Looking at a 97 Cherokee Sport today.....

[Black & Tan]

I'm looking at a 97 Cherokee Sport this afternoon with 109K miles. It's a 6-cylinder with stick shift. They're asking 5K....

What should I look for? What are the problem areas? I'm familiar with the 89 Cherokees, but a '97 is a brand new beast to me. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

thanks!!

 

[Lawn Cher']

Look for hard shifting if the improper gear lube has been used in the transmission.

 

[red91]

I'm looking at a 97 Cherokee Sport this afternoon with 109K miles. It's a 6-cylinder with stick shift. They're asking 5K....

What should I look for? What are the problem areas? I'm familiar with the 89 Cherokees, but a '97 is a brand new beast to me. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

thanks!!

lotsa guys saying door rust seems to be a problem. look for new kat. at 109k if theres not a new o2 sensor, and kat that could be spendy...

 

[Lawn Cher']

Speaking of the O2 sensor, a '97 will have 2, one by the exhaust manifold and one at the cat.

 

[red91]

Speaking of the O2 sensor, a '97 will have 2, one by the exhaust manifold and one at the cat.

yeah. When i did them on my wrangler, cost plus $10.00 was close to $170.00, not including the cat...ouch !

 

[Kejtar]

I'm looking at a 97 Cherokee Sport this afternoon with 109K miles. It's a 6-cylinder with stick shift. They're asking 5K....

What should I look for? What are the problem areas? I'm familiar with the 89 Cherokees, but a '97 is a brand new beast to me. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

thanks!!

water pump might be gong around that time so if it wasn't replaced yet... expect to. There is a lot of stuff that probably you'll have to do but the price sounds fair. I just paid slightly less then that for an automatic (but I'd rather have a stick shift!) SE trim (which is the lowest trim with NO extra goodies (I don't even have a light in the engine bay!!)

 

[Black & Tan]

Just got back from the test drive. Very clean. Tires should last through the winter, then need to be changed.

The only rust I saw was on the exhaust system...the brackets holding the muffler and the muffler itself (starting to flake). It turns out I was misinformed, there's 118,000 highway miles on the car, not 109K as I originally thought. I don't know how I feel about higher miles, though, even if they are highway.

The A/C was mildly cool, I believe it needs to be recharged. When I took it on the highway, I thought I heard a rattle noise from the engine compartment as I shifted from 3rd to 4th. I mentioned both of these to the owner and he will have a mechanic look at them tonight.

There is a transmission fluid leak at the junction of the transmission/driveshaft. Nothing major, just a drop.

Four-wheel drive worked well. The low setting has a LOT of torque. Practically leaped up the curb as I was driving it onto the grass. As far as noise, in four-wheel high, the overall noise was higher when I let off the gas as opposed to acceleration.

I will speak with the owner tomorrow to find out what the mechanic has said regarding the A/C and engine noise. The engine noise may be my imagination, as the 6 cylinders can be "ticky."

What do you guys think? Is it worth $5000? Are there any questions I need to ask?

 

[Black & Tan]

Oh yeah, shifting was very smooth and easy. Lighter and perhaps looser than my Mustang. That may be the norm, though...

 

[red91]

What do you guys think? Is it worth $5000? Are there any questions I need to ask?

Ask if he has all the maintenace records... This should tell you alot about its life. AND his mechanical ability.

Book should be about $5000.00, but I'd hit him at about $4400.00 and watch his face. If he plays poker you'll know, he shouldn't flinch. You should have to pay book value from anyone but a dealer, cause their main purpose in life is to screw the customer. ( in buying cars anyways... the parts guys are usually cool..)

 

[jneary]

if the a/c is low, that means it has a leak. if it is the evaporator, it can be costly. also check if he had any problems with the ducts switching positions. if he hasnt, and it needs an evap, the top half of the heater case should be replaced at the same time.

 

[Black & Tan]

Well...I looked at the Jeep again today, this time with a coworker. We did not hear any noise from the engine bay...it may have just beeen a fluke yesterday or a passing vehicle. The only new thing we noticed was a noise coming from the right front wheel, which disappeared upon depressing the brakes. The rotor looks good, so I'm thinking it may be the pad.

He had all the receipts, most (if not all) of the mechanical work was done by the dealer. The A/C issue was discovered last year but not repaired...the evaporator needs changing. The engine O2 sensor was done last year. Not sure about the exhaust O2 sensor. There is a new waterpump, installed within the month.

I suppose my only concern at this point is the color. Blue-violet. It will take some getting used to.

He dropped the price to $4500 due to the A/C, I offered him $4300. Will find out later today if he accepts...

 

[Lawn Cher']

I think that color was "Amethyst Pearlcoat" or something... fairly unusual.

 

[Black & Tan]

It's a little...bright. Not bad from a distance, somewhat disconcerting up close. It'll take some getting used to, almost all my cars have been black. Not intentionally, it just sort of worked out that way.

Color. Whoa....

 

[Black & Tan]

By the way, he accepted $4300. He'll take a look at the right front wheel brakes and charge the A/C.

;-)

 

[jneary]

the rotor is warped causing the pads to rub the knuckle constantly. it goes away when there is a load on the pads.
if the a/c leaks, it will need to be repaired eventually.

 

[Black & Tan]

Hmmm...warped rotor. Damn. I'm assuming it was caused by an impact wrench.
Maybe I can talk him into replacing it...

If the rotor is warped, is this a safety issue? I think it's safe to assume that the rubbing would marginally reduce my mileage.

Now I just need to teach my wife to drive standard. Should be fun....in her own words, "I'm a blonde."