Why shouldn't I get a Jeep Grand Cherokee?
 

It is the tread of the month. Ask a miata forum what car I should get to supplement my miata.

What I need:
sub $18k (with sub 75k miles)
Newer-ish since I will be financing (spare me financial guidance about financing a car)
AWD/4wd
ground clearance (not major, but more than a sedan or hatchback offers)
Comfort
Reliable. I'm not looking for something that is going to start having electrical gremlins or transmission problems at 100kmiles. I don't want to work on this vehicle, I want to keep up with the maintenance and it last me 10years.

What will I be doing in this car:
Commuting to work
Using it to get into and out of the woods (currently my impreza gets me into the woods, but not up the mountain, this is where the additional ground clearance come in)
pulling small trailers (lawn mower, 4wheeler)

What vehicles i'm considering:
Jeep Grand Cherokee (2010+)
Subaru Forester
Subaru Outback (v6)
Volvo xc70 (would put a small lift to get the ground clearance I need)
Jeep Wrangler (on the fence about this, because they aren't that comfortable)

The only jeep worth a crap is the SRT6 or whatever.
Otherwise a forester xt would be way better at everything than a stupid jeep.

qft /thread

The forester was at the top of my list for a long time, but only in the last couple of days has it been passed by the Grand Cherokee.

Every time I start to get excited about the forester XT, I start looking at the subaru forester forums and get scared away with horror stories.

I'm also kind of tired of having an underpowered 4cylinder, so it kinds of rules out the standard forester.

What horror stories?

Have you read the Jeep horror stories? I mean, its a jeep.....That's a horror story right there

I'd gladly put up with even an underpowered, non turbo 4 banger quality product than a jeep. (think honda, toyota, acura, etc)

Just seems like I was reading thread after thread on some problem or the other. I would assume many of them are from maintenance issues and lack of, which worries me since I will be buying used.

I haven't looked into Jeeps issues yet.

This forester makes me want one, but i'm not as wild about the new body style as this style.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1381243903

My Parents got a 2008 Jeep GC CRD Diesel a few months ago.

The 3.0L CRD Diesel is an awesome engine and the Jeep gets over 30mpg on Hwy it can also tow as much as my 5.3L Silverado which is pretty cool.

I believe they didn't start offering the Grand Cherokee in diesel in the US until recent years, 2013 I believe, unfortunately that would put it out of my price range

Toyota 4Runner or Highlander, depending on what's available in your price range.

"But they are so much more expensive than a comparable year and mileage Jeep!" you might protest. There are important and valid reasons for that.

Why not? Because Jeeps are crap. On paper, they look like decent vehicles. In reality, they have known issues that Jeep refuses to fix, model year after model year. The web is full of Jeep problems. Wish I'd done more research before buying.

I had a Liberty. It rusted from the roof down! I also rusted underneath. So, body looked decent, but rusted on the top and bottom. Rear window hinges were about to break free when I finally ditched it. All the lines underneath had to be replaced (tranny, brake, gas) before I could get rid of it.

It stalled out while going 60+MPH in rush hour traffic. Not fun, let me tell you. Turns out, it was a known issue with crank sensors. But no one had died yet, so Jeep wouldn't fix it. Cheap repair for a DIY, but dealer costs were out of hand. Later on, all three cats had to be replaced. You guessed it, known issue. Luckily, it was still under the 80k mile cap, so Chrysler had to eat it.

Window regulators broke. Yup, known issue. So much so, that dealers were required to replace them free if customer had had repairs before. But it was simply a cheap plastic part that failed, and you could get steel replacements on eBay much cheaper than the entire mechanism. Cost was cheap if you could DIY, but most people don't fix things like that.

Bottom line: lousy mileage, crappy handling. Sure, it had stump pulling torque, but when do you really need that? My Toyota has a bigger engine, better mileage, better acceleration and braking and more towing capacity. Not a lot more than a comparable year Jeep, but easily twice the vehicle. And I'm not even completely satisfied with the Toyota.

STAY AWAY FROM JEEPS!

rleete killed the thread.

Would like input on other vehicles on my list or vehicles not listed that fit what i'm looking for.

Will look at 4runner. My wife has a rav4, and definitely don't want one of those. If money wasn't an object, I would have an FJ, but they hold their value too well.

