Chowder49

I’ve been looking at cherokees for sale and most seem to have over 200k miles. Is it worth it to buy a Cherokee with over 200k if I plan to daily drive? Or will I run into lots of issues with it.

BlueRidgeMark

200k is not a big deal on these. There are plenty of them running as daily drivers with over 300k. My 97 was over 275 when a Suburban ended its life.

Don't expect it to be completely trouble free, but I can tell you where to find a great forum where you can find lots of help from experienced Cherokee owners.

You do need to pay attention to what year you buy. For example, there is a known head casting fault on the 2000-2001. It's not a death sentence, but it's something to watch.

Chowder49

I’m looking at a 1998 Xj with 180k miles, really clean, it’s up for sale at $3850. Gonna go test drive it soon, hopefully I can get them to come down on the price. Do you think 3000-3500 would be reasonable to pay for a Cherokee with that kind of miles? I just want to be able to get a few years out of it. Thanks for responding.

Battle

That's a 21-year-old car. So that's what, 8500 miles a year? I wouldn't say that's high miles. I'd rather buy something that's been used but maintained instead of something with low mileage that just sat around.

Chowder49

Yeah turned out the dealer lied about the mileage on Carfax it said it had around 230k. Now I’m looking at a 2000 Cherokee but it has some issues. Guy says it needs new spark plugs, fuel pump and ac doesn’t work.. He also doesn’t have it registered or inspected. But it only has 140 k miles on the engine and he’s only asking $2000 for it. Do you guys think I should go for it or would the repairs and registration be a hassle?

Waynerd

As with anything especially a Cherokee. If I can’t hear it run or drive it I won’t buy it. Unless it’s only a few hundred dollars. Have a look on CarGurus or carsforsale.com that’s where I’m always watching Cherokees for sale. Make sure you really see what’s out there before making the purchase. Most of the listings on Craigslist around here are reasonable as well. I’d be more concerned if it’s a 2000 or 2001 and it’s not running right or if the seller says it’s unable to start. There is always also ways to verify that what they are saying is true. If you’re willing to do some troubleshooting and testing before buying.

downs

When you start getting into older vehicles like the XJ how it was maintained is far more important than how many miles are on it. That Jeep with 230k miles could have 250+ thousand miles of life left while that lower mileage example sounds like its been neglected and probably wont last that long or will need a lot of TLC.

Battle

This! All of this.

I would personally never buy an 00 or 01 UNLESS it was very well maintained. Those years seem to be the most vulnerable to neglect.

Chowder49

What’s are normally the issues with 2000-01 cherokees? I like the look of them.

5-Speed

The head is known to crack on them. Plus most of them have 2 pre cats which some people will say contributes to heat soak.

jordan96xj

97-01 all look the same. And only a keen Cherokee fan can point out the differences on the 96 and older. To most people, they were visually unchanged from 84-01.

Waynerd

also with that mileage it may be getting close to time to change the pre cats and they’re expensive.
And there were subtle changes from 97-01 like the badging and roof rack and interior colors but essentially they’re identical.

Chowder49

Hey guys, I ended up buying a ‘98 with 184k miles, runs like a champ, had to drive 3 hours home, no problems.

BlueRidgeMark

Congratulations! 97-99 seem to be the sweet spot for these. You get full OBDII diagnosis, which can be a real help, and you get the old-fashioned coil and distributor setup, which IMO is easier to troubleshoot than the later coil pack system.

Welcome to the club!

Rogue4x4

Nice, good looking rig, and welcome to the sickness haha