Used 4Runner or Grand Cherokee

[stickel]

I'm in the process of getting rid of my current vehicle ('03 Subaru Legacy) and picking up a new ride. This will be a daily driver for now and I do a couple long road trips (~2k miles each way) each year to visit family; once in summer, once in winter.

Right now I've got a couple alerts on Craigslist:

1. 2000+ 4Runner
2. 2000+ grand cherokee

My cap is $10k and so far the selection has been fairly consistent.

• 2000-2004 4Runners (mostly sr5, but some limited trims) with 120k-255k miles, usually v6 engines
• 2002-2006 Grand Cherokees (all trims) with ~100k-170k miles, a lot of v8 engines

The questions I can't seem to find answers for are:

• is 157k miles too high for a used 2003-2006 grand cherokee?
• is 230k miles too high for a used 2005 t4r?
• I saw some other Wrangler v. t4r threads, how does a grand cherokee stack up to a t4r?

All thoughts are appreciated, thanks.

 

[Lepik]

Miles always seems to get me too. When I look at people who have a 2010 4 runner with 150k I am often like "how the heck did you put that many on. I have a 2002 Bravada that just hit 130k and that seems like a lot. I know people say 200k is decent for a ride but for me it seems hard to buy a vehicle with that many miles. I'm freaking cause I just put 1k on my month old 4Runner.

Now as far as my take goes on Toyota vs Jeep. I have had a couple Jeeps and just got my first Toyota. The Jeeps seems like stuff would always go wrong. My local Mechanic kept telling me to go with Toyota as the parts are less expensive but the quality is top notch. Having 2 Jeeps with constant problems I have swayed away from them. I know not all will share my opinion but from my experience and word of mouth Toyota is right Choice for us

 

[stickel]

It's crazy. Sometimes a random "used as a second vehicle" post will show up with < 100K miles, but that's few and far between. I currently drive a 2003 with 180k+ miles and my car is not doing well (hence looking for a new vehicle). Seeing the same mileage on a similar year or even newer really has me making this face trying to figure out if it's a good deal or not.

 

[Lepik]

It's crazy. Sometimes a random "used as a second vehicle" post will show up with < 100K miles, but that's few and far between. I currently drive a 2003 with 180k+ miles and my car is not doing well (hence looking for a new vehicle). Seeing the same mileage on a similar year or even newer really has me making this face trying to figure out if it's a good deal or not.

I feel ya! I think 10k a year (maybe 12) should be about average. I could be totally off base but 200k for a vehicle that is 7-10 years old is ridiculous. Good luck in your decision and hunting

 

[Saints&Sailors]

Everything I've read says that the average American drives 10-12k miles per year.

@stickel - Being in the Bay Area, you should be able to find a lot of options under $10k for Jeep Grand Cherokees. Toyota 4Runners will probably be fewer and farther between. Grand Cherokees sometimes get a bad reputation for reliability (more electronics, larger engine, debatably less reliable transmissions/transfer cases, etc.) but there appear to more of them on the market making their price point comparatively lower. If you can find an Overland edition, and are willing to negotiate, it might be worth your while. GCs have a lot of luxury options which, IMO, make them pretty desirable.

On the Toyota side, if you're willing to put some work into the vehicle and are patient, you can get a screaming deal. For example, I started a thread a little over a month ago (link) where someone in Mountain View was selling a 4Runner for $3k with rear locker and 175k miles. With a $10k budget, you could buy something like that, replace all fluids, bushings, brakes, tires, spark plugs, etc. and still have $5k leftover in case of emergencies.

Hell, I live in SF too - if you want, I can try to give you a hand with some of it. I'm more familiar with Jeep Wrangler TJs but it would be a good learning exercise.

Keep us posted on what you decide!

 

[000]

I drive a tow truck for a living and I tow a lot of grand Cherokees,in fact I towed one today. Off the top of my head I can't think of the last 4Runner I towed that wasn't in an accident, it's been quite awhile. Stay away from the 3.0 v6, all of the other motors in those are reliable. That being said, the older Cherokees with the 4.0 were solid, but I'd still take a Toyota.


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[stickel]

Everything I've read says that the average American drives 10-12k miles per year.

@stickel - Being in the Bay Area, you should be able to find a lot of options under $10k for Jeep Grand Cherokees. Toyota 4Runners will probably be fewer and farther between. Grand Cherokees sometimes get a bad reputation for reliability (more electronics, larger engine, debatably less reliable transmissions/transfer cases, etc.) but there appear to more of them on the market making their price point comparatively lower. If you can find an Overland edition, and are willing to negotiate, it might be worth your while. GCs have a lot of luxury options which, IMO, make them pretty desirable.

On the Toyota side, if you're willing to put some work into the vehicle and are patient, you can get a screaming deal. For example, I started a thread a little over a month ago (link) where someone in Mountain View was selling a 4Runner for $3k with rear locker and 175k miles. With a $10k budget, you could buy something like that, replace all fluids, bushings, brakes, tires, spark plugs, etc. and still have $5k leftover in case of emergencies.

Hell, I live in SF too - if you want, I can try to give you a hand with some of it. I'm more familiar with Jeep Wrangler TJs but it would be a good learning exercise.

Keep us posted on what you decide!

Thanks for the input. That's definitely been my experience so far. The t4r are few and far between unless I want to pay $10k for a 2002 with 200k miles. It kind of boggles my mind a little at just how hard it is to find one in this area with decent miles in my price range.

I did find a 2003 GC Overland with 157k miles. It's already got a 3" lift, new suspension, and 31" tires. Going to take that for a test drive this week. It's owned by a mechanic and it's under my price limit by a couple grand.

This will be my first overlanding vehicle so if I get the GC and it lasts a couple years I figure it'll be worth it and by then I will hopefully have a bigger budget for a new build.

 

[stickel]

I drive a tow truck for a living and I tow a lot of grand Cherokees,in fact I towed one today. Off the top of my head I can't think of the last 4Runner I towed that wasn't in an accident, it's been quite awhile. Stay away from the 3.0 v6, all of the other motors in those are reliable. That being said, the older Cherokees with the 4.0 were solid, but I'd still take a Toyota.

Appreciate the reply. The GC I found has the 4.7 v8 in it.

 

[Ichibahn]

Not many aftermarket company make accessories for 1999-2004 Grand Cherooke/WJ (bumper, lift kit, roofrack, tire carrier, snorkel, etc) and they are very expensive. You can find more company make accessories for similar year of Cherokee/XJ for less money.
My rig is 2002 GC 4.0 w/select trac 4x4 planning to change with T4R or FJ.
No room on engine bay for dual battery or onboard air compressor system, all of them has to stay inside the jeep.