I need some thoughts from you Jeep owners

[82brutus]

I have to find a replacement vehicle for my son and the first choice for a vehicle appears to be somewhat out the window (we were looking for another Honda CR-V). 

So now, I'm expanding my search and I've come across a 2002 Jeep Liberty 126K miles and a 2001 Jeep Cherokee 143K miles in the price range I'm looking for and that are in town or at least close enough to go take a look at.  I have just started doing some online research on them and reading different reviews.  Thought I might ask for some opinions from you guys.

Any of you Jeep guys got a thought on either of these?  (Repair histories, gas mileage, comfort, etc.)

[Syph007]

Im a honda CR-V fan too, great cars Ive had one for a few yrs now that was 2nd hand and not a single dollar spent on repairs.

When I was looking at other cars before I found the consumer guide thing handy.

For your Liberty

http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/2002-to-2007-jeep-liberty-2.htm

For your Cherokee

http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/1997-to-2001-jeep-cherokee-2.htm

[ryan1835]

is it even worth buying a car with that many miles on it?  no idea how long jeeps last

[Grant Lamontagne]

For a guy with less than a year behind the wheel I'd think mileage wouldn't be a discussion you'd want to jump in on!

While the Liberty is a nice truck in it's own right I would opt for the Cherokee since it's basically a longer hard top Wrangler which means your sin can learn a lot under the hood. Additionally they are pretty simple and bullet proof so I'd say it's a safer bet.  By the same token the Liberty is less likely to have been used terribly hard, but even so I'd stick with the Cherokee. For the record I'm about to roll my TI Wrangler over to 146,000 and it has yet to have a serious issue. It may creak and vibrate but it's a solid truck and the Cherokee was made of the same stuff.  I've seen Jeeps well over 200,000 miles still on the road.

Def

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2

[ryan1835]

well my cars done 122,000! haha!

[jzmtl]

If I recall, the cherokee's crash rating isn't that hot. I think the cherokee's engine is the same as TJ's, which is pretty old design, gulps gas and not that great on highway, however very solid.

Liberty will be a much better road car/commuter since that's what it's designed for.

[jerseydevil]

I had a 1990 Cherokee with the inline 6 that I loved.  In terms of mileage on it, it had 102k when I got it, and 195k when I sold it.  It sill ran like a champ, only needing regular maintenance.  Gas mileage wasn't the best, true.  It still beat the heck out of my '82 Caprice with a 396 V-8..... When I had the Caprice, though, gas was 79-80 cents a gallon.  Even with a 25 gallon tank it was cheap to fill.  I remember the first time I took it to college upstate New York and complaining that gas was $1 a gallon!    Ah, the good old days......

[Grant Lamontagne]

If I recall, the cherokee's crash rating isn't that hot. I think the cherokee's engine is the same as TJ's, which is pretty old design, gulps gas and not that great on highway, however very solid.

Liberty will be a much better road car/commuter since that's what it's designed for.

I agree that the Liberty would be a better choice, but only if it was newer.  When it comes to an older car I'd personally rather have something simpler.  Plus, I think this one is from the very early days of the Liberty, and so I'm not certain I would want to get the first model year of anything.

well my cars done 122,000! haha!

Yes, but I doubt they are all yours!   

Def

[82brutus]

If I recall, the cherokee's crash rating isn't that hot. I think the cherokee's engine is the same as TJ's, which is pretty old design, gulps gas and not that great on highway, however very solid.

Liberty will be a much better road car/commuter since that's what it's designed for.

I agree that the Liberty would be a better choice, but only if it was newer.  When it comes to an older car I'd personally rather have something simpler.  Plus, I think this one is from the very early days of the Liberty, and so I'm not certain I would want to get the first model year of anything.

Well, my son went and test drove the Liberty and it pulled horribly to one side.  The sales guy said he had just got it in as a trade in and hadn't driven it, which sounds suspiciously like a lie.  There were quite a few recalls on the Liberty, one in particular was a problem with the bearings and in this case the bearing unit is a sealed unit which costs $250-$300 and that doesn't sound like a good deal at all.   I may keep my eyes open though for a newer liberty because it was comparable in size.  But mpg was lower than a CR-V, but overall he did still like it. 

