I've desperately been trying to find a good manual XJ for the past few weeks on craigslist with low miles. For my parents to allow me to buy one, it must be a manual and it must be 4x4.

Currently, I am in the process of buying a 1999 Jeep Cherokee Sport with 145,000 miles for $5500. I feel like I am being ripped off because the KBB price is much lower than what they are asking for and because it does not have low miles.

Here is the cherokee:
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/1709978734.html

Is it overpriced? Should I offer a new price?

 

$4000 tops. It looks clean but the rear springs are saggy about 1" or more. I personally would never get a 4x4 with a manual tranny. Been there done that. XJ is going to get bad MPG and the manual is a pain in the but in traffic and offroad. Your parents are misinformed.

 

Manuals are hard to find, especially on the '97 and up models, so that may make them a bit more expensive. $5500 does seem pretty high, though.

Just curious, but why do your parents require it to be manual?

 

^^^ x2. Why a manual. And that price is a little steep.

 

I have a 5 speed and wheeling can be easier in an automatic, but I prefer manual for my vehicles. That price is too high. Not sure what the KBB is on it, but I would not pay over that because they think the mileage is low. It is not crazy low and isn't much under average yearly driving for that year. Mine is a 1995 and has 133,280 just to compare. Good luck.

 

My parents will pay for half of the vehicle only if it is a manual, because they believe I must learn to drive stick for when I drive in different countries.

 

i think youd be better off looking for something different or trying to talk him down to around $4000. i dunno about your mechanical skills but you could maybe find an auto w/ low miles for cheap and swap in an AX15 manual tranny?

 

When i first saw my Jeep on craigslist the guy had it listed for $5500. Its a 99 2 door 5 spd 4x4. I thought that was to high but i managed to talk him down to $4500. If you can do something like that then i would say go for it but $5500 is a bit high. Heck i still think $4500 was high for mine.

But if you parents are paying half then you might want to go for it thats only $2700 on your end.

 

I had a similar situation when I bought mine in that the guy was asking more than NADA said it was worth. (BTW, my 2000 Classic was valued at $5,000 and only had 70k miles on it) so I told him there was no way I was paying more than NADA for it. Print out the NADA and show him. Tell him that's what you're willing to pay and it's what is fair. If he's not willing to take that then tell him good luck with the sale. You never know, he may end up calling you back with an acceptance. I know it's tempting to be in a hurry, but if you take you're time you'll be a lot happier in the long run.

 

hey recovering,

how about this one for $2600

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/cto/1711978524.html

 

$5500 is a little steep if it has 145k. Offer him $4k and see what he says, he might meet you in the middle at $4750, that wouldn't be too bad of a deal. It is really hard to find good late model XJs with a manual tranny. This one looks pretty clean and well maintained. Good luck!

 

I'll bet if you took that guy $4K in cash it'd be yours, but honestly, I like the one Jiffy posted for ya just as much if not more, and it's half the price, you could use that money for a lift and tires

 

I take back what I said in the first post. Being a first car, I agree with your parents, a manual is good to learn on. For reasons of Old man laziness I prefer an auto. But I also made my kids learn to drive with manual transmissions. Their cars have been all autos. But they learnd to drive using off-road rigs. You learn alot about handling a car, when mistakes mean you stall and traction is poor.

 

Being from the East Coast and now living in Pheonix the is a big difference in Cherokee pricing and options. While back home it was about a 50 50 mix of Standard to autos, out here there is hardly any Standards. I know first hand I was trying to locate a standard for myself and finally gave up and went with an auto. I have owned 8 new and used Jeeps though the years and up til now they were all standards. They also seem to think the vehicles, and not just Jeeps are made of Gold. But cash in hand will usually make it a lot easier for them accept a lower price. Money controls the world.

 

I emailed the owner, and it has 160,000 miles. Switching out an automatic transmission is way too difficult for me, I do not enough much mechanical experience to do something that complex. Also, this will not be my first car because I've been driving a Honda CR-V for the past year.