Jeep Cherokee xj vs toyota 4runner.

MoneyMakerMike

MoneyMakerMike

Active member
I'm about to get my first car and my dad said I could either get an old Cherokee xj or old 4runner. Does anyone have any experiences with these cars?
 
If you can find a 4-cylinder 4-Runner go for it. If it's a 6 cyl with high mileage make sure the head gaskets have been replaced by a reputable shop.

I don't know very much about cherokees but they have a pretty hardcore fanbase so they're probably pretty good.

Go do research on the specific vehicle forums and make sure to get a pre-purchase inspection. Even on a low price car it could very well prove it's worth.
 
cherokee XJs with the classic inline 4.0 liter are bulletproof, but 4runners are great too, can't go wrong with either. My moms '93 xj 5speed is an absolute beast
 
whats your price range? cause theres a wide variety of good vs bad with both of those, as a jeep guy I'm biased to say get the xj they are tanks if you can find one that has been well taken care of you can use and keep it for a long time. and for both try to find an unmodified one or one with very little mods, but if you can only get one that has been modded you'll know its been well taken care of because most car guys take care of there cars like its one of their children
 
All I’m gonna say is that jeeps were great cars until they got bought by Chrysler/Dodge. Ever since the quality has gone down to shit. And I think they bought them a couple years back.
 
13941556:weastcoast said:
All I’m gonna say is that jeeps were great cars until they got bought by Chrysler/Dodge. Ever since the quality has gone down to shit. And I think they bought them a couple years back.
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Dodge the father, ram the daughter
 
I have a '97 Landcruiser with 285k on the odo and it handles the trails better than my friends 2017 TRD pro taco. It was my families main car for driving to NH every weekend from MA for about 18 years and never had any major issues. Whatever car you go with, look out for frame rust.
 
13941534:ben28johnson said:
whats your price range? cause theres a wide variety of good vs bad with both of those, as a jeep guy I'm biased to say get the xj they are tanks if you can find one that has been well taken care of you can use and keep it for a long time. and for both try to find an unmodified one or one with very little mods, but if you can only get one that has been modded you'll know its been well taken care of because most car guys take care of there cars like its one of their children
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My dad doesn't want to spend more than 6,000 but I've got 2000 saved up in case I want to mod it a little.
 
Depends on what you want. Cherokees came with a solid front axle until about 2004 I believe. This means it will be better on trails but a little worse on highway (IFS is more cushy). The 1st and some of the 2nd gen 4runners came with a solid front as well but they stopped somewhere in the early 90s and went with IFS for a better ride since the 80 series cruiser was a beast and had solid axles. As said above, the 22RE and 3.4 v6 are the better of the older gen 4runner engines. The 80 series cruiser came with a solid 1FZ engine from 94-97 which, despite being shit for power, is very reliable and torquey. Jeep cherokees have the h/o 4.0 which was a killer engine as well and could easily push 300k miles along with the previously mentioned engines. All have a healthy aftermarket and are easy to source for parts so no problems there. If youre looking for a manual, 2nd gen 4runners and the Cherokee is your best bet. Its rough to find a 3rd gen manual, expensive to find a 1st gen manual, and impossible to find a petrol landcruiser manual. I know that the landcruiser and 3rd gen 4runners came with diff locks from the factory to help out with sticky situations in 4lo.

Honestly, do your research. Hop on craigslist, find some deals, then research the specifics of each car. Look on the forums too, theyll tell you common problems and stuff to look for when buying. I own an 80 series landcruiser just because it fit the bill for me. I wanted a solid axle trail rig that would take me anywhere and last a lifetime but it needed to be beefy and big to fit stuff and people.
 
If you're going to be spending $5000-7500 definitely get a PPI (pre-purchase inspection) by a mechanic you trust or one specialized in the type of vehicle you're buying. It should cost $100-150 and can save you a ton of money down the road as well as potentially provide you leverage on pricing buying from a private party. If the owner will not meet you at a mechanic to have this done tell them to fuck off and run from their pos vehicle because they're probably hiding some major defects.
 
No experience with 4Runners, so I can't really tell you which is better.

That said, my '99 Cherokee is absolutely bombproof. It's taken a few good slams already (from both myself and the previous owner) and it just refuses to die. They're also a breeze to work on, I was able to disassemble the entire header with a $10 socket wrench and a couple hours of free time.
 
13941682:jellomellow said:
4runner all the way. Ive owned 5 in the past year and they have treated me all extremely well. cant recommend them enough
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If they've treated you well why have you had five in one year? Do you flip them?
 
13941556:weastcoast said:
All I’m gonna say is that jeeps were great cars until they got bought by Chrysler/Dodge. Ever since the quality has gone down to shit. And I think they bought them a couple years back.
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yeah OP is talking about the XJ Cherokee which is before Jeep went to shit
 
13941683:mystery3 said:
If they've treated you well why have you had five in one year? Do you flip them?
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yeah I flip em. although one of the ones that I have owned have treated me well. drove one with a knocking engine cause it was hydro locked twice for 3 months before I sold it.
 
13941688:IanAvery-Leaf said:
yeah OP is talking about the XJ Cherokee which is before Jeep went to shit
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Oh my b. In that case then that’s a good buy. My dad had a 99 Cherokee and put close to 300K miles on that thing before he had to sell it in like 2014. That thing ran like a damn tank.
 
13941674:k3ndall.g said:
Get an old land rover
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You did see that op had a budget right... Even if you buy a cheap rover, youll blow the rest of that cash on maintenance costs in no time.
 
13941733:Zypher said:
You did see that op had a budget right... Even if you buy a cheap rover, youll blow the rest of that cash on maintenance costs in no time.
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Knew someone was gonna say this haha. If op has a decent LR mechanic do a thorough PPI, and keeps up on routine maintenance, a well taken care of discovery will outrun any old jeep and probably 4runner. What do I know though I have a 1990 LR Defender sitting in my garage in about 30 pieces lol
 
13941734:k3ndall.g said:
Knew someone was gonna say this haha. If op has a decent LR mechanic do a thorough PPI, and keeps up on routine maintenance, a well taken care of discovery will outrun any old jeep and probably 4runner. What do I know though I have a 1990 LR Defender sitting in my garage in about 30 pieces lol
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Diesel swap it, keep that baby purring for a little while longer haha. I had a 98 disco growing up. Kickass car but just kept needing to go in and out for maintenance so we ended up selling it.
 
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