Trade In Time?
I have been giving some thought to trading my Grand Cherokee in on a Jeep Wrangler. Today I found a suitable Wrangler and test drove it in the rain. Little Darling and I had a blast running down flooded streets, through alleys and across a cow pasture. The Wrangler performed fine, but I just could not see taking it in the shorts both money wise and space wise. It looks as if I will stick with my Grand Cherokee. It's almost paid for anyway.....
Labels: Damn That's Good
posted by Xavier at 2:54 PM
9 Comments:
Actually, the Grand Cherokee is even more off-road capable than the Wrnagler, my Wrangler-owning son tells me.
I have heard some horror stories about Grand Cherokee repairs, though. My mechanic says nothing on them is easy!
DON'T ever pay a car payment....
Pay off the current vehicle. Then open a stupid savings account at the bank or at the credit union or where you will. Then make the payment to yourself.
If you are just paying off the vehicle it is fairly new.
Five years from now - give or take - the balance in that savings account will be ready to buy the next vehicle.... which you should also drive for 5 years.
A dollar saved is 2 dollars earned (after taxes and expenses.)
Besides.... that money will also be useful for incidentals like college tuition, braces, weddings, etc. Or you can put some of it into long term investments.... I assume you do want to retire someday.
actually you should drive a vehicle for much more than 5 years.... Properly cared for, a moder vehicle should be good for about 200,000 miles or more.
Proper care includes having more than the oil changed.
If you are thinking the Jeep doesn't "drive like it did when it was new," you probably need shocks. People never put new shocks on a vehicle, so instead of spending a little, the spend 10s of thousands on a new vehicle. (I never buy new... you can get good as new for half price or less - plus the cost of new shocks and brake pads.)
Keep the Grand.
My 1996 Grand Cherokee (with Selec Track, if you've got the other 4wd system all bets are off) only has 87k miles on it (and I only paid $5k for it a ago with 70k on it) and I've loved every minute.
Wranglers are a hoot, but will wear on you, especially if you find yourself driving a ton of miles. I've had my 99 for 7 years and it has been really good for a DC product. I did a lot of mods and drive it less now that I got a new nissan suv. not having a real back seat will get complaints too. I will never buy another jeep short wheelbase again, most likely so I have decided to keep mine. makes for a good backup vehicle.
Oh yeah, don't buy the first jeep you like. There are options to look for. even if you don't put bigger tires on it, you want the heavy duty rear axle for resale.
Take a look at the Wrangler Unlimited, it has 13" more in length than the regular Wrangler. From what I hear, the 2007 Wrangler will have a 4 door model that is longer than the current Wrangler Unlimited.
AndyJ
New shocks and new bushings in the suspension and it will ride feel brand new.
I bought a 2003 Unlimited when our granddaughter came to live with us. (They wouldn't let me strap her car seat to the trunk rack of the Z-3.) It has been great. The extra room allows for an adult to actually sit in the rear seat and the room in the back has allowed for extended trips to the mountains, several hurricane evacuations and has room to carry construction equipment since I stopped nursing and went back into construction post-Katrina.
The only tradeoff is a longer turning radius.
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