Hello everyone, I'm a Jeep fan who has lived in Raleigh, NC since 1996. I just picked up my second Jeep. I'd previously owned a Liberty, but my wife and I didn't really like it as a family vehicle, so we got rid of it.

My current Jeep was just delivered today. It is a 1997 Grand Cherokee Laredo in the 4x4 flavor with about 163k miles. I picked it up from Co-Part and I probably paid a little too much, as I didn't count on some of the fees and got a little carried away in the bidding. Still, it runs and drives and it was cheaper than any of the running and driving ZJs on Craigslist.

The salvage title isn't going to bother me as this Jeep is going to be a tow vehicle for my boat and a beach buggy. I've no plans to lift it or do anything beyond getting it into a state where I'll trust it towing my boat the 3.5 hours or so to the beach. It was totaled with some interior burn damage. Apparently somebody put a spotlight on the passenger seat and it caught on fire. The toasted seat and the resulting smoke damage was enough for it to be declared a loss. However, that means that somebody was using it right up until the seat got a bit too hot, and aside from a bit of underbody rust, it is in pretty good shape.

The immediate plans are to replace the seat and the catalytic converter. I'm also going to give the interior a really good cleaning, because it's smoky and a bit of a mess. It also is going to need tires in the very near future. Depending on what other maintenance it needs, I'd also like to do a bit of suspension work, as the current setup is *soft*.

Here is a picture of the toasted seat and the melted spotlight that caused it:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8117874@N07/7006803407/
Here is an exterior shot:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8117874@N07/7006803509/

 

Have to love coparts fees!

 

Hey Brett, Welcome to CF. Looks good though.

 

Welcome to the forum! I lived in the same place as you from like 97-00