Drove by and looked at the Cherokee and it wasn't all that great close up.  I did check the safety rating and it wasn't as good.  But, everything I read on the straight 6 was very favorable and I think reliability would compensate some for the higher cost of gas.  I might have to go back when they are open and test drive it.

I'll have to keep my eyes open for other liberty or cherokee along with the CR-V when I'm searching on the internet.   

Im a honda CR-V fan too, great cars Ive had one for a few yrs now that was 2nd hand and not a single dollar spent on repairs.

When I was looking at other cars before I found the consumer guide thing handy.

Yes, this was a very handy website!

Thanks for all the comments! 

[Beerplumber]

I had a Cherokee before as well. I really like the 4.0 l6. I can't remember what year mine was. I think it was an '01 or '02   I didn't have any issues with it and really liked it. As far as mileage goes I'm pretty biased as I've had vehicles much worse so anything looks better. A friend of mine drove a Libby for a couple years but it was in good shape and low-ish kilometers on it. I don't remember him having any issues though. I absolutely love my wrangler and wouldn't trade it for the world. Crash rating is probably not stellar but it depreciates at a snails pace and my insurance is the lowest I've ever had. My rate dropped $50 and now pay $110 a month. Friggin' amazing where it can go, haven't gotten stuck yet and scraped the under carriage only once. Also you can't put a price on the camaraderie you get with other Jeepers. People wave and always stop to ask if you need help if your pulled over. Good luck whatever you choose, I've always heard good things about CR-V's as well!


Stay multi my friends

[jzmtl]

There were quite a few recalls on the Liberty, one in particular was a problem with the bearings and in this case the bearing unit is a sealed unit which costs $250-$300 and that doesn't sound like a good deal at all.   

If there was a recall, they should still fix it for free. Have the VIN and email/call Chrysler to ask.

[dks]

I love the idea of having a Jeep or a Land rover, I really do, but in the end I buy German or Japanese..

[Beerplumber]

I love the idea of having a Jeep or a Land rover, I really do, but in the end I buy German or Japanese..

The 2012's have Mercedes engines under the hood for you! Pentastar baby yeah! 285 ponies woot!


Stay multi my friends

[dks]

Reminds me of the SSansyong "powered by Merc" models... ofcourse, I am a real Merc man (old ones..)

[ryan1835]

well my cars done 122,000! haha!

Yes, but I doubt they are all yours!   

Def

true but i was interested in seeing how long these lasted hence asking the questions, at the moment at work im putting 800- 100 miles on my van a week 

[Grant Lamontagne]

I love the idea of having a Jeep or a Land rover, I really do, but in the end I buy German or Japanese..

German cars and American trucks.... mostly because I can't afford German trucks! 

Def

[dks]

The G-Wagon is good, but off road, last time I compared (which was a few decades back I think..) the Land Rover and the Japanese 4x4s could kick its behind easily at least at climbing.. Heavy and stiff, in standard spec, with skinny tyres..

Now the Unimog..... 

[derekmac]

I think it's hard to beat a Jeep Wrangler!  Being able to take the doors and top off and go cruising around would be great!  We want a Wrangler, but with towing a trailer, we went with a Grand Cherokee.  It's still a Jeep, capable offroad, but much more comfortable on.  Ours is a 2002 with the 4.7 V8, with over 207,000kms on it and it runs great. 

We just got back from a camping trip, first long one with the Jeep as a tow vehicle, and it ran great!  You could hardy tell there was a 3500lb trailer behind us.  If you decide to look at the Grands, I'd recommend getting the V8.  The 4.0 is a little under powered for a Grand, and I don't think you'd notice and worse fuel milage with the V8 as it doesn't have to work as hard.

[82brutus]

As it turns out my brother has an older cherokee with the inline six that  he may be selling and I may end up buying.  The rest of the ones I've been scoping around town have all been pretty messed up and overpriced.  Apparently with the recent "cash for clunkers" deal, there's a ridiculous shortage of used cars so the prices are up there unless you are into gold colored buicks or lincolns.

Thanks for being a great sounding board!


Sent from my MB860

[Grant Lamontagne]

No problem- for what little help I was able to give!

Make sure to post pics of teh Cherokee when you pick it up.  One of the great things about the Cherokee is that there are lots of aftermarket options to really help personalize it.  They may have all come out of the factory looking the same but very few stayed that way! 

Def