To find something nice in my area, you have to pony up. $2k gets you rusty junk out here, not sure what LI is like.

 

Same here. Heck I paid 5k and still got rust. I learned my lesson--never buy from a shady dealership, ever!

 

Where on the island are you? I'm from the Port Jeff area and I bought my 99 4.0 4dr with 215k miles from a guy in Oakdale back in October 2013 for $2700. I have 232k miles on it now (I drive A LOT).

This is what I've had to do so far:
-replace the previous owner (PO) sagging 3 inch hack job lift
-replace POs hack job aftermarket sound system
-replace POs hack job aftermarket alarm system
-replace POs hack job fog light install and wiring
-replace POs hack job JB welded cracked header

That's not including all the standard maintenance like brakes, plugs, dist cap, injectors, oil, filters, tires, etc. If I were to do it again, I would buy as stock of an XJ as I could find. The high mileage shouldn't scare you away though.

 

Miles are fine. Price is not. I agree he's trying to make I'm pay for the lift.

 

Update: I just bought 2001 Cherokee w/ 95,000 miles. It's in great condition (the dealer runs a great operation) he's going to throw a trailer hitch on for free, and going to help me swap the stock radio for one I have. Thanks for steering me away from an almost certainly bad decision. This looks like the start of a beautiful friendship, fellow Cherokee owners.

 

Nice! But...be aware of the head cracking issues present on the 2000-2001 models. Take good care of it and you should be okay.