Best Year for Grand Cherokee 99 to 03 ?
 

Hey All, I am planning to purchase a used Grand Cherokee ltd, anyone
have a thought on which is the best Year? I'm mostly interested in
reliabilty issues.I've noticed 3 or 4 different V8's thru those Years
any thoughts on the best one? Your comments will be appreciated. Thanks


J Kennedy
90 XJ ltd

I believe there's only the 4.7 liter overhead cam V-8, no
reliability issues I know of, other than the initial rotor/caliper
problem.
God Bless America, ßill O|||||||O
http://www.billhughes.com/

wrote:
>
> Hey All, I am planning to purchase a used Grand Cherokee ltd, anyone
> have a thought on which is the best Year? I'm mostly interested in
> reliabilty issues.I've noticed 3 or 4 different V8's thru those Years
> any thoughts on the best one? Your comments will be appreciated. Thanks
>
> J Kennedy
> 90 XJ ltd

the '93 thru'95's are the true AMC styling: I think the best looking.
Available for several years was the l960's chysler 318 cubic inch 8, a
reliable power plant. chrysler made a big deal (ha) out of its new aluminum
v-8, which was said to be much lighter. It was, by 50 pounds. Them
dummies. There weren't 3 or 4 8's, only 2. Chysler used the Nash/AMC
inline 6 for many years, and still has it in the wrangler. Good luck.
> wrote in message
oups.com...
> Hey All, I am planning to purchase a used Grand Cherokee ltd, anyone
> have a thought on which is the best Year? I'm mostly interested in
> reliabilty issues.I've noticed 3 or 4 different V8's thru those Years
> any thoughts on the best one? Your comments will be appreciated. Thanks
>
>
> J Kennedy
> 90 XJ ltd
>

I have an 01 GC ltd. The 4.7 liter engine mated with a five speed
automatic gives you a smooth ride, good economy (about as good as my
Cherokee with a straight six). The air conditioner runs a lot quieter
on the v8.

The issue so far has been the rotor/caliper that Bill mentions. It is
not covered under warranty and cost me $250 for the front brakes while
I was on a trip.

For my money, I always thought the 98 GC was a vintage year. But they
are getting a little old now.

A few things that I was disappointed with on my 01 is for money, DC's
quality control needs a lot of fine tuning. Some particles dried in
the paint. Body moulding, such as the external lettering is badly
peeling and the silver coloring is wearing off exposing the black
coloring under surface. Aluminum rims corroding. Tire replacement at
around 30,000 miles cost me over $700. Not a big deal, but also not
something you would expect from a vehicle carrying a $39,000 sticker
price.

However, I got mine with as demo with 6,000 miles and some hale damage
for about $27,000 in 2001.

I did get the chrysler extended warranty for another $1,000, with a
7/100000 and have made use of it to replace the rear axle seals on both
sides.

Larry

Thanks all for your replys.

attnews proclaimed:

> the '93 thru'95's are the true AMC styling: I think the best looking.

The 93-98 were all ZJ's on this side of the pond.

> Available for several years was the l960's chysler 318 cubic inch 8, a
> reliable power plant. chrysler made a big deal (ha) out of its new aluminum
> v-8, which was said to be much lighter. It was, by 50 pounds. Them
> dummies. There weren't 3 or 4 8's, only 2. Chysler used the Nash/AMC
> inline 6 for many years, and still has it in the wrangler. Good luck.

The 4.0 is a fuel injected variant of the old AMC 6, not overly flashy
but tougher than a 50 year old rooster. The V8's tend to be rather
popular, the 5.2 has pretty good performance due to power to weight
and the 5.9 V8 in the final year was faster to 30 than the Hemi and
not that much slower to 60 than the current Hemi.

Previous owner care is critical. Have a knowledgeable jeep mechanic
pop it into the air and see how well the engine, transfer case,
transmission, and axles have been maintained. Heavy use isn't a
big deal, just neglect.