Hey Scotty, my father recently showed me your youtube channel and has got me hooked, I wanted to say thank you for all that you do to help and share information with others, (Your videos helped me decide on my first purchase of a "newer" vehicle, my 2012 Toyota Camry SE and I've never felt more confident in a car yet).
Recently a friend of mine has been showing a lot of interest in buying a Jeep, and I recalled a time or two from your videos where you mentioned that the newer Jeeps can be unreliable/money pits when it comes to upkeep since Chrysler was bought by fiat back in 2014(?) I want to give her the best advice I can but I can't say I know a whole lot about the subject, and I was wondering what your advice would be for her and her boyfriend who may be looking for a bit of an upgrade from their current vehicles. Ideally she'd like something with nice cargo space, towing capacity for a small trailer with a few kayaks and can survive these cold Minnesota winters and roads. Any recommendations?
The best buying advice most of us can probably give for modern Jeeps is not to buy one.
Or buy only a scale model of one.
One of these should be pretty reliable:
those lego Jeeps are more reliable than a Toyota, that's for sure.
If they are interested in a Jeep and won’t consider a Toyota, Honda, or Mazda instead, then they should only be leasing the Jeep and returning before the bumper to bumper warranty expires.
I'd go with a 4Runner or Tacoma. Jeep is not even in the category of Last Resort.
Best advice is definitely not to purchase one. If they HAVE to have one, just lease it. Trust me, that will give them enough of an issue they won't want to keep it.
Buy a 1970s jeep. Otherwise, dont bother. Could try a toyota 4runner.
4Runner is an excellent alternative to a Cherokee, they are crazy reliable, and good in nasty conditions, if you get a 4x4 versions at least.
Actually the mid to late 90s Jeeps are great. Of course the majority of people on here will recommend Toyota, which in my opinion isn’t always the answer and ultimately doesn’t answer your question. I agree that the modern Italian jeeps are crap. But if you can get a good 4.0L from the 90s with a manual it’s a decent Jeep.
Yeah, the straight-six models can be good but you still have to be wary of electrical problems and of course general old-car type problems in a decades-old vehicle. The Cherokee (not Grand Cherokee) with the 4.0 uses an Aisin (Toyota) 4-speed automatic transmission that holds up quite well and is a good match for the six.