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Best truck/SUV for the money?


Gilliangirl

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Got in late on the thread.... but seems like most are steering you in the right direction. I'd strongly recommend a Jeep with a 4.0 inline six cyl. You can get a decent Cherokee or even a Grand Cherokee for 1-2K.

 

I was an auto technician for 17 years for a living and in my experience the 4.0L six cylinder is one of the toughest no nonsense engines out there. The only thing I'd pay close attention to would be the transmissions in any of them you check out (jeep). I'd ask to see any maintenance records that the seller may have. It wouldn't be a bad idea to carry the vehicle you're interested in to a reputable shop and have someone look it over. Even if you have to pay a little it may be better than getting stuck with a "pig in a poke" so to speak.

 

I've owned a 94 Grand Cherokee since 98 and have got 275,000 miles on it with only general maintenance items repaired/replaced in it's life

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are you mechanically inclined at all ?

No, not really. I can change a flat tire, change a battery, oil the throttle in my Rx7's (they're always sticking) but that's about it. I used to have a '66 Chev Caprice that I could change the oil in but engines don't look like that anymore.

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Got in late on the thread.... but seems like most are steering you in the right direction. I'd strongly recommend a Jeep with a 4.0 inline six cyl. You can get a decent Cherokee or even a Grand Cherokee for 1-2K.

 

I was an auto technician for 17 years for a living and in my experience the 4.0L six cylinder is one of the toughest no nonsense engines out there. The only thing I'd pay close attention to would be the transmissions in any of them you check out (jeep). I'd ask to see any maintenance records that the seller may have. It wouldn't be a bad idea to carry the vehicle you're interested in to a reputable shop and have someone look it over. Even if you have to pay a little it may be better than getting stuck with a "pig in a poke" so to speak.

 

I've owned a 94 Grand Cherokee since 98 and have got 275' date='000 miles on it with only general maintenance items repaired/replaced in it's life[/quote']

Thank you Danb. I will definitely take the potential purchase in for a check before I buy.

 

Btw, the pick up line in your sig made me howl with laughter! Thanks for that :-)

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When These are under a Foot of Snow

 

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I jump in This

 

000_5099.jpg

 

They are Great. Mine is a 3/4 Ton with a 40 Gal Tank Front and Rear Heat and A/C with a 3rd Seat

 

That Comes out and the other Folds Down and a Full Sheet of Drywall Slides Right in the Back.

 

If I pull a Boat or a Race Car or If I'm not Pulling nothing it Gets 14-16mpg.

 

The 1/2 ton Models with 700R4 Overdrive Tranny Gets About 18-22mpg

 

and Any From 1988 to about 1998 can be Had right now for under 3 grand.

 

So I'd Say Suburban

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I have the grand cherokee with an 8. It gets good mileage and is maybe a little better in the snow but geeze, the maintenance costs are horrid and I don't have time to mess with it and the dozen computers that keep it going.

 

Heater went bad. It cost around 1,200 by the time it got fixed right.

 

The simpler the better. Roommate's 6 banger is simple. Runs great with around 90K. There I love that 4 liter 6. The auto transmission and xfer box have been no problems at all. The fuel injection versions seem to be better starting at least down to -20-25 F. Below that you need the engine heater, but you know that. <grin>

 

Roommate a coupla years ago pushed hers thru 2 1/2 feet of new snow and actually got back out. I wouldn't recommend it, but that ain't bad for a light suv.

 

Honestly, if I were talking the cash you're talking, the 2-4 wheel ability and short turning radius, balance, etc., and the fact that at least relatively shorter girls tend to prefer the lower seating in the Cherokee body over the higher fancier Jeeps/pickups...

 

What the heck. I have a lady friend who is a rural mail carrier. Her's has a cupla hundred thousand on it, she's over 70 and feels quite comfortable driving it in stuff I don't care much for myself... She's often 4-8 miles from the closest ranchhouse, too.

 

m

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Another thing is that a car at that mileage is going to be due for a water pump find out if it's been replaced as well the thermostat. Alternator is due as well. If they cant prove recent replacement you may want to get it done right away so you don't need to worry about them going out on you. A little prevention goes a long way. This is where doing it yourself comes in real handy. Parts aren't expensive it's the labor you pay for.

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So far this is the best deal I've found. He doesn't say if it's a V6 or V8. The problem up here too is that any vehicle over 10 years old requires a safety inspection to be on the road legally. That can get expensive.

http://calgary.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-SUVs-trucks-vans-SUV-crossover-1995-Jeep-Grand-Cherokee-LE-W0QQAdIdZ160372137

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looks well taken care of my issue would be why a new trans a 100K thats a bit early for a jeep. I have found that for some reason that body style jeep seem to have trans problems. Why I don't know but I've seen a lot of them. You would do yourself a favor to get the older squarer body style jeep. I've owned several Cherokee's and never ever had a trans problem they were all the other body style.

