I was told that I needed an offset balljoint before the front of my grand Cherokee (2002) could be aligned. At 39000 highway miles is this reasonable?

 

ETA : Is it a salvage/rebuilt vehicle?

 

Most likely not. An offset ball joint is used to correct camber issues, usually because of bent axle components. I'm betting you just need a regular ball joint. I doubt with only 39k hwy miles you managed to tweak your axle components in some way

 

also if you dont wheel your jeep or extremely abuse speed bumps, there is no reason for an adjustable ball joint. just get a replacement one from quadratech, pretty cheap.

 

Who told you that you need the adjustable ball joint? Was it an alignment guy who took proper camber measurements?

When you stand in front of the vehicle, do you see the wheel(s) leaning right or left?

Are you the original owner? If not, has the vehicle been wrecked?

 

Lots of variables. With the minimal amount of info we have here, Id take the shop guys word every time. You post really tells us nothing, and anyone telling you anything other than what the mechanic told you is simply guessing. Take some photos, give some more info, etc., and post it in the Grand Cherokee section. You might get some better help.