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'96 Jeep Cherokee: Need Opinions

1M views 159 replies 100 participants last post by  Greengc4x4 
#1 ·
So, my boyfriend bought a '96 Cherokee (XJ) SE, for way too much, like around $3,000. It broke down and he has put another $2,500 in it and totally rebuilt the engine and did a lot of after market work on it. He has and will do all the labor himself, he refuses to pay for labor. Now, he finds out that the motor needs to be taken back out and fixed again and is looking at another $700. I said he should just sell it and wipe his hands clean, he says he won't make enough.

Firstly, what is your guys' opinion on what he should do? Secondly, how much do you think he could make parting it versus just the whole car as is?

Thanks for your guys' opinions!
 
#2 ·
You want my opinion? Ok…

Shut the hell up. You’re not his wife. You’re not paying for the repairs. It’s absolutely none of your business what he does with his Jeep or his money. I know your type well… first it’s “Sell the Jeep because it’s costing too much money.” Then it’s “No, you can’t go spend the weekend with your buddies because I need you to take me shopping.” Then it’s “Oh gee, honey… I’m pregnant. Gosh, I have no idea how that happened.”

You’re a DreamKiller. You kill a guy’s dreams, take away his future, tie him down with a fat mortgage and too many babies, and turn him into just another miserable guy wondering, “How the hell did I get here?”

Do you really want to help him? Here’s what you do… go to your local library (it’s a big building with books inside) and check out a couple of books on rebuilding engines. Read them, over and over, until YOU understand what needs to be done. Then help him get that engine out and rebuild it. Tie your hair back in a ponytail, put on some old jeans and get your hands dirty. Hand him wrenches, hold the light, pull the wire connectors apart, help him get the hood off… help him with anything he needs. When he gets tired, run inside and make him a hot lunch or dinner. Fix him coffee, hot chocolate, whatever he wants. (But NO beer. Beer is for when the job is done.)

Then when the day is over and you’re both exhausted from working on the engine, push him into a hot shower and jump in with him. Scrub his back, wash his hair, rinse him off, and dry him with fluffy towels still hot from the dryer. Then push him into bed and screw his ears off. Then get up the next day and do it all over again.

Make him realize that rebuilding an engine is a slow and methodical process. Make him realize that every step should be regarded as surgery; every step must be perfect… perfect torque, perfect fit, perfectly clean. If you run into a step that you just can’t figure out, ask for help from someone who knows what he’s doing. Are you cute? Put on a low-cut top, show some cleavage and go (by yourself) to the local Jeep shop, and explain to the guys that you are helping your boyfriend to rebuild his engine and neither of you can figure out this one little step, and do they have any advice…

Think it won’t work? Think again. We guys love to help cute girls, even if they have a boyfriend. (Hey, maybe you’ve got a sister, or girlfriend…)

But absolutely DO NOT whine or complain. Do not say a single negative thing. Not a single “Oooooo, I broke a nail.” If you break a nail, or cut your finger, or bang a knuckle, you just shut up and DEAL WITH IT. You should be a hopelessly optomistic, never-say-die cheerleader, encouraging him every step of the way.

That’s my opinion.
 
#4 ·
You want my opinion? Ok…

Shut the hell up. You're not his wife. You're not paying for the repairs. It's absolutely none of your business what he does with his Jeep or his money. I know your type well… first it's "Sell the Jeep because it's costing too much money." Then it's "No, you can't go spend the weekend with your buddies because I need you to take me shopping." Then it's "Oh gee, honey… I'm pregnant. Gosh, I have no idea how that happened."

You're a DreamKiller. You kill a guy's dreams, take away his future, tie him down with a fat mortgage and too many babies, and turn him into just another miserable guy wondering, "How the hell did I get here?"

Do you really want to help him? Here's what you do… go to your local library (it's a big building with books inside) and check out a couple of books on rebuilding engines. Read them, over and over, until YOU understand what needs to be done. Then help him get that engine out and rebuild it. Tie your hair back in a ponytail, put on some old jeans and get your hands dirty. Hand him wrenches, hold the light, pull the wire connectors apart, help him get the hood off… help him with anything he needs. When he gets tired, run inside and make him a hot lunch or dinner. Fix him coffee, hot chocolate, whatever he wants. (But NO beer. Beer is for when the job is done.)

Then when the day is over and you're both exhausted from working on the engine, push him into a hot shower and jump in with him. Scrub his back, wash his hair, rinse him off, and dry him with fluffy towels still hot from the dryer. Then push him into bed and screw his ears off. Then get up the next day and do it all over again.

Make him realize that rebuilding an engine is a slow and methodical process. Make him realize that every step should be regarded as surgery; every step must be perfect… perfect torque, perfect fit, perfectly clean. If you run into a step that you just can't figure out, ask for help from someone who knows what he's doing. Are you cute? Put on a low-cut top, show some cleavage and go (by yourself) to the local Jeep shop, and explain to the guys that you are helping your boyfriend to rebuild his engine and neither of you can figure out this one little step, and do they have any advice…

Think it won't work? Think again. We guys love to help cute girls, even if they have a boyfriend. (Hey, maybe you've got a sister, or girlfriend…)

But absolutely DO NOT whine or complain. Do not say a single negative thing. Not a single "Oooooo, I broke a nail." If you break a nail, or cut your finger, or bang a knuckle, you just shut up and DEAL WITH IT. You should be a hopelessly optomistic, never-say-die cheerleader, encouraging him every step of the way.

That's my opinion.
Lol im not really even sure what to saw to this except for wow.

but from the sounds of it hes in to deep to back out of it now.
 
