My son wants a Jeep Cherokee XJ, what is a fair price on a 1988??

 

That is not a simple question. There are many factors to consider and each may affect pricing.
Year
milage
Condition
engine
Transmission
axles
Modifications
wheel and tire setup

All of those differences come into play when a price is determined. And even if something isnt worth the price to the buyer, it might be worth it to the seller.

 

Welcome Jeep Mom.

One other thing that affects price is where in the country you are. A Jeep in CA where I am that is probably rust free is worth more than a Jeep in the rust belt where you live. I suggest you or somebody you can trust check the amount of rust underneath from salted roads before you buy

 

Im in North Carooina, no salting of roads. We rarely get snow.i found a 1988 xj stock model with 181k miles. No rust. 1 owner.

 

That is a fairly decent find for an 88. It would be hard for me to say being on the other end of the country, but you can get some ideas from checking Craigslist for your state wide area. That would be where I would start. You could check blue book prices, but those are generally national averages and don't reflect local markets

 

Unfortunately, Kelly Blue Book decided to get into the business of selling used cars, and somehow that seems to have caused them to think cars are worth more than they really are. Not that there's any conflict of interest there, or anything like that....

Same problem with Edmunds.

CraigsList and NADA guides are better sources.

You can always post pictoors here and we'll offer our unbiased and completely unqualified opinions!

 

what's the asking price?

 

facebook market place is the way to go... in my opinion atleast in NY its all about the rust that drives the price and is far more expensive to get one here vs somewhere else. as long as the motor and transmission are good and has minimal rust its good to go.

i would throw it out there a jeep that runs and needs nothing is in that 1500 to 3000 range.. 3000+ comes with low mileage 130,000 or less and with work done to it like lifts and modifications that are sought after and desirable.

i have a 91 cherokee laredo with the awd option different than 4x4 basically rust free with 47,000 miles i got it appraised at upwards of 8,000 1 year ago and currently insured for 9,000 with haggerty in NY where everyone you see is rusted out. in another part of the country our 8,000 is there 5,000 due to availability of them and income.. my point is there are so many variables when dealing with value its not cut and dry as you would want something to be..

and that 1500 to 3500 range is where you will land

 

I have an 88 XJ bought new, it's a Manual 4 x 4 2 door with no rust just normal wear and tear. When it was at 250,000 miles I had a guy offer me $10,000 which I turned down. Make sure it doesn't have rust, if it's an automatic it may make a difference in pricing. 1988 or older is your best bet, it still has Mopar parts. In 1987 Chrysler bought out AMC and the quality of the Jeeps went south. Every Chrysler part on mine failed before any of the AMC parts.

In the thread "2 Door Cherokee Club" post 1139 you can see my 88.

 

Actually, Chrysler bougtht AMC in 1987 but didn't implement their stuff on the XJs til 1991.

 

What happened is that Chrysler used AMC parts until they were used up which is why I had Chrysler parts, they even had the Chrysler logo on them.

 

Huh.
Being Parts and Service Manager from 1980 through 1992, I never experienced that.

 

When I questioned it I was told as AMC parts ran out the Chrysler parts were used. Once while my Jeep was still under factory warranty I was at the dealership for service, another guy told me he was in real estate and he bought a new Jeep every year, the one he currently had was 1989 model and he was so upset with it that he stated I will never buy another one.

 

More likely they were newer parts that had replaced older parts. Other than the electrical stuff, there really isn't any difference in the parts. Chrysler didn't tear down the AMC factories and start building them in Chrysler factories.

 

Right, I didn't say they built new factories, they just started using their parts as the AMC parts ran out causing the quality of the Jeeps to drop. One thing for sure I'm no mechanic but I have done a lot of my own work due to ease of access.