So why are late 90s Grand Cherokees so cheap?

Helping out a buddy and was doing some searches for a cheap tow rig for him. On our local (DC) craigslist there are literally a couple dozen Grand Cherokees from the mid-90s to around 2000 for $1500-2500. Many of them look to be in excellent condition.

I know a good bit about XJs, but virtually nothing about the big brother. So why are these so cheap? Are they just junk at high miles? The V6 rated for 5k tow and the V8 rated for 7k - are they legitimate as tow rigs? Do they self-destruct when they get over 15 years old?

I'd steer clear of the V6 ones , but otherwise they're a pretty great value.

If your talking about the ZJ (93-98), there isn't a whole lot that's wrong with them, I have heard about trans issues, some electrical issues, but other than that they get mediocre gas mileage with the 4.0L, but get really bad mileage with the 5.2L and 5.9L. Otherwise, they're pretty stout.

If you're talking about the WJ (99-04), they have a lot of electrical gremlins, trans issues, and the 4.7L V8 has some issues.

Yeah, primarily ZJs on there. A few WJs, but all of them in that price range do indeed have trans issues it seems.

In reply to irish44j:

Well that would just be a question to ask the seller.

Honestly, you're looking at close to or around 20 years old for ZJs now. People would probably unload them cheap, they aren't going to retain their value very well.

What I have seen is that people have bought them new and then gave it to the kids to kids when they got their license, and then they don't need it anymore, because it's like a 3rd car that just sits in the driveway.

If you find some that are in awesome shape, they probably were taken care of well. They will pop up on CL quite often.

Supply and Demand... They were very popular when new and everyone bought them, therefore ample supply plus with cheap gas prices recently buyers are looking for newer SUV's

15-20 year old cars are pretty close to the bottom of their depreciation curve.

Speaking of ZJ Grand Cherokees, I'm supposed to be going to pick one up this afternoon, but the weather is not cooperating. I've been wondering if I should start a "Learn Me" thread.

It's a 4.0 Laredo, with out a lot of options.

Grands- Nightmarish HVAC systems. You have to drain the AC, remove dash, etc to get to the heater core. I believe them to have the crappy vacuum controlled vents, which are for s#!+, but if none of that matters, its workable

The typical JGC owners tended to be heavily on the deferred maintenance schedule.

HappyAndy wrote: Speaking of ZJ Grand Cherokees, I'm supposed to be going to pick one up this afternoon, but the weather is not cooperating. I've been wondering if I should start a "Learn Me" thread. It's a 4.0 Laredo, with out a lot of options.

Those are very good trucks. The 4.0 will leak oil, but the only leak I would warch is the rear main. It's a 2-piece seal, so pretty easy.

Trans sucks compared to XJ, they're more complicated and heavier than XJ.

Comfier though, and the weight thing can aid in towing.

But they don't have the following the XJ does, which is why they're so cheap.

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote: If your talking about the ZJ (93-98), there isn't a whole lot that's wrong with them, I have heard about trans issues, some electrical issues, but other than that they get mediocre gas mileage with the 4.0L, but get really bad mileage with the 5.2L and 5.9L. Otherwise, they're pretty stout. If you're talking about the WJ (99-04), they have a lot of electrical gremlins, trans issues, and the 4.7L V8 has some issues.

A friend of mine's Dad just replace his 4.7 last week in a 99 Grand Cherokee. The timing chain can not be replaced on those engines.

Most issues have been covered. I have had a few ZJ and WJ, as well as Xj's. ZJ will read like a truck. WJ is more car like. Cooling fans have issues and power window motors family frequently. Both are cheap and easy to repair. Stay away from the 4.7 V* 4.0 inline 6 is what you want. Front bushing tend to wear too though there are cheap fixes. Overall good vehicles for the money, but like SF1 says, no near the following of the legendary XJ.

BBC

WJ?

HVAC door issues. Wiring breaks in the door jambs. Window regulators frequently fail. Expensive cooling fan fails. Trans is not great (although not terrible). 4.7s have issues in some cases.

They arent terrible cars for DIYers but i would say they lean towards the bad side for non-DIYers.

chada75 wrote: The timing chain can not be replaced on those engines.

That's would be helpful news to Chrysler and all the tech's, including myself, that replaced them with regularity.

