you should be able to get a stock '97-99 for around that price. just make sure it has less than or around 150k.

 

Bought my 99 XJ with 96k miles for 3400

 

Everyone knows that 96 was the best year for an XJ.Thats why they made and sold more 96s than any other year by far!

 

 

I would be careful buying anything Ex forest service. My Brother is a Forest service firefighter and the trucks they use are DESTROYED by the time they are sold at auction.

Cherokees are not used to fight fires and may be in better shape but definitly check them out first.

 

Just bought my 96 Cherokee Sport today for $3000. It only has 66k on it and it has no rust or bondo. it has some front end damage and the cat rattles (I'm taking care of both), but other than those two problems, it's a great Jeep. I'm waiting for my bumper to come in the mail from JCWhitney and once that is done i'll move on to probably getting it repainted because the finish that's on it right now is horrible. My deal was a once in a lifetiume type thing, but since i've been XJ shopping for almost a year now, I can tell you $3500 can probably get you an XJ with a very small amount of rust and 110-120k on the odometer.