V8, Looks, tows well

My standing appointment with the service department is more frequent than my standing weekly Sunday 7:22 am tee-time.

I won't make this mistake twice.

48,000 miles and I'm up to about $9,800 in the first 3 years of problems either under warranty or not. Brakes (3 times), transmission (1), water pumps (2), right front suspension and front universal (1).

In 8 years, my Honda (113,000 miles) has cost me under $2,000 of preventitive maintenance. Only tires, brakes, battery, timing belt/water pump and muffler.

Lease the Jeep for 3 years and get rid of that sucker if you just have to have one. It could be such an awesome vehicle.

Next stop - Toyota 4 Runner

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Toyota 4runner, Acura 300, Bravada.

Good 4WD capability. The only time I got stuck in the winter was when I accidentally piled up too much snow behind it in my driveway, and high-centered it. Neighbour's got a good laugh, but I eventually dug myself out.

Horrible gas mileage. Averages 13-15 in the city, with the inline-6. Water pump has died on me 3 times (3rd time after it was stolen - that's why they recovered it!) Air conditioner problems that should have been a recall item. Interior items started falling apart after 1-2 years: upholstery on sun visors tearing a stitch line, roof liner has durability of toilet paper, base radio sucks. Rear seats require dexterity and flexibility to fold down. The levers are not intuitive, and the seat bottoms rarely flip forward into their guides. A very clumsy system. No head rests for rear passengers (only available following year). Sleazy local dealer didn't advise me and made me pay for repairs that didn't work anyway. I was just too mad to get back at them! Lots of squeaks and squeals even after the first year. OEM tires wore out quickly. Got the Michelin LTX's which are much better. Poor dealer servicing - arrogant, deceptive, and always seem to be out to cheat ya! Did most of the oil changes myself, and asked a friendly mechanic for second opinions always before going to Dealer. Only took the Jeep to dealer for recall items. The technical service bulletins listed for the GC are a mile long! To add insult to injury, Chrysler is holding up the purchase of my new SUV - Acura MDX - because they don't have the parts to repair the darn Jeep which was damaged after being stolen!

This was my first SUV, which replaced my Honda Prelude. Just couldn't move enough gear in the little sedan. I was concerned about getting the first model run for this new line. The Jeep seemed to have a good reputation for 4WD, even though I had no intention of taking it off road. I was not aware or prepared for the reliability and dealership problems to follow. Nevertheless, the truck has survived for 8 years, and really hasn't let me down, until it was stolen a month ago. Unfortunately, it was recovered and the insurance company is fixing it. Now's a good a time as any to dump it and get something more reliable and functional. If you really need an SUV with good off-road manners, then this is your vehicle, if you can live with it's downsides. If, like most SUV owners, you don't need to go off-road, look elsewhere.

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Didn't compare Jeep to much when I originally purchased it. However, next SUV will definitely not be a domestic designed product. I've got friends with Jeeps, and most have already gotten rid of them. Others have GM products - Blazers - and I'm not impressed with the design there either. Have recently test-driven the 2001 Highlander, Lexus RX 300, and Acura MDX. A fully loaded Jeep GC Ltd would be close to the price of these vehicles, and anyone would be foolish to go for the Jeep if they knew about all the glitches that will eventually show up.