Im looking and looking, but every cherokee that I find has rust on either the rockers, or the bottom of the door. Is this something common? If so, I think im gonna scratch the whole XJ thing and buy something else. I HATE rust. This is on 97-99 xj's that i've seen so far.

 

1st off, were are you from?

As for rust it's rather common, but most times it's just surface...

 

If it is surface rust I would take care of it asap post purchase.

-Kyle

 

Im from Wi, and yes they use salt here...

 

Then your going to have a very hard time finding a completely rust free XJ.

 

The one thing I cant stand is rust. Every vehicle i've owned in the past gets sold as soon as I see one spot.

 

Have you ever tried to repair it so that you wont see rust anymore?

-Kyle

 

Nope, rust is like cancer. That **** just continues to spread...

 

I would suggest if you find a jeep with surface rust to sand it down very well the apply some POR15 then use some sort of rinoliner or the like. Should do a pretty good job of stopping and preventing.

-Kyle

 

Ok, So i decided to look at Xj's that are a bit older. Found a 94 that looked amazing for it's age. Not a spec of rust on the body anywhere, motor ran strong tranny shifted good. Finally got under it to have a look and there was 5-7 dollar bill size spots that the floor was missing! Completly rusted and gone. Then I stop at a local used car dealer that had a 94 and it had the same problem. Is this coincidence or are these things known to have rusted out floors?

 

Yes that is a very common issue with the XJ, the solution again would be POR15 and welded plates.

 

My 01 has ZERO rust anywhere on the body. there is rust on the undercarriage though (axles, leaf springs, etc). You can't expect to find a super clean cherokee in a rust-belt area. Not too many grandma's store their cherokee in a garage or even drive a cherokee for that matter so they are well used and will show some signs of rust. You just have to keep looking. Don't be a afraid of a little rust. If you really want a rust-free cherokee and then take a trip out west and you'll find them there.

 

I want a rust free body with a solid floor that i can do some preventative maintenance on.

 

Your going to have to come out here my friend, we have a lot of those there.

 

or go south, mines got no rust. i plan on spraying rustoleum on it