Ive found one for sale. Its pretty clean for the year and in new york. Has 121k on it. 4 door automatic tranny. Its a cherokee sport they are asking 3200. What are the issues with the 97 models?

 

Crawl under it and look for rust in the frame rails the rocker panels and the floor pans.

 

Yeah i have the rust issue checked out. Just not sure what might be different mechanically in a 97. I have a 96 and a 2000 and have owned a 99 a few years back

 

Out of all those, 2 were ones with issues, the 96 was a transition year, and we all know about the issues with the 00-01 models. Other than that, XJ's are virtually trouble free, as far as known issues related to year of manufacture. The 99 is considered by most to be the best year. I have a 97, and really, besides normal maintenance, PO's botch jobs, and the fact it's 18 years old, nothing has been an issue. As stated, check for rust in the obvious spots. Check the cooling system. Give it a good thorough mechanical inspection. Your biggest concern is how well it was treated by previous owners.

 

I remember reading in an old JP(http://www.fourwheeler.com/project-v...-buyers-guide/) mag that they listed the 97's had wiring problems being one of the transition years they used multiple wiring harnesses. But never heard anything else specifically on 97. I hear all had under par wiring.