Thinking of Replacing the Cherokee
 

This has been a thing coming. I love my jeep but i'm really really tired of dumping money into it. I think this year along i'm in about $3000 (including new wheels and tires) and now the service shop says the AC compressor isn't working properly and I also have a leak in the roof where there is a rust spot. So they are quoting me $1000 for a compressor and recharge and the rust fix with repainting is like $600. I've had it for about 4-5 years and spent about $10,000 in repairs and work to fix it up.

Below is a quick list of everything i've done to it. I'm getting to a breaking point.

BFG Tires & Procomp wheels
Oil Change & Pressure Switch
Replace shocks, front disc brakes, rear drum brakes, brake fluid
Installed spark plugs
Battery
Steering Damper, bushing set, valve gasket
Transmission Service/Fluid, Differential Fluid front and back
HID lights
HID light and fog light
Recharge AC system
Fix locks
Exhaust leak check
Exhaust install, alignment
Tires Duratracs
2.5" Lift install
Waterpump, inlet tube, radiator hoses, heater hoses, serpentine belt
Headlight kit
Passenger side window wiring harness
Coil brake line, rear brake
Pressure test evap system, Oil check
Evap leak, Front brake rotors, F axle shaft, universal joints

It's a great looking truck but God it's been a money pit. I'm pretty sure after fixing the AC it would be all dandy, but dropping another grand is just not of interest. Someone could easily use this as a badass ORV and not care about the AC getting fixed. However this is a DD for me.

Thoughts on what to get next with a $10k budget?

If that's 10 grand worth of stuff you've been :bangin:.

I keep records.

Date Year Location Modification Type Cost
6/29/2015 2015 Paint roof/fix windshield Service
4/30/2015 2015 4wd.com BFG Tires & Procomp wheels Custom $1,075
4/20/2015 2015 BC tire Oil Change & Pressure Switch Service $147
4/2/2015 2015 BC tire Replace shocks, front disc brakes, rear drum brakes, brake fluid Service $920
3/30/2015 2015 none Installed spark plugs Custom $20
3/30/2015 2015 Autozone Battery Service $120
3/18/2015 2015 BC tire Steering Damper, bushing set, valve gasket Service $435
3/6/2015 2015 BC tire Transmission Service/Fluid, Differential Fluid front and back Service $330
1/19/2015 2015 Class1 HID lights Custom $50
12/27/2014 2014 Class1 HID light and fog light Custom $312
9/8/2014 2014 American Tire Recharge AC system Service $182
5/29/2014 2014 American Tire Fix locks Service $589
3/1/2014 2014 American Tire Exhaust leak check Service $114
2/22/2014 2014 American Tire Exhaust install, alignment Service $314
11/12/2014 2014 Autocouture Tires Duratracs Custom $1,000
11/12/2012 2012 Autocouture Lift install Custom $1,300
10/24/2012 2012 Milltown Auto Waterpump, inlet tube, radiator hoses, heater hoses, serpentine belt Service $706
10/5/2012 2012 Quadratec Headlight kit Custom $127
9/14/2012 2012 Milltown Auto Passenger side window wiring harness Service $410
5/11/2012 2012 Sears Battery Service $128
12/14/2011 2011 Milltown Auto Coil brake line, rear brake Service $521
7/19/2011 2011 Milltown Auto Pressure test evap system, Oil check Service $169
2/7/2011 2011 Milltown Auto Evap leak, Front brake rotors, F axle shaft, universal joints Service $944

Total $9,438


but maybe i'm overreacting and will just drive it to death with no AC for eternity. What's a little sweat :icon_cheesygrin:

You spent that much money because you wanted to. A lot of that work could have been accomplished much cheaper or even ignored. These are 15 plus year old American trucks (station wagons really) - they're going to need attention but they won't leave you alone.

Why not just fix the A/C yourself?

i'm going to look into compressors and see how hard it is to fix. I don't have a lot of time so I do mostly small jobs myself when I can. And yes I spent that much money to keep it going. I could have saved a lot on labor if i had the time to do it myself.

Shop quoted me $500 for a new compressor. Labor was only an hour.

What I see is a bunch of crap you added to your XJ that you didn't need to. Couple that with the fact that if you wrenched on it yourself you'd save about 80% of the cost of the things you actually needed to do.

I'm not sure what your complaint is other than apparently you can't stop modifying your XJ regardless of cost or that you don't do your own work? :dunno:

Doing things yourself will save you a ton of money. I'm no mechanic but I like to get my hands dirty and fix what I can. Things like a tune up for example an oil change, spark plugs, and other general maintanance you really should do yourself. I know nothing about a/c so something like that I would shell out the cash to a shop to fix.

yeah i did the plugs myself and oil. not much else. Robert does have a point, i did dump a lot into it that truck that was unnecessary and part of the cost. However it was only wheels, lift and lights. Everything else was due to something being broken. I don't have the space, luxury and time to do it. Guess it's been a bad year on getting things fixed. AC i would need help with, can't do that solo. But even with that said, would be nice to have something that doesn't require much maintenance, would likely end up being a Honda or Toyota.

My friend used to drive a truck that averaged about 5 mpg. Everyone would ask him why. His reply, "I'd rather spend money on something I love driving vs. something I could care less about."

I feel you man but unless you go with a newer vehicle even a honda or yota will need the same kind of attention.

your handle says it all lol, i have a porsche also. So that is where my focus goes towards along with my driving enjoyment. Not so much the jeep though I do love it.

you paid a grand for shocks and brake pads.. holy ****, can I be your mechanic?

