913zj

My girlfriend recently blew the tranny out in her galant. She blamed the snow on the roads and getting stuck. I blamed it on her lack of skills behind the wheel. I bought a zj about a year ago that I am constantly working on. Death wobbles, tranny, electrical ect. So trying to talk her into a grand or even a regular Cherokee is out of the question. I want to get her a 4x4 SUV so she doesnt have any more issues with the snow. I've read nothing but 5&1 star reviews on the liberty. Nothing in between. I figured I'd ask the jeep guys themselves about the liberty. Other options would be a 4 runner/rav 4 or a blazer. Let me heat your reviews on these vehicles.
my boss owns a liberty and he has mixed feelings for it also.

Battle

You might want to check this forum as most of us XJ owners don't understand why the Liberty existed as it was the thing that allowed the Cherokee to die.

http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/

Also, you should get your Girlfriend a Subaru. I've owned too many, still do and nothing says safety in the snow like a Subaru.

913zj

Thanks. Yeah that seems to be the reaction I get when I bring up "liberty"
wasn't even thinking about a Subaru. Great call

95Cherokee

Also, nothing says Bull Dyke Lesbian like a Subaru.

Battle

Tis true. My current Outback was coined the angry lesbian due to its fire shooting noise and appetite for chaos.

They're funny cars.

kgm

Subarus are great cars, but the new ones are hideous. Minus that whole thing where they blow up their transmissions, and their head gaskets.

I believe the Liberty is what Jeep replaced the XJ Cherokee with. Funny that is now sits aside the "new Cherokee" when it is the new Cherokee.

Get her a wrangler!

no rdplz

02-03 Liberties should be avoided. They had engine issues. 04-06 are pretty decent in all honesty and you can actually make them into a good (not great) offroad vehicle.

I would honestly go with a Subaru Forester or Outback. Great vehicles that offer a solid AWD system. The one downside to the newer Subi's is that you have to be religious about rotating the tires and watching tire wear. If one tire gets to worn as compared to the other the differential can get messed up.

913zj

Spoke too soon and asked too late. Minutes after I made this thread she texted me an autotrader link with 3 libertys in our price range less than 15 miles from home. I told her to look up reviews ND she told me (in her irritated voice) I don't need anybody feeling me what I can drive. Lol I guess we are looking at libertys today after work. 2-02 1-05. Anything I should look for when looking at them?
she refuses to learn to drive a stick so most subarus and wranglers are out of the question. Although I've always wanted a wrangler and I may trade my zj in for one next year.

913zj

She won't be doing any off roading. Lol she complains when my jeep is dirty

its a jeep.....its supposed to be dirty!

95Cherokee

That may have been a Freudian slip. Has she been dropping hints about breaking up with you?

NJDevL28

salad

Stay away from 2002 and 2003. Lost Jeeps is a fantastic KJ resource site!

On a serious note, if your GF blew up a Galant when in the snow I VERY STRONGLY recommend NOT buying her a 4x4 SUV. That indicates a SERIOUS lack of knowledge on how to drive in the snow. Adding 4WD into the equation will mean she has a false sense of confidence and lose steering and braking control that much more easily, as well with the high center of gravity the likelihood of a rollover is greatly increased.

I'm not being facetious. Unskilled driver with a false sense of security in a tippy vehicle is a disaster waiting to happen. You don't actually WANT to see her get hurt, do you? As much as I like Jeeps I would REALLY recommend that she get a FWD car with proper winter tires and learn how to drive. For her safety and that of others.

Lowrange2

From this guys description of his girlfriend I'd have to kick her to the curb.

1. Can't drive.
2. Won't read reviews
3. Can't drive.
4. Complains because my vehicle is dirty.
5. Refuses to learn to drive a manual transmission.

#5 is the big one. If it were me I'd find a $500 1991 Toyota Tercel 5-speed. Park it in the driveway and tell her that once she's learned how to drive it and has driven it for a month or so I'd buy her what she wants.

Not knowing how to operate a manual transmission is like not knowing how to wipe your own ***. ALL DMV driving tests should be required to be taken in a 5-speed vehicle.

With that said... I had an 03 Liberty. Had to replace the engine. Twice. Engine's are extremely hard to find.
I'll be the 3rd to say it. Stay away from 02-03.

I'm done now.

913zj

Lol *feeling* was supposed to be *telling*
I hear you salad. She has been driving her dads focas for a week and seems to really like it. I'll try and get her to go that direction. Even seen a few subarus on auto trader. Mainly outbacks though. Her friend has a liberty and praises it which will make it hard to get her in a car

no rdplz

Like salad, lowrange, and I all said, if she's stuck on the liberty, go with the '05 of the 3 you mentioned. 02-03's had serious engine issues.

I do agree with salad and lowrange as well on the aspect of learning to drive properly in the snow. If she screwed up a Galant, the 4WD will give a false sense of security that will put both her and others in even more danger.
The manual trans is a big one for me too, mainly because...
1) I'd rather have a stick shift (really wish my XJ was a 5-speed).
2) you never know when you're going to need to drive a manual. Emergency situations may call for it and you need to be able to.
3) You have more control with a manual.

But yeah, I don't care who you are, if someone more knowledgeable offers to help you with a vehicle choice and/or driving skill, TAKE IT!!! I consider myself a pretty competent driver, both on and off road, as well as pretty knowledgeable about vehicles, but if someone offers advice that I don't know, I take it. The moment you think you know it all and don't need help is the moment you've just failed. By the sounds of it, she needs to learn that.