As for the rest, the grand models are like the soccer mom version of the XJ. Lots of fluff that breaks a lot. The blend door that breaks, typically with the dual zone electronic climate control, is a pain to fix but not insurmountable task. Rear axle seals leak if you look at them wrong, but can be fixed at home with use of a shop press for the bearings. Cooling fan, if you can get one of the recall fans from the dealer about 25% of the cost of OEM retail, it's not a big deal to fix once you move the radiator around for the PITA bolt you don't put back in. Cooling fan relays like to go kaput but make a hole under the headlight to get at it and be done in about a hour. There is more but this is the basic gist.....

I had a ZJ Laredo that was an absolute tank - 242 transfer case and the 4.0L. I think I was averaging around 22MPG on trips to Chicago, and it was always quite comfortable. From what I understand, the manual xfer case and the straight six is the way to go (obviously, the 4.0L is one of the best engines ever made); no shortage of power and none of the nightmares of the AWD Grand Cherokees. I miss that thing, I wish my buddy hadn't melted a piston on it.

Only bad side to the 4.0 ZJ's is the PCM. 96-98 is prone to solder failures. Otherwise cheap to maintain for DIY guy. Not as reliable as the XJ's but TONS better than the WJ's.

If you are going to modify it, the wheel well openings are larger than the XJ so larger tires are easier to accommodate, especially after trimming. Mine has only 4" of lift and 35's (after trimming, of course).

All V8's will be full time 4x4 unless a previous owner has swapped in a part time case when the viscous coupler wears out.

Just get a rust free XJ. You'll be happier in the long run. That is one car I regret selling.

I don't get the love for those things around here. I've owned a Cherokee and a Commanche, and they were both hateful buckets of crap, that also leaked oil and broke stuff all the time.

Do. Not. Like.

I have a 97 ZJ V6 4.0 named Otis. Original owner, 85,000 miles. I've done the brakes a few times, replaced one o2 sensor, one muffler, and one leaky radiator (which figures since I never change the coolant). I did the shocks, but mostly because I figured they were about timed out and there was a sale on Bilsteins. About due for another exhaust soon.

Drives a little better than a pick-up. Great turning radius. Brakes aren't exactly powerful or sensitive; I need to stomp hard and early. And for some reason, it steers like the alignment is in a permanent state of toe-out (it's not toed out; I checked a bunch of times).

It tows okay. At 5000 pounds, you're really at the edge of what you can sanely handle. 4,000 is more realistic for towing in the kind of traffic you run into around DC metro.

If you take out the front passenger seat and fold down the rear seat behind it, there's just enough room to sleep comfortably on an air mattress at one of the track campsites.

Because holy E36 M3 40s

There is a ZJ rolling around here with at least 35s on it. It has me tempted since I need something better on the 80mph freeway than my Wrangler.

Also, I have seen a 4L/5spd ZJ. ONCE. They made like 4 of them but they did make them.

atm92484 wrote: Just get a rust free XJ. You'll be happier in the long run. That is one car I regret selling.

Just a note: not for me. I've had XJs (sold when we got the 4Runner) and have a Sequoia for towing. I was asking mostly for a fellow racer looking for a cheap tow rig. I wouldn't have wanted to tow jack with my XJ though, personally.

We've got a 2000 GC V8 (aka WJ) that my wife bought new. Other than a master cylinder and some calipers, it's not needed any special repairs over 100k miles. Even when it was blowing cold air in the passenger's footwell, the problem was just a kicked-off hose and not the dreaded flapper door problem. It's needed rotors, pads, shocks and a battery but those are consumables.

It does have a weepy seal at the transfer case, has for years. It's not bad enough to fix.

I've used it for towing light cars on open trailers across the country, worked well enough for that. I've never hooked it up to the 16" enclosed, though. I wouldn't buy one for a dedicated tow rig. I'd go for something like an early Tundra, which is exactly what I did

There is a ZJ rolling around here with at least 35s on it. It has me tempted since I need something better on the 80mph freeway than my Wrangler.

I'm guessing you mean wind noise because other than that a ZJ has a very similar suspension to a TJ and i dont think that's a step forward from a JK as far as highway driving. I just dont see any old jeep with 35s being a 'good' highway vehicle.