The £750 Jeep Grand Cherokee ZJ. I love Shedding.
Discussion
Another stupidly long TREMAiNE Readers’ Cars post! Sorry!
DISCLAIMER: I am one of these idiots who likes to edit the s
t out of photos for no real reason. So if HDR isn’t your thing I am ever so sorry!
A couple of weeks ago my friend’s boss decided to sell his 1996 ZJ Jeep Grand Cherokee, he’d just purchased the newer WJ model. My friend was originally going to buy it off of him after being given first dibs and I was going to buy his Legacy GTB off of him, however, he decided that the Legacy was too good to sell! Dammit! I was gutted; I’ve been after that Legacy for 3 years. I was so close this time!
After expecting to buy the Legacy, I was left in a car-buying mood. Never a good thing, especially when you’ve been quite lucky when it comes to Shedding. I casually asked my friend what this Jeep was like and how much his boss was asking for it and before I knew it I was posting in General Gassing asking if a 20 year old £800 Jeep would be worth a punt.
I have absolutely no need for such a car. My MX-5 is more than sufficient as a daily hack, the CitiGo makes for the perfect shopping trolley and whilst I don’t have a weekend car at the moment, I am trying to source one (an RX-7 Spirit R for those interested) so that leaves no reason whatsoever to purchase such a big, thirsty car… But, as I said earlier I was in a car buying mood.
I’ve bought several vehicles off of both my friend and his boss over the years and I’ve never had any problems with any of them that weren’t already pointed out to me by them so I was confident that I wasn’t being taken for a ride when my friend said that the car was in good condition for its age. After a bit of man-maths, I offered £700 for it (having not even seen a photo of it at this stage) and soon after the seller and I had agreed £750 and in May when the MOT expires he’d stick another 12 months on for me at no extra cost.
I was sent a few photos of it and was pretty excited about the prospect of driving around in what to me is an absolute TANK – bear in mind the biggest car I’ve owned in terms of actual size is an RX-8.
Saturday 7th arrived and I went down to have a look at the Jeep with a full run down from the owner of what was wrong with it – and there wasn’t much!
-The ABS Light is on and has been since before he owned it but the ABS actually works fine.
-The rear windscreen wiper doesn’t work
-The driver side heated seat didn’t work (which I’ve since fixed)
-There is a slight oil leak (1 drop every other day or so)
-Juddering when manoeuvring at low speeds (which I was advised it would probably do in my original thread)
Not phased by the prospect of losing my money, I was quick to hand over £750 to the old owner and drove home in my new shed/warehouse.
On the whole, I’m pretty impressed. For a 20 year old car, both the interior and exterior are in very good condition. I think it’s a pretty good looking car too and I personally think the ZJ is the best looking Grand Cherokee there is.
My Grand Cherokee is a 1996 4 Litre Inline 6 Limited which develops 190 bhp @ 4600rpm and 225 lb-ft @ 3000rpm. Some sources I’ve read say 174 bhp, I frankly don’t know which figure is accurate… Nor do I care.
It’s permanent Four Wheel Drive and has a high/low range stick for when you’re driving up Mount Everest. It’s finished in <insert specific colour name> Green with full Tan leather which is in tremendous condition.
Note that the leather is actually pretty spotless, and not all black like my terribly edited photo shows!
It’d done 109,500 miles (confusing it with another one of his bosses cars, my friend initially told me mileage was in the 70’s) and is quite well equipped with its 15-inch alloy wheels, ABS, power steering, driver and passenger airbags, air conditioning, leather tilt adjustable steering wheel, remote central locking, immobiliser and alarm, roof rack, 60/40 split folding rear seats, body colour bumpers, electric heated mirrors, electric and heated front seats, electric windows, tinted glass, a high-level rear brake light, radio, Cassete and CD Player (welcome to the 21st century!), electric sunroof, front fog lights, trip computer, full sized spare wheel and of course that rather imposing farmer image
.
There are also a tow bar and some spotlights fitted as well as sidesteps, I believe these are all aftermarket.
