Hi,

I owned a 97 Wrangler for five years and love it. I am now looking to buy a Jeep Cherokee. I found one that is a 98 sport. It has 130k miles. Can someone give me some advice, as what to look for when I test drive it. Do you think 130k miles on the Jeep is reasonable for $3250?

Thanks,
Mo

 

You could probably talk them down a little. I paid 3400 for my 01 sport with 141k. Drive it and listen for the things you are familiar with on your 97 wrangler. Pay attention to the guages. Idle speed, oil pressure and temp guage. Let it sit at idle once it is fully warmed up and listen to anything odd. Check the engine while running then check around the valve cover for leaks. Look under and around the oil pan for oil and transmision fluid leaks. Check the front and rear difs for leaks, then check all the fluid levels. Other than that just use your common sense and go with your gut. oh and check for rust and try to do a carfax to see the history. That will tell you where that Jeep lived most of its life, any recalls, service history and possible wrecks. Good luck and let us know how it turns out. If I could do it again, I would have taken it to a mechanic to look at things like the drive shafts, suspension, and brakes. I had to spend another $800 on a rear axle leaking into the brake drums and cracked drums and shoes.

 

Thanks a lot for the thorough information. I wasn't thinking about a carfax, that should help out a lot. This forum is awesome!

Best,
Mo

 

Yeah a 1 month carfax membership is well worth the the money. I ran over 100 rigs when I was shopping for mine.