#6 ·
I had to LOL :teehee:
But I do agree that it's not really up to you as a GF. Either love him and support or at least tolerate the jeep endeavors, or find another BF with perspectives more in line with your own. :tea:
 
#8 ·
Hes already deep in it. Might as well fix it. He wouldnt get near 3k for parting it out.
 
#10 ·
I needed this to start my day. Goes well with coffee by the woodstove.:D
 
#13 ·
So, my boyfriend bought a '96 Cherokee (XJ) SE, for way too much, like around $3,000. It broke down and he has put another $2,500 in it and totally rebuilt the engine and did a lot of after market work on it. He has and will do all the labor himself, he refuses to pay for labor. Now, he finds out that the motor needs to be taken back out and fixed again and is looking at another $700. I said he should just sell it and wipe his hands clean, he says he won't make enough.

Firstly, what is your guys' opinion on what he should do? Secondly, how much do you think he could make parting it versus just the whole car as is?

Thanks for your guys' opinions!
My experience with parting out a Cherokee, was that people were only after small parts. It drove me crazy. Also, there is a lot of time to pull the part, then package it, then ship it.
I don't know the condition of said vehicle when he bought it. That is body wise and mechanical wise. Also, what milage? Low mialge Cherokees, around a 100K, bring $3K to $4K.
Now broken ones or poor condition ones, don't bring that much. I think your BF is stuck either putting the money into it, or dumping it at pennys on the dollar. Also, you don't mention what the $2500 was spent on. Was it replacement parts, or lifts and accesories? There is a big difference there.
If he purchased a Cherokke in good shape and low miles, then probably a fair price. Then he lifts it, etc. Then if he is offraoding it, then you can't complain if things break.
Tom
 
#18 ·
Amen wgirvine. A little harsh, but dead on.

I buy a lot of junk cars and spend a lot of time working on them. My wife is always there to help lift on body parts and cylinder heads, make lunch, hand me tools, run to the parts store or whatever. She's the best, her help has saved us a lot of money in labor. To the OP; Your help could really turn this around. XJ's are easy to work on and parts are cheep, when you are done it will be like a new jeep.
 
#19 ·
LMFAO, that is awesome: i actually had to look up and see if i was at pirate LOL
 
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#23 ·
Wow we are a mature bunch, my advice go to another forum and ask for advice you obviously are not going to get much good stuff out of us. The original advice given was actually fairly sound advice but what happened to being a little bit kind to people looking for advice especially a new person
 
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#28 ·
Let the guy spend HIS money how HE pleases. As a girlfriend, you really have no say nor do any of us. He wanted the jeep, had means to get it..got it. Probably had fun with it, broke it. It's a labor of love. Some of us enjoy wreching around on stuff. Why pay top dollar to get something fixed, when you can go buy the parts, invest a little time, and learn something in the process of the repair. I'm sure if you had a car that broke, then brought it to the repair shop and looked at the tab you'd love to have bf that could fix said car for pennies in comparison. He's gaining knowledge and pride from that "overpriced" ****can. Like stated above, why not just help him do what he wants to do. I bet he'd be overjoyed to have his gf passing him tools, or just sitting there talking to him while he works. Why be that irritating girlfriend sitting in the shop miserable when you could get your hands the slightest bit dirty and make the guy smile. No matter what, a girl who wants a serious shot with a guy never intentionally hurts his pride. Posting on a Jeep forum about his what you consider "bad" decisions isn't being helpful or supportive..and you're not going to get the answer YOU want

In terms of part-outs..They're a gamble, you may have someone come buy the whole jeep at once..But thats usually not the case. He most likely won't make back what he put into it. In a decent time frame atleast.
 
#147 ·
My wife will gripe about me working on my Jeep or WS6 but when she need something done to her car she is all for me working on it to save some money. When she gripes about it taking longer than she wants to wait I tell her to get her arse out here and help me or shut the hell up. That usually ends the griping sessions.

Gina gave the best advice and it coming from another woman makes it even better. Gina I would love it for the wife to roll up her sleeves and come help sometimes as long as she doesn't keep asking a million questions and hour.

The first reply to the OP was awesome. I am sure every man has wanted to say something similar at some point and time. It was a little harsh but he was keeping it real.
 
#30 ·
I don't think the negative comments are necessary. She obviously cares about her boyfriend or else I don't think she would have taken the time to create an account and ask for advice. She wanted an opinion so give her facts and values as to why or not he should keep the jeep. Granted not all comments were negative. Personally if he likes the jeep let him keep it. It might be expensive and appear to be a pain in the ***, but it is rewarding and he will have a useful vehicle once it is fixed. Just my 2 cents....
 
#31 ·
Nobody thought about if they have kids, if he has other responsibilities or what the actual situation is. And "anal," how many guys that actually get anal would say something like that? My .02, get a used engine to drop in. The 4 liter engine usually gets north of 200, 000 and costs almost nothing and can be found just about anywhere. If he wants to rebuild the engine because he built it with some go fast parts then this will give him time to rebuild it slowly, correctly and as funds allow. It is tough seeing someone do something you see as painful, especially when times are tough financially but as long as it isn't actually stopping you from making payments you need to be or putting food on the table, have his back. I'm at least $15 grand in the hole on a 68 firebird. Its still in pieces and I'm about to drop another $4 on an ls2 engine. I told my wife, she said, "you could be putting that money towards your son's education or our mortgage," and she's right. But she didn't say no and she doesn't nag. And when (if) it comes back together she will know that car defines me and she will be proud that her husband can build something like that when some men struggle to change oil. So look at it this way, at least you're not my wife - or that "anal" guys hand.
 
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