OK, Who has owned a Jeep?

[GSXTacy]

I'm thinking about getting a used 2002 Jeep grand cherokee laredo, 60K miles. The price is right for me. I have heard from one source that the jeeps suck. Weak drivetrain and tons of electrical issues. I'm torn here, I have heard nothing but good about them. The vehicle does have a 2 year drivetrain warranty. Has anyone owned one of these jeeps. What are your thoughts? Thanks

 

[dinoap]

We have a 2001 Grand Cherokee and it does have electrical issues among a lot of strange noises. We've had 2 over the years and I have never had any luck with newer jeeps

. I have a 1970 CJ5 and it has never let me down.....ever

. Somewhere along the way they fired all their QC guys. Just my experience.

 

[xzvs]

I worked for Jeep for 14 years -- ending in 97 . So i can't speak to a 2002 model . The 90 grand cherokees has a/c problems -- most notably leaking evap cores. But as the electrical guy I saw no issues with the 90's models. I bought an 02 chevy truck and it was freakin great tho (avalanche)

 

[06BUSA]

Mother inlaw has one. No problems for her other then the heater quit working on the driver side. There is a easy fix for that when it happens. Dealer will charge 900-1200 for the job. You can repair it yourself for 150 and a hour of your time. And it wont fail again with the heater treater. Thats the name of the fix.

 

[jch364]

My girl friend has that exact vehicle down to the year. It is a straight 6. power every thing. It has 83k miles on it now. Over all its been a good vehicle. it has a ticking in the motor now and has since about 60k. i think its a valve issue. i think its because she didnt change the oil on time before we met. I think it got sludged up and scorched a little. Thats her fault for not getting the oil changed regularly. Other then that it has been a good vehicle so far. No other problems. Changing plugs are a pain cause you gotta remove the fuel rail i think but thats the hardest thing to deal with on regular maint. Its got enough power to get out of its own way. gets about 16/21 or so. not great but it is an suv after all... hope this helps.

 

[saygbye]

ive got a friend who has a jeep cheroke? the one that is similar to a ford explorer. anywho it has over 250K on it and i think he has changed the oil once. it cranks every time he turns the key

1 tough piece of equipment IMO

 

[Bosshound]

Had a 2002 Overland. Made a lot of Noises in the Front End. 4 Wheel Drive SUCKED !!!! Got Rid of it Quick. Jeep Quality with Mileage really Sucks !!!!!!!!!! Sorry

 

[standiggity]

personally owned a 98 Cherokee Classic.. gave it to my mom last year... Still Runs,.. only hast a flat spot in the tires from when it sat through my deployment to Iraq.. and the headliner falling from never rolling the windows up when I drove.
Friend has the grand cherokee with the V8... bad little SUV.. she drives it like a mad woman and it still runs perfect.. just has a check engine light on randomly (mine us to do that too).

 

[BlkDrgnZ28]

all my friends had years around those and they're trannies stopped or the transfer case went and just too much

 

[BigRod1300]

I've had several Jeeps; wranglers ( 90,94,97), cherokee ( 94, 2000), and 97 grand cherokee . Loved them all. All the wranglers where lifted to 35 inch tire...bad ass. The 97 model I sold with 136K miles and never had to fix nothing. The cherokee 2000 limited edition was sold with 118K miles ( had it since new ) and the first/only thing to go wrong was the day the guy picked it. The hood release handle...cable broke off.

 

[GSXTacy]

Thanks for the responses, I hope to here more.

 

[katman]

I curently own a '94 Grand Cherokee laredo 2 WD I have over 200,000 on it and it's still going strong. I plan on giveing it to my son when he is ready to drive. There were no out of the ordenary issues, just reg. maintanance. right now I need shocks and the head liner needs to be reglued. But all and all it's been a great reliable vehicle for me.

 

[VaBusa]

Mike's had several older model Jeeps, all the way back to a 1947 Willys that he really misses from time to time...

Latest Jeep is a 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee that we picked up used, fully loaded, 70,000 miles. We've had some issues with the vehicle, one of which took years to finally fix and it wasn't cheap, but I'd say that was more an issue with our mechanic than the Jeep itself. We had a compressor go on a trip back from FL years ago, but I think that's the biggest problem we've had. Last issue was a hole in the radiator, but that's just happenstance/normal wear and tear type of problem...

We love the Jeep! Great for road trips

 

[GSXcite]

Even though your "source" has very little automotive experience and knows very little about cars in general, by all means buy what you want and what makes you happy. Your "source" however will not be fielding any what do you think is wrong with this POS questions!

 

[VaBusa]

Even though your "source" has very little automotive experience and knows very little about cars in general, by all means buy what you want and what makes you happy. Your "source" however will not be fielding any what do you think is wrong with this POS questions!

You know, Hal took Flat VaBusa out car hunting just yesterday and she seemed very pleased...perhaps he can give you a hand.

 

[Rayabusa0818]

I had an 87 Wrangler...I still miss that thing

 

[Revlis]

I'm thinking about getting a used 2002 Jeep grand cherokee laredo, 60K miles. The price is right for me. I have heard from one source that the jeeps suck. Weak drivetrain and tons of electrical issues. I'm torn here, I have heard nothing but good about them. The vehicle does have a 2 year drivetrain warranty. Has anyone owned one of these jeeps. What are your thoughts? Thanks

No personal experiance, but what many of the others have said rings true. Especially for the Cherokee, it would seem that the CJs/Wrangler etc are largely immune or at least I've never heard any complaints.


We recently test drove the Commander (Pfft), the Compass (Pffft Pffft), and a Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited (Sorta Pffft). I dunno what is going on at Jeep, but somebody isn't paying any attention. So many little thing not right with the new vehicles when compared to the competition that it just doesn't make any sense.

I really wanted a Commander with a Hemi... But after a short drive, and fiddling with it for a little while it just doesn't add up, plastics, ergonomics, handling, all really sub par for the money when compared to even the Ford Explorer, 4-Runner, etc...


If I were going to buy a used High Mileage 4X4 SUV? It would be a Toyota 4-Runner all day without hesitation, it may cost a little more but worth it IMHO.