I'm considering getting one, but reviews and performance tests I've read rank them overall, as poor vehicles.

Experiences? Comments? Suggestions? Alternatives?

Dunno, but I personally stay away from anything made by Chrysler.

Brand new or used?

I have a '02 WJ and they do have some problems to be aware of, though, nothing that would keep me from buying another.

I have heard some horror stories about the new WK and would be weary of purchasing a first year production model. They've got some issues to sort out and right now I would not be interested in replacing my GC with that model.

I'd probably look at a Tahoe, 4Runner or Pathfinder before considering a '06 WK.

Just my 2¢.

Shameless Self-Promotion http://texanwanderlust.blogspot.com/

My girlfriend has an '06 grand cherokee. I like it with the exception that the transfer case had to be rebuilt when it was only a few months old. The worst part about it was that it took over 2 weeks to fix - the dealership claimed that the parts for the transfer case are rare and not kept in stock. They told her something to the effect that there were only 2 spare parts in the country. Fortunately for her, its a company car so she didnt have to deal with it.

FWIW: If I were to buy something in that class I would likely get a Mountaineer (I prefer the Mercury over Ford based on past ownership of both Explorers and Mountaineers).

The April Consumer Reports issue is all about cars. It is available now. I would not say it should be the only source of information on the vehicle, but its reliability data is based on surveys of a million vehicles. That issue also can point to better vehicles. If you want real offroad capabilities and don't need three seats - the Nissan Xterra is very good. The Toyota 4runner is also good. Most of the others are offroad pretenders, but most people never go offroad anyway.

I had an Xterra and did not like it. It was noisy, flimsy, rough riding, and felt cheap. I though I would like the ruggedness of it, but I didnt. I know a total of 3 people who have had them and sold them within 1.5 years of buying.

Its built on the frontier chassis - so you are basically buying a small, relatively cheap, pick-up truck with a rear seat and cargo area instead of a bed.

Not sure how large of an SUV you're looking for, but I just picked up a new '06 Toyota Rav4 for my wife over the weekend. Drives great and is quite large inside (feels just a bit smaller than a Tahoe) with great gas mileage (24-30 with the 4 cylinder). Got the Limited model which comes loaded for < $22k.

It'll be nice for the drive down to B/CS this fall instead of my Silverado.

I don't see what you would buy a crummy jeep with so many other SUV options.

Like with any other vehicle, you will get some people who love them and some who hate them. I am in the former category as I have had a GC for 9 years and 145,000 miles and it still drives and looks great. Certainly, I have replaced parts in that time like a water pump and fuel pump and the like, but I have had no major problems with it.

I've had a 4x4 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo for the last 12 1/2 years. It's currently got over 215,000 miles on it and is my wife's daily driver (40 mile commute each way).

Just over two years ago, I did have to replace the transmission at 185,000 miles. I was on I-70 towing a 6' x 12' U-Haul trailer coming from Denver up towards Genesse when the transmission finally gave out. That's the steepest climb on the trip to California. I think if I could have made that climb, I would have made it the rest of the way to California.

The bottom line is that with most any car, if you do the maintenance, especially changing the oil regularly, you'll be fine. I've also got a 4x4 Ford Expedition that's 7 years old and has 120,000 miles on it. Honestly there's never been anything wrong with that truck (except once in Denver where the 4wd froze up in my driveway and wouldn't engage), I just got tired of getting 11 mpg. So I bought a used BMW M3. I get 22 mpg now and have Navigation.

I bought a GC the year the came out with the redesign two design agos and it was riddled with problems they couldn't fix. I sent them a copy of the lemon law form I was going to file with the state of Texas and within a week they called me giving me the option to buy it back from me or get another with up to the MSRP of the '01 to use. They wanted no part of the lemon law trouble. I got another but it was now 2 years later. It's way better but not perfect. I just payed it off and I hope it'll run trouble free for a good while.

I don't think I will buy another Jeep again.

with all the problems these american vehicles always seem to have i find it remarkable that they stay in business. do you people just have a lower standard of what you drive?? i have never had a car that had a single problem within 5 years (all hondas, of course). i guess i just expect more...

Let's run down the cars that I have owned, shall we? '76 Cutlass Supreme, '85 Chevy full size truck, '93 Dodge Stealth, '95 Wrangler, '97 GC, '52 Chevy p/u, and '78 Chevy p/u. The only one that ever gave me any trouble was the Mitsubishi-made Stealth. It was fun to drive when it ran, but the piston shooting through the oil pan put a damper on things. I am not narrow-minded enough to say that some foreign companies do not make great cars, but I am not stupid enough to say that all American cars suck, either.

tree91 - interesting that that the only Japanese make you had was a Mitsu - probably the worst of the Japanese brands over the last 15 years. No Hondas, Toyotas, Nissans, or Mazdas on your list.

