Good advice from somebody who proudly posts a pic of the most inferior Jeep ever IMO.
All bodies and eras of the Grand Cherokees are undesirable IMO. They have all sucked as far as ease to work on, Serviceability in general. They are difficult to work on and thus drives up the cost of repairs. The newer they get the more that they overcomplicate things. Simple things. They are some of the worst designed vehicles in the world IMO and have been forever. Yes. I have worked in a CJDR dealership and dealt with them a lot outside of the dealership. I do not like the way that they drive either. I like nothing about them.
I would never own 2018 or newer Compass. Ever. But guess what. That is an amazingly suitable vehicle for my wife and what she relies upon. It gets good fuel economy on long road trips for a 4wd, and it is easy to park in downtown big city areas.
Not to pick upon your Grand in this example or even my wifes Jeep. Just proving a point that whatever fits your life is what fits your life.
My first Jeep was an XJ when I really wanted an CJ or YJ.
Where I live you will never find a good condition CJ or YJ that has not rusted and been welded/patch repaired and the same is true of most XJs and TJs you will find. So unless I would be willing to travel out west to find an original rust free example that's not really an option. As far as how bad the WK series Grand really is, here are some facts from my experience.
Repairs:
rear pinion seal 78,000
cat converter (warrantee paid by ChryCo) 78,000
starter
alternator
shocks
at 100K + miles:
front diff mounts
rear CV on front driveshaft
TIPM (6/2017)
that's it.
In total it has needed less repairs than our ZJ which I bought new, the WK I bought when it was 2 years old with 25,000 miles on it. ZJ, needed a new horn pad, transfer case repair and reman 42RE (all under warrantee). As it got older new AC evap, heater core, rad and water pump and the typical ZJ power window/locks hassles...
So in my experience I have not found that the WK series is any more trouble prone than any other Jeep that we can own here. In fact we also have a '17 Wrangler, only 60,000 on it, just replaced a seized rear brake caliper and the plastic oil filter housing just started leaking. I am not a fan of the plastic oil filter housing, to me this is a bad and unecessary design "feature". The Pentastar is a good running V6 but that aspect of it was a mistake on their part, if you are going to build a housing like this, at least make it out of cast aluminum or put it where it can be accessed!
As for me, I intend to find a WK-II Hemi to replace my current 2007 when its time. The options of older Jeeps are just not practical in the rust belt.
The WK Hemi is fast, comfortable, can tow with ease up to at least 6000 lbs, and whatever little nits go wrong, I can live with them. This one has been driven from Long Island NY to Montreal QC for the F1 race like 5 times (1,000 miles round trip), and also up to Watkins Glen NY for the NASCAR race same thing, 5 times (500 miles round trip). No breakdowns, etc. And the Quadradrive -II system on mine is just plain superior to what is on any other Jeep....I watch big pick ups get stuck on the beach all the time, and yes Wranglers too, the QD-II just motors on through with no wheel spin, no drama. Front and rear locking diffs and auto engaging 2 speed transfer case. Superior, in snow and ice, superior on the beach and superior pulling boats up a slippery boat ramp....
