This has been a great forum for information, but my 96 cherokee with 164,000 has finally been bit too much by the NY winter salt. I noticed back in January when doing an Oil change the winters have taken a toll on the frame . I checked with a collision shop about having the frame repaired, but they said it would be more than the Jeep was worth. I looked at boxing in the frame with angle iron or ordering new replacement repair channels (weld it myself), but between the frame and floor rusting, this was not possible. Last month I noticed the section of frame at the left rear spring shakle had seperated (fallen off) and the shakle settled up into the rear seat storage area. So today I said Good Bye to a good friend of 14 years. I told the driver he cheated by driving the cherokee up in the flatbed, which he replied, I don't get to do that often. When he attached the chains to the rear axle and tightened the cable, he could see the rear axle shift. He had to chain the front axle for secondary support.

 

That sucks body still looks solid. ..buy another one!

 

I was looking for several months since I noticed the problem, but most used cherokees I found in NY or PA were runnning in the $4000-6000 range with 150,000 and higher. They just wanted too much for me to consider looking at. I would have loved to find another Comanchee 4x4 like I had 25 years ago, but they also wanted $5000 for one (if you could find one) with 180-225,000. I needed something, so I went for a 2000 Dodge Dakota 2WD with 90,000 miles for $1900. Had to put about $600 into it, but will continue to look for that "just can't pass" deal to pop up sometime down the road.

 

Sorry to hear it Bigclubs. As tough as these XJ's are, it's often just simple rust that finally sends them to the scrapyard. Often with the drivetrain in perfect running condition.
They sure seem to hold their value in your neck of the woods.

 

shouldve made it a donor jeep to the locals and parted it out LOL

Hope you find another one for a decent price. (5k is wayyyyy too much imo) im looking for a new one and can find them a lot in the 100-150k range for about $2k around here.

 

I'm sorry man It's actually hard to separate with a car that you come to love. Happened to me with my Ranger. It's almost like losing a pet you know? At least for me. I loved that thing haha. Stick around! You'll probably end up buying another one... these things are addictive

 

Yeah, up here in the northeast they hold the value. I'm looking for one now and everything under 3G is junk. You gotta spend between 4-6g for a good one up here. Good luck!

 

How far down in pa were you looking? Im about 30 minutes above the maryland line and its easy to find cherokees for less than 2500 that aint rotted to nothing

 

I was doing a search on AutoTrader and Cars.com with a search radius of 250 miles. There were some decient deals, but the distance was over 300+ miles away for rust free XJ's and mileage was over 150,000. Dealers & private sellers wanted at least $5000 or more. Thought of parting it out, but there were a lot on Craigslist that were not moving with listings of 30 days or more. I was trying to find 96-2000 model years with less than what I had on mine, but hard to come by at a lower price in NY. I really was not looking for a Grand Cherokee which seem to be plentyfull. Must have more problems than the original Cherokee.