Quote:
Originally Posted by Chocaholic
Here's a thought. Spend a few extra bucks and put your daughter in a car that isn't likely to break down. Any late-model Honda/Toyota, etc. We bought our daughter a new Civic sedan. My son drives a 99 Cherokee with 180k on the clock (and has been dead reliable for 5 years now)...but my little girl is far less likely to be stranded on the side of the road. I consider it money well spent.
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Eureka!
XJ Cherokee! One of the best mid-size SUV's ever made, and one of the last trouble free Jeep models made. It was an American Motors carryover, along with the CJ, that Chrysler was smart to keep on producing. They even made them beyond 2000 model year, I believe.
Parts are still available, bomb-proof 4.0 inline six, similarly bomb-proof Asin transmission, reasonably tough New Process X-case, and Dana axles. It's something that any mechanic will be familiar with, and any reasonably mechanically inclined person can fix. Small, and easy to drive, or park. Pretty good room inside, but much smaller than mid-size SUV's of today.
Exhaust manifolds crack at the collector, and after about 200k miles, they leak oil from the crank seals, but those are the only common issues. Alternator, radiator, and serpentine belt are kinda hard to replace, but not like "all day" hard to replace.
If Jerry can find one that hasn't been turned into a rock crawler, or huntin' truck, I'd say that's the best candidate so far.