Hey guys been looking at buying a Cherokee for quite some time now... Been looking at years ranging from 87' to 98' Mileage from 149K up to 201K... There's a very clean 95' w/ 182K on it manual trans. I drove this one it feels tight and everything is in good running order..some dents on the passenger side but the guy won't budge from $2,500 and it needs tires... on the other end of the spectrum there's an 87' w/ 150K miles on it and the asking price is $2,000 new tires haven't talked to him yet but I'm assuming he'll come down.

Just need some advise... I've started another thread on what to look for when buying an XJ Just wondering how you guys feel about mileage?

Thanks!

 

well. the 4.0 is an anvil. the TC's and tranny's are easy swaps. so knowing what kinda milage has been put on it, i.e. highway or trail, will help. also maintenance records. have a compression test done to see if everything is good there. other than that its about preference and budget. in my experience, if you slap bills down, at the end of the day, does the seller want the CASH? or to keep looking at the same jeep they could have just sold? so idk, a lot of contribuiting factors here...

edit- another post has someone quoted as saying 158k miles? its just broke in!! (or something to that effect)

 

If it were me, I'd go with the '95. I just don't want to deal with a Renix engine after working on the HO's for so long. YMMV

 

Yeah seems like the sweet spot is in the mid- 90's

 

Worry about things which will cost you the most money to repair.

If the engine smokes or has poor compression look for another one.

If it's an automatic make sure there is no hesitation in engagement when you put it in gear.

If it's a stick make sure the cluch works smooth and doesn't slip when throttle is applied in high gears. It should also shift smoothly through all gears.

Body and paint is usually more expensive to repair than an engine ($1,400 to replace and repaint the dented door on my wife's 2001 Mercury Cougar).

Crawl underneeth and look for oil leaks, rust through and signs of previous accident damage.

I just bought a 200,000 miler for $700. The body was straight and the engine sound. There's a lot of maintenance stuff to do, but most of it is pretty cheap and easy.

 

Well I just bought a 89 limited a lil over a month ago 218,000 miles on it came with simi- new 31/ 10.50 a/t I paid $1,680 which I thought was way too much but after I drove it and looked under the stock rig. way worth it afew dings on the doors but thats it needed a new front drive line and never looked back very well taken care of. I live in Fresno Ca first weeked i had her drove to pismo beach 150 miles or so and yesterday drove to hunnington lake to fish in the snow and drove strong not even a wimper out of her climbing some steep grades and laughed at the snow she plowed through so miles don't mean much if well taken care of I have looked at 3 other zj and xj's with way less miles on them an ran way worse to always look under the hood

 

My 97 had 204,000 on it and i picked it for 2,000. 10,000miles later and she's still a top. All original motor, trans, tc

 

Screw you...

Just joking, but really...
There is nothing wrong with a renix, and its not a different "engine" its a different computer. Just because some people are not capable of thinking for themselves, and need a computer to do the work for them, does not mean that a certain system or piece of equipment should be regarded as a piece of crap.

Anyway... I havent had a jeep under 200k. 2 89s and a 97. I like the 89s more. Id say high 200s would be pushing it for something I would look to buy unless it was really cheap and well taken care of, or rebuilt.

 

Just bought an 98 a week ago and she's got me alittle worried. Cold start issues and low oil pressure. Of course with 204,000 miles, someone got there moneys worth I just hope it was me.

 

BTW I got it for 1875.00 shes a pretty little thing. Clean under the hood and not a sign of rust. And its a Utah vehicle , everything works.

I checked out a couple other xj's in that price range mostly 89-92's and they were tore up , leaks everywhere. I called on about 15 other ones and every owner said they leaked with at least 3-4 different things needing repair. I guess all the good ones people hold onto.

 

Damn, dude! Show me where I said Renix was a "piece of crap"! I said if it were me, I wouldn't want to deal with it. Mostly, I was talking about the mods that wouldn't work on Renix's, the closed cooling system, the lack of certain parts support (relative to the non-Renix's plentiful availability), etc. Between that and a mid-90's XJ, MY choice is clear and I stated as such. But I guess I must be one of those people who isn't capable of thinking for myself...

 

If it helps, I just picked up a 1990 a couple weeks ago. It's a 4x4 of course. It had a new water pump, radiator and a bunch of other new components installed and sittin' on a respectable lift with relatively new 31"x10.5" BFG A/T's. It has about 155k on the original 4.0L engine although it was towed behind an RV a lot by its previous owners so the actual strain on the engine, mileage wise, is hard to say but the thing runs like a champ! Still have no regrets shelling out the $3500 (ouch, I know, but hey it came with a ton of brand new parts).

 

And for the guys arguing about the model year, an Xj's an Xj, no matter how old. They're all great in my eyes, fell in love with them ever since my dad bought his chili pepper red 98' (may it rest in peace) when I was 6 years old. My advice dude, lower mileage is usually better, longer engine life y'know? But then again that 4.0L is built like a brick **** house man. They're hard to kill. If I were in your position, I'd go with the one that was in nicer condition with possibly newer components. Unless you have the cash to just dump into it that is. That's why I got my 1990. Believe it or not, when I was shopping around, the 1990 came better equipped and in better condition than a lot of the newer ones I had looked at, but then the previous owners were old, so it was well taken care of. Good luck, I'm sure whatever you decide on will be a great choice cause after all, it's an XJ!

 

I love my Renix

 

paid 1k a year ago for my 95 2door manual with 190k on it. just bought a few months ago a 98 classic 4x4 auto...clean form south carolina for 2k. it just turned 200k and already have driven it to ohio and back..