In reply to Vigo :
No. Those are piles of poo too. Yes I'm serious.
In reply to Vigo :
No. Those are piles of poo too. Yes I'm serious.
OK, I had one (Liberty) for 120k miles, an 06 six-speed. It was good and bad.
The good: Good room for my wife and I, good for intermediate off-road (most of the trails in Colorado's San Juan Mountains) once I put a 2.5-inch lift on it, averaged about 21 mpg, no real problems until 105k miles. No problems ever with the engine.
Then - the bad: At that point everything started falling apart. power steering pump, front drive shaft (twice), front outer CV joint, front diff, ABS/stability control problems, the last year I had it I managed to put less than 1000 miles on it because it was in the shop so much. On the way to the Subaru dealer to trade it in, the driver side rear door window started slipping down (I pulled it up again and said goodbye). Too bad, the basic vehicle had lots of potential and I liked it until it started falling apart. I'm used to keeping vehicles a long time (my 2001 Tacoma has 237,000 miles and runs like a Swiss watch), so these days I use my Tacoma for when my wife and I go off road and if I have visitors who want to see our glorious back country, I go into Ouray and rent a Wrangler for a couple of days.
So unfortunately, can not recommend.
Only thing worse than a 3.7 Liberty is a 4.7 Grand Cherokee.
My wife had one as a daily from 02-06, and it was totally fine in her on road daily driving needs. Late in 06 on it's first off road trip, think dirt road in the woods to the top of a mtn, the rear end started grinding. We made it home and I pulled the cover and found teeth in the fluid. After getting that fixed we sold it and never looked back.
That was 12 years ago. I can't imagine looking at one a decade+ later.
Vigo said:Ok, this thread has been fun. Let's double down and add another scenario. Let's say i tack another 18" on the back of this car and change the name to "Grand Cherokee". Do we GRM'ers all of a sudden think it's cool?
Completely different chassis, though. Different rearend and suspension, different frontend, superficially similar front suspension but different, MUCH easier to work on, etc.
It ain't like a Cherokee vs. Grand Cherokee.
I get to say this because last week I was involved in an oil pan replacement on a Liberty, and today I was involved in an oil pan replacement on a Grand Cherokee, so the PITA bits are fresh to mind.
Completely different chassis, though. Different rearend and suspension, different frontend, superficially similar front suspension but different, MUCH easier to work on, etc.
I'm mostly with you. It's just ironic to me that we're a lot more accepting of Grand Cherokees when a lot of them have a lot in common with Liberties, like 3.7/4.7, same trans/tcase, same falling windows, more wiring problems, more HVAC problems, etc. I don't personally think the contemporary GC is in a whole other category. I think it's better, but not all the way from POS to 'really good car'. But the enthusiasm gap from Liberty to GC would have you think otherwise!
I have a 2005 with the 2.8 common rail diesel. I asked here for opinions before I bought it and I got similar opinions, but I bought one anyway. I think you may want to go back through these responses and sort through those who have heard it is good/bad versus those who have personal experience. For myself, I enjoy mine. I lifted it and added bigger boots and a funky ARB bumper and it has been as reliable as any other old poorly maintained E36 M3box I have owned. It is fun to drive and easy to park and it will tow 4500 pounds with no complaints. I have a friend who liked mine enough that he bought himself one. It cost $500.00 and had 400,000 k on it. He did the clutch and has added another 100,000 k. It is still in nice shape. They do not rust out here on the West coast but I have seen some brutal photos of rust and I would not look at one with even a trace. Also I can buy a decent one with the 3.7 for $1500 cdn here all day long so I question whether there is any flipping potential.
In reply to bearmtnmartin :
The 2.8CRD is definitely a polarizing drivetrain. The people who like 'em really like 'em and those who don't, really don't. No real in between.
One nice thing about the GC that I'd forgotten: It has a floater rear. They put unit hub/bearing assemblies on the end of the axle housing (no spindles) and the axles are just sticks. Neat stuff.
My ex-MIL drove a beige 2005 KJ when I met my now ex-SWMBO.
That's all I am going to say about that 
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