It really is a hell of a lot of car for the money. I don’t think anyone could argue otherwise.
So, what’s it like to drive, you ask?
Actually rather nice as it happens. Compared to the other cars I’ve owned the Jeep is soft, comfortable, spacious and luxurious. I have a very strict ‘no rain-no roof’ policy with the MX-5 that I always stick to, so driving to work in a big, warm soft wafty Jeep with its big, comfy heated seats has opened me up to a whole new world where I now dream of a W140 S Class!
It’s my first Automatic too and I love the fact that it’s so much easier when crawling through traffic on the way to work. The driving position is pretty good, it’s weird sitting so high but you get a great view of the road ahead and people definitely seem to be more intimidated by it than the MX-5. I’ve honestly never found it so easy to get out of junctions or change lanes on the motorway. I’d have thought it would be the other way around with this kind of car! It’s pretty practical too, as you would expect… I’ve taken a fridge to the dump in it so far and I had ample space left for 2 passengers and the dog. It’s much, much, MUCH easier to park than I expected to. You’ll probably think I’m bonkers for saying this but I find it easier to park than my MX-5 when the hard top is on!
Is it fast, could you out-drag an F40 and out manoeuvre an R500 at Cadwell Park?
Hell yeah! Ok not quite. Obviously the brochure figures for the power and torque aren’t amazing to start with and they’re made worse when you remember that this is an 1,800+ KG car and its bound to have lost a few of its 190 Stallions over the years!
It doesn’t feel slow, I will say that much. Its 0-40mph is actually quiet impressive considering the power/weight ratio. It has a decent amount of low-down torque and the gearbox doesn’t take too long to drop down a gear when you plant your foot down. In my original thread, someone said that the 4.0 I6 was ‘gutless’, was that guy fking high? The ZJ won’t pin you back in your seats as you approach light speed admittedly but it sure as st isn’t gutless.
It’s also not that bad a steer either. Whilst the body roll is pretty appalling (as expected) and the steering feel is non-existent, it grips well enough and I’m taking corners a hell of a lot faster than I expected I would be, my passengers get thrown around a bit but I couldn’t care less about them!
So, what don’t you like?
I was a little miffed with the mileage confusion, if I’m honest. But at the end of the day the mileage is just a number. The tracking is out too, which bugs the hell out of me but again it’s only a minor gripe.
The one thing that does drive me nuts is the oil leak. I do not want oil drips all over my drive; I hate it so fking much. As a result, every time I park on the drive I have to stick some pieces of wood underneath the car – which you can see in some of the photos. I believe it’s dripping from around the gearbox area. Please don’t tell me that it’s probably ‘this or that’ and will cost X amount to fix, I don’t want to know, I'm not spending any money on this thing, it is just for a bit of fun.
Does it slowly sip on petrol the same way Churchill sipped on Whiskey?
Errr No. As you’d expect it necks petrol like you wouldn’t believe. Right down the throat, it doesn’t even slosh it around its mouth to enjoy the flavour first. It is the equivalent of a Uni Student getting through as many £1 VK’s at Weatherspoons before heading to a ridiculously expensive drinking hole where VK’s are a ludicrous £2 (God I miss student night).
I’ve seen the trip computer show as high as 30mpg and as low as 4mpg. On average on my commute I’m getting around 14mpg. Painful, I know. I’ve owned both an RX-7 and RX-8 previously though, so teen-mpg is something I’ve been used to for nearly 3 years now. It’s not ideal but I’m sure I’ll miss it when we’re all in our electric flying cars like that have on the Jetsons.
Are you going to mod it like a badman?
I put an aftermarket air filter on it, an old Pipercross cone filter I’ve had for about 6 years now, it makes the induction noise sound sweet as fk, I st you not. Other than that, I’m not going to modify it. I’ll stick a mattress in the back of it when I go camping with my mates though. At this point I’ll also quietly mention that I’ve named it ‘The PIMP WAGON’ and my friends now have to call me 'Sir Pimpsalot' 
.
What’s next?
