15th Dec 2008, 19:37
I'm on my 3rd Jeep Cherokee.
Started with an 87 5 speed manual transmission. At 120K little things were falling apart (window cranks, shift lever knob etc.) but it ran great until a little old lady ran a stop light then eventually ran into me and totaled it.
From there 6 months later I found a 97' with 68K and drove her until it had 178K. Yeah it had a few problems (neutral safety switch was a hassle to figure out; replaced power steering box and other maintenance type repairs, but it never leaked oil or transmission fluid... great vehicle which I traded in a couple of months ago for a 2001 Jeep Cherokee with 45K. It's a 60 year anniversary edition black, nice wheels etc. Thing is, with so few miles I don't want to drive it, don't want to put too many miles on it (I will though)!!! Anyway, it's in great shape, couple of nicks here and there but I'm sure with the right care it will take me to 250K easily.
Jeep Cherokee... the question is why did they quit making them? No wonder the auto makers are in the shape they're in today with that type of decision. You still see a ton of these vehicles out there today... great vehicle.
3rd Jun 2008, 10:17
I bought a 1997 Jeep Cherokee Sport new. Changed the oil ahead of time with synthetics. Greased all the ball joints and the front drive shaft.
Only major failure was the switch on the transmission; it contains the back up light switch and tells the computer which speed you're in. It would not start. I removed the switch from transmission, cleaned and lubed the contacts, used an engine analyzer tool bought at Advance Auto (everybody needs one to check new vehicles with and reset the engine failure code). Also if this switch fails, your Jeep will not start or go on 4th gear overdrive.
Today is June 3 2008; almost 11 years of service out of the old girl and she is getting a new valve cover gasket. She has 147,000 taken care of miles. I love my Jeep she still looks new too. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one.