I am new to the amazing realm of xjs, ive been lost in the site for the last few days lol but I could use some opinions from you guys im looking to buy my first Cherokee I've done some research on the topic I know about the head issue on the 2000-2001 which both of the ones I am looking at are. Also that the 99 is the preferred year. I am looking to have a solid DD that I will eventually lift and trail ride (not rock crawling lol). I am in the budget of the low to mid 3k here are my two options


1. 2001 Cherokee 4.0 4x4 limited automatic with 209,000mi original owner says he had the A/C converted to 134R refrigerant. Within the last 30k miles, he has replaced the tires, radiator, brakes, Interstate battery, starter and installed a back-up camera. the jeep looks in near perfect shape and never has been offroad I still have to physically see it myself. asking $3650


2. 2000 Cherokee 4.0 4x4 sport automatic with 117,000mi second owner of 10 years who is my neighbor so I kinda know the car he's not the best on taking care of his stuff but this he has done well with. it has some dings, will need a new headliner and the ac fixed and a tail light cover never offroad no rust, overall it should clean up. asking $3300


What do you guys think would you be scared of the one with almost double miles? I know that they can go much more but im just weighing my options. do you think I should put the money I would use to fix #2 and get #1 instead?I would be grateful to hear some unbiased thoughts! thanks in advance

 

When you look at mileage, the engine may last for a long time, but only if it was taken care of by the previous owner.

Other things to weigh in are that all of the steering components, suspension, body, and everything else also has all of that wear and tear on it.

I would avoid the years altogether. That's just my opinion. Why did the 2001 need a new radiator? That throws up overheating flags for me.

You want the one with the best maintenance history.

 

yea I thought that as well with the new radiator being installed but that owner has had 4 xj's so he may have just done it as preventative maintenance but I will definitely look into it farther

 

Unless either one has had the head replaced i would stay away from them.I would keep looking or maybe look at a zj or inline 6 wj.

 

Something that strikes me odd about the 2001 is that they are R134A from the factory. R12 was gone by 94 or 95 in OEM systems.

Honestly it sounds like you could do better than both of them for the same money.

 

Unless you need to buy a car today i would wait and find the right one in your budget.

 

It's the 2000 and 2001 model years that had the 0331 heads. I would stay away from these UNLESS you understand the problem, know what to do with it and are prepared to do what needs to be done if the head cracks. I would not generally recommend a 2000 or 2001 to a newbie.

Jeep made 2.3 million XJs during the entire run, so there are still some relatively low mileage XJs from the 90s available if you'll just watch and wait. '97-'99 are the best years. Although '99 is the pinnacle of the line, the only real advantage over the '97 and '98 is the rounded intake. If you can't find a '99, you can always get a '97 or '98 and swap in a 2001 intake from a junk yard to end up with the same thing.

In addition to the head problems, the 2000 and 2001 have some other issues that make them less desirable for lifting and driving off road. Specifically, all 2000s and 2001s had the low pinion front axle that is slightly weaker than the earlier years and has less ground clearance.

Say what?

There is no need to convert the AC to R-134a because the stock system uses R-134a. This guy is feeding you BS, which would make me suspect the other things he's telling you.

Personally, unless you can get really comfortable with knowing what to look for regarding the 0331 head and overheating issues with the 2000 and 2001, I would stay away from both of these vehicles and keep looking.

 

I understand the problem with the heads on either of the two years and if I was to get either one I would change over to the older head quite quickly I am very mechanically skilled and have always worked on my own stuff (about to graduate from a technical school while working as a marine diesel and outboard mech) the head issue isn't what bothers me and an axle swap for one with a HP wouldn't be very hard. My main problem is that there are not many xj's around me at all unless I was to go to Miami and I wouldn't trust a singe thing from there from personal experience. If you guys had to purchase one of these two which would you go for?

 

That depends. I'd have to see them and drive/hear/feel/smell them. Mileage has me leaning toward the 2000.

One thing that would factor into the decision for me: Does that 2000 have EPA or CA emissions? EPA has one catalytic converter and two O2 sensors. CA has three cats and four O2 sensors. The EPA version is more desirable.

CA emissions XJs were sold all over the country, so geography has no bearing on it. The 2001 only offered the CA emissions, so that's not a question there.

Also a factor: Do you like the creature comforts? The Limited should have leather seats, an overhead console and a six-speaker sound system. The Sport will not have those unless someone has upgraded them.

 

As long as I don't change the exhaust I shouldn't really have a problem with the CA model vs the EPA and I'm really not planning to I have driven he 2000 and it drives quite well no obvious problems with the drive train how ever I do like the fact that the 2001 is the limited model but knowing that it has the added emissions crap and some more miles I think it's almost a toss up

 

If you had to choose one of them I would go with the 2000 model. Preferably stay away from those two years but if you had to get one I would choose the Cherokee sport. (I have a 96 Cherokee Sport.) You know its been driven and has minor issues and low mileage. I think it would be your best bet.

 

Well it sounds like you have your mind made up to buy one of these 2 XJ's which I would buy neither of but..........The one from your neighbor would be my choice as he has to look at you on a weekly basis and you know him somewhat. With that I would try to deal on it and shoot for an under $3k point for sure **(After you have checked everything out) and deduct to any more repairs needed.


I had to shop for over 5mo. before I found my 99 because I knew what I wanted, passed up on no less than 25-30 00/01's lots of those around in a 500 mi. radius.

 

Yeah, I looked for about six months and finally got a 1988 with only 76K miles

 

thanks for all the replies they are all very helpful I am continuing to look everyday for new postings but they don't come up often around here, my neighbor actually never intended to sell but I brought it up to him and he was interested I just don't like the idea of having to repair things right off the bat with the 2000

 

Here is the link to the one that is listed http://keys.craigslist.org/cto/5015729677.html