No, we got them before. But they were fucking awful.

I think if you look hard enough, you could probably find an FJ in your price and mileage range, but not the year.

I'd suck a dick for that.






Oh, and i fucking LOVE my Jeep, haters. :rofl:


What are we doing bro? Bro shit, that's what!

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-P...824_203019.jpg

I'd suggest a Subaru or 4runner. I have been very happy with my Outback XT, and the FXT is supposed to be awesome as well. For a more "real" truck experience, you can't go wrong with a 4runner.

Your budget puts the newer "pentastar" motors out of your reach. Which leaves you (mostly) with the "powertech" 3.7L V6. Which is a raging, wheezy, underpowered piece of shit.

The V8 options are moderately better, but harder to find and likely at the very edge of your budget/mileage criteria.

It sounds like what you really want is a regular cab 4WD Silverado.
CarMax page&sY=2010-2014&ASTc=silverado&N=4294962644+4294963151&zip=78 734&No=0

Or be a man and get the forester.

Had one of them. Would meet all criteria, minus the comfortable part.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1381338127

Admittedly it had larger tires and a mild lift. Still, nowhere near a comfortable ride.

But, I loved every jarring moment.

another vote for a well-cared-for Forester or Outback XT. Find one that's been well taken care of. Be willing to travel for it.

If you're REALLY willing to travel, I can keep my eye out for you, but I'm in Oregon :) That being said, it's Subieland (and I work at a Subaru dealership) so we get some really nice, clean trades.

Besides that, how about a Subaru Tribeca? Really nice vehicles and they are cheaper than the Foresters and Outbacks because people don't like them for some reason.

My buddy had a Jeep GC v8. Let's see, air conditioner problems (mechanical and electronic separately), window regulators, heater core (book time is ~6.5hrs to change, iirc), much of the switchgear was breaking, idk what else at under 100k mi.

4runner, 4wd Honda CR-V/Elephant would all have plenty of practical space and be reliable.

Because this...

I'll likely be selling my '04 Forester XT soon. Unfortunately for you, it's current suspension is of the lowering kind, not the lifting kind. I still have the stock sus though.

We're even kind of local...

Depending if my 2.5rs sells, I may be interested.

I've owned several Jeeps; a 99 Cherokee and an '08 Wrangler Unlimited, and they both were really largely trouble free aside from routine maintenance. My sister just bought a Grand Cherokee and it's seriously a beautiful truck, it's been trouble free since they purchased it maybe a year ago. I'd own one for sure.

However, in my capacity as a car dealer I also have access to all the cars that come through the lot, and one in particular really "worked" for me. It was an '07-'08 (I think) FJ Cruiser, which I grant you was far from stock with a subframe lift, wheels, tires and suspension, but was all original under the hood and I LOVED that thing. I don't think I've ever been more sluggish in my efforts to turn a car than I was with the FJ, and came close to just keeping it many times.

Drive an FJ before you buy anything. They're nice.

Interesting, we've got some friends that bought a Grand Cherokee maybe 16 months ago and their experience has been the exact opposite. It's been in the shop at least half a dozen times, for pretty serious repairs.

They got the Grand Cherokee over the Honda Pilot because the Jeep had keyless entry. Now they have to deal with sh*tty gas mileage, poor reliability, lower resale, etc. etc. all because the wife had to have keyless entry...

I'm just not sold on Chrysler products at all

I have had a 2002 Jeep Liberty with 190k+ miles as my winter/range vehicle. Yes, I have both a :greddy: SUV and a :greddy: car...

That said, it has been largely trouble free and I bought it new. Yes it has started to rust but it lives outside and I only have washed it once or twice a year in the past five. The only things I have done are AC clutch, trans oil pan, and regular oil and filter changes for engine, diff, etc.

As an auto mechanic friend says - They're all beaters. You buy a used car you roll the dice. In my experience parts are reasonable versus other makes. The only inconvenience is when they break down in the winter because in the summer theoretically you have the Miata to use while you get it back up and running.

I have heard good things about the newest body style Grand Cherokees (pentastar generation) but then I only know people who have JUST gotten them. They are too new for my poor friends to own yet.