The second I’ve sourced my Spirit R, the Jeep will have to be sold, so I’m not planning on keeping it long – could be a few more weeks, could be 6 months. Who knows. I didn’t pay much for it so I’m sure I won’t lose anything on it unless the gearbox explodes or something. It's an honest car though, I’m sure it’ll do me well until I get rid!
A few PHer’s have already expressed interest in taking it off of my hands when I’m done. If you want me to stick you on the list let me know, and you’ll get the opportunity to buy it off me before I stick it on the classifieds!
And here are some more photographs that have been edited to st:
What do you think? Top shedding or waste of money!? Let me know!
DISCLAIMER: I am one of these idiots who likes to edit the s
t out of photos for no real reason. So if HDR isn’t your thing I am ever so sorry!A couple of weeks ago my friend’s boss decided to sell his 1996 ZJ Jeep Grand Cherokee, he’d just purchased the newer WJ model. My friend was originally going to buy it off of him after being given first dibs and I was going to buy his Legacy GTB off of him, however, he decided that the Legacy was too good to sell! Dammit! I was gutted; I’ve been after that Legacy for 3 years. I was so close this time!
After expecting to buy the Legacy, I was left in a car-buying mood. Never a good thing, especially when you’ve been quite lucky when it comes to Shedding. I casually asked my friend what this Jeep was like and how much his boss was asking for it and before I knew it I was posting in General Gassing asking if a 20 year old £800 Jeep would be worth a punt.
I have absolutely no need for such a car. My MX-5 is more than sufficient as a daily hack, the CitiGo makes for the perfect shopping trolley and whilst I don’t have a weekend car at the moment, I am trying to source one (an RX-7 Spirit R for those interested) so that leaves no reason whatsoever to purchase such a big, thirsty car… But, as I said earlier I was in a car buying mood.
I’ve bought several vehicles off of both my friend and his boss over the years and I’ve never had any problems with any of them that weren’t already pointed out to me by them so I was confident that I wasn’t being taken for a ride when my friend said that the car was in good condition for its age. After a bit of man-maths, I offered £700 for it (having not even seen a photo of it at this stage) and soon after the seller and I had agreed £750 and in May when the MOT expires he’d stick another 12 months on for me at no extra cost.
I was sent a few photos of it and was pretty excited about the prospect of driving around in what to me is an absolute TANK – bear in mind the biggest car I’ve owned in terms of actual size is an RX-8.
Saturday 7th arrived and I went down to have a look at the Jeep with a full run down from the owner of what was wrong with it – and there wasn’t much!
-The ABS Light is on and has been since before he owned it but the ABS actually works fine.
-The rear windscreen wiper doesn’t work
-The driver side heated seat didn’t work (which I’ve since fixed)
-There is a slight oil leak (1 drop every other day or so)
-Juddering when manoeuvring at low speeds (which I was advised it would probably do in my original thread)
Not phased by the prospect of losing my money, I was quick to hand over £750 to the old owner and drove home in my new shed/warehouse.
On the whole, I’m pretty impressed. For a 20 year old car, both the interior and exterior are in very good condition. I think it’s a pretty good looking car too and I personally think the ZJ is the best looking Grand Cherokee there is.
My Grand Cherokee is a 1996 4 Litre Inline 6 Limited which develops 190 bhp @ 4600rpm and 225 lb-ft @ 3000rpm. Some sources I’ve read say 174 bhp, I frankly don’t know which figure is accurate… Nor do I care.
It’s permanent Four Wheel Drive and has a high/low range stick for when you’re driving up Mount Everest. It’s finished in <insert specific colour name> Green with full Tan leather which is in tremendous condition.
Note that the leather is actually pretty spotless, and not all black like my terribly edited photo shows!
