bigjustice91

I've been debating the past few weeks buying an older wrangler and fixing it up. It's just an idea, but i 'd have to set aside my cherokee for awhile. I just wanted everyones opinion on it.

2Evil4U

I was thinking of going that route prior to picking up my XJ. The wranglers down here are very expensive in comparison. Plus, they're no where near as useful for carrying stuff.

jbetit

the yj is a great platform. just do a spring over which is fairly easy and that gives ya enough lift for 35s. get one of the later ones that have the 4.0.

superj

i just bought my wife a 93 wrangler. i love it. only thing it lacks is extra room for kids, other then that, everything a person could want in a fun daily driver. we even get 17.8 with combined city/highway driving on the 4.0 with automatic tranny. the wife loves it too, she is the one who wanted it. it rides a whole hell of a lot rougher then a cherokee does though, not kidding one bit on this. takes some getting used to. it also has leaf springs and trac bars front and rear. no idea why because the trac bars only work if the axle can swing over while suspension is being compressed and the leafs can only compress in an up and down fashion. i am tossing the trac bars, as so many have told me to do on jeepforums.

we got a sahara model for 4k with working ac, unheard of to everyone i meet.

XJ Rat

I had a TJ for 9 years before getting my XJ. For off road use you cannot beat the TJ. But for hauling/daily use you cannot beat the XJ.

Put three people in a TJ and there is no room for supplies. Put four in a TJ and the two in the back had better be real small or real friendly.

Keep your XJ and build it.

bigjustice91

well I'm just an 18 yr old,no kids/wife and just wanted a daily driver. I have my cherokee, but wanted the 4 cyl,5 speed to be a fun car but not hard on gas. It was just an idea for next spring. I wouldn't trade in my cherokee because I've done so much to it. Wranglers are a dime a dozen for one in descent shape, but need work. I was looking at the late 80's/early 90's models. I don't haul that much but would like one with a hitch just because a have a trailer for furniture/heavy items.

xjoffroad

the real big kicker is a YJ or TJ comes with, whats that thing called? oh yeah and FRAME! they hold their value much more then XJ's do. if you wheel a xj over time the doors wont shut right, unibody starts cracking. welding on a frames is SO much easier then our crappy unibodies! i say go for it!

superj

but don't think a 4 cylinder 5 speed is going to get better mileage because everyone jeepforums says they still get bad gas mileage and if you go to 31s or larger, then you cannot do the speed limit going up hills

Destro

Well I currently have a 94 YJ and a 95XJ and in the past I had a 76 CJ5, a couple of 79CJ7s and a 98 TJ (first new car I ever bought).

The YJ is fun and small- we only have one kid so the YJ works fine for running around. The XJ has a lot more room when I have to go to the store and actually bring something other than a gallon of milk and some cookies back home.

Nothing beats a sunny day and the top off of a Jeep though. I love my XJ, but if one of the Jeeps had to go I am afraid the YJ would probably be staying. The two downsides the the Wranglers are: Size for carrying stuff and price- however once you buy one they tend to hold thier value like nothing else.

Case in point:

My first Jeep I got right after High School. 1976 CJ5 w/ 304 V-8. Paid $1200 for it. Beat the heck out of it, drove it like any young kid would. Used to dump the clutch and pop wheelies... sold it for $1100 several years later because I wanted a hard top (before Craigslist/Ebay/the internet where you could find cheap tops!).

Got a 79CJ7 hard top w/ 6cyl for $1400 in much better shape than the CJ5. Drove the crap out of it. Blew the motor. Sold it non-running for $1100.

Bought my first new car, a 1998 TJ for $14,900 in August of 08. Put 105K miles on it and sold it because I needed a truck to pull a horse trailer. Got $10K for it on a trade in! Was still stock other than 1" coil spring spacers and some 31s... Hell even now 12 years later a 98TJ with 105K miles will command $7K or more... That is 50% of the price when new...

roach1143

i love wranglers. but not as much as cherokees. mostly because of the smoothness of ride, comfort of seats and storage capacity of the cherokee. my mom has an 03 wrangler that i borrow when i go home to visit. coil springs all around so its a slightly smoother ride than the older all leaf ones. and she gets about 17mpg with 30's and a warn winch and bumper.
i love my xj but there is something about driving around with the top down and no doors

caged

we have 2 tj's on 33's as our dd/sometimes wheeler. they are a bit of a lumberwagon compared to the xj, but very fun to drive and wheel on a nice day.

the xj has the a/c removed for oba, so on a hot day, it is freakin uncomfortable, but a very smooth ride compared to the tj.

i like em both, and it's very hard to decide what keys to grab to head out.

but in the end, i like my xj more.

JeepCoMJ

if someone had a NICE wrangler that needed no work, and wanted to trade me it for something, I'd gladly take it.


I'll NEVER pay the prices that people want for a wrangler. even old CJ's with the tubs rusted off and cracked frames still go for over $1000.

superj

i too, would have to let the cherokee go if we had to make a choice. higher resale value and how cheap xjs are make it hte one to let go and be easier to replace in the future