Hey, been lurking for a few days, read all the sticky posts, did searches. Still trying to decide. Want to get my first XJ. Here are my main options currently.

93 White two door Cherokee. 4x4, 4.0L, 250k miles. Very clean by looking at pics and talking to the guy. Says no rust. He's an hour away and it's not running. He says it's a CPS issue and that it was running before and could be running again easily with a part. Asking $3k.

94 Green grand Cherokee. EXTREMELY clean. One owner, 220k miles. Babied it's whole life. It's sweet. He posted for $6,500. Will take $5,500 though. Backed out last minute cause his daughter who drives got sentimental about getting rid of it. Says he will work on her, still wants to sell it? Currently on pause for a week.

Thoughts? Green Cherokee is a little out of budget and may ultimately not be available, but I would stretch. White Cherokee is way in budget, but could be a risk.

 

First off WELCOME to CF.
IMHO I'd go with the '93 XJ. Even though it won't start I'd be checking for any tripped codes if your satisfied with a visual inspection.
https://www.fixjeeps.com/jeep-check-engine-codes.html

 

93 for no more than $1500, I bought my 97 7 years ago with less miles and drove it home for $600.

 

Thanks guys! Been kinda leaning towards the 93 myself.

 

3K is not bad at all for a two door 4.0L.

It is concerning that it is not running however. That and at 250K miles, it might be ready for a rebuild?
Try to talk him down a bit because of those reasons.

 

I would not pay 3k for a vehicle that doesnt run for an unconfirmed reason. Could be the CPS. Could be something else. Get the codes and see what you have to work with. Or buy a CPS and put it in. If it doesnt run, take your part back off and tell him you'll give him 2k.

I absolutely hate when a vehicle doesnt run because it needs a cheap part that's easy to install but the seller wants full price anyway.

"All it needs is a distributor cap to run" so you say your going to bring one and they ghost you.

 

Good advice! That’s the plan. Going up Saturday with an OEM part going to see if runs. Honestly if it doesn’t, I’ll probably walk. Seller already told me he’d at least split the cost on the part if it doesn’t work. Not sure if I want to deal with that right off the bat on my first jeep.

 

Yeah 250k is concerning for me too. Don’t have experience with old XJs. Is 250k a lot? If it’s been taken care of could it have more life left?

 

If it can get running by one simple part, wouldn't you think current owner would do the simple fix before trying to sell it?

 

Thought the same. Talked to the guy though and it seems like he really just doesn’t have the time/motivated. He originally told me he wanted to fix it but it’s a long story. I’m kinda 50/50 if it’ll run. Really hope so. Want to get in to a XJ!

 

So low and behold the guy called off on me. Says family emergency but who knows. Not really holding on to hope here and frankly having doubts about the vehicle condition anyways. How long did it take everyone to find their first Cherokee? I’m going on like two weeks at this point and starting to get discouraged.

 

I looked for about 2 months. But I specifically wanted a standard transmission.

Different parts of the country usually have different price ranges. A rust free XJ with 150k miles could go for 6-10k here in south central PA. And we have members here that paid 2-3k for the same condition in other parts of the country.

Dont be discouraged. You could find one tomarrow or 6 months from now. Have money ready to spend and be willing to drive an hour or two for the right deal. Take a friend or relative along as an extra set of eyes to check over the vehicle and to help watch your back.

 

Thanks. That helps me feel better. I’ve also been thinking about traveling further so it’s good to know that’s not abnormal. Appreciate it!