- Seller: Andy K
- Location: Asheville, North Carolina
- Mileage: 132,000 Shown
- Chassis #: 1J4FF68S5XL663911
- Title Status: Clean
- Engine: 4.0
- Transmission: Automatic
UPDATE – The seller has lowered their asking price!
Motor Trend said, “…the Jeep Cherokee is a raging bargain, offering driving enjoyment, off-road ability, overall function…” and more gushing remarks, as did other magazines and reviewers. In my opinion, they’re a right-sized SUV, not a bloated, gargantuan, modern sherpa-mobile that nobody takes off the pavement anyway. Believe it or not, this Cherokee is almost a foot shorter than Honda’s smallest SUV, the HR-V. This one is listed as a Barn Finds Exclusive!
Jeep offered the XJ-based Cherokee for almost two decades in the U.S. in a four-door and two-door body style, from 1983 through 2001. Other than small updates, there wasn’t a major redesign or different generations of the Cherokee, they all looked basically like the one seen here, other than you can see this one has had a lift kit installed by the previous owner.
The rear bumper appears to be scratched, and the seller says there are the usual dings and scratches in this Cherokee, but it is rust-free. Looking at the photos, I almost wept like a child because it looks so solid. Having grown up in the Upper Midwest with five solid months of snow and salty roads yearly, I could only dream about owning a 1999 vehicle this solid.
The seller has owned this Cherokee for a little over a year and has put around 6,000 miles on it. The story goes that it was a gift for a child, but that child didn’t hold up her/her part of the agreement to get an acceptable GPA in school, so now the Cherokee is for sale. Life has consequences, and I applaud the parents for doling out some tough love. The interior looks great. Please check out the photos to see everything, and also, many underside photos are showing how good this Cherokee looks. They say the power door locks are sticking a bit but work manually.
The engine is an AMC-based 4.0-liter OHV inline-six, which was factory-rated at 190 horsepower and 225 lb-ft of torque when new. It sends power through a four-speed automatic transfer case to all four wheels as needed, and it’s said to run and drive great. There are a ton of new parts, and this one is located in beautiful Asheville, North Carolina, for $12,500 or the best offer.
I am not sure that this is the best choice of vehicle potentially for a new or inexperienced driver (high school student?). The increased ride height might make for a center of gravity that isn’t very forgiving of driver errors, like excessive speed on curves, sudden lane changes, etc. Kind of like the time I almost bought a Ducati for my first motorcycle during a midlife crisis. Thank goodness the salesman talked me out of it…☠️☠️☠️☠️
John Eder. Totally agree. Throw in the fact that this vehicle is 25 years old, no wonder the kid mailed in the scholastics.
“There are some things nobody needs in this world, and a bright-red, hunch-back, warp-speed 900cc cafe racer is one of them…” —Hunter S. Thompson on Ducatis, from “Song of the Sausage Creature”
John, my first road bike was a katana 750, no licence, but I survived. I did eventually get a licence. Ever regret not buying the duke?
No, as I would have to spend years dusting it while it was on display in my living room.
Besides, the optional Ducati training wheels would have put it beyond my budget.
I’m hearing you on the living room commet, if I still had my Kat, that’s where she would be.
Ironically, I currently own a Yamaha XJ900.
Sounds like a great bike, but as I believe that I have already indicated, I know absolutely nothing about motorcycles…. 😉
I was referring to the XJ bit, Jeep XJ, Yammy XJ.
I had a ’99 just like this but with a 5speed, what a great vehicle. Mine went about 200,000 miles before the tin worms got to it, but it still ran good. My wife had a 2000 that she put 230,000 on it. You just can’t kill these things. Rust free ones command premium prices. The only problem is most with 4WD were used in snow country. A lot of them from down south were rear wheel drive only. That makes this one kind of a unicorn, a 4WD with no rust.
I’ve had 3 of these (325,000 on one of them) and that 6 is one of the great American engines.
Totally agree.
As we speak im working on a buddy of mines, 230k typical “Atrophied” version you find here in the ozarks. Needs brakes, ujoints, electrical is a mess, power steering pump gone, a/c died who knows when but its a five speed i just finnished bleeding mastercylinder and slave but the thing runs and locks into 4 low and high. He paid 2500 no rust though
Beautiful old cherokee .I bought a ’89 from a kid for 600 dollars. All beat up nothing worked except it ran great and was a hell of a 4wheeler. I bought it to thrash around the mountains in my area of Paradise Ca. We had a run called the stair case which was literally a vertical rise boulder strewn night mare, No problem for old blue. Alot of cheering going on at the top. It failed me once when a crank sensor failure killed the old jeep in it’s tracks, of course in the middle of no where. Those years of cherokee are getting very desireable. This barn find jeep looks like a good deal.
Let me be the first to say this: This Cherokee, as desirable and excellent as they are, is wildly over priced. I follow these on all the auction sites because I was in the market for a clean one before I found my ’99 Explorer with 106K. Examples with less than half the miles are going for less than half the price. I’m not sure what’s in the water in Asheville but I suggest the seller start drinking bottled water.
Is it though? All it takes is a quick search
https://www.carsforsale.com/1999-jeep-cherokee-for-sale-C137087
https://www.carfax.com/Used-Jeep-Cherokee-Asheville-NC_w371_c17787
Well I saw one in 2006 on the 101 so. Hit the brakes at 75mph and it wasn’t pretty. It was traveling at a high speed and a car that was rear ended by a semi slide in to his lane, he hit his brakes and it flipped 5-6 times.
I owned and XJ, one of the best 4X4’s I’ve ever had.
(Again if it has a 2 speed transfer case, it’s not an SUV, its, a 4WD, a 4bie, a 4X4, the term “SUV ” also includes 2wd POS’s).
The 4L straight 6 is an awesome engine, in my opinion better than the 3.8 V6, and the 3.6 V6 (my son’s in law have rebuicons), and even they admit the XJ was better.
The only thing better than my XJ, was my dad’s CJ5 V8.
OK… It saws 4WD but the author describes an AWD drive line.
Which is it?
Good point. I don’t see a separate lever to engage 4wd.
4×4
I didn’t see where it was called AWD in the article. Pictures clearly show 4×4 badge where it should be, transfer case underneath, and 4×4 lever in the center console to switch between 2H, 4H, N, 4L just like they all have.
One of Jeeps 4×4 systems allowed for AWD. Not sure of the details but it was probably not as stout as the part time 4×4
My objection is that the author said SUV.
I’m sorry but an XJ Jeep cannot be in the same class as a Kia soccer mum van.
Who agrees?
Call em what they are, 2 speed transfer case, it’s a 4WD, a Suburu WRX, is an AWD. A Kia mini van is a POS.
Thank you. It is good to hear from someone who is familiar enough with a vehicle to supply a convincing answer.
If you are crying lie a child, I can only imagine David Tracy after seeing this. With dribble running down his grease soiled t-shirt, I imagine he is searching down the back of his sofa for coins, raiding his piggy bank and selling bodily fluids to raise money.
Someone get those hideous, too large, modern wheels off of it please. Embarrassing and I’m seeing this a lot lately, unfortunately.
XJ Cherokees had two different 4WD systems, the command track and the select track, one was part time only and the other could be left in $WD for full time operation. I had a 92 Cherokee Laredo that could be left in full time 4×4 mode.