So in short, its a 97 Jeep Cherokee, 304,xxx miles, light rust on the back tailgate, motor bay is very clean, most fluid lines including AC full system replaced new, and no knocking, ticking, or anything else except for a slight exhaust leak. Minor things being that the blower motor might be broken, and passenger side windows dont go down along with power locks are a no go too.

Basically, I'm wondering, as a first time Jeep owner, that if there is anything I need to know, and if this vehicle I just describe is worth it? Any info/insight will be great to know!


Thanks in advanced.

 

Rust. Rust is your enemy. I'd look away at anything more than surface rust unless you want a project. Anything else that may be, or may go wrong, can be fixed with replacement or aftermarket parts.

 

How much $$??

That's always the big question. That's high mileage and common issues but for the tight price...

 

Aye, the rust isnt too bad actually. Just a bit around the top left corner of the tail window, and some around the frame of the front windshield. No rust anywhere else though. Interior is pretty good and engine bay is very clean. Tires need to be replaced and what should I do about the 304,xxx?

 

Its going for 3k. Probably just going to throw a grand down and do payments.

 

I'll be the second one to ask the single most important question... What's the price?!

 

Man, hard to say. With 304k and "tires need to be replaced" 3k seems pretty high.

 

3k is ENTIRELY too high for that. Sorry to say it like that.. But just being honest with you and answering your questions. You can do MUCH better than that for 3k.

I got my 00 with 162k complete stock with new tires and a laundry list of new parts for 2k. Esp if your making payments on it I would pass. Your not going to be happy if it does give out before your done paying it off. Talk them down/tell them to fix the little issues.

Here's my 00 the day I bought it.

 

What would you say is a reasonable price then??

 

No bueno.

Surely you can find a better deal than that.

At 304k with known issues (probably more unkown as well) i'd say its worth no more than a thousand.

Keep looking.

 

1500-1800 tops. Esp with that kind of mileage. And that's without seeing a pic of the overall condition of the jeep.

And I'd say these are high numbers I'm giving you...

 

X2

 

If there's rust showing on any frame of a window then that probably means water is getting in there and no doubt there is rust under the carpet where you can see. I would say 1000 tops not seeing it. You can get a very nice cherokee for 3 grand with fairly low miles, I'd look around more if I was you

 

Damn, well if I can talk him down a bit and find out whether or not it was rebuilt, because apparently 4.0's should be after a certain mileage, and nothing else major, should I consider at all? I'm being pushy about it because I have been car-less for over 5 months now and need a strong DD so bad at this point.

 

It's not that they should be rebuilt at any certain mileage. If the motor was taken care of it will last a very long time.

But keep in mind: I can tell you the motor in my 00 was rebuilt 30k ago. Without paoerwork that is nothing. If anyone ever tells you the motor/trans/anything was rebuilt they had better have receipts/documents to back it up.