GMT 800 Suburban (Worth selling XJ Cherokee?)

[meep]

XJ is a hoot to drive, especially around town. Easier to work on too IMO. Nimble yet powerful. Plastics in those years of jeeps seem to hold up better, at least around where I live.

otoh, those are some of the best years for the gm trucks. Is the gm a 4wd?

 

[lawrencerd]

XJ is a hoot to drive, especially around town. Easier to work on too IMO. Nimble yet powerful. Plastics in those years of jeeps seem to hold up better, at least around where I live.

otoh, those are some of the best years for the gm trucks. Is the gm a 4wd?

Indeed, suburban has 4wd, pretty well loaded.

And I 100% agree about the Jeep. I went to school in Boone in the NC mountains, and I can't think of a more ideal car for driving around in/out of the odd driveways and little elevation changes. Awesome.

 

[GMBoy]

800s are rock solid and arguably the best generation of GM fullsize. With that DO NOT sell that XJ if at all possible. I sold my 2000 Limited and regret that decision still to today. That was my favorite 4x4 ever....and they are getting valuable.

 

[Nick1994]

Bet you a tank of gas the 'Burb will beat the XJ on the highway when it comes to MPG.

I'd let the XJ go in favor of the GMT800, and that's coming from a guy who has no plans to let his 175k mile WJ go any time soon.

Mine will get 21 mpg on the highway if I baby it. 15 around town.

I’d say it’s a tie.

 

[lawrencerd]

Mine will get 21 mpg on the highway if I baby it. 15 around town.

I’d say it’s a tie.

Yeah it's been a while but I could definitely eke ~20.5

 

[MNgopher]

My xj was capable of 22mpg or so...

 

[dogememe]

I’d take a GMT800 over an XJ any day!

 

[dishdude]

Buy it, keep both

This x1000

 

[dishdude]

Some may laugh, but the XJ is getting pretty collectible. Keep it stock and well maintained. Nice machine there.

Nothing to laugh about there, clean XJs are commanding big bucks.

 

[redhat]

Suburban all day, GMT800... I'd take in any flavor.

 

[4WD]

Had three GMT800 4WD’s - typically put 100k on them and they’d only see the dealership when we’d trade for another …
Our 2005 Yukon had more comfortable seats than those currently in my signature …

Have not seen much debate over which is safer on the road
Keep both ?

 

[supton]

I vote for both. Easy for me to spend your money.

 

[silversport]

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the GMT800s are held in higher esteem than the replacement GMT900s...I'm really enjoying my new to me (June of this year) 2005 GMC Yukon Denali...

Good luck with your choice...I'm 6'6" so I'd pick the Suburban over the lil Jeep but if you can keep both, at least for awhile it might help should you need to make the choice of one or the other...

Bill

 

[emmett442]

I think it depends on what daily life is like as far as driving.

Out on the open road, the Suburban is about as good as it gets. But if you do any urban driving, they can be a pain with their size. They're large, lumbering numb. Harder to park, manuever, etc. (why I chose the Tahoe)

The shorter wheelbase XJ is a lot easier to drive, in my opinion.

If none of that is a concern, there is no penalty for going Suburban.

 

[lawrencerd]

I think it depends on what daily life is like as far as driving.

Out on the open road, the Suburban is about as good as it gets. But if you do any urban driving, they can be a pain with their size. They're large, lumbering numb. Harder to park, manuever, etc. (why I chose the Tahoe)

The shorter wheelbase XJ is a lot easier to drive, in my opinion.

If none of that is a concern, there is no penalty for going Suburban.

I would say most of our driving is highway or rural here in eastern North Carolina, with urban driving coming in only while traveling. Granted, if we are going to use it to travel in then that's a good point. I'm going to check it out in person today to make a final decision.

 

[redhat]

Also, for what it’s worth… any potential reliability concerns (which IMO there’s little to none on a GMT800 — literally all problems by now are identified and easily remedied via many avenues) should be taken with a grain of salt as the engines are a dime a dozen and the trans are not hard to find a reasonable rebuild.

 

[jeepman3071]

Nothing to laugh about there, clean XJs are commanding big bucks.

+1

I miss mine, but it was rusting out to the point of needing significant body repair in multiple areas. Even rusted out, I had people approach me weekly asking if I would sell it while parked somewhere. I ended up selling it for more than I thought it was worth after only having it listed for 1 day.

I spent months looking for a clean one, but in the end I just found some that were very overpriced for their condition, or people who wanted to start bidding wars. I decided to change it up and get my Wrangler, which I love, but I'll always have a soft spot for the XJ Cherokee, and should I move in the future to an area where I can put a larger garage I'd still be open to finding one and adding it to the fleet.

 

[lawrencerd]

Well it's been a very frustrating night. I went to check out the Suburban and it's pretty great. literally 52,000mi, and near as I can tell everything works. There is some surface rust on the frame and the trans pan looks to need replacing (also rusty) but the body is very solid. There are a couple of dings and the paint on the roof is poor, so it probably needs resprayed there. Other than that, it is as clean as you could hope a 20 yr old truck to be.

The original owner has kept maintenance records as well. Because I am the type of person who has an account on this forum, that's very appealing.

However, wife does not approve. Basically on the grounds of we don't strictly need it (true) and her car is older, getting higher mileage, and should be replaced as a higher priority than getting an extra truck like this. I can't really deny those points and I have to respect it, but it feels bad to miss out on this one because the mileage and condition seems extremely rare.

 

[cptbarkey]

Sorry to hear that. My 1999 2500 (not the older style) has surface rust on the frame and its been in Texas its entire life. I am not concerned in the slightest. However Its good you are thinking practical vs wants.

 

[lawrencerd]

Sorry to hear that. My 1999 2500 (not the older style) has surface rust on the frame and its been in Texas its entire life. I am not concerned in the slightest. However Its good you are thinking practical vs wants.

Oh yeah no, I would have no concerns about the condition of the frame - it's solid. It's just not worth doing a deal on something that we can't agree on.

Brb while I mourn. Lol