What do you guys think about the Grand Cherokee w/ 5.7 Hemi?

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J

Judge Mills

1971 Plymouth Duster
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Any of you have any experience with them? The family will be expanding in May, and it's time that my Civic gets sold to another family.

I've been looking at all sorts of cars and trucks, but the Grand Cherokee's, around 05', 06' and 07' or so are real tempting. Right now I've been looking at them with the 5.7 Hemi and the Quadra Drive II transfer case.

How reliable are the engine, tranny, transfer case, etc. in these Mopars? The newest dodge I drove was an 01' with the 360, so I have no experience with the new blocks.

Any feedback would be great! :burnout:
 
Have a friend that has a 2012 5.7 HEMI Jeep, it is real nice, cruises good. It's fully loaded and turn dial air shocks etc. It's more a luxury car than 4x4 any more, but with it being a Jeep it does still get the job done.

Not sure what help any of this is to you,
 
Had a 2008 Jeep Commander with a Hemi and a 2006 Dodge Durango with a Hemi...absolutely loved both trucks. The only down side was gas mileage. Unlike the Cherokee, which can only seat five, the Commander and the Durango had three row seating and could seat seven. Although to fit in the third row, you either had to be a child or a midget. Unfortunately, they no longer make the Commander..but you might be able to pick up a nice used one. The Gen2 Durango would also be a good choice for an expanding family.
 
A buddy of mine has a 2013 Grand Cherokee with the 5.7 HEMI. He loves it. No problems with it. It is fully loaded so it is a very comfortable ride with plenty of room. He lives near Everett, Washington. I asked him about gas mileage and he said he doesn't care. He likes driving the HEMI the way it should be driven. LOL
Be prepared for gas shock when you go from a Civic to a Hemi.
 
I have a 2008 Aspen with a 5.7 Hemi and a 2011 Laramie Ram with it also, no complaints with either one.
 
Bought a 2011 Overland with saddle leather interior for my wife. She loves that thing to no end....

So much I have to always make room while working on the Barracuda parts at the end of day so the Jeep can come back in the Garage, No parking that outside at night..
 
My wife and I bought our 5.7 Hemi 2006 Commander w/Quadra Drive II used in 2010 with around 69,000mi on it. Just rolled over 100,000 last week and still going strong. My wife loves the thing, plenty of power for her. I think the tie rods and ball joints need replaced though with these poor Colorado Springs roads, not to mention her running straight into a median in a parking lot doing 15mph or so....or so she says...lol, she also didn't see it "pop" out in front of her either.
 
just what type of expansion are we thinking here ?
we have a three year old and just had our second child a few weeks ago

we traded in my VW Passat for a truck that will remain nameless (but don't worry, it is not a ferd)
the Passat would seat 5 adult without any childseats in it but with two childseats in it you only had the front seats, so it would only fit me, the wifey and the kids

which is why we traded it in for the truck which has a third row, now we can still take passengers aswell

just something to consider

oh, and congrats on getting rid of the ricers ;)
 
diymirage said:
just what type of expansion are we thinking here ?
we have a three year old and just had our second child a few weeks ago

we traded in my VW Passat for a truck that will remain nameless (but don't worry, it is not a ferd)
the Passat would seat 5 adult without any childseats in it but with two childseats in it you only had the front seats, so it would only fit me, the wifey and the kids

which is why we traded it in for the truck which has a third row, now we can still take passengers aswell

just something to consider

oh, and congrats on getting rid of the ricers ;)
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My wife's car is an Audi A4, so very similar to your Passat. That car will be fine for the most part with two baby seats, but it's just not going to happen in the Civic. The major problem is that we are both 6', so one of us can't bite the bullet and get our knees scrunched. She has longer legs than I, so she really gets the shaft when it comes to seating.

Our daughter is 2 1/2 and then the next one is due in May. It's looking like our daughter will be tall as well.

It seems like I can get in to a Grand Cherokee for a decent price, especially when compared to Toyota SUV's, which seem to sell for a premium in the Northwest. I was thinking about the Dakota, but I'm assuming I can't get it with the hemi. I really don't want the 4.7.

A Durango would be nice as well, but I'm really trying to avoid the 4.7 V8. A 3rd row would be nice, though.

I'm trying to spend under 15k if possible.

I know, I'm demanding :)
 
I would LOVE that, but it's out of my price range, and I really want a 4x4 I can take off road. I know you can with the SRT, but i'd want to baby it :)

Originally, the plan was to buy a 4 door Wrangler, but they cost so much, even with 100k miles!