Yes - not all American vehicles are crap just like not all Japanese vehicles are great.

I do believe that other jap carmakers make great products. The point is that it is ignorant to make a blanket statement.

i didnt mean to say that all american cars are crap. if it came across that way, i appologize. i meant that all this negative talk (which i hear quite often) leads me to questions certain aspects about the american automotive corporations. i know that they are getting better, which is about damn time, but you can't deny that the reliability is nowhere near what toyota and honda offer. the rest of the japanese companies are nowhere near toyo and honda, and mitsubishi is probably down there with 80s fords. and don't get me started on german reliability--oxymoron anyone?

fair enough

The real question here is "What is so great about Jeep products?"

Of course every carmaker has lemons, but I've known more people than I count who had crap like broken window motors, engines issues, transmissions, etc with relatively low miles.

PLUS, they are overpriced for what you get. No thanks, I'll pass.

I am no fan of Jeeps. But I think their main claim to fame is that they are not off road pretenders like Explorers (etc.). The Cherokee and newer flavors were all supposed to be good offroad. I couldn't say based on personal experience. But from what I read these days, the new Xterra and 4Runner are very good offroad with none of the shoddy build quality of the jeepp. The only person I know with a GC replaced a transmission at 60,000 miles.

WWII vehicles kick ass.

the new Toyota FJ Cruiser will destroy the current jeeps. not only can they keep up with offroading ability, but they actually have reliability to back em up. not so sure about the design...
but for what it does, it does damn well.

quote:

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The new Toyota FJ Cruiser will destroy the current jeeps.

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The new FJ is quite a bit larger than the Jeep Wrangler TJ, which means it might give you some trouble on a classic "Jeep Trail" (If you've ever driven a Hummer, you know what I'm talking about).

Why would Toyota offer the FJ in a 2WD version? Posers only?

If you want to talk reliability great, I'll put my 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee up against any Toyota 4x4 SUV you want to compare it to.

Check this out - 2006 Toyota Land Cruiser, out the door for $67,830.00. Compare that against $40,945.00 for the Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland. I know which one I'd pick, and I'd take the $27,000 I saved and buy a new Pontiac Solstice, or maybe a used Porsche Boxster.

>> '76 Cutlass Supreme, '85 Chevy full size truck, '93 Dodge Stealth, '95 Wrangler, '97 GC, '52 Chevy p/u, and '78 Chevy p/u<<

If your point is that US made cars can't be dismissed out of hand based upon your sample, I think you need to test a bigger sample.

Assuming price was OK, condition was good, and the particular vehicle met a need I had, I would probably buy site unseen the cutlass and 78/85 chevy pickups. Maybe even the '95 wrangler.

Now, if you had had late '80s and '90s era GM cars or some of the small truck lines during the last couple of decades, I wouldn't touch them. I still won't buy a domestic car without a V-8.

FWIW, Chrysler Products after 1996 are plauged with Engine Management PRoblems, including PCM failures. Those are covered for 8 years/80K Miles, but its been a long time problem. I see them all the time.

The SRT8 is HOT but due to the exhaust, you cant really tow anything with it.

Pick up a Car and Driver, They just did a comparo, Grand Cherokee, H3, FJ Cruiser and Xterra. If youre going offroad often, the H3 is the way to go, but on the road, the H3 can't get out of its own way! The Grand Cherokee is great for commuting/steet but had the least amount of ground clearance, and over rocks and bumps, the unibody creaked and groaned.

The FJ received high marks for being no nonsense utilitarian, but suffered a soft ride. It also has 3 front wipers, pretty neat.

Amazingly, the Xterra took first place, not sure why or how. I've not liked the Xterra, feels too spartan, and cheap, kind of screams "I'm in High School and into XTREEM Sports" but the newer ones may be different.

Have you considered a new 06 Explorer, or New Rav4? Highlander?

[This message has been edited by 1agswitchin4lanes (edited 3/14/2006 10:53a).]

The new Xterra is better because it inherits the improvements in the new Frontier truck. The old Frontier was a pretty crappy small truck until the redesign. It is much better all around, and the Xterra is equally improved.

This doesn't mean anything in particular, just something I noticed driving down 290 the other day. There was a Grand Cherokee on the side of the road abandoned that had a bar hanging down under the front end and the right wheel was splayed out and looked like it was barely attached to the vehicle. It looked like a faily new model too, which struck me as odd.