Best XJ for my fiancee?

[hgeranium]

In about a year or so, my fiancée and I will be purchasing and moving into our first house. She doesn't have a car anymore (ran her car out of oil and seized the motor without my knowledge :p), so when we get all settled in we're going to start looking for another car. She would be very happy with an XJ, especially to compliment my MJ. I wanted to get y'alls thoughts on what era XJ would be best to look for? I am most familiar with Renix 4.0s of course, but I want something that would be easy for her to learn, work on, and diagnose, even if it means I need to learn about a different era.

 

So, is there an XJ (pre-renix, renix, HO, facelift, etc.) that are considered the most reliable or simple for a beginner? She knows very little but is willing to learn. I am leaning more towards a 97+ just for the creature comforts in the interior and part availability, but I'm not sure about if there's any electrical gremlins that would be a PITA, and issues with that era 4.0 in general.

 

[derf]

The 1996 has a ton of variations in one year and was the first year for OBD2.  If it's reliable, it's fine.  But getting the right parts can be a guessing game.

 

2000 and 2001 with the 4.0 have the 0331 head that is prone to cracking.  The TUPY update to the 0331 the the later TJs and WJs got is a decent upgrade but that involves a head swap.  Also, those got the coil pack swap.  They scrapped the distributor and went with fully computer controlled coil packs.  Diagnosing those can be a pain.

 

Beyond that, find one that has been well maintained and be happy with it.

 

[Gjeep]

Having had all years, I'd recommend 91-95. Rock solid. Renix can be tough with finding parts; 97+ finicky OBD2, cheap wiring, and HVAC.

[hgeranium]

Just now, Gjeep said:

Renix can be tough with finding parts

That's my only complaint with my 88. Almost every part needs to be ordered in from somewhere. I have to be much more preventative with keeping spare parts than I'd like. Good to know about the HO era, I figure that'll be best of both worlds between the Renix and 97+. Thank you.

[JZLAJeep]

We've owned 5 XJs over the years, including 3 currently (see the signature below). We have a neighbor that knows we like like XJ/MJ/CJ and came to us for advice on buying an XJ for his son. We told him that we tend toward HO although are open to any clean model between 90 (or late 89) and 2001, that facelift models seem to go for higher prices, that we like 5 speeds when we can find them. We tend to look for vehicles that are stock rather than modified. At this point miles don't really scare us if the vehicle has been well maintained.

[Pete M]

how well it's been treated matters more than anything else. 

[Smokeyyank]

91-95 or 98 and 99

[hgeranium]

Thank you for looking out, guys! I'm sure I'll be back on here in a year or so in the member project forum for it. I don't mind putting some work into it if it means I can show her the ins and outs.

[eaglescout526]

I can safely say that 84-86’s are not for a beginner. Those years kinda require a bit more knowledge and some dealer manuals. 
Yeah 86 is TBI for the 2.5L but even it is full of one off oddities. 

[75sv1]

I've had two '98s and an '00. I think the best year is the '99. Some improvements over the '98. The '00 and 01 do have some issues with the wiring. Still, as has been said by Pete, the best condition one. 

[NHMJXJ]

(1) 95 XJ 2door Chief ... absolutely loved it (watched my ex-wife drive it away).   I'll miss that Jeep.

 

(6) 97-01 XJ's ... Only had headwork done on one of my '01's, but they're (00 & 01) notorious for problems with the heads.  Had some sketchy electrical

problems with window controls, door locks, but nothing that couldn't be resolved.  I added overhead consoles to 3 of them, so that could have been to catalyst for

my electrical weirdness. Replaced two heater cores (Ugg). 

 

Recently had the following sequence on my current XJ ... Check gauges light comes on, then check engine, then gauges begin to fail and the odometer reads No Bus.  Sometimes the speedo and tach fail, sometimes all the gauges.  As it turns out, if you use percussive maintenance (whack it one), everything comes back and works fine.

 

  

[dasbulliwagen]

At this point, just finding a clean unabused, unmodified xj should be your only criteria. If you find a nice one, the year won't matter that much. 

[NHMJXJ]

[89 MJ]

How mechanically inclined are you? At this point, any XJ is an old car and will likely need a good chunk of work done to it. A low mileage one will probably have leaks from sitting and a high mileage one will have a lot of worn out parts. If you're not mechanically inclined, its going to take time and a chunk of money to get it all squared away at a shop, providing you can find a shop that will be willing to work on something that old. For most of my life, I have daily driven older vehicles, but I think its a good idea to have one fairly modern vehicle you can just jump in and drive if the older car is down for repairs. 

 

Has she driven your MJ? If she's used to newer stuff, she might not like the XJ. 

 

I don't think there is any particular year to steer clear from for an XJ, short of maybe 84-86 because they are unique. I also believe in sticking with what you know and are comfortable with. If you have an REM and are experienced with Renix, I would look for another Renix one. If you don't have much experience with Renix, it might be better to stick with an HO.

 

I don't think year or mileage matters as much as how well it was taken care of. If it is a nice Jeep that has been well taken care of, it will last you a long time. I also think buying a nice 4x4 XJ for $5000 or less are gone. From what I've seen, that is a price for a drivable project. If you are looking for one she can just jump in and drive, I think you'll be looking at spending at least $7500. You could probably find a 2wd or a 4 cyl for less than that.

[87MJTIM]

This one popped up on Facebook 

 

https://www.facebook.com/share/1JQDedoDMV/?mibextid=wwXIfr
 

‘97