1970Duster said:
Here you go, it will get you from point A to point B. The kids will love it! :twisted:

www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?zip=98444&endYear=2010&keywordPhrases=Srt8&modelCode1=JEEPGRAND&sortBy=yearASC&showcaseOwnerId=0&startYear=2006&makeCode1=JEEP&searchRadius=200&mmt=%5BJEEP%5BJEEPGRAND%5B%5D%5D%5B%5D%5D&listingId=355379484&listingIndex=1&Log=0
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I forgot they sold these with a diesel for two years. I'm assuming that's a Mercedes Diesel? That'd be nice, but not worth the $7k premium used compared to the Hemi. I wouldn't make that price difference up in gas mileage.
 
Get this one.......family car...

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TktKkmLZAPM"]1100HP JEEP SRT8 **Quarter Mile** INSANITY!!! - YouTube[/ame]
 
Reliable engine. Very poor fuel economy.
 
We have owned Jeep and other mopars, the Jeeps in the 2000 up's were made more luxury and we love them more. As for the Hemi's, I would have that engine in an on everything even a bicycle. A lot of people have a few 100,000 and much more with no trouble. Now for the gas Question, I never cared about mileage years ago and only cared that the floor board was strong enough to hold he standing on the gas pedal but my 2004 Rumble Bee (I dive it like and old lady) hemi squeaks out 23mpg on the highway runs at 65mph it's my favorite vehicle and it's in the garage all the time and only 32,000 mi, the rest of my friends are the ones with the high milers. So if I was you I would be careful because you will never go back if you go to Jeep and worst you'll never want any other engine in your life. Have fun and good luck.
 
I learned something last week about my daughters 2011 Grand Cherokee...
She detected a starting issue and told me she wanted a new battery so I thought I'd check it out... Lifted the hood- no battery. Went on the internet and found out it's under the passenger seat. The battery also uses new technology making it special. Couldn't find a replacement. I talked to her further about why she wanted a new battery and she described a faulty starter drive. (Wild turkey sound when the starter engages). The car has one of those buttons you push to start and stop. My kid is pretty smart- she'd pull into 'drive' to kill the starter. I don't know how long it would go otherwise. I like my '71 Dart better.
 
this new technology is intended to make it harder to do things yourself so they can make money on you when you bring it in

I was replacing pads on my VW once and when I came to the rear I noticed an electromotor on the calipers
this car didn't have a cable operated park brake but a push button one, every time you would push the button the electromotors would clamp the calipers down on the rotors...all that is fine BUT the electromotors would also self adjust as the pads wore down so the only way to retract the calipers was to take it into the dealer and have them hook it up to the computer to back the calipers off again


either that or disconnect the electromotor and hotwire a 12 volt battery up to it...I used the one from my lawnmower
 
My wife drives a 2010 Cherokee with a 5.7.Real nice car but don't expect but about 14 or 15mpgs. My daughter drives a Commander fuel mileage about the same or less. She likes it better than her mothers Cherokee.
 
I have a 20111 with the 5.7, 53,000 trouble free miles. 19-20 MPG on a long road trip, that falls off quickly when you add any town driving to it, average is around 15. Ride and comfort is great. If I was buying a new one I'd go for the 3.6 24 valve V6, I have two friends with them and plenty of power for both on and off road. The only reason I did the 5.7 was for towing a trailer. In one of your post you mentioned SRT, that is the 6.4 Hemi.

Bobby
 
Logan said:
I learned something last week about my daughters 2011 Grand Cherokee...
She detected a starting issue and told me she wanted a new battery so I thought I'd check it out... Lifted the hood- no battery. Went on the internet and found out it's under the passenger seat. The battery also uses new technology making it special. Couldn't find a replacement. I talked to her further about why she wanted a new battery and she described a faulty starter drive. (Wild turkey sound when the starter engages). The car has one of those buttons you push to start and stop. My kid is pretty smart- she'd pull into 'drive' to kill the starter. I don't know how long it would go otherwise. I like my '71 Dart better.
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Sounds like a typical problem with the jeeps. My wifes is doing it as well. If you use the remote start it is fine. The button will work fine afterwards until an extended time of 4 or more hours of sitting then the problem comes back. Dealer says it the WINS module. Will find out Friday!!! I think it is the TIPM but we will see. The starter will stop after 10 seconds when this happens.
 
BobbyY said:
I have a 20111 with the 5.7, 53,000 trouble free miles. 19-20 MPG on a long road trip, that falls off quickly when you add any town driving to it, average is around 15. Ride and comfort is great. If I was buying a new one I'd go for the 3.6 24 valve V6, I have two friends with them and plenty of power for both on and off road. The only reason I did the 5.7 was for towing a trailer. In one of your post you mentioned SRT, that is the 6.4 Hemi.

Bobby
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Yes and no. Depending on the model year (which also is the body style change) the srt8 came with 6.1L older body style and the newer model comes with 6.4L. I think it goes 06-10 = 6.1L and 12+ = 6.4L. All that said the OP was/is looking for an 05-07, which would be the 6.1L.
 
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