Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives 1998 Jeep Cherokee vs. 2001 GMC Jimmy

I have a Jimmy vs Jeep question as well. I am looking to buy one of the following:
1998 Jeep Cherokee Classic - 100K miles, great condition, lifted w/ 31' tires $8000
2001 GMC Jimmy - 59K miles, great condition $12,500
I am thinking they are both a good deal. I have had 2 older Cherokee's one was great the other was a lemon. I have never owned a GMC so I am not sure how reliable they are and if the price difference is worth it. I am a Jeep girl at heart. Is the Jeep a bad decision? I drive about 15 miles a day during the week but more on the weekends on the freeways so I know the Jimmy's probably a better fwy vehicle. Every couple months I drive 800 miles roundtrip also. I will be moving back to the mountains in a few months too. Any advice? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif" alt="" />
Heather

kinda' like buying a car over the phone <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
i like jeeps so i am biased. i vote for the jeep. i am not a fan of the s-10 package at all so i will not go any further. the prices seem high but maybe it is location.........

woofer

Am a complete Jeep Freak so pardon my Bias.

The Jimmy was made to keep the Soccer Mom Market happy, and retain an image.

The Cherokee has a built in Image to uphold, while making sacrifices to keep the Soccer moms happy.

Advantage..?

Trust and Jeep faithfull.

There is a bottom line amoung Jeep freaks.

The Liberty has crossed it, and even though most of us wouldn't be caught dead in a station wagon, we hold the line with the descendent of the wagoneer.

This abortion of a Mini-van married to a marketing program/ pop culture has GOT to go.

The jeep Liberty is the same as the junk offered by Ford, GM, and Chrysler.

The Cherokee is what it is.
The 4.0 mill is the descendant of the old 232 that required a rebuild every 200,000 miles to meet emissions....and keep delivering the mail.

I won't even mention the differences in the chasis.

The Jimmy is Donna Reed.

If it ain't a Jeep, it's either a poser or complete Junk!


Now ask me about farm tractors....;)
(I can be dispassionate because I have never rolled one <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> )


Seriously.
The Jeep is the better bet based upon history and off road use.

The Jimmy USED to be a good vehicle.
(NP 205 anyone?)

Best of luck.
E4E

You can find a really nice jeep for the same or less than the 12.5K of the price of the GMC. I had a 1995 Jimmy and Loved it, but I hated the steering that wandered all over the road. I replaced everything, and nothing worked. Even added a steering damper, which helped a lot.I would go for a Jeep. Get a Grand Cherokee.

Heather,

Check ebay motors or autotrader.com for 1995-2000 Grand Cherokees. Go with the limited, full time 4wd, and the 5.2/318 v8. Go most anywhere and cruise the Interstate at 75 (or faster if you look sympathetic to the cops). I have run 6 GC up close to 200,000 miles with few issues. The last GM S-10 Blazer I had ate transmissions every 20,000 miles, so no more GMs for me, particularly after the customer service people didn't care and wouldn't help.

I always recommend that anyone buying a used vehicle have ALL of the fluids changed and putting full synthetic fluid in the differentials will help gas milage in cold weather.

Jeff

Both fine vehicles except of the NP205 in the Jimmy (think that might have already been said) any way them little jeeps run forever, never owned one, but been around many and worked on a few. The problems I've seen has been primarly electrical. Ignition switch, fried computer and burt up breaker that keeps blowing fuses. A buddy of mine has one with 200k+ miles and it's been a great vehicle but has unexplained electrical problems.

I guess that I have been fortuate in that we have only had 1 computer go bad and it started acting weird at around 85K. The cooling systems have been the issue for us with all of the Grand Cherokees, both 4.0 straight 6s and 5.2 V 8s. The water pumps and radiators seem to have an 80 to 90 K life. I know that we've installed new radiators and water pumps, plus thermostates and hoses, at between 80 and 100 K on all of the CGs. Other than the cooling system and the replacing the occassional bearing, all of the other maintenance has been very routine stuff.

We are a 3 GC family. My wife drives a 97 Ltd, I drive a 95 Ltd, and my hunting rig is a 83 Ltd.

Jeff

Thanks for everyone's input, I did get the Jeep. So far it runs great, except one day I started it and it kept dying everytime I took my foot off the gas until I started moving. Hope that is not going to happen again! Don't know what that is, electrical or fuel pump maybe?

If you are in a cold place, the air intake will get so cold that ice will form on the idle control valve and the engine won't maintain an idle without help, until the engine gets warm enough to prevent the ice from forming. I have a K&N Filtercharger air intake system on my 1993 GC and it does this on a regular basis. It is a PITA, but not a serious issue.

Jeff