I'm new to Jeeps. In the BMW world, they joke (and warn newcomers) about how costly it is to maintain one, esp. if you don't DIY. Be prepared to spend $2000 a year to keep it running right, etc.

In the Jeep world I see a stark schism.

One camp says these trucks are tanks and will basically run forever with the legendary i6 4.0L. Cheap parts, tons of used parts, tons of aftermarket parts, and very DIY friendly. Car always starts and pretty much is a beast that never lets you down, beyond needing routine maintenance like any car.

In the other camp, you have comments like the above. That Jeeps are money pits. That "Just Empty Every Pocket" joke. Sure, I can see it being expensive if you're modding your Jeep like crazy, b/c it would cost a lot even to mod a Hyundai or Honda. But are they implying that even for stock build, routine daily driving, the Jeep is a money pit sinkhole that always needs work? Always needs something to be fixed, etc?

Which is it? Or, is this just all subjective and relative?

 

You must be on R3V too. Anything can be a money pit once you start the mods. A lift, bigger wheels/tires, bumpers, winches then better diffs to tolerate a heavy foot and big tires. The list goes on. No different than cars. Just different directions.

 

In stock form jeeps are tanks nd will run forever with normal maintenance
But on the other hand wen u want to start modding it thats when u start dipping in the kids college fund lol

 

Mines been a fkn money pit

 

My ZJ has been one of the most reliable vehicles I've ever owned, and that is out of about 25 cars and trucks over the last 30 years. I really don't spend a whole lot of money to keep it running, what I do spend on it is a hell of a lot cheaper than a car payment every month.

 

any vehicle can become a money pit if you push it past the limits of what it's parts are designed to take. but overall, if you don't beat the crap out out of it, and just do simple routine maitenence, xj's are extremely reliable vehicle's

 

Reliable tanks up til 98, 01, and 06 when they got rid of the ZJ, XJ, and TJ. Prior to that, for the most part, any Jeep that was a money pit was because owners made them so. Mines a money pit because I wheel as a hobby and make mine one. I could have left it stock as a 20 year old vehicle that ran great and had very few problems. Jeeps hold their value better than any other make out there, especially Wranglers.

The newer Jeeps since Chrysler started bastardizing the brand are garbage though and I wouldn't touch one.

 

yes, the answer is yes!

 

I've dumped a lot of money into my Jeep but mostly on the fun things. The parts I've had to replace to actually keep it running are the fuel pump, starter, alternator, thermostat, u-joints, brakes and some sensors. For a 24 year old vehicle that's not bad at all!

 

Just been routine maintenance items for reliability/longivity.
All other costs have been my choice for my own personal needs, likes.
Cheaper than a lot of vehicles I could think of.

 

Mines a money pit but only because im the first owner to do maintnence lol

 

Aren't all cars money pits?

Starters stop starting. Tires get tired and brakes break. Alternators stop alternating. Wipers stop wiping.

The thing that makes the Cherokee great is that it's VERY DIY friendly, and the parts are cheap. Labor is usually the most expensive part of a car repair, so cutting that out altogether saves you tons of money.

Modern cars are being designed in such a way that you CANNOT service them in your driveway. Just wait until hybrids/EV's are mandated... you won't be able to work on your car AT ALL, except for maybe brakes and tires.

The XJ is probably one of the last vehicles made with old school design - simple, straight forward, and not even remotely over-engineered. The Crown Vic is probably the only other one.

I owned a 77 Cutlass for 4 years. A brake master cylinder cost me $15 for the part. It required removing two nuts and undoing the brake lines to install. It took longer to bleed the system than it did to swap the part.

That's why I love my XJ - almost everything is cheap and easy to replace.

 

every xj and mj i have ever owned have been nothing but great.

just the usual stuff, starters, brakes, a fuel pump here, a coil here, radiator there, a u joint there, tune ups, etc.

there were a few freak things. but considering how much I abuse them and how many miles they had on them it was to be expected.

Blew a motor (but it was after i sucked in water)

a/c compressor clutch went out after 245k miles (a/c still worked great up til that point)

melted a shift fork in an np231 (shift linkage may have not been adjusted properly causing the teeth on one of the dog gears to wear funny, putting pressure on the fork)

had a check engine light and a ton of codes, turned out to simply be a cam position sensor wire grounding out messing with 5 volt reference to the rest of the sensors.


good news is everything on an xj is really easy to repair, and with the right sources and know how you can fix ANYTHING in your driveway within a day for not a lot of cash.

 

im on my third bmw, and my xj so far has cost alot less. if you DIY your cost will be lower. but theres still going to be costs. add in how hard of a driver you are. for example I ripped the subframe and destroyed the vanos unit on my old e46 m3. my jeep is on its 4th rear axle and i think third front. cost between the two to fix.... bmw $10,000 jeep $600.

 

Jeeps (at least the ones with a 4.0 under the hood) are both uber reliable and cheap to maintain, and also very much so "money pits". Their reliability and DIY ability speaks for itself imho, I just clicked over 335,000mi on mine last week. As far as the "money pit" thing, Jeeps are the AR-15 of the automotive world, while it is definitely possible to put one together on a shoestring budget and had a rifle that goes bang every time you pull the trigger, as soon as you get it put together you're in a catelog looking at what you're gonna do to t next lol. Jeeps are the same way, the aftermarket is so vast you will never really be "done" working on it lol. Put a lift on it and a set of tires then you start thinking "I bet I could squeeze a little more lift out of it", do that and now "the tires look small now", new set of bigger tires go on, "I need more power now", new set of gears get ordered but not installed yet because "if I'm changing the gears I may as well put better shafts and a locker or two in it", chromoly shafts and a locker gets installed along with the gears, etc. etc. etc. lol.