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YACT: Is it worth it?

S Freud

S Freud

Diamond Member
So my dad recently traded cars with me for the winter because his handles better in the snow, he said he was thinking of giving it to me permanently.

Details:
Its a 1997 Jeep Cheroke with 160,000 miles on it
The front bumper is cracked and one of the fog lights is broken off from a winter wreck
There's a leak around the back tail light somewhere thats letting water in somewhere

My question is pretty much do you think its worth it to fix it up? Some of my friends so no because of the amount of mileage but I can't really afford a new car right now(which is what they drive because they have rich parents.)


I really like it because its a 4WD and its gets up goes ok. Plus I can haul most things in it or on top of it, plus it can take five people anywhere.

Thanks for any input 🙂
 
I think fog lights can be quite expensive to repair, but you may be able to salvage one off a write off somewhere? like just take the whole bumper and sort what u need from that, and the light should be pretty easy to do a repair, just find the leak and put some bathroom sealant on it, what car did you have?
 
Not worth repairing, since the monthly payments are so high.



:shocked:



Seriously, a busted fog light and a leaky tail light? fix it and drive it...it's free, right?
 
I had a '97 ford ranger 2WD thing was horrible in the snow.

I know what repairs I need to make and my dad said he would help me with them, my question is if its worth it to put money into this thing and make those repairs?
 
Originally posted by: feralkid
Not worth repairing, since the monthly payments are so high.



:shocked:



Seriously, a busted fog light and a leaky tail light? fix it and drive it...it's free, right?
Click to expand...


Yea thats what i'd say, its still roadworthy!
 
Originally posted by: feralkid
Not worth repairing, since the monthly payments are so high.



:shocked:



Seriously, a busted fog light and a leaky tail light? fix it and drive it...it's free, right?
Click to expand...

What monthly payments are you talking about?

There are a few things wrong with it, I was just asking if its worth it or should I just save my money since it has such high mileage on it.
 
The leak can probably be fixed with some silicon, and as of the fog lights...living exclusively in the Bay Area and SoCal my entire life I have no idea how necessary it is for your application.
But if it's only one fog light that's busted I guess you can make do without repairing it.
 
Originally posted by: S Freud
I had a '97 ford ranger 2WD thing was horrible in the snow.

I know what repairs I need to make and my dad said he would help me with them, my question is if its worth it to put money into this thing and make those repairs?
Click to expand...

Hard to say without knowing the maintenance history of the vehicle. But those don't sound like very expensive repairs.
 
Originally posted by: Sukhoi
Hard to say without knowing the maintenance history of the vehicle. But those don't sound like very expensive repairs.
Click to expand...

Maintenance history?

If you mean oil changes and regular things like that, then those are always taken care of and I never let things go on my vehicles.

If you mean other damages and things that need repairing, this is pretty much it.
 
Originally posted by: S Freud
Originally posted by: feralkid
Not worth repairing, since the monthly payments are so high.



:shocked:



Seriously, a busted fog light and a leaky tail light? fix it and drive it...it's free, right?
Click to expand...

What monthly payments are you talking about?

There are a few things wrong with it, I was just asking if its worth it or should I just save my money since it has such high mileage on it.
Click to expand...



If i were you i'd just leave the fog light, and fix the back light (because if theres water in it it might short out) which should be free
 
Fix the leak immediately. Rust is bad.

Once it gets warmer look around junkyards for the fog light and bumper. Probably more cosmetic than anything.
 
Originally posted by: S Freud
Originally posted by: feralkid
Not worth repairing, since the monthly payments are so high.



:shocked:



Seriously, a busted fog light and a leaky tail light? fix it and drive it...it's free, right?
Click to expand...

What monthly payments are you talking about?

There are a few things wrong with it, I was just asking if its worth it or should I just save my money since it has such high mileage on it.
Click to expand...




Uh, that was my point...no payments=good !

If there are significant repairs needed that you haven't mentioned, that could change things. Have you given us the complete story?
 
Find a fog light part in a junkyard or ebay, or an automotive recycler. If the taillight housing isn't visibly cracked, take it out, find the leak, and put silicone sealer on it. Those repairs are nothing.

If the fog light is one of those generic square types, you could maybe find a cheap aftermarket kit with the same size lenses at a store for $20 - then you'd get two bulbs, replacement housings, new lenses, etc. I did this with my Trans Am when a rock killed one of my OEM lenses.

EDIT: is it like this one? Those fog lights on the bottom? That's exactly what I was talking about. I'd bet anything if you pulled the bad lens off and took it to Autozone or something, there'd be some generic off-the-shelf kit that would have an identical size lens / housing that would drop right in.
 
Yep, thats the complete story. There are no major repairs like a transmission or anything like that, like stated above its mostly cosmetic stuff but the light thing needs to be taken care of because the water leaks inside.
 
Doesn't sound like a bad offer. Granted, it may get considerably worse mileage than the ranger, but that's one of the trade-offs...
 
The leak may not be around the tail light. Check the area where the rear hatch bolts to the body as it is a place where moisture collects and I have seen them rust clean through under the seam sealer.
 
For free, i'd budget like $1500 to put into it. That really isn't that many miles for newer cars, except the transmission on chryslers blow.
 
Originally posted by: Christobevii3
For free, i'd budget like $1500 to put into it. That really isn't that many miles for newer cars, except the transmission on chryslers blow.
Click to expand...

Yeah I was wondering if they've ever done any tranny fluid flushes and filter changes.
 
Originally posted by: Christobevii3
For free, i'd budget like $1500 to put into it. That really isn't that many miles for newer cars, except the transmission on chryslers blow.
Click to expand...

The automatic transmission attached to 4.0L Cherokees was the Aisin AW4. The same transmission that was attached to Supras, 4Runners, old Lexuses. It's near-bulletproof and it along with the engine will last a long time.
 
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