It's A Jeep Thing

by Nick Coons
Jun 23, 2004

For the past few months, I've been looking for a new vehicle, though just here and there. The nice thing about looking for a vehicle and not being in a hurry is that you can comfortably walk off the lot if the sales person doesn't give you the exact deal that you want. It's amazing at how flexible they can be when they know that you don't *need* to buy a vehicle right now.

Generally speaking, I was looking for an SUV. More specifically, I was hoping for a Jeep. And I wanted something that was a little older, around the early 90s, because the newer models looked too bubbly and wimpy -- The older models seem a bit beefier. And boy did I luck out.

Last month, I found the one that I wanted. I had to check it out thoroughly to make sure that it was a sound and reliable vehicle. And after several weeks of extremely good cooperation with the dealer, a friend of mine, I was able to find out the minor details regarding what was wrong with it and what needed to be repaired. Here are the details.

First off, here's where I lucked out. It's a 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo, metallic blue. The body is in great condition with one blemish on the passenger's side, which I'll fix in the next few weeks. It also needs a minor amount of front break work. The clips that hold the visors in place need replacement, and the mirror on the passenger's side is cracked. That's it! It also has a new engine and new transmission, four-wheel drive of course. So now, after much anticipation (years, actually), I have a Jeep.

This is great. It even has a rack on top that I can use to tie down the Christmas tree when I choose my own from up north, a family tradition we're working on building.

Now, when I see other Jeeps while driving down the street, I wave in a "Hey, how's it going?" sort of fashion. Though I'm sure no one thinks it's more amusing than me.