My first car was a Jeep. We're starting the process for him now. Probably 2000 - 2008. Any thing to stay away from? Good or bad motors etc.? Thanks, I trust you guys...

 

Inline six is the best choice in my opinion. Excellent reliability and power.

A Jeep is not a good thing for an inexperienced driver to drive in snow. They can swap ends rather easily when it's slippery. No fast cornering in the dry with them either.

 

Yea, tell him to wrangle some cows.

 

I would try to stay away from jeeps all my friends drive jeeps im the only on with a truck and they are ALWAYS doing maintence on those damn things. dont get me wrong stock there nice and reliable and not too bad on gas but once you lift them they just start falling apart. If you are going to stick with jeeps i would get him a tj inline 6 or even a lj inline 6 since they have a longer wheelbase so there not as easy to flip and have more interior room. just STAY AWAY from the jk v6's they suck! I also dont like jeeps because they seem to flip easy I have already seen two of my friends flip on the street and 1 flipped off road

 

Moved to the General Automotive Discussion forum.

 

I've owned 2 and have the following feelings.

Bone stock, no problem. They're easy to work on and somewhat reliable, although they always seems to be leaking something. The inline 4.0L 6 is damn near bulletproof and again is easy to work on.

Crappy mileage, crappy ride quality, NO storage space and less than stellar gas mileage. I would stay away from the Rubicons if it's a first vehicle as they're expensive and are full locked. A "Sport" would do fine.

Good thing is, mod parts are abundant, but not cheap.

 

Shouldn't one experience exclude the other?
With all those vehicles I did own -Jeep never was the one and there is good reason for it.
If you buy it for sentimental value, why do you care about reliability?

 

Aw, what about a Cherokee? Classic looks, easy to mod, great community of enthusiasts, more room, longer wheelbase, 2 or 4 door... I could go on about 'em. Jeeps are like Fords, addicting as hell.

 

Rag tops on the newest gen were garbage when they first came out (2006 IIRC). Make sure the top is good or had the factory recall done.

+1 on the I6 suggestion. And no, reliability does not preclude the experience of working on a motor. I will assume that was a joke.

Anything V is crap and difficult to work on (you WILL have to)

Too bad he's dead set on a Chrysler. He'd have more fun with an Xploder IMO

Get an I6 and take out half the fuel injectors without telling him. Should be a little safer to drive than stock. These are just about the easiest vehicle there is to flip.

 

Neighbors up here have a lot of them because it usually snows here a lot (but not this year). Anyway, the best ones are stock. Buying used ones that have been modified is usually a nightmare, but young guys do that. The most reliable cheap one was a basic four cylinder with manual transmission of the rectangular headlight style, whatever years those were, since Im not a Jeep expert. Ive driven it and it has just enough power for up here, but not so much to get into trouble. The sixes are better, but use more gas and are more desirable, so prices are higher.

 

Bneafus, I'm in the same boat. Grandpa gave my youngest son a 1970 Jeepster, so now he's hooked on Jeeps. Now he's headed to college next fall and no way he's driving that junkster on the interstate. It will barely do 60 mph, no heat, all the problems of a 40 year old car.

Hopefully I can talk him into a Cherokee rather than a Wrangler. Way cheaper, and seems more practical. All the Wranglers in his price range seem old and beat up. I wish I could use the Jeepster as trade in value, but Grandpa says he wants it back if we're going to sell it. I've been letting the kid drive my '01 F-150 this winter; maybe it'll grow on him. Then I can sell it to him and buy me a new F-150. 'Course the old F-150 is paid for, will run forever, has all the mods I want on it, and I'd feel bad charging my son what it's really worth. What a quandry.

 

Read some topics in here. Models - JeepForum.com

 

Plus, those Jeepsters were AMC-made, not Chrysler...

As a kid, I spent a lot of time in the back seat of a '72 Commando my dad drove... That thing was a total dog until dad decided to drop a Ford 302 under the hood...

The 4.0L is based off of the AMC 258. There are posts on various AMC/Jeep forums about mixing parts between the 2 engines to build a stroker - I think for that, though, the 4.0HO was used...

The YJ Wrangler looks like it might be a fairly economical ride - as long as it's unmodified but, personally, I wouldn't bother with getting a Jeep at all - with the issues ChryCo has had over the past few years, I've been wondering why they haven't dropped Jeep yet...

 

+1 on Furyus1's thoughts. Keep in mind that Chrysler products are so terrible that the company has gone out of business not once, but TWICE, and only exists because of government efforts to stabilize UAW membership.

Personally, if I was dead-set on a Jeep, I'd get a CJ or pre-Pentagram Wagoneer. At least the station wagon has a big back seat that's the right size for a young male driver.

 

I've never had a newer jeep before,but my 92 cherokee was one of the best vehicles I have ever had. The only reason i got rid of it is because my kids got big and it was too small to load all the camping stuff in without using the roof rack which was a pain the behind. That jeep would take everything I threw at it and never broke. It was far from stock with a header,flowmaster muffler,intake manifold from a 2001 tj,31 inch tires,3" lift kit,etc. It had a five speed tranny and would squall the tires in 1st and second gear,and could still pull 21 mpgs on the highway in overdrive if I kept my foot out of it. I still have an 86 cj7(last year of the cj) in my garage that needs restored pretty much from the ground up....maybe one of these days.....