I'm sure the rear upper bolts broke which added to the cost.

If you're tired of dumping money into it & don't have the time to do the work yourself, selling it is your best option. An old Jeep is a hole in your driveway that you throw money into, and paying a shop to do the work means that hole runs MUCH deeper.

Bear in mind that any older vehicle is going to require work, most will require more than your XJ will, these are among the most reliable, long lasting vehicles on the planet. A new car will be more reliable, just add in a car payment and full coverage insurance.

Oh, and the shop is "cutting you a break on labor" because they're gouging you on the part. Pick up a compressor from Oreilly's for $250, swap it out at home, take it down for a recharge.

To replace the compressor, you'll need a vacuum pump and a set of gauges in addition to parts. If you're going to replace the compressor, you might as well do a full overhaul of the system, because you probably have leaks.

If you're looking for a decent truck under $10K to replace the Cherokee just for getting around town, I would look at Suburbans/Yukons. Used ones in good condition are in your price range and are pretty durable. They're bigger than the XJ, but their gas mileage isn't as bad as you might expect. They're also a lot easier to drive than you might expect.

$10k over 5 years for a daily driver? Not bad. Now you're looking to spend another $10k, I'm assuming on something trouble-tree? You can lease a new Nissan Versa for $150/month. That's only $9k over 5 years! I just saved you a grand*!

*minus down payment, taxes, fees, mileage overage, etc...

I'd have to go look at the receipt. But I agree that place was charging too much. I'm done going there lol.

I'll look into DIY for the compressor. They said i need an accumulator as well. I've had BMWs for a long time and none of them ever required as much maintenance which is why I guess the Jeep occasionally gets me wondering why it needs so much work.

Thanks, heard great things about Yukons. i may look into them. What year?

nah has to be a truck with 4 doors. My buddy picked up a F150 cab for about 15k a couple years ago and it's solid

Solid...for now. What year? Soon it too will require maintenance, shocks, tires, brakes, plugs. Plugs, is it a Triton motor? Google "Triton spark plugs", see if that looks tempting.

I've had people ask me if I was joking when I give them estimates to replace the plugs on the Tritons. Price depends on how many break in the heads... :thumbup:

Exactly. Everything will require maintenance. The way I see it, the OP should have a damn near new XJ with all the money that's been thrown at it. I'd keep it, better than taking a gamble with someone else's old news.

So what I can surmise from these prices is that "American Tire" has been giving you a royal hosing.

Don't know what fix locks is but sounds like I could have did it myself for way less.

Exhaust leak check, if I don't pass out unconscious when driving my XJ then the exhaust is fine.

A lot of factors there, could be the PO flogged the crap out of it/didn't maintain it. Not every XJ is gonna go the distance, but they'll all require work. The BMWs you had have also left you with a skewed outlook on "average" used cars.

My '96 328is had over 350K miles on it when I traded it, and it was still one of the most reliable cars I'd ever owned. Other than tune ups, all I ever had to replace was the PS pump & the cam sensor. Cold AC, all the power goodies still worked perfect, and it would boil the tires right off the wheels.

Awesome car, but a 2dr Bimmer & 3 kids? Had to let her go.

:euro:


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...28e91fe74c.jpg

I could never afford to have my Jeep if a shop did the work... I currently have two XJS. Mine which I have about 2x-3x into as you do (Due to someone else building the engine and doing my axle work) and a stock one I bought for 1000$. I use the stock one when mine is down for repairs.

Labor costs are ridiculous. Sure there is overhead and all but come on... Those guys doing the work certainly are not making that much... Trust me, I know! I feel bad knowing that myself, as a steel worker, running a CNC machine and not doing all that much work (Almost everything is too heavy to lift by hand) am costing someone 85$ an hour. Then again, we are employee owned so.. not really :)

Got off on a tangent there... My point is, if you do love your Jeep, buy another one for cheap as a spare (or any cheap car.) Do the work yourself and not only will it cost you 1/6th of the cost, but you gain the experience. Just don't tell your friends or you will be pestered constantly. 99% of it can be done with very cheap tools. I still need to learn how to do gears... would save me money everytime something breaks.

I don't know what your initial cost for your XJ was, but in repairs you're shelling out $166 a month over 5 years or $209 a month over 4 years. I'm not sure what your insurance costs are either.

Now if you buy something else will you be making payments? If you're making payments you'll need full coverage insurance, so insurance is likely to go up. So at $10k you'll have invested the repair costs of your XJ into a vehicle you don't have any history on. So really you have no idea if you'll be throwing more money at your next vehicle either.

I tell my customers this all the time, you know what you have and what you've put into your current vehicle. You don't know what you're going to get in a used car and what issues you might be dealing with. I trust used car lots about as far as I can toss an elephant, and this is coming from someone from within the industry. However, I also trust private sellers about the same as used car dealers. :rofl:

The sad thing is if you are going to unload it. you will probably not get more than 3k for it, 4k if it is clean enough. Then you will be rolling the dice if you replace it with another used vehicle.

A/c compressors are like 230 bucks at my work auto zone. Then u need to get the system vacumed out which most shops will do that for 100 bucks and theyll put refrigerant in too. Oh dont forget compresser oil too.

Lolz, you're in Jersey bro! Fak ac. Ya got another rig you can drive on the hot days. Just roll with it and turn the ac into OBA.