Faults:
75,000 miles - Water pump went out. Fixed myself for about 100 dollars.
97,000 miles - Transmission went out; $2,500 repair This was mainly due to a lack of transmission oil changes every 20,000 miles by the previous owner.
104,000 miles - Fly wheel speed sensor went out - $250.00.
106,000 miles - AC relay went bad, $40.00.
130,000 miles - Throttle sensor and fuel sensor went bad - $500.00 repair.
140,000 miles - Replaced radiator, $350.00.
145,000 miles - Replaced starter, $250.00.
General Comments:
Overall, I love this car. I have put a lot of hard miles on it, but always maintained it meticulously. The car still looks as though it is brand new. In the last year of its life, it left me stranded three times, but were not terrible repairs. I bought it to replace my GMC Jimmy, which was in the garage so often I had to buy another car. True story.
I was disappointed by the front end construction and strength. I rear ended a guy at 4 mph, and it did devastating damage to the front end (all cheap plastic). My neighbor was in auto body repair, and fixed it for 100 bucks for me plus parts (250.00 I think).
This car pretty much saved my life. I was hit from behind at 70 mph, I was stopped. I was hit by a Ford Econoline van. They passengers of the van went to the hospital and their van was a total loss, I drove my Jeep home. This car is built like a tank.
I was just hit from behind again at 20 mph, and unfortunately, this was the demise of the car. Once again though, I drove home and the Land Rover was towed away. I am sad to see it go.
It is not the most comfortable car in the world, but the 10's of thousands of highway miles I put on it were not terrible. Fuel mileage is the same as any other comparable SUV. About 14 MPG City and 21 MPG Hwy. The ride is stiff, but it is an SUV and should be expected. The hydraulic steering is a bit different at first, but you get use to it. It has great towing ability, and had no problem towing my 5000 lb boat, something my F-150 was unable to do.
The only major repairs were the sensors. I was told it was common for Jeeps to start losing a lot of sensors as it got older, and they aren't cheap. The dash lights tended to flicker a lot. I was told the repair would be about 250 dollars, so I just learned to ignore it.
Somewhere long the line, about 130k miles, it developed a leak, and under the back seat would fill with water. Never could find where it came from. So I drilled a hole in the floor and the problem was fixed.
Besides the above mentioned repairs, the other problems were just wear and tear (shocks, brakes, rotors...). I do most all my own repairs and saved a lot of money. I plan to replace this with another Jeep. I hope I am not disappointed. This is definitely a great car for a new driver.
19th May 2012, 20:56
I replaced the number six piston on my 1997 Jeep GC Laredo not long after I bought it. Could not tell why the skirt broke off.
And I think it has occurred again. Does anyone know why this is happening?