Haven't looked at this thing yet and it already does not sound very compelling.

The transmission is stuck in overdrive and the transmission lines are "blown" so guessing right off the bat it needs a new automatic transmission (assuming 4.0L engine).

Seems the price for a rebuilt auto trans for a 1996 Cherokee is about $450 - $500 just from looking online around here. Does that sound about right? Seems low.

Also, to have a shop do the swap, what is a fair ballpark price for labor etc?

 

seems incredibly low..the parts kit would not cost much less than that

I do know it cost over $3000 for an AW4 rebuild over here, ie about 2k US....make some phone calls

 

That does seem very low. That's a sad day, but it lived a long life and I'm glad you'll be replacing it.

 

Pretty sure I've decided already not to look at or buy that Jeep.

 

I meant I'm glad you'll be replacing the transmission, keeping the Jeep on the road.

 

Don't t assume the trans is bad without some troubleshooting. It could be as simple as a blown fuse and no power to the trans computer, or bad solenoid. I would ask if you can connect a scanner and check for TCU codes. Who knows, it might be a good deal if it's an easy fix