Just sitting here thinking about wanting to keep my 2001 XJ for many years to come. Started thinking about parts support.

I know around 3 million were made from 84-01, that helps a lot.

How far into the future do you think we will be easily able to keep our Jeeps running?

 

Sometimes I wonder that myself. I feel the same about my '00. Would like it to be the last 4x4 I buy in my lifetime. Since I am older thinking it won't be too much of a problem for me. I have been hoarding parts to a degree. I grabbed a TUPY head from an, I believe, 04 WJ for $50. No idea of the condition, might be a $50 door stop, but the opportunity presented itself so I grabbed it. One thing that has surprised me is the things that I have still been able to get from my local Jeep Dealership. Just bought a new door check, bracket, and hinge pin. Also one of the clips that hold AC lines together. Couple years ago I wanted a new heat shield for the top of the intake manifold and they had it in stock. Also purchased the heat shield over the muffler awhile back. I think we will be OK for awhile seeing how there seems to be a decent amount of support for things from aftermarket suppliers too.

 

I have a 79 Camaro that I can still buy many parts at the Advance Auto on the corner. Many of the parts are in stock, some have to be ordered in. Anything the Auto parts store doesn't have, I can order from one of many aftermarket vendors. As they get older, MORE not less parts are being reproduced.

The Cherokees have a strong following, I don't see parts support being an issue in my lifetime. I'm only 31 BTW.

 

The normal wear parts will be made tell the end of time.Go in to auto zone and ask for a ball joint or brake drum for a 57 chevy belair i bet they got it or can get it.

 

That's what I'm saying. There are many vehicles that you will be hard pressed to find parts for. Edsel comes to mind, many youths on this forum probably don't recognize the automaker. But the Cherokees ran for too many years with too large of a following to fade away into the sunset. What I think we will see the end of soon is the plethora of parts cars. I bought a 79 Camaro 15 years ago for $200, and I had my choice of several before I bought that one. Couple years later I bought a running 81 for $600. Go try to find one today. They go for $2000-3000 for a rust bucket POS. I used to see a handful of late second gen Camaros in the yards. Now it is a rare site to see one. Another few years, maybe 10 more, you won't see XJs in the yards as much and an absolute **** box will run for decent money. That will drive up the value of parts like interior panels and body panels.

 

All makes sense and also makes me feel better about putting money into upgrades on mine.

 

The 60s lincoln continentals are a nightmare for parts,The driveline and wear parts are no problem,The rest are hard because they changed the car fully every year also.And the aftermarket for those cars is none yet.But a 60s camaro or mustang i can order 99% of the whole car from a website today.

 

Or you get bored look up a 3rd gen f body parts or fox body mustang both are around the age of the jeep and still have a nice aftermarket and oem replacement stuff.

 

10 years ago or so one of the car shows did a special where they built a first gen Camaro entirely from the magazines. Including the body. EVERY part came out of a magazine. It was an entirely new Camaro. Was something to watch.

 

Is was that muscle car show i remember that,And the show trucks did almost the same thing with a 67 chevy truck he just had a cab and frame,Everything else he order from somewhere to build the truck.

 

I always wonder if there will be a Year One or LMC truck type of company that will have catalogs for the xj. I also wonder if there are any of the original molds or tooling left or if they were destroyed. Pretty sure the original stuff for the 84-96 xj was sold to Beijng Jeep back in the day.

 

Give it 20 years and if theres a market someone will make it.I'm a gm g body fan and a company or two has started to stand up and make some oem replacement parts that no one made tell now.

 

The guys on that Mopar old muscle car restoration show 'Grave Yard Carz' on the velocity channel seem to have no problems getting brand new parts for those old vintage Mopars.
And they restore those old Mopars from mid '60s to early '70 models which are much older than XJs.

Because the XJ has such a large cult following i don't see any part shortages at least in the foreseeable future. That is if one can afford 'new' parts which seems to be an issue with a some XJ owners based on some of the posts i've seen on this forum.

I think the days of cheap used boneyard parts will eventually grind to a trickle. Out of the few boneyards around here, there are few to none XJs in them already.

 

Generally speaking, OEM suppliers typically stop producing parts around 10 years after production date. There is a ton of aftermarket support, I dont foresee the cherokee dying anytime soon.