Thinking of buying a XJ jeep.

[Raf_C]

Hey all, new to the forum!

i'm in the market for a cheap 4x4, the 1997 cherokee TD 2.5 Manual is what has grabbed my attention, and seems to fit my needs.

i have a few questions that i hope havent been asked too many times before!!

are parts for this model very hard/expensive to buy? my old man is a LandCruiser man and thinks i should get a LC or Patrol instead because out in the bush i wont find parts for a jeep??

what should i look out for when buying this model?

what is the avg. fuel consumption?

any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[Raf_C]

what price should i expect to pay?

i've seen one for $5000 which needs a power steer pump replaced, should i keep away from it?

[harryoner]

Hey mate i'm in the same boat as you're, it's either a TJ or an XJ. From what i have heard there is a bit of a stigma about the availability of Jeep parts, sure you might find a few more cruiser parts around but you shouldn't have too much of a problem. Also jeep parts seem to be pretty reasonable from what i have heard, and as for mods sky is the limit with a jeep, or the limit of your back pocket at least.

Yeah i have been seeing all sorts of XJ's for bloody peanuts, i really wonder why? Sometimes if it sounds too good to be true then it usually is, however with the amount of cheap XJ's around it really begs the question of wether all the cheap ones are bad?

[Breyten]

If you are after cheap, I'd steer away from the TD. I have one myself, and while they are great, if you break it, not so nice.

Alot of them are cheaper because there is no demand, and they weren't as high in price to begin with.
Think, you're getting a 4WD system same (or better) than an LC or Patrol, in a body 2/3rds the size.
Also, cosmetically the design was a bit old.

Unfortunately with the XJ, Auto=Petrol, Manual=Diesel
The diesel is great, but if you cook the heads or blow the gasket, call the flatbed. It wasn't a main venture with these, so even some Jeep specialists just look at you funny.

[hillsjeep]

There have been a few disasters reported on here about diesel XJs where repairs cost about $10k, but it would be interesting to hear how many own them and not had any major issues. Hopefully its only a very small minority that have had this type of problem, but I must admit it has scared me off them.

[Ando_13]

How far out bush you planning on going? You don't find to many dealerships of any brand in the middle of no where, thebiggest advantage of the LC/Patro, is the fact that most other travellers in the remote areas havethis cars and can bum spares of of them. Other than that plenty of Jeep specialists in Oz can get parts delivered fast to weird places.

I'd rather be bashing a 5k vehocle around the bush rather than a 30k vehicle, when shite breaks, obviously it wasn;t strong enough so replace with aftermarket stronger stuff (plenty of goodies avail from US fabricators).

[Gildo]

Buy mine!
DONT BUY A DIESEL.....