Around Christmas 2010 I lost my all-in-one, everything car, a 2004 Acura TL. It was the first "real" car I purchased and fell in love with. It handled everything: family duty, poor weather conditions, highway cruises, and nights on the town. And after a good amount spent it was a real sleeper when it came to speed and handling.
On my way to work (did I mention comfortable commuter?) an older woman ran a stop sign, caught me on my rear quarter and spun the car out. The resulting damages led to the car being totaled.
Heartbroken and carless I vowed to never put myself into a position where I have one car for all duties. Living in NYC, especially in the borough of Brooklyn, it feels like only a matter of time before someone hits your "baby." With the insurance money I bought a new scooter (what I normally commute on when the weather permits) and a 2001 Honda Civic EX with 80k miles for commuting and family duty.
As the fall approached, I was fearful of another terrible winter here in the northeast. I'm not at all a fan of the "SUV in cities" craze but I figured if I was going to get one, I'd get a "proper" SUV and proceeded with my search for a Jeep Cherokee.
My must-haves were the inline-6, non-power windows, and it HAD TO BE A MANUAL. Little did I know how hard it would be to find a manual Cherokee. It seemed the harder I looked, the more elusive it became which only fueled my desire to have one. I scanned the Internet for any year manual Cherokee east of the Mississippi and every time I'd find one it would either be overpriced for what it offered, a non-runner, or someone swiped it as soon as it was posted.
After about four months of searching I found one on eBay right across the Hudson in North Jersey. This was my first vehicle purchase on eBay but being a reader of Inside Line gave me the confidence to make the purchase the very next day after seeing the listing. It was indeed a gem. It had 296k miles on it but the engine was rebuilt less than 100k miles ago. It had two previous owners and the current owner provided a very detailed repair history. After a bit of negotiation I feel like I got it for a steal as well.
I'm very glad I made this purchase. After a couple of repairs (loose steering column, power steering hose) it runs like a dream mechanically. There's a bit of rust and patch work underneath that I'm going to take care of in the spring. I'm not into off-roading so I'm not going to go crazy with the modifications. I just want to clean everything up and update what needs to be updated. The 4.0L straight-six is bullet-proof with proper maintenance from what I've read. So I nick-named it Roy Rogers and I plan on keeping this modern classic for as long as I can.
Future plans for a highway cruiser/night on the town vehicle: I'm thinking Dodge Challenger SRT-8 or Audi S5 (CPO).
Peace and Love Always,
Dexter
If you want to participate in the Readers Rides blog, click here to read the submission guidelines and email your text and photos to submissions@edmunds.com -- Donna
isend2c says:
11:43 AM, 02/14/12
I like the idea of having many various modes of transport, I have a bike and a car, but then you get more maintenance cost as well. I also don't like older cars as much, less safety and features. ABS and TCS used to things to brag about, now they're standard on every car sold in the states.
I do really like how the slightly newer Cherokee, The rounded version looks great to me.
gtrguy2012 says:
12:48 PM, 02/14/12
Dexter??!! The serial killer killer?
dexdizzy says:
01:59 PM, 02/14/12
@gtrguy
Lol. Not quite my hobby.
@isend2c
Cost wise with maintenance its actually not bad. Instead of 25k miles a year in its spread out making it less frequent.
veedubber86 says:
05:08 PM, 02/14/12
Nice car! It's too bad about the Acura though. I've been in that situation too where my 'baby' was destroyed by a careless driver. You're lucky to be in a position to have multiple cars.
emajor says:
07:50 PM, 02/14/12
Bummer about the Acura, that's a nice car.
Those Cherokees were archaic little brutes even 10 years ago when I first drove one, but you can't help but like them. Horrible gas mileage, cramped, cramped, cramped, but man do they work well off-road, and the 4.0L has nice torque. They always look good, it's a functional deliberate exterior design that ages nicely. I wouldn't mind having a 2004 or so model around for camping trips.
The Jeep Liberty is a complete freaking travesty next to this Cherokee. If the Wrangler ever goes under, I will fail to see the purpose of Jeep's existence.
dexdizzy says:
06:57 AM, 02/15/12
@emajor
I agree absolutely... With all of it's faults, and there are plenty, it has alot of personality.
The Liberty I also agree doesn't do the Jeep Brand justice, but I doubt they will EVER stop making Wranglers for as long as Chrysler is in existence.
The new Grand Cherokee is a nice alternative to a Land Rover (maybe not Range) I think.
mlowery85 says:
07:43 AM, 02/15/12
I'll always have a soft spot for the 3rd Gen TL.. fantastic cars they were, second only to the NSX in terms of Acura design appeal.. ruined with the 4th gen.. ugliest car ever.
baastnjp says:
09:39 AM, 02/15/12
I'm jealous.
What a beautiful Jeep. I once worked for a guy (back in 2001) that has an '87 XJ, and although the odometer stopped working, the a/c's out, the radio was on the fritz, and the interior was beat to crap, the engine was still going strong. At the time, I fell in love with the 2001 MY that has the 2-door. But, at the time, I was just fresh out of college and couldn't afford a brand new car. Then back in 2007, after months of searching I was not able to find one to my liking, so I purchased a 2007 Liberty. Granted, it has its share of issues (window regulator), but it got through 5 New England winters, a major accident, and it's still going strong....minus the few rattles.
It looks like the exterior is still in amazing shape, cherish it.
baastnjp says:
09:40 AM, 02/15/12
I'm jealous.
What a beautiful Jeep. I once worked for a guy (back in 2001) that has an '87 XJ, and although the odometer stopped working, the a/c's out, the radio was on the fritz, and the interior was beat to crap, the engine was still going strong. At the time, I fell in love with the 2001 MY that has the 2-door. But, at the time, I was just fresh out of college and couldn't afford a brand new car. Then back in 2007, after months of searching I was not able to find one to my liking, so I purchased a 2007 Liberty. Granted, it has its share of issues (window regulator), but it got through 5 New England winters, a major accident, and it's still going strong....minus the few rattles.
It looks like the exterior is still in amazing shape, cherish it.