A tipping point has been reached...time for a new winter car

"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein) 11/18/2014 at 12:13 • Filed to: None

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I've been toying with the idea of replacing my Grand Cherokee with something else, because it needs a decent amount of work put into it. It has served me well, but today the battery died for the second time in as many weeks, so adding yet another item to the to-do list is making me want to just cut the cord.

The Jeep had been sitting for a few weeks, and then I went to use it for some running around of larger items. It was completely dead. I jumped it, and left it on and driving around for a few hours. But then it sat again for a while, and today I went to take it to work and it just barely could turn the starter.

Things that need to be fixed include:

Oil pan
Serpentine belt
Idle air control valve
Front differential pinion seal
Door frame weather stripping
Battery

To do the above would cost about $1600 in parts and labor. The oil pan is the biggest chunk of labor—it requires dropping the exhaust, torching out bolts, and a bunch of other nonsense to access.

Things that are less urgent:

Fix the driver's side rear headrest that doesn't go down all the way
Replace the busted driver's side rear door window switch
Replace the climate control panel with one that has an intact recirculate button
New front driveshaft—early '99s have one without a balancer and make a wobble noise, the part was later updated to add a balancer
New headlamps—I polished them with the Meguiar's headlight kit but they fogged up again

I have been looking at possible replacements, none of which I've found here in Madison. I'm heading down to Chicago this weekend for an unrelated purpose, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to jump the Jeep, let the 3-hour drive charge the battery up juuuust enough, and trade it in for something else.

bob and john > Textured Soy Protein 11/18/2014 at 12:21

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if your happy with it, why not another jeep? take that money and put it towards another one.

kincai28 > Textured Soy Protein 11/18/2014 at 12:39

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Whenever I am ready to sell my Jeep (which currently needs about $2k in repairs) I just think of how many car payments that money would get me and it isn't very many.

Textured Soy Protein > bob and john 11/18/2014 at 12:45

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I'm happy with the Jeep's performance in the snow, its ability to haul a bunch of crap, and its nice plush comfy seats. But the build quality and reliability is pretty terrible. If I went for another Grand Cherokee, I'd have to find a particularly well-sorted example.

That's not completely out of the question, but the issue is, where I live if you're looking for a particular vehicle with particular features, the choices are limited. I don't have to get something this weekend, but since I'll be in Chicago where there's way more choices available anyway, I'd like to knock it out this weekend if I can.

StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 > Textured Soy Protein 11/18/2014 at 12:46

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Get a Regular Cherokee? Though there can be just as many things to fix, I know mine needs TLC and work, but I keep putting it off cause its cold now....

Textured Soy Protein > kincai28 11/18/2014 at 12:46

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I'd replace it with something similarly cheap. I only got it a year ago, and I took out a 3-year, 2.9% loan from my credit union to pay for it. So trading it in for another, similarly cheap old SUV that requires less maintenance, isn't really going to cost me much more in the long run.

Textured Soy Protein > StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 11/18/2014 at 12:48

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I like the room in the Grand. Mostly I've been looking at the '02-'04 Pathfinder LE, and '01-'03 QX4. They're the same basic thing—the QX4 adds Infiniti badges, HID headlights, a wood steering wheel, and heated rear seats.

nermal > Textured Soy Protein 11/18/2014 at 13:12

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I know the feeling - I just recently rage-traded my Jeep after it broke for the 47th time this year.

Now is a great time to buy!

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Textured Soy Protein 11/18/2014 at 13:33

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4Runner time. All the practicality and capability of the Grand Cherokee, almost none of the nightmares.

Textured Soy Protein > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 11/18/2014 at 13:39

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I respect the reliability and resale value of the 4Runner, but I kinda hate driving them.

Last year before I got my Jeep, I tried an '05 4Runner and didn't like how the seats are practically on the floor, the dash & cowl are too high and the windshield is too upright, so the driving position and front visibility suck. The brakes were also terrible.

A couple weeks ago, I tried a '99 4Runner, and while visibility and seating position are much better, it's too narrow, there's ugly fake wood trim everywhere , the seats are uncomfortable, and the transfer case shifter is positioned in such a way that it kept poking my leg.

Between the two, I preferred the '99. But the Pathfinder/QX4 I'm looking at has more room, a much nicer interior, 240 hp instead of the 4Runner's 183, and generally similar reliability.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Textured Soy Protein 11/18/2014 at 13:43

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I can't disagree on the seating position. It is truly awful, I have just gotten used to it. It was designed for someone who is 5'2", and I am not. The wood trim is not a problem for me though, because I have none.

Textured Soy Protein > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 11/18/2014 at 14:04

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Yeah, this is what I'm talking about.

If I got a 4Runner it would be either a '99-'00 Limited with the rear locker and heated seats, or an '01-'02 with heated seats (but no rear locker since it was no longer available once Toyota introduced traction control on all 4Runners in '01).

Aside from the fact that a '99-'00 Limited with both the rear locker and heated seats is exceedingly rare, that fake wood comes standard on the Limited.

Here's the QX4 interior. There's still wood, but it's real and much less cheesy looking. The Pathfinder interior is identical except no wood on the steering wheel, and a digital clock instead of the Infiniti analog one.

I'm not super picky about car interiors, but the Pathfinder/QX4 is just a lot nicer inside.

The seating position is also muuuuuuuch better, probably because like my Grand Cherokee, it's a unibody platform where the Pathfinder is a proper body-on-frame truck platform. Which might be better for truckiness, but I prefer the unibody not-quite trucks like the Grand Cherokee and Pathfinder where you still have a proper transfer case and 4wd system, as opposed to more car-ish unibody crossovers.

TheNeonDriver - Now with More BMW! > Textured Soy Protein 11/18/2014 at 14:26

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I was looking at the Nissan Murano. It's a little nicer then the Pathfinder, and a little less rugged, but it's a lot nicer inside, and the CVT gets decent gas millage.

Aside from throwing a canoe on the roof, it would do what I am looking for.
There is also the Xterra to look at as well, which is a little more rugged.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Textured Soy Protein 11/18/2014 at 15:33

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There are dash kits, I'm pretty sure, to get rid of the fake wood. Also, the 2001-2002(?) Limited 4Runners came standard with a center locking diff, IIRC.

Textured Soy Protein > TheNeonDriver - Now with More BMW! 11/18/2014 at 15:35

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I'm looking for something with a proper 4wd transfer case, that has a full-time 4wd mode. I'm also looking for cheap, like $7k tops.

Murano doesn't cut it because it's car-based awd, and the Xterra has a transfer case but no full-time 4wd.

Basically, I like Grand Cherokees but I'm slightly leery of getting another one given the work that needs to be put into mine, and I like Pathfinders. I have tried out multiple years of 4Runner but don't particularly like them.

I'm slightly tempted by Mitsubishi Monteros but I'm not finding any good examples, and they might be a little too tall to fit in my garage anyway.

Textured Soy Protein > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 11/18/2014 at 15:37

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I'm not going to mess with dash kits. It's not terrible, just kinda lame.

You are correct that all the '99-'02 Limiteds have a center locking diff.

The '99-'00 has an optional rear locking diff, which isn't available on the '01-'02. The '01-'02 have traction control standard though.

Textured Soy Protein > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 11/18/2014 at 15:48

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Oh also, while I'm not completely opposed to a 4Runner, the asking prices are a bit too high for what I'm looking at. Since this is just my winter car, I'm trying to spend under $7k (the farther under, the better) and I'm just not finding any 4Runners with the options I want in that price range.