Thinking of buying

[gaz9]

Hi all
I'm a current Jeep owner and lover and thinking of increasing the fleet to include a Commander for the growing family. I'd appreciate any info on pros and cons, petrol/diesel and so on and anything to look out for when looking at and driving second hand rigs.
Thanks I'm advance
Gaz

[gaz9]

Jeez this forum is a lot quieter than the XJ one! Anyways, test drove an 06 Limited today. First drive of a Commander and was suitably impressed with the 3.0L! Only complaint I have is the drivers seat is firkin uncomfortable! I am 100kgs and 6ft2 and found that the padding on the base was thin and the hard frame within the base ended up digging into my thigh. Is this a normal or unique to that car? I'd hate to buy one and end up hating it because of an uncomfortable seat of all things?

[timbotrog]

Find another for a test drive to compare the seat.

Also the 3.0 Merc CRD has been known to have problems with the "swirl motor". It would pay to do some research on the Grand Cherokee forums about it.

[LSE3.9]

I too like the look of the Commander to the point where I place it as one of the best looking Jeeps ever made. When making a buying decision 12 months ago i did my research and eventually decided not to buy one.

The main reason for this was the scarcity of the model in Australia. It wasn't a big seller and the possible delays in parts availability if broken down was a consideration combined with a general lack of mechanical knowledge of the car in the repair industry.

Re petrol or diesel. Given the diesel engine problems one reads about on the forums I would never contemplate owning a Jeep diesel and would prefer to tolerate the petrol running costs of a petrol powered car which in the Commanders case is the 5.7 litre V8. In the long run I think the petrol Commander may be overall cheaper to own than a diesel one.

Now the above is "my" common sense argument for not buying. My emotional argument for buying says that if this car [link below] was on offer when I was buying it would have been a close run thing as to whether it ended up in my drive way or not. Location in WA is a plus - no floods = reduced chance of it being a 'wet' car.

http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/de...ck&sort=~Price

Good luck with your decision and purchase.

[GPCDR]

Originally Posted by gaz9

Jeez this forum is a lot quieter than the XJ one! Anyways, test drove an 06 Limited today. First drive of a Commander and was suitably impressed with the 3.0L! Only complaint I have is the drivers seat is firkin uncomfortable! I am 100kgs and 6ft2 and found that the padding on the base was thin and the hard frame within the base ended up digging into my thigh. Is this a normal or unique to that car? I'd hate to buy one and end up hating it because of an uncomfortable seat of all things?

Yes they are known for their uncomfortable seats, unless your a jockey. Re-padding is in order.

[gaz9]

Thanks for the info guys!

[multihull]

I'm a car nut and had too many cars in my life to count. The XH Jeep Commander diesel is the BEST car I've ever owned. I've given this car hell since I bought it new in 2007. Just look at my photos and YouTube posting over this period. I've lost track of how many full on extreme 4x4 trips I've done, maybe over 100. I take it places that standard Patrols and Land Cruisers wouldn't go. It's as capable as any locked or double locked Patrol or Cruiser. My mates and fellow 4x4er's I trail with just can't believe how capable the car is and if I ever get hung up they all know it's got to be bad. It's also been the most reliable 4x4 in my group of 20 or so regular hard core club 4wders. I've only ever had one major fault that has happen due to fatigue because I have pushed the car so hard. (This did not stop the car but just left a tell tale noise so I knew it needed a repair and TLC.)
Parts are cheap as chips for Commander if you buy ex the USA however if you go to your local Jeep Dealership it'll cost you a fortune.
The 3 litre Merc diesel is mind blowing, strong and reliable. The swirl motor issue was a simple fix many years ago by changing a small seal on the plastic air intake pipe or fitting a Catch Can system to the engine breather. These Merc diesel are used in Merc Sprinter delivery vans all around the globe, Merc ML & GL' all wheel drives as well as many other Merc passenger models, Why because they're reliable, powerful & economical.