GimmeAJeep

First off I'll apologize for the ditzy wordage and the unclear terminology. I'm drawing complete blanks at the moment on the specifics he told me, however if someone has a decent picture of the underside of this car I'll gladly point to what I'm talking about. So much information was tossed at me that I kind of went Oh S**T, and a lot of other words and impending doom took hold and the important stuff went out the window.

We recently bought a 1996/1997 Jeep Cherokee Laredo in what we thought was excellent condition. A few minor mostly cosmetic issues but we also knew it had a lot of miles. 210K at the moment.

One of the cosmetic issues was the tailpipe was loose and needed to be reattached. So I took it down to Midas today and I could see that the tailpipe was hooked on with a coat hanger. Thus causing the rattling sound we kept hearing.

I also found out that several other things were wrong with it. The rear "****" between the back tires was leaking, and it had a lot of play in it. When asked what the worst case scenerio was for this breaking I was told the wheels would lock up and the car could flip. The middle '****" where a chain or hose is located is also leaking. Worst case for this breaking was the wheels could lock up, but more then likely the car would roll to a stop and I would not be able to put it into park. The box right in front of it was also messed up. Basically, if it held liquid it was leaking.

The radiator had been replaced at one point and was leaking coolant. One of the U joints was messed up, but we already figured that. We also knew spark plugs had not been changed on this in ages so knew we'd have to do basic engine care.

As he was talking I asked for a rough estimate on cost and a time frame of repair. He guesstimated it would take at least $3000-5000 and minimum of 3 days.

He said I would not be able to get it all done by one person, but would have to take it to several people.

Now, we bought the car for less then $2000. I really like the car, it's everything we've been wanting. Power everything, the 4.0L engine. Not crazy about the red paint, nothing screams Come and Get me Coppers, like red, but it's liveable.

Now, if this was your car, would you just sell it to some unsuspecting person? Or would you know this is a car that will keep on going if treated right, and fix it up?

I'll come back later and hopefully give more specifics but I've got to run.

bullettooth2008

Give the old girl hope, source other possibilities about repairs,take load's of pics and post on here lots of people with tons of knowledge.
Sound's an awful lot of money that you have been quoted.
Only my opinion though some of the real tech guys may say otherwise, good luck anyway......

Xj88

Need more specifics...don't sell it to an "unsuspecting" victim...that's a dick move...im sure you could replace "everything that holds liquid" in an xj yourself for under 3k...including the engine...but it doesnt sound like you have engine problems..maybe if you provide us with information we can use we can be of assistance

CherokeeCountry

...keep it. Go back and find out -exactly- what he said was wrong with it, then research, learn, and do the inspections and repairs yourself. Don't trust most of those guys. :/

GimmeAJeep

Rear wheel deferential. Crank case and overall transmission. The seal around the engine is slowly seeping oil, and the coolant is leaking. There's also a hissing sound when I turn the car off, I believe that's just the radiator making noise, but I can't remember what that means...ie something they normally do or an indication of a problem. My ex father in law is a mechanic, I know just enough to get the idea of what they're talking about, but not enough to fix it.

I'd already thought of getting a second opinion so I'll be doing that in the next few days. Get hubby to go maybe the first guy was making it sound worse than it was because I'm a girl.

Dh said the only thing he's really worried about is the U joint but he'd have to get up under there and see it to know for sure how bad it is.

He also wasn't worried about the amount of leakage on the car, stating any car this old is going to have something leaking from it. Course he's also not the one who drives it and would be stuck if something broke on it. Real glad we've got AAA. He did say he didn't think it's worth fixing, however I hate the thought of selling it to someone else (unless we state the known problems) and we can't drive it til it dies, it's too good of a car to do that to it.

sunny5280

I highly recommend a second opinion and one from a mechanic familiar with this model Jeep. One thing about having a mechanic look at it is he may give you a "bulk" discount given the number of things that appear to be wrong with it.

If the bill is really $3K - $5K my recommendation would be to sell it and take that money and buy something newer / less miles. If you sell it be honest with any potential buyer. You might even be able to sell it for what you paid even in the condition it's in.

Bustedback

A second opinion would be the first thing to get. Midas has been known in the past to rip people off. It sounds like they're using scare tactics to get you to open your wallet. Never tell a shop you know nothing about cars, that will only make them try to sell a bunch of unneeded services to you because you don't know any better.

tiwvr1

Completely agree with bustedback. Get a Second opionion. Also there are good midas and bad ones. I work for a huge chain and our shop NEVER NEVER NEVER takes advantage of any one, but some times the district managers push us, but we dont.

Shop around, if the rear isnt making noise its probly not bad. They are probably talking bout the pinion shaft leaking. Its not gonna lock up and flip your jeep. Total bs that they are trying to pull.