I have a 94 the wifey has decided that she wants a cherokee too. The car she drives is a 2004 sport trac that breaks down monthly. She drove the 94 for a week while the exploder trans. was being replaced, now she's hooked. She says that she likes the power and handling. I wanted to get a 2000 or 2001 but my buddy at the dealership said that 2000 and early 2001s have head troubles? is this true? Sorry for the crazy writing I just had a huge coffee coolata from dunkin donuts.

 

I have had two 99's and they are both awesome. My brother in-law inherited my 2wd and I now have a 4x4. Mine has some noises though and his has 200000 and is running great. Plus you get the new style like the 2000 (well almost)

 

I personally think 94 is one of the best. First year with R134a for easy air conditioning fixes, and still no airbags so you can mess around with elextronics without accidentally deploying the bags. However 2000-2001 have been know to have some head troubles. You could get a 97-99 OR a Grand Cherokee with the i6. The grands have better seats and arguably smoother ride and that is probably what I would buy for my SO if I had one.

 

'99 all the way. i'd stay away from 2000 2001. head cracking problem, too much electronics. i'd take pre 99 over 2001 and 2000.
but i don't think that any cherokee was made as good as it was in '99.

 

cant go wrong with a 99

 

break it up a little. go with a 76

 

I looked a 99 limited last summer, it was black with black leather. I think it was stock? I couldn't get to him in time he needed the cash that week. I had a hard time getting my credit union to fork over the 6k that he wanted, they would only lend 3k on it. I was pissed cause it only had 50k on it and the bank didnt care about the limited option. I have never seen a cleaner stock cherokee. Oh, does the grand cherokee from 2000 and 2001 have the engine issues? I heard that some grand cherokees are more prone to transmission issues.

 

if i would to get a grand cherokee, i'd probably get the 5.2L. since i would be modding most of it, i don't think i would care what kind of options it comes with. just my 2 cent.

 

i love my '99, but i think you could benefit a whole lot more from another '94. that way you can troubleshoot all of your problems with just swapping parts over.

 

I'm kinda partial to a '91 Limited, myself. All the options (Silver/Grey leather), No car payments (inherited it), cheap ins., 67k on it, And becomes a collectors next Jan. 1 st. Pics in my photo album............................................. ........................JMO!

 

good point about getting another 94 for the ease of figuring out maintenance. I might try and find another low mile 94-96. Any major diff. with these years, I myself prefer the 242 tc (like my 94 has)

 

I've got an '01. The only thing I'll say is make sure that if you get an '01 that you know the history of its coolant system. That dexcool fiasco they tried that year has caused more coolant system failures than you even want to know about. Also, they replaced the distributor with a spark rail which required some reworking of the block and under extreme conditions the block has a tendency to develop a fault of some kind (usually a crack )between the 2 and 3 cylinders which can yield head problems.

Otherwise, I've been in love with my '01 ever since I got it (It was my first car, got it when I was 18 )

 

Here is a great site to look at when comparing xj's. All the info seems to be right on.

http://jeephorizons.com/tech/xjstockspecs.html

 

That's a pretty sweet list. Bookmarked.

Nice knowing there's almost 3 million of these things in existence The preponderance of parts is like a warm blanket.