Was I Smart to Pour Money Into My $300 Jeep?

After the hits I’ve recently taken by selling my 1978 Lincoln and killing my 1999 Porsche, I needed something good to happen. Thankfully, my 1998 Jeep Cherokee with 360,000 miles is perking me up. I bought this $300 wonder a few weeks ago, got it running for only $100 — and I just finished spending a lot more cash to make it awesome. Was it worth it?

While a starter was the only thing I needed to get my Jeep running, there were plenty of other issues — as you would expect on a car that’s been traded in for scrap value. Thankfully, they were all minor. In my video, I document all the little problems getting addressed — but to sum it up, it only cost $267 to fix them all. It’s incredible how cheap parts are for these things, which is a totally welcome relief from the abuse I normally take with my German cars.

Where I really spent my money was making this Jeep a much more capable off-roader. Since the shocks were already ruined, I took the opportunity to order a 3-inch suspension lift kit. This allowed my Jeep to easily fit 31-inch off-road tires. Parts to get this all done cost $853, and labor was a very reasonable $247 to install everything.

Yes, I spent quadruple the initial purchase price lifting this thing — but I don’t think there’s a better Jeep in the world for less than the $1,700 total I have invested. It should also be just as capable on the trails as other 4x4s worth much more, including perhaps a certain bright yellow Land Rover Defender worth about $70,000.

In the video, I might have called out the owner of this Defender for a challenge. He might be too scared to accept — or too busy running an automotive website and crisscrossing the nation to drive supercars. Excuses, excuses. Find a 1998 Jeep Cherokee for sale

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