at 3pm on a Friday by people about to get their pink slip. I'll admit, I can be a very stubborn guy and really wanted to get something newer than my 1999 car, so in the interest of not buying a 2001 that maybe wasn't put together as well as it could have been, I might be opening my window to 1999's and 2000's.

Are the heads known to crack on the 00 and 01's on a regular basis or only if someone is really abusing their vehicle? Once they fail and are replaced, do the replacement ones last any longer?

I saw a 2001 for sale recently with only 75,000 miles, but they were asking $7000 which I'm sure is reasonable and on par with NADA and KBB, but if I'm adding a lift kit and tires, it would end up being close to a $9,000 or $10,000 dollar Jeep, which is more than I want to put into it for a daily driver.

Glad I'm here, you guys know your stuff!

Thanks
Squelchtone

OP_Rover

Those heads crack on grocery getter and rock crawlers alike. They just go bad with time, sure you can accelerate the crack with abuse, but it's still a common issue without it.

terzdesign

Yes, I agree with Big David. Go with a 98 or 99. You wont have to worry about the head cracking and they don't have the coil packs either. Basically, you get all of the glitz of the last-gen models without the headache.

Squelchtone

Thank you for all the replies. It's given me some food for thought.

Being the stubborn sonnab*tch I am, I'll probably still get a 2001 just because it is the newest, but I am at least going to search for 1999's now to see if I can find a low mile one with good paint job and clean interior.

In case you're wondering why I'm so hot for a Classic or Limited with the green trim, I've never been a fan of how the trim on the Sports fades to flat grey all the way around. I've seen infomercials where you put some spray on and it keeps it looking black and shiny for a while, but is there a sticky around here somewhere that shows how to properly recondition those door strips and the bumper corners? Do you guys mask them off and repaint them, or do you remove them and then get them looking right again?

Thank you,
Squelchtone

OP_Rover

All I did was tape mine off, sand them down, and use a roll on bed liner. It's also easy to remove them since they are only held on with double sided 3m tape, if you wanted to do it off the body.