Hi everyone,
I've been reading a bit on these forums, and I can see it's quite the knowledgeable bunch. I'm not sure if y'all normally answer more general questions, so I hope I'm not committing a faux-paus by asking one.
I have a 96 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4wd 6cyl SUV with 285k miles on it. It's on its original engine & tranny. It's been fairly well maintained to a point, mostly highway miles, been ok on oil changes (most of the time within 1,000 miles of 3k..most of the time). But, last time I had a full service (owner's manual 150k mile check) was at 150k.
Now my question is: how much should I really invest in the maintenance of the car at this point? Edmunds values it at under $1000. I've had to replace a few things in the last 2 years (an alternator, water pump, belts, tires, front brakes/rotors) that has cost well over the value of the car. I was pricing a full service tune up, fluid flush, etc., and most shops want at least $500 (one as high as $950). The car also has a few minor issues: driver door panel falling off, power door locks stopped working (makes a grinding sound and doesn't move lock), rear windshield wiper won't work, needs new muffler/exhaust pipe (weld broke, rattles a little, $150-200 repair that just seems cosmetic).
Plan 1 is to keep up with oil changes, but not really do much else, any fixes beyond $2-300 will be considered 'sell/total-worthy' / dump it.
Plan 2 is to do all the scheduled maintenance, flush all fluids, and prepare for tranny replacement or engine replacement.
A little more background - it's had its share of problems, and over the years it has been in and out of the shop. 3 alternators, 2 water pumps, 2 a/c's, off the top of my head, in the last 9 years. I got the car on my 16th birthday (thanks, pops!), and recently got out of college (didn't have much cash for maintenance work in college, thus the neglect on regular maintenance). Right now I live 2 miles from where I work, usually walk or bike in, only really using the car for groceries and the occasional short trip. I don't really trust it for anything more than a 2hr drive anymore, because I had a problem with a fan belt recently that came off and stranded me an hour from home. Financially, if push came to shove and I needed another car, I could buy one, but realistically I'd probably just get by without for a little while. I'm pretty comfortable changing the oil, but that's really it.
So what do you guys think? Is it officially a "beater" now? If it were your car, what would you do?
I've been reading a bit on these forums, and I can see it's quite the knowledgeable bunch. I'm not sure if y'all normally answer more general questions, so I hope I'm not committing a faux-paus by asking one.
I have a 96 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4wd 6cyl SUV with 285k miles on it. It's on its original engine & tranny. It's been fairly well maintained to a point, mostly highway miles, been ok on oil changes (most of the time within 1,000 miles of 3k..most of the time). But, last time I had a full service (owner's manual 150k mile check) was at 150k.
Now my question is: how much should I really invest in the maintenance of the car at this point? Edmunds values it at under $1000. I've had to replace a few things in the last 2 years (an alternator, water pump, belts, tires, front brakes/rotors) that has cost well over the value of the car. I was pricing a full service tune up, fluid flush, etc., and most shops want at least $500 (one as high as $950). The car also has a few minor issues: driver door panel falling off, power door locks stopped working (makes a grinding sound and doesn't move lock), rear windshield wiper won't work, needs new muffler/exhaust pipe (weld broke, rattles a little, $150-200 repair that just seems cosmetic).
Plan 1 is to keep up with oil changes, but not really do much else, any fixes beyond $2-300 will be considered 'sell/total-worthy' / dump it.
Plan 2 is to do all the scheduled maintenance, flush all fluids, and prepare for tranny replacement or engine replacement.
A little more background - it's had its share of problems, and over the years it has been in and out of the shop. 3 alternators, 2 water pumps, 2 a/c's, off the top of my head, in the last 9 years. I got the car on my 16th birthday (thanks, pops!), and recently got out of college (didn't have much cash for maintenance work in college, thus the neglect on regular maintenance). Right now I live 2 miles from where I work, usually walk or bike in, only really using the car for groceries and the occasional short trip. I don't really trust it for anything more than a 2hr drive anymore, because I had a problem with a fan belt recently that came off and stranded me an hour from home. Financially, if push came to shove and I needed another car, I could buy one, but realistically I'd probably just get by without for a little while. I'm pretty comfortable changing the oil, but that's really it.
So what do you guys think? Is it officially a "beater" now? If it were your car, what would you do?