It’d done 109,500 miles (confusing it with another one of his bosses cars, my friend initially told me mileage was in the 70’s) and is quite well equipped with its 15-inch alloy wheels, ABS, power steering, driver and passenger airbags, air conditioning, leather tilt adjustable steering wheel, remote central locking, immobiliser and alarm, roof rack, 60/40 split folding rear seats, body colour bumpers, electric heated mirrors, electric and heated front seats, electric windows, tinted glass, a high-level rear brake light, radio, Cassete and CD Player (welcome to the 21st century!), electric sunroof, front fog lights, trip computer, full sized spare wheel and of course that rather imposing farmer image
.There are also a tow bar and some spotlights fitted as well as sidesteps, I believe these are all aftermarket.
It really is a hell of a lot of car for the money. I don’t think anyone could argue otherwise.
So, what’s it like to drive, you ask?
Actually rather nice as it happens. Compared to the other cars I’ve owned the Jeep is soft, comfortable, spacious and luxurious. I have a very strict ‘no rain-no roof’ policy with the MX-5 that I always stick to, so driving to work in a big, warm soft wafty Jeep with its big, comfy heated seats has opened me up to a whole new world where I now dream of a W140 S Class!
It’s my first Automatic too and I love the fact that it’s so much easier when crawling through traffic on the way to work. The driving position is pretty good, it’s weird sitting so high but you get a great view of the road ahead and people definitely seem to be more intimidated by it than the MX-5. I’ve honestly never found it so easy to get out of junctions or change lanes on the motorway. I’d have thought it would be the other way around with this kind of car! It’s pretty practical too, as you would expect… I’ve taken a fridge to the dump in it so far and I had ample space left for 2 passengers and the dog. It’s much, much, MUCH easier to park than I expected to. You’ll probably think I’m bonkers for saying this but I find it easier to park than my MX-5 when the hard top is on!
Is it fast, could you out-drag an F40 and out manoeuvre an R500 at Cadwell Park?
Hell yeah! Ok not quite. Obviously the brochure figures for the power and torque aren’t amazing to start with and they’re made worse when you remember that this is an 1,800+ KG car and its bound to have lost a few of its 190 Stallions over the years!
It doesn’t feel slow, I will say that much. Its 0-40mph is actually quiet impressive considering the power/weight ratio. It has a decent amount of low-down torque and the gearbox doesn’t take too long to drop down a gear when you plant your foot down. In my original thread, someone said that the 4.0 I6 was ‘gutless’, was that guy f
king high? The ZJ won’t pin you back in your seats as you approach light speed admittedly but it sure as st isn’t gutless. It’s also not that bad a steer either. Whilst the body roll is pretty appalling (as expected) and the steering feel is non-existent, it grips well enough and I’m taking corners a hell of a lot faster than I expected I would be, my passengers get thrown around a bit but I couldn’t care less about them!
So, what don’t you like?
I was a little miffed with the mileage confusion, if I’m honest. But at the end of the day the mileage is just a number. The tracking is out too, which bugs the hell out of me but again it’s only a minor gripe.
The one thing that does drive me nuts is the oil leak. I do not want oil drips all over my drive; I hate it so f
king much. As a result, every time I park on the drive I have to stick some pieces of wood underneath the car – which you can see in some of the photos. I believe it’s dripping from around the gearbox area. Please don’t tell me that it’s probably ‘this or that’ and will cost X amount to fix, I don’t want to know, I'm not spending any money on this thing, it is just for a bit of fun. Does it slowly sip on petrol the same way Churchill sipped on Whiskey?
Errr No. As you’d expect it necks petrol like you wouldn’t believe. Right down the throat, it doesn’t even slosh it around its mouth to enjoy the flavour first. It is the equivalent of a Uni Student getting through as many £1 VK’s at Weatherspoons before heading to a ridiculously expensive drinking hole where VK’s are a ludicrous £2 (God I miss student night).
I’ve seen the trip computer show as high as 30mpg and as low as 4mpg. On average on my commute I’m getting around 14mpg. Painful, I know. I’ve owned both an RX-7 and RX-8 previously though, so teen-mpg is something I’ve been used to for nearly 3 years now. It’s not ideal but I’m sure I’ll miss it when we’re all in our electric flying cars like that have on the Jetsons.
