Need Cherokee Buying Advice

"newsmctado" (newsmctado) 03/03/2015 at 12:44 • Filed to: None

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So, the wife and I are working on putting a bun in the oven. With the two of us, a baby (or two) two dogs, and West Michigan winters, I think I want to get rid of my Jetta. We've been talking about a used Grand Cherokee (2009-2013) because of their typically robust construction, 4x4 system, size and pricing on the used car market (sub-$20k for lower mile examples).

My wife and I have both owned Jeeps in the past (pre-2000) and loved them, but I am not as familiar with the newer mechanicals.

Anybody have any ideas of what to look out for or common mechanical issues that need to be addressed in used Grand Cherokees?

Also, if others have suggestions for alternative vehicles, I am all ears. We have also considered the Subie Outback/Forester and Honda Pilot. Reqs: room for 5 comfortably, 4x4 or AWD, low maintenance costs, and longevity.

What can you tell me OPPO-nauts?

HammerheadFistpunch > newsmctado 03/03/2015 at 12:47

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4runner. 4th generation.

505Turbeaux > newsmctado 03/03/2015 at 12:50

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JEEP GC WK is a piece of junk, WK2 got alot of things better but they are still young. my girls WK might be the death of me. Silently praying the motor dies, sort of, but I dont want to be doing this again (this was an 06, in 08, I had 2 motors blow on 2 clients in the same week, both the same color, both v6's)

newsmctado > 505Turbeaux 03/03/2015 at 12:53

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My wife has a '05 liberty with the 3.7L and it's always ran like a champ (honestly, that's probably what I will end up driving while she takes the newer car. It's her turn in the replacement car lineup). The problems have always been stupid little crap as typical with Jeeps: heater blower motor went kaput, window rails needing to be replaced, TPM sensors going off seemingly at random. But the 4x4, tranny, and engine have always been solid.

505Turbeaux > newsmctado 03/03/2015 at 12:54

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as long as you are extremely diligent about the oil changes, that does wonders. The return oil passage to the sump was undersized so they have oiling issues.

ki-ki-ki-kia > newsmctado 03/03/2015 at 13:00

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The pilots have a pretty good 4wd system and are very comfortable. Plus they have plenty of room for 2 + 2 carseats and room for two dogs in the back. They will go down most 1-3 level trails completely stock so in the snow it should be no problem.

As Du Volant > newsmctado 03/03/2015 at 13:08

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The 2011+ is light years ahead of the previous model in every way. It's WELL worth the extra money. The 3.6 engine is plenty powerful for normal usage and fairly efficient given the large size of the vehicle. Quality is much better than previous Jeeps and I can't think of any common recurring issues, but it's still a Jeep. Buy certified pre-owned so you get the extra warranty. For a small charge (like $200 I think) you can extend the factory bumper to bumper warranty out an extra 12 months and 12k miles if it's certified, plus you get the balance of 7 year/100k powertrain warranty.

Textured Soy Protein > newsmctado 03/03/2015 at 13:23

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I bought an '05 Grand Cherokee Hemi in December. The dealer that sold it to me, fixed most everything that was wrong with it and subtracted the cost of repairing the couple things they hadn't fixed yet, which I then took to my mechanic and had fixed (the dealer was an hour away from me and I didn't want to make another trip back to them to pick it up after they fixed the last few things). The work included:

New key fob - $180
Repair/replace sunroof water drain tube - $123.75
Oil & filter change - $32.79
Air filter - $11.99
Rear brake pads & rotors + parking bake shoes & hardware - $388.60
Transfer case encoder motor - $478.45
EGR valve + spark plugs - $550.15

After all that, hey, it's great! But that's also $1765 worth of work that was put into reconditioning it.

(The spark plugs were so expensive because the Hemi takes platinum plugs and has 2 plugs per cylinder.)

It also gets frankly atrocious fuel economy. I'm doing 11 mpg right now in Wisconsin winter because of a combination of the Hemi, 5-speed transmission, all-terrain tires that are taller and heavier than stock, cold temps, and winter blend gas.

But it's just my winter vehicle and I only put about 5k miles a year on it, so I put up with the shitty mileage, because for my winter vehicle I wanted overkill levels of snow driving capability.

For your purpose, it may not be the best choice. I don't have kids and dogs. It's not really any more roomy inside than like, a Subaru Legacy wagon or something. It's just higher up off the ground.

I'd seriously consider looking at something more crossover-y and just making sure it has properly good tires for winter on it.

newsmctado > ki-ki-ki-kia 03/03/2015 at 13:25

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My boss has a 4WD Pilot and I've driven/ridden in it plenty of times. Not sure of the year, but my guess would be around an '11 or '12. He's got three kids and it seems to have plenty of room and a good 4x4 system. But, I know nothing about their maintenance issues or costs.

nermal > newsmctado 03/03/2015 at 13:25

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I had an 08 Liberty w/ the 3.7l V6.

Pros: Goes great in snow. The 4x4 / traction control system is top notch. Fun to drive for what it was. Never left me stranded. Relatively cheap to buy. Plenty of room to haul stuff.

Cons: Slow. Handled like crap. No power. Brakes were questionable. Interior was crap. Fuel economy was crap. Maintenance was expensive. Everything rusted underneath. Changing the oil filter was the single most difficult / dangerous mechanical procedure known to man. Jeep dealers in my area are crap.

newsmctado > Textured Soy Protein 03/03/2015 at 13:27

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Yeah, my initial thoughts on that are: (1) HEMI = crap mileage, and (2) HEMI = hoon'd or beaten up.

Textured Soy Protein > newsmctado 03/03/2015 at 13:31

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Given the overall solid condition it was in, I doubt it was hooned. These were all just maintenance/repair items that aren't overly surprising for a 10 year-old vehicle. I edited my first post with the prices. The dealer and I put almost $1800 into reconditioning it. (My portion of which, the cost was subtracted from the sale price.)

Mileage aside, the back seat isn't very roomy. It's decent, but smaller than plenty of midsize sedans out there. It's really low down to the floor. I had a '99 Grand Cherokee before this one and it was roomier in the back seat and had a bigger cargo area.

newsmctado > nermal 03/03/2015 at 13:32

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Yeah, I don't think we'd get another Liberty because too small with (hypothetical) kids + dogs + gear. But, my wife has an '05 Liberty and I've been pretty impressed with it. The older Jeep 4x4 system (meaning manual shift, not electronic) is absolutely great. When we go up north, I call it the Billy Goat because it's small and will crawl through 2 feet of snow like its driving through a Wal Mart parking lot. But I agree on slow/crap mileage. Being in Michigan, you've got to constantly worry about rust because of road salt. But, we wash our cars regularly in the winter and there hasn't been any issue with that.

ki-ki-ki-kia > newsmctado 03/03/2015 at 17:08

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My brother in law has had one for 4 years now and they got it used. I wanna say its an 08? Anyway the only thing they have ever needed were new tires. He changes the oil himself every 4-5k and they have never had an issue.