I’m unsure how much to pay for this used car. It’s a 2004 Grand Cherokee, 2WD and V6. it has 65k miles.
My friend says $5000 (from a friend who’s owned jeeps before), which seems too low. I’d be willing to pay $6500, but I’ve never owned a jeep before.
Thoughts? Maintenance seems pretty cheap (though steady) on it, and the gas mileage is less than ideal…
If you want anyone to comment, then you need to provide a whole lot of information on the vehicle. How many miles are on it? Are service records available? If so, how does the documented service history match up with the recommendations in the owner’s manual? Is there anything that does need attention now? How soon before it needs tires? Brakes?
If things like this aren’t clear, then you should really take it to a trusted mechanic to check things over. Without clear, extensive knowledge of the condition of the vehicle, no one could tell you whether to pay $5000, $500 or $5 for it.
You can find used car pricing data here:
Sorry cigroller, you’re right. It has 65k miles on it, has documented service records. Only a 2WD and V6.
Thanks jesmed!
Edmunds and KBB are incredibly fuzzy. I have bought my last few vehicles from Craigslist - so we’re talking about a “private party sale” value. If you spend enough time on Craigslist you can get a good idea of more local market conditions. (It’s vague, but you’ll get an idea). KBB values are always wildly inflated for my area - by a good 20% or more. My own Craigslist board is always full of people posting cars over and over and over (and over and over) with exasperated claims of what KBB “says it’s worth.” Of course KBB is owned by Autotrader so I don’t know what that means. For my area Edmunds is always closer to what things seem to sell for, but also inflated.
yeah i honestly don’t really trust the kbb/edmunds pricing, so i’d thought i’d take it to anyone who’s owned jeeps before!
I don’t understand why anyone would want a 2 wheel drive Jeep.
i’ve read in past cartalk posts to never by a 10-year old used AWD vehicle, so i thought it would be a plus here! i’m not planning on doing anything crazy with it that would require 4WD
My own idea in getting a Jeep would also dictate that it would be partly for 4WD functionality. However, you obviously have your thing and should choose what you want.
I’m going to say that asking Jeep owners for what you should pay though is not the best approach. You might rather ask if they were satisfied with the vehicle and would recommend one. So I think you really have two questions. Whether Grand Cherokee owners are happy is one. The other is pricing.
The problem with pricing is that it really does vary a lot by market. So what you pay in the suburbs of NYC isn’t what you’d pay in the farmlands of Iowa (or whatever). So I do think that camping out on Craigslist for a while is the best way to learn about your local market conditions. Go to the closest Craigslist site, and start watching the for sale by owners lists ( /cto). You can do a search for Jeeps. Look at what people are asking for them. And then watch for a while to see how many times things get re-posted with “price drops” or whatever. Finding true comparables isn’t necessarily so easy, but you can get clued in to the general neighborhood.
I agree 100% with cigroller. I would also think it’s critical to know what the seller is asking for the vehicle. You told us your range but what is (s)he expecting?
@oldtimer11 … I have owned several Jeep Cherokees and a couple of Grand Cherokees. Only one was 4WD. The reason that I like 2WD is that they are more fuel efficient (less weight) and they are a lot cheaper to repair. You don’t need 4WD even in the ice and snow of winter and my 2WD Jeep fared very well in Alaska and Northern Maine. I don’t take my vehicles off road so 4WD is a waste of money for me.
I agree that a Jeep Grand 2wd is more economical and has fewer problems then their 4wd Jeep counterparts. Unfortunately for Jeep Grands of that vintage and even now, there are choices out their even in 4wd that get better economy and have fewer maintenance issues. There are many car based SUVs that do not pretend to be off road vehicles in both 2wd and awd. The advantage of a Jeep 2wd is, that it is rwd also. But, that’s a disadvantage if you aren’t used to them.
Sorry, I agree with @Oldtimer. If you want to buy an 10 year 2wd 6 cylinder SUV, there are a lot of better choices IMHO.
I also agree with @cigroller 's general and guarded assessment.
I can’t put a reliable price on a car unless I inspect it myself, especially on older models. Condition is everything when it comes to price. If the Jeeps checks out by a professional it’s worth about 5600 dollars from a private party.
just an aside here - my daughter (her decision- at least she did not buy the Range Rover-same vintage) a 1995 GC,straight six 150,000 miles paid 2500.00 no airco( not a problem in Monterey. starter went out and I replaced it for about 100.00 and I replaced an oxygen sensor- other than that bullet proof-but about 16 mpg she is going to college and has an offer from another girl for 2500.00 so we are happy
Do you want to buy it because you like Jeeps or because you think it’d be a solid used car?
If you just like Jeeps, that’s okay, but be sure to get it thoroughly checked out before starting any negotiations.
If you’re thinking it’d be a good used car, there are better choices. We had Jeep Grand Cherokees at work, and their cost of ownership is very high. I’d take one on a trip occasionally and was amazed at how much gas that beast used. I had a company credit card to fill it, so I didn’t keep track of any actual numbers, but man, was that thing thirsty! And the Jeeps always seemed to have some small thing wrong with them.
@cigroller
If you spend enough time on Craigslist you can get a good idea of more local market conditions. (It's vague, but you'll get an idea). KBB values are always wildly inflated for my area - by a good 20% or more.
I find just the opposite in my area - most people (especially the older the car is) have their vehicles priced way above KBB private party values. The reasonably priced cars don’t last long.