Did y'all get your xj for looks or reliability and offroad capability?

cheap, reliable, solid I6 power, all weather, room for stuff and people.

I came from the toyota side of 4x4's.... I gotta say, the jeep is an all around better vehicle. The 4.0 KILLS the 22RE in every category.... power obviously and reliability. the 22RE has timing chain and head gasket issues... fixable, sure but I wouldn't call those issues minor. the 4.0.... umm makes noises and leaks a little oil? I can put up with that.

on my second xj... first was wrecked by an idiot with a jag. the XJ saved my ass... 60 mph head on impact and walked (ok stumbled) away with a broken foot.
 
Long story, which I'll make short.

Back before this Club was formed, I wheeled with a bunch of local guys. It was an XJ group, but they let my Suzuki Sidekick hang with them. Even with 1" of lift, they were taking their Jeeps places that I simply could not go without a tug. At the time, Calmini didn't exist and a "Lift" was putting in a coil spacer and flipping the top Strut mounts, So I was "height limited". The opportunity to get a Jeep for $200 came up. It was an '85 5spd with a 2.8L. After a very basic $235 - 3" lift and a set of "All Purpose" tires, I was sold. Looks were not an issue. This unit was "Well Loved" and you could just about see though it from any angle, but it did the trick. That rig served me well, as did the one that followed it, and the one that followed it, and the one that followed it.

I found, as well as others have, that an XJ makes a decent Farm vehicle.
They also make a decent hunting vehicle. Dog, Gun, clothing, it all fits.
"Camper"-If you remove the bottom of the back seat, you can sleep in in the back comfortably.

All in all, it was a pretty decently designed platform; I just wish they left a place for the radios; atleast the Suzuki had a place for the radios ;)

-Ron
 
It was cheap, and it was my punishment for getting a speeding ticket.

My parents made me a deal. Get a scholarship, we'll get you a car up to the value of that scholarship. I got a Honda Prelude. 5 months later I got a ticket for 96 in a 55. So I lost the Prelude and was "downgraded" to a 2 door 2wd XJ. I totaled that one a few years later and it was several years down the road when I came across a decent 4wd 4 door XJ i could afford. Still have that one.
 
I got mine for looks, I was shopping for a K5 blazer, third gen bronco, or a wrangler. Then I ended up with a cherokee with severe rust issues. Whoops.

I only did dirt roads and silly shit I can do in 2wd now and thought I was awesome. Then I had to fix a leaky pinion seal and ended up signing up here... went to a meet and greet at lobsterdmb's place and was hooked.

I dumped that cherokee with the pinion seal still leaking, and found the new seal I bought for it in a box of parts a while ago. But you suckers are stuck with me now. :gee:
 
Mine was bought for several reasons....

1) decent mileage
2) maneuverability
3) 4wd
4) can haul a decent amount of stuff
5) price


I used my 1st one mainly for hunting, now I have 2, which are used for hunting and DD duties.
 
More passenger capacity than a small pick up
20mpg highway
Extensive aftermarket support
Extensive internet repair support
Timing chain
4wd

Always heard the 4.0 was rock solid and reliable.
 
My dad bought a 1987 XJ Limited back in 1992 with 66k miles on it. I was 2 years old at the time. We lived on a dirt road that was hardly plowed in the winter. Soon after buying the Jeep (his first 4x4), my dad bought a utility trailer. We regularly hauled wood, mulch, dirt, lawn equipment, rocks, helped people move, etc with that Jeep and it never missed a beat.

He had it 14 years and I learned to drive on it before he sold it. I grew to love that Jeep and wanted my own XJ. My first vehicle was a 1990 XJ Limited, and now I have my 2000. I like the classic styling of the XJ as well as the reliability. They are also fairly easy to fix.
 
I bought it for the sex appeal, chicks dig XJs.
 
50 years ago, I was around 12 years old, and delivered newspapers...one of my customers had a great Jeep that I would check out everyday that I saw it parked in his driveway. It had the wood siding. I promised myself to buy a Jeep someday. When I heard that Chrysler was going to stop making the XJ in 2001, I went out and purchased one brand new. It was the last one available on the lot at the local Chrysler dealership. I still own it... it has about 103,000 miles on it. I only drive it about 5K mles a year or less now. Now that I am almost 62 , I figure I will die before it does.
 
My first car was a 1989 XJ. From there is was all cherokees.
I simply love the idea of bringing friends and family into the mountains and wheeling in somewhere remote, with 4 people in the rig, fully loaded, and be able to make it there and back without any issues and spend a week there with all of our stuff.

Bringing all the guns, ammo, camping gear, ice chest, tools, dirt bike off the back of the thing off the trailer hitch, roof full of crap, and more than that with 2 people in the back seat and one up front.

You just can't do that with a wrangler or a scout-well maybe a scout but not when I was always running it with the top off. And in between XJs I had a couple of scouts - my old scout 800a and scout II were not as street friendly, crappy on road, carbureted, no a/c, all metal bare bones interiors, etc

don't get me wrong , scouts are cool(removable top, no smog, and very nostalgic) but I wanted more than 9 MPG, I wanted Fuel injection, I wanted cargo capacity and room for folks, smaller than a scout, and came back to the XJ and have had one ever since, I wanted something to drive safely on the road and just jump into the thing and go.
 
I bought my 89 2 dr. used in late 89. I had a friend that had a 87 and we used it for hunting trips. He never had a problem off road with it and it got better milage then the blazers and broncos. So I knew first hand that they were dependable, comfortable and reliable. I drove it daily for about ten years then my kid had it for the next 5 years. Together we put 225,000 miles on it with no major problems except the clutch needed replacing while the kid was driving it. Now its waiting for things to thaw out so I can drag it home so I can install the parts I have been collecting over the past few years. At first I didnt care for the looks but now it is a classic look.
 
Looks good for an SUV.
Honda like Reliability for an american made vehicle. (American made vehicles usually suck)
Famous Jeep offroad capability.
Huge aftermarket support.

Those are why i own an XJ.
 
reliability is the number one reason I own my 91 xj
price comfort and styling aren't far behind also the huge aftermarket support as well as internet repair help and of course the wonderful offroad capabilities :rof:
 
After being a passenger in my friend’s non-XJ's 4x4 I knew that I wanted to dust free and have a/c and heat. Now I can drive there and go every where my friend’s go and drive it home without putting it on a trailer.
Also I wanted a lifted 4x4 to see over So cal traffic.
 
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