I'll add my two cents to this one, as well.

I've had two. My first was an '87 Laredo, 4.0 automatic, a hand-me-down from my dad. That Jeep had all kinds of issues, because he'd thrashed it... front end was weird, the floor was practically nonexistent, the exhaust fell out and you couldn't drive for more than a few minutes without leaving bolts and screws rattling around on the ground behind you. And yet it started each and every time, and I never had a problem trusting it to get me where I was going.

Now I've got a '93 base model, also with the 4.0 and also with the automatic. It had 190,000 miles when I got it, and in the six months I've had it I have put on an addition 17,000 miles (I have a hell of a commute). I've had some work done to it; I've overhauled the cooling system, rebuilt the rear differential and so forth, but it has, again, never not started and I have not had any issues with it not getting me where I was going.

Like others said... if you treat it nice, it'll treat you nice. I use mine as a daily driver, and I do some light wheeling with it (that is, on dirt roads and trails... I'm not climbing mountains or fording mud holes).

So yeah... I'd say they're pretty reliable.

 

I would like to add also, that the " You know you drive an XJ when" thread shows the XJs charm. Don't let it scare you away from them. LoL