Hi new here, going to look at a 1998 Cherokee sport 107,000 miles on it anything particular I should check? what type of code checker would I need to get? It’s a 8 hour round trip so I want to be sure as I can .
Thanks

 

The deal breaker for me would be rust. Might be worth an 8hr trip if you can get the seller to send you enough pics of the XJ to convince you it's worth the drive.

 

This will be the same for me. I'm willing to cross the country to buy one. Even ship it or trailer it back if not mechanically up to a cross country trip, but I really hope the seller will send me good pictures of the vehicle inside, outside underneath, anywhere that rust may lurk.

If it has rust on shackles or diffs or suspension components I want to know. It's not that I wouldn't buy it if it has some surface rust or maybe a few easily replaceable components are rusty, but I don't want to deal with perforations. Heck I can get that here in Indiana and not have to travel.

OP, I would check the floor pans well looking for A, no rust, B, if they were replaced(the way I see folks replacing floorpans makes me want to run away. I don't care if they are hidden, do it right). Look under the rear quarters for inner quarter panel rust. Check under each door along the seam, rockers of course too.

Check and smell fluids, looking for molested areas and missing parts. If it's a private seller and you are meeting at his home, look around the garage and driveway. Make a mental note of the condition of his home, yard and other vehicles. If they are maintained and kept nice, chances are he treated the Cherokee the same.

And finally keep in mind 107K is not a tremendous amount of miles and most anything can be fixed if you start out with a solid body and most of the factory parts still there. Good luck. Post it up if you buy it!

Disclaimer; my views are based on someone wanting a dependable, long term relationship with their vehicle primarily for daily driving. If you are wanting to build a rock crawler or mud bogger, then none of what I mentioned is important.

 

Thank you both for your reply the dealer did send me photos inside and out even underneath, yes I saw some rust in photos underneath but my thought the Jeep’s 24 years old to, but you gave me also other points to look at, lol yeah not looking to make a rock crawler mud bogger , would like to take my grandson to beach someday and teach him to surf fish but have a little time for that and I can make sure this is a decent daily driver by then. The Jeep looks really clean my only red flag on the underneath was some rust coloring in areas when I saw that the undercoating spray was worn down a bit.

 

About the code checker. A 96-01 XJ will be OBD2. I bought an Actron cp9125, and later an Actron 6970 for my 97. The cp9125 is a bare bones model and only displays engine codes. The 6970 can display live data like voltages and engine temp, stuff like that. The only thing i dont like about it is it does not read airbag codes. But i have the Body Diagnostic Procedures manual that covers that stuff, so its not a total loss.

There is also a code reader app (Torque) if you have a mobile.

 

 

I don't see anything in those pics that would make me run. I would want to see the inside rear quarters, better shots of the floor pans and underneath each door. But looking good so far!

 

Track bar looks newer than the steering components, tcase leaky, rear diff leaky. Mostly typical looking for age a mileage and all not really deterring. Hard to have a solid opinion about the deal without more info - pictures - price. I typically don't entertain XJ's being sold from dealerships - especially the no-name types. I've seen a few XJ specific dealers around MI that i would consider but the lots that aren't jeep specific just concerne me. More often than not seemingly they lipstick the pig and ask the top dollar. Biggest sale points for me are the honesty and transparency of the deal.

 

 

Not to be over critical, but does it have red overspray in a lot places? or just red-reflections?? The picture of the rear wheel,overspray on the wheel itself and inside the wheel well frame overspray is a little more obvious. Also the picture of the engine bay it looks like there is overspray on the intake manifold area. The matched running board is a nice touch though. Am i not seeing the color properly on the rear seat as well? grey rear seat against the tan interior?

I may be over critical but little things tend to add up in a bigger picture when it comes to these jeeps being sold.

 

Yeah I think they shot these pictures in a lot of light, a lot of glare, won’t know for sure until I get in from of it.
There asking 9,9 for it which seems high but I’ve looked at some other that weren’t as clean and priced about the same. All opinions welcome😊

 

Well thinking a repaint just because there looks to be no badging at all on the XJ.
But factory running boards are cool so......
LOL.

 

Wow, thanks I definitely didn’t notice that!

 

Yes, there is overspray. It has been repainted at some point. Misted, but there. Driver side behind the rear tire, its heavy inside the wheelwell. Overspray underneath isnt a deal breaker, but i do hope the paint itself was done right. Like said, no badging. Its missing.

Might be the angle, but the exhaust looks quite close to the transmission crossmember. Mount may be sagging a bit. Motor mounts may be getting tired, too.

Those battery terminals need replaced or redone. The ones there are temporay only, and clamp onto bare wire. Not good at all. I use those same terminals, but i did it right and terminated the cable ends using lugs that bolt to the clamp. I also used heatshrink to seal the lugs to the cable. Do not let them as the seller has them.

Mechanical fan is missing the shroud. Needs replaced. Driver side end link is bent or the bushing is worn. Or simply wasnt tightened. Something isnt right. Its possible the sway bar is shifted to one side, which can happen after replacing the sway bar bushings. Im guessing the passenger side endlink is also sitting funny. Maybe. Like said, something isnt right.

Nitpicking:
The upper radiator hose was dressed. Armor All? Shouldnt be shiny like that. Some used car dealers use that as a sale tactic to get more out of the vehicle.
They went overboard shining the tires.
Whatever they used on the door panels, i dont like it. Look at the black pad on the passenger side. Poorly done.

Overall, it looks well loved. Paint looks good, body looks straight. Engine bay is very clean. Nothing jumps out underneath aside from overspray and some wetness around the transfer case. Bad transmission pan gasket, or a leak between the case and transmission? Dont know. Interior is clean except for the ashtray which is still filthy for some reason. Why didnt they clean that? All that prep and they leave that dirty? Wierd.

 

After catching back up to this on my laptop the overspray is a little more obvious. I would ask that seller why they re-sprayed the jeep. They are asking a premium price for it- pressure them a little bit to back up their touches on the jeep for its sale. If you feel their reasoning is bologna then i guess you have your answer for their intentions. Obviously they want to make the most on the sale which i get completely but if there isn't transparency in their reasonings and they are blatantly trying to lead you on then it becomes that question of what are they potentially trying to hide or cover up?