Im am going to look at and test drive a 96 cherokee country on saturday and what should I look for when I drive it and look around it?

 

outside Checklist:
- visual steering component wear
- valve cover gasket leak(common)
-rocker rust
-rust on the inside of the seam where the floor panel and the body metal meet at the bottom(kinda confusing but just feel the inside of the seam u'll know what I'm talking about.)

Driving checklist:
test 2wd 4hi and 4low
shifts should be smooth
Steering should be responsive with very little play in the wheel
Try hitting a good bump at 35mph+ to make sure it don't get deathwobble
if it has power options, make sure the windows work!
other than that the obvious stuff.

finally: make sure you really like it when you buy it!
it will be like a marriage... You better love it a whole hell of a lot cuzz somedays it will drive u insaine!

Gl

 

The '96 is a good year, look for rust of course. If you don't know much about the xj certain options are better like 4.0l engine and Chrysler 8.25 rear axle.

 

Yeah you really need to make sure the 4wd works, just find a steep ditch and maybe alittle mud and try that sucker out but just dont tear it up. lol

 

Thanks for all the responses. Test drove it today. Bought it today. Brought it home today. My first car. They people we bought it from only wanted 1500 for it. Great deal for it. AC works great. 4wheel works great. It had a bad battery.But i dont really care I got a great car. I do have once question. Its like it has such a thick layer of dust on it when it dries after a rinse it looks like its still very dirty. The jeep is blue green but when it dries some parts like the roof look gray. Anyone know what might cause this. Thanks

 

I would think a really good wax (Meguires Gold class or above) will take care of that, that is, if the roof is not oxidized beyond redemption or repainted. Before you apply that wax, use a good claybar (lotsa effort, lotsa results). Some will tell you claybar is too much effort. Some will also have vehicles with inferior shine. Make your choice.
Based on the photo, i don't see anything drastically wrong with the paint job.
It's your first car - pour much love and sweat into it and you can't go wrong!!!

 

I will. On the hood some paint is chipping off, but im getting that fixed soon. Its got 216k miles on it so I hope it lasts for awhile.

 

Go to the dealer, and see if they have a paint bottle that matches your paint code (take your VIN) and touch that up before applying anything. Since it's a '96, it may not match exactly (new versus 15 years of fading) but it will be better than a bald spot. Or, you could have it repainted entirely. Maaco does a good job from what I hear, and you could turn it into whatever color you want.
Once all that is finished, be sure to claybar/wax it at least once or twice a year. Those habits, once started, are what separates 'car guys' from 'point a to b' types. Being from the Motor City, I wanna start a newbie out on the correct path.
Happy Trails!!!