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Mick...

 

Yupper. We've got one each. Mile for mile, fewer problems in the little "square" cherokee. The bigger fancier grand cherokee some more problems.

 

Karen...

 

At family gatherings Mom's house looks like a Jeep dealership. The later Grand Cherokees haven't had so much apparent tranny problems the past three or four years for our family, but then - my brother and his boys ended up getting rid of their sleds and sled trailers 'cuz we went so long without snow.

 

I wonder if the tranny problems with the full time 4wd transmichigans may have come from lotza trailer pulling???? I dunno, just asking.

 

Yeah, Karen, the dollars don't sound bad on the bigger outfit, but if you were my little sis, I'd recommend looking for the smaller jeep versions like the old Cherokee... You still can put in four or more square bales, a good-size feed bag and a guitar. <chortle>

 

Of course, if you knew my little sis (who's 62... where have it gone!??), you'd end up doing kinda what you felt best regardless. She drives a GM SUV down in Texas. But then - she's half forgotten what snow is, too. <huge grin>

 

m

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looks well taken care of my issue would be why a new trans a 100K thats a bit early for a jeep. I have found that for some reason that body style jeep seem to have trans problems. Why I don't know but I've seen a lot of them. You would do yourself a favor to get the older squarer body style jeep. I've owned several Cherokee's and never ever had a trans problem they were all the other body style.

Yeah, I wondered about that too. But that one is the square style tho', isn't it? This buying-a-used-vehicle thing is scary.

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Karen...

 

Snow... that's why my li'l sis talks my Mom into Texas for a month or so in winter. <grin>

 

But think of it this way: Snow's nasty, but it helps keep the bugs and riff-raff out.

 

Seriously, I do agree that if you could find a good instance of the old, "square" cherokee, not the "grand cherokee," you'd likely be happier. I've got both.

 

m

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Yeah' date=' I wondered about that too. But that one is the square style tho', isn't it? This buying-a-used-vehicle thing is scary.

[/quote']

no thats the later rounder style in that link. which is why I'm not really surprised by the trans replacement.

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When Chrysler took over the Jeep line from AMC late 80's early 90's they made changes. Shortly afterwards they introduced the Grand Cherokee and also changed from the AMC installed Asian Warner AW-4 automatic transmission to Chrysler trannies. The Chrysler transmissions are the ones that tend to fail (usually within the first 100,000 miles) To my knowledge most of the regular Cherokee line still used the AW-4 which is a tough trans. and are the ones that you hear about going 300k + without problems.

 

Mine has the Chrysler trans in it. I knew of the problems so immediately when I bought mine (at around 50K) I installed the largest trans cooler I could fit in front of the radiator/condensor. No problems as of yet and it is driven 70-100 miles daily (275,000 miles) but i've seen a TON of them go bad.

 

I guess that 4x4's fetch a higher price where you live. Here in the southeast, you can find a mid to late 90's grand cherokee/regular cherokee with the kind of milage as the one you're lookin at for $1000-$2000 and a low mileage NICE one for around $3000.

 

If you do find a Grand Cherokee in that year range chances are it will already have had a trans change. If not it probably won't be long. Do make sure if you get one with a Chrysler trans that it does have an aftermarket transmission fluid cooler installed especially if you plan to pull a trailer. A hundred extra dollars can save you $1500-$2000 in trans repair. I've been told that a sticking check valve in the factory trans. fluid lines going to the factory fluid cooler is the main reason for failure and removing that and installing a larger cooler cures that. (worked for me!)

 

By all means if you have any doubts, let a reputable mechanic check it over BEFORE you buy. Most of the time they'll only charge $25-$50 and a lot of times if you do business with them nothing at all! You wouldn't believe the heartaches I've seen people experience who bought a car then had it checked over AFTER they bought it! :-k

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Danb, I wish you lived up here LOL That's good info to have, thank you. You guys have it good down there. The SUVs are very expensive up here, likely because we REALLY need them to get through winters where the snow can be 3 feet deep, the temperatures can be -50 C with a windchill. This is probably a bad time of year to be buying too because everyone's selling their sports cars and buying up the SUVs. If I don't find a good one, I'm going to have to give up on that horse, which I don't want to do. It's snowing right now and it's -8 C already. Woe is me.

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Jaxson, no, nothing like that. I'll be logging about 100 miles every weekend way out in the country to take care of a Standardbred mare. It's way out in the middle of nowhere (around where Ian Tyson lives.... Longview area) and I can't risk getting stranded, especially in our weather. People DIE up here when they get stranded in our weather.

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