Posted November 15, 201014 yr I'm looking for someone that has or had this car, that has some input on it.I'm talking performance wise. Were there any common problems?I'm thinking about picking up one for maybe a daily system. Nothing special.I just want to know if it is reliable and some pro's and con's would be nice.Thanks for any input!
November 15, 201014 yr Check out the Jeep forums. I bought a 97 Grand Cherokee for my son and read those forums looking for problems and what they are doing to repair them. http://www.jeepforum.com/http://www.jeepsunlimited.com/forums/These two were very helpful. Good Luck though some models have a lot of issues.
November 16, 201014 yr Author Ah okay, thanks for the replies guys. Made my decision clear. Thanks for the links nem. Back to the searching... Anyone have any other suv suggestion for under 10,000? Not to terrible on gas, and reliable.
November 17, 201014 yr Gotta toot my own horn on this one, 2002-2005 explorer! or a 2nd gen.After looking for a month or so, i found mine: 2004 Explorer with 24,000 miles for $10,000 out the door. Pretty good deal i think!A little better on gas would be the Explorer Sport, but they are hard to find in respectable condition.
November 17, 201014 yr Author What do you want out of a vehicle?I want to have something i can drive on the road but also have fun with on the weekend, like off-roading and such. Possibly something I could lift and put bigger tires on. Has to be v6. I'd love a v8 but it's a little rough on gas. I liked the style of the Cherokee because nothing on that vehicle is integrated that much. It was older looking and had a lot of space in the back for a build of some kind. While it is hard to find a SUV with decent gas mileage I don't want to waste too much gas.
November 17, 201014 yr Well, I'll have to second Frostedflakejake with the Explorer. Cheap, readily available, and the only real issue is the front end, but that's only every 100K. If you need a V6, get the SOHC. It's got more power, is smoother, and more efficient than the OHV 4.0, but it won't last 400K miles either. 200K easily though. YOu can even get an Eddie Bauer with the 5.0 and it will get just about the same mileage as the 6 cylinder engines. The thing most people don't realize with smaller engines in bigger vehicles is that they have to work harder to do the same work. It's a common misconception that smaller engines are more efficient than larger engines, especially in the case of heavier vehicles. The smaller, harder working engine will use more fuel and wear quicker than the larger, more powerful engine. The Mercury Mountaineer is pretty much the exact same thing as the Explorer too with some more options, so you can also look for them.The Toyota 4Runner is also another good buy if you can find one. They are a classic SUV and just keep getting better.
November 17, 201014 yr Author Well, I'll have to second Frostedflakejake with the Explorer. Cheap, readily available, and the only real issue is the front end, but that's only every 100K. If you need a V6, get the SOHC. It's got more power, is smoother, and more efficient than the OHV 4.0, but it won't last 400K miles either. 200K easily though. YOu can even get an Eddie Bauer with the 5.0 and it will get just about the same mileage as the 6 cylinder engines. The thing most people don't realize with smaller engines in bigger vehicles is that they have to work harder to do the same work. It's a common misconception that smaller engines are more efficient than larger engines, especially in the case of heavier vehicles. The smaller, harder working engine will use more fuel and wear quicker than the larger, more powerful engine. The Mercury Mountaineer is pretty much the exact same thing as the Explorer too with some more options, so you can also look for them.The Toyota 4Runner is also another good buy if you can find one. They are a classic SUV and just keep getting better.Thank you very much! I will look into those.
November 17, 201014 yr Admin We have had good luck with Mountaineers in our family, except the 1st gen had some transmission issues. The 4Runner should be the most trusty, though not great on power or MPG.
November 21, 201014 yr TireFryr is right about the gas mileage. Oddly enough my friend has an Eddie Baurer with the 5.0 liter and it comes with a digital MPG display. Overall he gets around 1-2 MPG worse than i do. However, i have larger and thus heavier off-road tires which really do kill my gas mileage by about 2 MPG. But its important to note that for 3rd gen explorers (and maybe even second gen) i have found that it is impossible to find a lift kit. Not too sure about the 2nd gen but if i can remember correctly, the models that the kits fitted ended in 94 (don't hold me too accountable for that). However, for a 3rd gen, i do know for a fact that you either go custom made, body lift, or maybe find a reallllly small company somewhere on the face of the earth that lifts them. Same would be for the Moutaineer as well.
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