[Jakedog]

Cleveland is the land of car swallowing pot-holes. No joke. My wife drives an '03 Grand Prix, that we bought in '04, and in less than four years I have replaced six tires and two rims, not to mention all the suspension work I've had to pay for because craters are just plain un-avoidable in these parts.

Now, I drive an '01 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4X4. And I beat the holy hell out of it both on and off road. I am NOT kind to this truck. It's got 120K on it currently, and runs like new. I took it in monday for it's first ever shop visit (outside of one alignment, oil changes, tires and brakes) to have the u-joints replaced. My mechanic says ball joints, tie rods, wheel bearings, everything, all good. Still almost like new. I have never blown a tire or bent a rim, everything's tight, and the only rattle it ever had turn out to be a loose spare tire mounting bolt. Not to mention, in 4WD it tracks through six or eight inches of snow like it's on dry pavement. It is the toughest thing I've ever driven, and laughs in the face of Cleveland's worst axel breakers.

The MPG sucks. About 22-24 on the highway, 16-18 in the city. But the trade off is that gas is made more affordable because I don't have to repair it constantly from road damage. To me, the piece of mind is worth it. I like driving a truck that will take a serious beating without falling apart. It's saved me a ton of dough in the three + years I've owned it, when compared to my previous vehicles. YMMV.


Jake