I'm looking to purchase a Jeep Cherokee in the $3000 price range so obviously it will be high mileage and older. For the gurus of the forum, what years and/or trims should I stay away from? What is the best year overall? I was reading reviews on autos.msn.com and 1997 got the highest rating but I don't know how accurate those things can be...
Thanks

 

i dont really trust those reviews bc you dont know how that jeep or those jeeps have been taken care of if rated badly

but, with 3 grand, you shouldnt have to much trouble finding a good reliable XJ with maybe as little as 100 thosand miles......maybe even less

i wouldnt by any older then 91......thats when the 4.0 recieved fuel injection...i think maybe they were TBI before...but i really wouldnt by any older then 1987.......thats bc from 84-86 they used the carbed 2.8 from the chevy S-10.......

but really, with 3 grand, like i said before i wouldnt be suprised if you found a 97 or 98 (first two years as the newer body design and duel airbags and updated interior)...

personally i like the older body design up to 96 more then the 97 and newer...i just like its boxier body style and more simple interior.......but soon ill get a 97 or newew since i now have the 93...

there really arent any packages to stay away from....they are all good.....

youve got the SE witch is the basic model that doesnt even have an RPM tach...or, depending on the year, the limited or country was the "nice" model....available with leather seats, even heated seats in the newer limiteds...

up thru 92, there was a laredo package that i like, but i kinda think they got a little chrome happy on that model......

and the most common package is the "sport" package wich is the best in my opinion.....has a more rugged look to it....flat black fender flares, althou i think it was 2000-01 where you could get matched painted fender flares with a gloss finish on the sport.....

also, i think it may be up until the late 80s, or early 90s, but some of the XJs had the puegot (spelling?) manual tranny...........stay away!

sorry i know that was kinda spotty, but i hope that helps

 

What are these XJ, WJ references? I only see Limited and Laredo.. where do those come into play?

 

The Limited and Laredo references are trim level of the XJ. Every year has its pros and cons. It all boils down to what your needs are and what you to do with it. 3 grand will get you more than you think. With a little patience and some web browsing you can find a nice XJ with reasonable miles well within your price range. Check this link, it has quite a bit of helpful info.

http://jeephorizons.com/tech/xjstockspecs.html

 

99.

You can find them for around like in decent shape. If not 97.

 

oh sorry, XJ means a cherokee made from 84-01....a WJ which is my other jeep is a grand cherokee made from 99-04....a zj is a grand made from 93-98....wk is a grand made from 05-present

YJ=87-95 wrangler
TJ= 97-06 wrangler
JK= 07-present


and theres a bunch more but those are the basics...those are what you will hear the most on this forum

 

oh......so the boxier looking cherokees that people were labeling as 1996 for example are correct. I thought those were typos. Because you have the boxier flat square cherokees and then you have the one that looks somewhat closer to today's style, it's boxy, but not AS as the other one that looks older. That's what was confusing me. But I'm still really confused because of all the overlap.

For example, I thought this:
http://lasvegas.craigslist.org/cto/1308427218.html

Was a typo because it looks nothing like this:
http://lasvegas.craigslist.org/cto/1309809437.html

which is the same year......

 

well those are the same year of jeep, but not the same model......the white one is an XJ, and the green one is a ZJ.....witch is a grand cherokee, not just a cherokee

 

I'm going to say 99. I have a 97 and it has had a few ghosts in the machine but for engine power 99 was the strongest (bigger intake and larger Throttle body bore if I'm not mistaken)

the 2000 & 01 have the distributorless ignition and have heard stories of electrical nightmares.

 

'96 for the win!

 

98 xj is the winner I doubt you could even tell the difference in power between 97-99 imho

 

are you looking for something to wheel or an every day driver?

 

84-86= garbage
87-90 received the fuel injected inline 6 and a decent auto transmission. the ba-10's are less than desirable but will get the job done. if you are lucky you will find a dana44 rearend
91 brought the more powerful, simpler "high output" 4.0 liter. also a 23 spline tranmission output as opposed to the older 21 spline. no more vacuum disconnect front axle. also the stronger 8.25 became the polular rear axle(as opposed to a dana35 found in most predecesssors
94-95 brought some minor changes in body strength, doors have more support. i beleive in 95 the larger u joints in front axle were introduced (previous to this all earlier xj's equipped with abs had the larger u joint)
96 also had minor changes in interior styling, nothing worth noting really late 96's had a higher spline count in the rear axle. obdII was introduced this year
97 had some significant changes. the basic body structure stayed the same, but a slightly more "rounded" body style. mainly noticed in the front header panel and rear hatch. interior sought major changes but mechanically still the same as a 96
in 99 the 4.0 had to conform to some stricter emissions regulations which resulted in lost power, but to make up for it a more efficient intake manifold was used, power is about the same compared to earlier models.
in 00 or 01 you got the distributorless ignition system (not good nor bad) a low pinion front axle, and a tentatively weaker head design (don't overheat it and you shouldnt worry)

 

wow a lot of info in that head of your ktmracer

 

if i were in the market for one.. i would look for a 95/96/97/98/99