Kentucky Armory Club

Got like a $9k max too spend. Never really been a car guy wish I was. Don't really need a truck but want something 4wd for back and forth too work and the occasional trip to the booneys for some back woods camping. Needs room for at least 4 people, gear, and a war beagle.

Are you wanting 4WD or All-wheel drive? Our Mazda CX-9 has AWD (full time 4WD) and has been a great and very capable vehicle for us, especially this last winter with all the damned ice & snow. With the same V6 as the Mustangs in it, it gets pretty reasonable mileage and still makes good enough power to get out of it's own way. I am actually surprised to find I enjoy driving it, especially on road trips. The only work done on our 2010 has been synthetic oil changes every 5k miles.

It doesn't have a ton of ground clearance for off-roading, but it is a surprisingly capable little beastie!

Crew cab Nissan. Nearly as reliable as a Toyota and usually quite a bit cheaper in the slightly used market.

Ford Escape. Older than 2005 has ON and Auto settings for 4x4 and newer has Auto only. My 2004 gets 20mpg. Has the 3.0 v6.

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2 vehicles.

But a beater to beat on then buy a decent car.

Been there done that.

I agree with 86slo-vo
I would buy a older 4.0 6cyl Cherokee.
But for some reason I can't take my own advice hooking my daily to a 40k lb sled tonight hopefully the drivelines stay in it.


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any 4.0 Jeep; Cherokee or Grand Cherokee up to 1999

I'm gonna say a Nissan xterra. Bang for buck it's pretty awesome. Cheap. Reliable. Inexpensive. Relatively minor problems.

Shit, I missed the whole SUV part of the title... 3.4l 4Runner, 96-01 or 02 are great bang for the buck if you can find a slightly lower mileage one. Don't be scared of one with some miles on it either. I second the Xterra as a decent all around SUV also. Jeeps BLOW! I kid...I kid...haha They are great for the money, depending on the year and model. Escapes are okay soccer mom type SUV's, not knocking them. All in what your looking for really. What's perfect for some is total garbage for others... For something relatively capable in the snow or trail in stock or near stock form I would go with 96 up 4Runner, 99-00 or older 4.0 Cherokee, or the lowest mile, newest Xterra in your price range. Just my opinion of what I see every day. On 7/28 I will have been selling auto parts for 19 years. I have no real loyalty. 20 years in the automotive field has shown me at least one thing and that is they ALL have their problems. Just some more than others...

kokopelli wrote:any 4.0 Jeep; Cherokee or Grand Cherokee up to 1999

Yep, I'd stay away from the Grands due to parts being more expensive. A XJ can be outfitted nicely to do what you want cheaply.

Bronco II

97-01 4runner with 5spd MT.

Another vote for the cherokee. They do have a few weaknesses but they can be found cheap. That I-4 motor is very durable. My TJ sits for months at a time and fires right up, well if the battery hasn't died it does. Jeep people swear by that motor and I've had great service from mine. I keep synthetic oil in it because I use it so little.

The 4.0 is a great engine. Long run, parts are plentiful, and plenty of junkyard donors. It is a flat tapered cam engine, which runs better on the ZDDP additive that was found in everyday oil, but has been taken out due to less zinc in the oil used in modern engines, they wear faster without it. It can be found in High mileage Mobil 1, or any A3 certified oil. If you are wanting to go the cheap route on oil changes, you can get away with the house brand synthetic, but don't skimp on the filter. Also the larger the filter the better. The Mobil 1 large filter for the 4.0 is the M301, "the solution is in the dilution". If you are wanting to do anything like long trail rides, a power steering and trans cooler is a must. Nothing heats up a trans faster than slow crawling and turning and fighting a trail will eat a power steering pump for breakfast. I can go all day about what a Jeep can and can not do, which isn't much. Every brand will have it's die hard followers, and each rig has it's merits. Do you have much experience driving a 4wd, not just on the blacktop, but actual trail/rock/mud/WTF was that driving? With any rig, you can have the best of everything, top dollar mods, but running street radials and get stuck at the trailhead. A good/great set of A/T's or better yet M/T tires are worth every penny. Crap, I can start a whole conversation just about tires. Back to the rig picking!

There is a nice Bronco II for sale on 1638 just past outer creek.

Use a "diesel oil". They still have a good zinc level. 15W40 or most any of the new lighter weight diesel approved oils.

Niceguy wrote:Use a "diesel oil". They still have a good zinc level. 15W40 or most any of the new lighter weight diesel approved oils.

I did for a time, and still do if I can't afford the high end Mobil stuff at oil change time. Sometimes it's harder to find 10/w30 diesel oil though. I usually do keep around 1 or 2 oil change supplies on hand. I buy when it's on sale.

Redline and amsoil have some of the highest level of zddp content. Just an FYI


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off topic alert!!! who sells Amsoil around here? I need it for my 4.0

Bumper to Bumper

Royal Purple works, too!

I'm a dealer for amsoil.

I wouldn't use royal purple in anything I own if it was given to me. Had it junk two cams in a row.


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If you do get a Jeep with an I4 keep a water pump on hand. They are pretty cheap and they are really easy to replace but they do crap out fairly regularly.

ken6881 wrote:Redline and amsoil have some of the highest level of zddp content. Just an FYI


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they just might, but I can't pick them up at most places. Also, for the money, I want oil that is certified A3, not recommended for engines that require A3 oil.

Toecutter1978 wrote:

ken6881 wrote:Redline and amsoil have some of the highest level of zddp content. Just an FYI


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they just might, but I can't pick them up at most places. Also, for the money, I want oil that is certified A3, not recommended for engines that require A3 oil.

What kind of vehicle and engine do you have that Redline or Amsoil isn't sufficient?