bluesubaru

hey guys,
im in connecticut and looking at a 99 cherokee with 140,000 miles. it has power everything and stock aluminum wheels with decent tread left. the body is in good shape and there doesnt seem to be any rust. Its an aw4 auto with the chrysler 8.25 rear end. Its still got the original owner, and supposedly he has all the maintenance records for it. (havent seen them or driven it yet do to lack to time, but im checking it out more in depth on saturday). The bad is that it has a cracked windshield, and the rearend needs to be rebuilt (he was told that by a mechanic. Apparently the bearings are worn). I could see the the driveshaft going into the rearend had a lot of oil residue going up the shaft from the seal, so my guess is that it was leaking, he was unaware, and it ran low on fluid. He said the only other problem is that the exhaust is leaking, somewhere around the headers i believe. Keeping all this in mind, how much would u guys say this is worth paying?? He said its still drivable, and that hes been driving it (including the rearend) for two years, just not everyday. I appreciate any input u guys have. Thanks

p.s. my plans for this jeep is to do a 4.5 inch lift, sye, and 32's and to have it as my second vehicle for wheeling and winter driving. 140,000 miles seem ok for this??

UserID6095

I just picked up a 96 Cherokee Country with 171,456 on the odom. Its power everything and it all works. I too picked it up from an orginal owner. It came with a stack of paper work for maintance. Even the orginal purchase contract. Did it make it worth more, no, did it make me feel better, yes. I picked it up for 1700. Hope that helps.

bluesubaru

thanks man. anybody else??

pwn

I have a 2000 Sport I got about a year ago with 85,000 miles for $4,700. Loaded, Automatic, No Issues.

Firestorm500

Windshield about $170, Chrysler exhaust manifold about $400, dealer labor $350 or private labor $250, rear gears $250-400 plus labor.

Assuming it is 4 X 4 w/ac, about $2000-2200.

bluesubaru

alright, thats what i was looking for.. and yes. its got ac and its 4wd

bluesubaru

would anybody worry about the windshield cracking? he said that the crack is on the inside and its because he had it in storage for a little while and during that time, he had something resting against the inside of the windshield which constantly applied pressure and caused it to crack.. i mentioned to him that if the unibody was tweaked, that could cause cracking, but he told me it was never offroad and was never in any accidents.. what do u guys think?

luketrash

I just paid nearly 3 grand for one with similar miles, a cracked windshield, etc.. however it doesn't have the gear problem or the exhaust problem. They're worth what the market will bear. It's over 10 years old, so it's always a 'go by feel' sort of thing. They're utility vehicles, so most of the value I placed in the decision is "what can this jeep do for me?" I got it to replace my rusted out truck and to pull a trailer.

Mine is pretty shiny with no rust. Everything on it works electrically and mechanically including the AC. Here's a large photo that shows it's looking nice, but has wear. The front bumper is discolored because they hit something, etc.. rock chips, and a life spent in Iowa.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3638/...c89f7754_b.jpg

Oddly enough, now that I have it, I like driving it as a daily driver too. My car doesn't know what to think of me now.

jd4x426

windows do crack with all the things you mentioned i would say 1750 maybe 2000 if it was in good working order other then those things it doesnt sound like he took care of it if it hes been driving it for 2 years nowing theres a problem so just look it over good

Destro

X2 - driving on a rear end you know to be failing is not the sign of someone with the greatest of maintenance habits. Maybe not a deal breaker but something to use in your negotiation on price. If it seems too high to you then walk away, there are plenty of XJs out there and it will not take long to find another one.

XJSETH

my jeep had cracked windshield, leaky exhaust, multiple oil leaks, leaky rear and front axles, with 132,000 miles and i payed 3200 i talked her down from 4200 i spent 600 fixing all the leaks and exhaust and was all said and done.

bluesubaru

so i think ive made my decision that the most im willing to pay is 2100 or 2200 depending on how the test drive goes on saturday... so u guys dont think the windshield crack should be something i should worry about too much?? and does anybody have any ideas on how much the rearend would cost to be rebuilt?

97xjcountry

I just bought a 97 country edition for $2200. Has every option including a moon roof!

It has 159K miles and was in OK shape. It needed brakes all around, a new exhaust including cat, 02 sensors and a tune up. It also needed lots of small stuff like shocks, valve cover gasket, VC breather's etc. Mine also has a cracked winshield, havent fixed that yet though. It totaled about $4-500 in parts when said and done. Do stuff yourself, its fun and you save tons of money. Cherokee's are very easy to find parts for.

Honestly, all jeeps with 150K+ miles are going to need repair. Trust me, things will come up all the time, you just fix the issue and move on. Just part of owning a Jeep...

The Cherokee is definitely the easiest vehicle I have owned to work on.

That being said, with a major rear end rebuild in the future and other repair stuff, I would go in the $2K range.

bluesubaru

alright, u guys have all been really helpful. Im pretty mechanically inclined.. ive done the pulled the tranny in my wrx twice and replaced it along with doing a turbo upgrade and all accompanying parts with it in my driveway. the motors look fairly easy to work on, and a buddy up mine who works at a shop said he can weld the header crack because they do it all the time. so u wouldnt say theres anything wrong with wheeling a cherokee with 140,000 miles on it??

JeepingDan

if it has some oil leaks then that means less rust underneath.