Are you going to mod it like a badman?
I put an aftermarket air filter on it, an old Pipercross cone filter I’ve had for about 6 years now, it makes the induction noise sound sweet as f
k, I st you not. Other than that, I’m not going to modify it. I’ll stick a mattress in the back of it when I go camping with my mates though. At this point I’ll also quietly mention that I’ve named it ‘The PIMP WAGON’ and my friends now have to call me 'Sir Pimpsalot' . What’s next?
The second I’ve sourced my Spirit R, the Jeep will have to be sold, so I’m not planning on keeping it long – could be a few more weeks, could be 6 months. Who knows. I didn’t pay much for it so I’m sure I won’t lose anything on it unless the gearbox explodes or something. It's an honest car though, I’m sure it’ll do me well until I get rid!
A few PHer’s have already expressed interest in taking it off of my hands when I’m done. If you want me to stick you on the list let me know, and you’ll get the opportunity to buy it off me before I stick it on the classifieds!
And here are some more photographs that have been edited to s
t:What do you think? Top shedding or waste of money!? Let me know!
Edited by TREMAiNE on Saturday 16th January 15:52
Good shedding! These are a bargain really. Nice to drive, seriously comfy seats and I also quite like the engine. They are very grunty. The heated seats on these are good though, designed to heat burger munching American "portly" backsides so our British "slender" rear ends see the benefit.
Top work if you can stomach the fuel consumption!
a great winter hack. It will be fun in the snow, trust me!
Top work if you can stomach the fuel consumption!
a great winter hack. It will be fun in the snow, trust me!
I bagged a '98 one with 100k on last August for £500. Just use it as a hack and it's so much fun.
Handy for towing the caravan to race meetings, don't mind parking it anywhere, decided it'll never get washed, it can just be a Jeep. Replaced the front anti-roll bar bushes which helped with the roll a bit. It'll sit on cruise control at motorway speeds quite happily with armchair comfort.
They are what they are, no pretences.
Handy for towing the caravan to race meetings, don't mind parking it anywhere, decided it'll never get washed, it can just be a Jeep. Replaced the front anti-roll bar bushes which helped with the roll a bit. It'll sit on cruise control at motorway speeds quite happily with armchair comfort.
They are what they are, no pretences.
Indeed, they're a 'does what it says on the tin' kind of car.
I've not got much experience with American cars, just these and a Corvette I rented to driver across California and Nevada couple of years ago... But with my limited experience, cars made in the US aren't anywhere near as bad as people say.
They're just honest cars. Thirsty... But honest!
I've not got much experience with American cars, just these and a Corvette I rented to driver across California and Nevada couple of years ago... But with my limited experience, cars made in the US aren't anywhere near as bad as people say.
They're just honest cars. Thirsty... But honest!
Keep me on the list.
I have very little need for it other than a six month old puppy (a cockapoo called Elvis who is tiny and fits in the MINI perfectly fine) but I do fancy wafting around in it for a bit before passing it on to (most likely) another PH er
It could be the PH battlebus along with automatically bestowed membership of the frivolous purchases thread
Ta
I have very little need for it other than a six month old puppy (a cockapoo called Elvis who is tiny and fits in the MINI perfectly fine) but I do fancy wafting around in it for a bit before passing it on to (most likely) another PH er
It could be the PH battlebus along with automatically bestowed membership of the frivolous purchases thread
Ta
The drop of oil with be rear crankshaft seal at back of engine drips off bell housing ?? It's a 2 piece bearing that can be changed by removing the sump they all do it and if you do it or will probably do it again.
The tracking is yank tracking they are made for left hand drive so usually pull to the left on our camber roads
Don't waist money on laser set with tape measure at 0 toe in and straighten the wheel with drag link to pitman arm
Job done.
You do grow to love them on my eighth
The tracking is yank tracking they are made for left hand drive so usually pull to the left on our camber roads
Don't waist money on laser set with tape measure at 0 toe in and straighten the wheel with drag link to pitman arm
Job done.
You do grow to love them on my eighth
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