I want to know what to look for in a 90s era Cherokee and what to avoid. My general price range is 4k, with 4x4 and a V6. My sister has a 1999 Cherokee with 60k miles on it but shed never sell it to me. THANKS!

 

Good luck finding a V6 lol. They came with the 4.0L Inline 6 cylinder.

 

I don't know as much about the older body style 90-96's but I would avoid the 1996's as they were the "crossover year" between body styles and have a lot of mix matched parts. As for 97-99 Cherokee's I can't think of anything to avoid.
Hopefully others will chime in.

 

91-94 complete base models have always been the most reliable to me

I always avoid renix, 95-96 and 00-01. And for the older models I always avoid as many electronics as possible. So if you value creature comforts buy a 98 or 99.

Do some research. Spend more than $1500. Anything less than that and prepare to get your hands dirty. Good luck. And no 4 bangers either

 

Sorry I meant Inline 6. I'm really sleepy today.
Why no 4x4?

 

These are a few ideas of where I live around. If you have time I'd love your opinion on which one would be best. Also I should have stated before, I'm 6'6'' and this would be my first car/truck. My sister has a 1999 and I can fit in that a drive it with out too much struggle.

https://portland.craigslist.org/clc/cto/4603512623.html

https://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/cto/4602229883.html

https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/cto/4586120832.html

https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/cto/4601725477.html

https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/cto/4601725477.html

 

4 banger = 4 cylinder

I see no reason to avoid Renix XJs other than they're likely going to have more miles than you'd prefer (built 87-90) but if you found one that was well taken care of with reasonable mileage (>150K) there's no reason to pass it up just because it's a Renix.

I agree to avoid 96s for the reasons mentioned, they have a lot of bastard parts unique to that year. I also agree that 91-94 base models are statistically the most reliable. Avoid rust, make sure the reverse lights work (when you put it in reverse), check under the hood and dash for kluged wiring.

Are you the type of person who likes wrenching on your own car or would you take it to a mechanic when it made a funny noise?

 

Whatever you decide on, crawl under and check thoroughly for rust!

BTW, I have a '96 with 200,000 miles that runs and drives great!

 

I will check for rust thank you!
I would try to figure out what that clanking is vs take it to some crappy mechanic shop.

 

yeah sorry I forgot to mention this was a personal hatred of mine

I hate all renixs. especially if they've got a stick shift. stupid pukeguts transmissions..
they're old and tired 80's vehicles with lame disco axles. a 1992 model won't cost you much more than an 89

 

I was in the same boat last year. You will find lots of opinions and great advice on the forums, what I took from these, being not at all mechanically inclined, and with exceptions to every rule, were that you can usually find someone who loves and defends to the death every jeep year made, but to generalize:

-No bad rust
- check standard stuff (carfax, accidents, etc)
-1996 in old style, 1999 in new style + passenger airbags, 2000-2001 had head cracking issues which some fear, others say is overblown
- straight 6, 4x4
- buy a clean one, mod it yourself since don't know quality of a DIY

I went with a 1999 myself

 

I have a 96.. whats wrong with that?I had it for 7 years

 

I have a 2000 for sale. PM me

 

96 may have some oddball parts but they were built in the most numbers....

 

I am all for the Carfax check and if you are buying off eBay, use the Autocheck and read it real well!

I rececntly had a bad experience with a Cherokee off eBay and if it wasn't for checking the Auotocheck (which I paid $10 for) I wouldn't of had a leg to stand on.