Since I bought my Commander in July of 2008 I have owned 3 Jeeps. The other two being Cherokees, one a sport and one a country. I love my Cherokees and could not bring myself to sell at least one of them. The country, a 97 was beginning to nickle and dime me to death. It was constantly draining the battery and the gauges have been messed up for years. They have a mind of their own and like to spin around in circles, freeze in place or just go to zero. I once drove from Pensacola to Missouri with no gauges at all. Just stopped for gas every four hours. Also the check engine light and airbag light constantly came off and on. The slip yoke needed greasing again and I was getting a weird vibration upon rapid acceleration. Last Monday I took it in to have my charging system checked and told the shop owner if I could get a reasonable price I would sell it. He offered a reasonable price and I sold it on the spot. Before the deal I told him I wanted the tires and wheels, the Surco roof rack, the front class three hitch, the rear stainless steel receiver and the full size spare tire plus the heavy duty slush floor mats. Also as part of the deal he agreed to remove these items and transfer them to my 96 Cherokee. He took me home and I drove the 96 to his shop where everything was swapped out. Now I feel like I have a brand new Jeep. The old beast runs like new and only has 81,000 miles on it. I drive it everywhere and keep the Commander parked. For those of you who own an XJ you know how much fun they are to drive. Also they are practically unstoppable and can go places a larger vehicle cannot. The 96 is a no frills vehicle and except for the dynamite stereo system I put in it yesterday it has no power windows,locks, etc. It does have a great air conditioning system though.
I was bored today and wrote all this about my old friend the 97 Cherokee. I've driven her on the beach, rolled her down Bourbon Street and parked at Elvis' house in Tupelo plus a zillion places in-between. I'll miss her and hope she sells fast so I won't have to see her sitting on the used car parking lot. Before I drove away I glanced in the passengers side and noticed a long blonde hair still stuck on the headrest. It belonged to my wife. She passed away in 2007 and I have never had anyone else in the Jeep. I plucked the hair put it in my shirt pocked and drove away. Goodbye old friend.
HT
