Ok, so I need some honest input. I know it's hard to do, but put aside your love for XJ's for one moment and tell me what you think. My 91 XJ needs work.. still runs like a champ and 4x4 works, but with close to 200k miles and being 20 years old, things are starting to fail.. plus I dont think the previous owner mantained it well.. I am getting ready to start college, and being as I go to school I dont make a lot of money to get these things fixed (such as the header, a/c, coil spring...). I was thinking of selling my current XJ (taking a loss of course.. the PO screwed me over basically) and either getting a Ford Ranger or Toyota Tacoma, or if I can find one, a more recent XJ (97+) that is working order. Will a good Cherokee last longer than mine? Since I bought mine I have tried to make as many repairs as possible, but it's beginning to be too much. What should I go with?

 

hard choice i would buy another cherokee not just because i like them but they are simple to work on parts are cheap not like toyota .And there are plentiful supplies in the jy for them

 

Dude you would be hating life...can't speak for the Toyo but even though I am a noob on this site, and have a garage full of pretty cool daily drivers, I have a serious case of the Jeep-fever...I say there's a strong case to be made for taking the most serious problem with your XJ first and one by one knock off the issues...by the time you are done you will know whats right and what is wrong with that baby rather than starting a whole new relationship....just my .02.

 

That's what I really want to do.. I love my XJ, it's great. I am a tall guy, so any vehicle I can jump into is really nice, and the XJ served. It 4 wheeled in 4 ft snow when noone else could.. I picked up groceries in that snow for my mom and sister. I only wished I had gotten a healthy XJ to start with.

 

sort your main probs first ie header and spring you can pick both of these up at a jy and by taking them off yourself at the jy you will already know how to put it back together there not that hard to work on and as long as you have a basic tool set and time you should be ok i had a toyota hilux surf i think you guys call it a 4runner in the us it was a superb truck but every time it went wrong i was crying because it was expensive to sort

 

You want an honest opinion right? Here it is.. take it or leave it.


How bad is your XJ.... really? Is it drivable? Are the problems annoying or do they affect reliability? You know the recent history of your Jeep. The other car/truck you would buy? Not so much. In other words there is a very large possibility you would buy someone else's problems.

My advice? Set the LOWEST amount you would sell your Jeep for. Look around to see what the market yields. Take the price of the other vehicle and subtract the amount you would take for your Jeep..... now that could buy a lot of parts couldn't it?

I don't know how old you are or what part of the country you live but my advice is to keep what you have. If you are set on a different vehicle, save up for one. You should secure a ride before getting rid of yours.

just my 2 cents, keep the change

 

I had a Ford Ranger and I loved it.....until I sold it and bought an XJ. I would have a hard time going back, but the Ranger is a solid truck. They get decent gas mileage and their suspensions are solid. It was very reliable, nice looking, and hands down; the best pickup truck I've ever owned. I do love my XJ though and would have a hard time transitioning to anything else.

 

If you were to spend say $2000-$4000 on a rig the XJ would most likely be newer and in better starting condition than both the Ford and the Yota. Don't know your budget, this is my opinion. I hate Pick-ups, so I'll talk Exploders or Bronco II or 4-Runner. Dollar for dollar, I'd go XJ before the anything from Ford. In fact you'd have to pay me to take a Ford, except a pre 73 or post 95 Stang. XJ vs the Yota, would come done to future cost to maintain, XJ wins there also. The Yota will cost more if anything has to be repaired. 4-runners are way cool but more expensive to lift and wheel than the XJ.

 

this puddle killed my toyota bent a con rod and cracked the block i have hydro locked a jeep pull the plug empty water replace plugs started right up toyota was scraped because of cost to repair

 

Stick with an XJ. Rangers do last a long time, but space is limited in them and they do have some costly problems at times. Toyota? They are good, but parts and service will leave you hurt in the wallet if a tranny pukes or a head gasket fails.

 

I'd say this is pretty good advice. My 1990 Laredo has 245K miles on it now... and for the last 3 years I've given it to my mom to be her daily driver and she commutes about 30 miles a day in it. Sure, I'm constantly replacing old parts, but if you think of the fact that it costs almost nothing to insure, runs dependably with only old-part-replacement the major issue... I come out money ahead to fix it and keep it running, especially until I can afford to get her something a bit newer and nicer w/o financing it.

So if you know the vehicle, know it's problems (assuming they're not major) you can definitely be money-ahead by keeping what you have and spending your extra $$ on parts to keep it running well. you can get a lot of mileage out of these jeeps for relatively little upkeep

 

I had a 2000 Tacoma 4x4, 4cyl. I just sold it last December. It was a great truck, but buying parts... WHOA!! Although great trucks, very expensive to fix. I also had a Ranger, actually 2, a 1999, and a 1991, both good trucks, crappy transmissions though. My 1989 Bronco II was another great truck. Nothing is like an XJ. I love these things. I would take an XJ over the others.

 

I'd let the XJ go...and buy another, newer one. If you shop carefully you'll find a creampuff. Craigslist, put in "one owner" and Cherokee and bide your time. There are many good ones out there no matter where you live. Keep your BS-O-Meter on high alert and ask this forum when you have a doubt. But it is the rare one-owner XJ that has been mistreated.

The 94 I have is my first. I'm sold. They are easy to fix...and unless you can afford new cars, easy to fix trumps any other "feature" I can think of. And parts are cheap. That is nothing to ignore if you're on a budget.

I'm seasoned. That means I'm older and established. I don't have to drive a 16 year old XJ. I can afford a new one if I choose. But I'm also a CPA...and while I'm not cheap, I make my money work as hard as I did to get it. These old Jeeps are a good value.

 

if u have the money, u can get a newer one and stuff, but ford rangers are great trucks! my buddy's has 300k+ on his and he always takes it on long trips

 

i agree w/ caemi. either sell it & buy yourself a newer XJ to avoid any headaches in replacing or fixing your ride while attending college. but if you like to tinker & do all the mechanical work yourself & have the time for it, then you should definitely keep your XJ.

i too came close to selling my XJ before for the simple fact that i didn't want to invest any more money into it. it wasn't until i started fixing & replacing parts on the Jeep that i saw it's true potential mechanically. now my 88 runs like a champ with 230k. i've noticed that the $$$ i've put into the XJ the last 9 years has really paid it's dues. like some of the members mention before parts are definitely a lot cheaper.