hey guys so I'm looking for some honest advice, not any douchebagarisms (lol) or smart *** remarks. so im fresh out of high school, get paid 8 bucks an hour and basically support myself. mostly. I love my cherokee which unfortunately has 418kmiles on it.... it needs a new wheel bearing, power steering pump, rear main seal, oil sending unit, temp sending unit, rear end clicks and pops, has TONS of play in the steering, needs paint, and is starting to rust underneath the rear cargo area.... is it honestly worth the money or should i start fresh... I mean now that i look at it it seems pretty obvious but its going to take alot of time to build up money and i have no cosigners for loans or anything... also another question. should i stick with cherokee, or grand cherokee... pros and cons? Thanks in advance for your help

 

google search: cherokee vs grand cherokee cherokee forum

it's a great learning experience to fix all that yourself and learn about the car. but I'd dump it. in the long run, knowing what I know now, it is about 4x cheaper to just buy a nice $3000 cherokee thats good to go, is clean and runs clean. I've had 5 cherokees now and I've only had a license for 4 years

just gotta ask yourself. do you value money? or experience? experience costs money. just buying a nice cherokee to begin with costs less money and time

also grand cherokees are ugly if they're older than 2005. ew

 

What id do is price out all the parts youre going to need to get things reliable and add a little for unexpected expenses. Then id hop on craigslist and search though all the xjs in your area in better condition and see what they go for. Then decide if you'd be saving much starting fresh or putting some money and elbow grease into your current xj.

Keep in mind the last year ours were made was 2001 so at best youre looking at a 12 year old vehicle, things are going to need to be repaired/replaced at some point no matter what and thats when experience comes in handy or a thick wallet.