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_UnLiMiTeD_

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Ok well the time is coming closer to when i can purchase my jeep liberty. now if you guys had a choice, which one would you buy 02? 03? or 04? Say if they were the same amount of miles, which one out of those years had the least amount of problems? I say those years because those seem to be the ones i can find in my price range. Opinions please.
 

2003KJ

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It's really a matter of what options YOU want. Between the three years, there are only a couple of major differences.

2002 models got rear drum brakes and the 45RFE Automatic Transmission. If it is an early enough 2002 model, it will be pre lowered, gaining you an extra half inch of height if i'm not mistaken

2003 models were upgraded to rear disc brakes, and about halfway through the model year the 42RLE automatic transmission replaced the 45....both are reliable, however the 45 is a little more......stout, we'll say. I've driven a 2002 with the 45 and personally think it's a better match behind the 3.7. With this said, I have the 42 behind mine and have had zero troubles in the 43K it's got.

2004 models are not much different from the 2003

Again, it all comes down to the options you want.
 

hyde

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It actually all comes down to price. If there is $1000 difference at each year, I would go with the latest. Better resale value.
 

_UnLiMiTeD_

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only reason i ask is because i see people go from an 02 to an 03, 03 to 04 and so on. It makes me thinks there some nice option if they are swapping vehicles after a year. Also i read somewhere that the 04's had some electrical problems?
 

KJ02Ltd

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My first Jeep (my current Jeep) is a 2002 KJ Limited (in case you couldn't tell from my name.

I'm happy with it. Yeah, it has drum rear brakes, but that doesn't worry me. My biggest complaint is that it doesn't have ABS! I guess I could've checked that before I bought it, but for the $10k I paid for it, I think I got a good deal.
 

Ry' N Jen

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Good day,

My wife and I looked around at several Jeep dealers before deciding on which
KJ to buy. We decided on an '04 Sport which I located via the inter net.
The price was right and 6 months to the day it hasn't let us down.
You basically have to figure what options you want.
Like the overhead computer(EVIC/OTIS) leather seats, sunroof, colour coded
fender flares.etc.

For us, those items are not important, especially the sunroof!
I like sheet metal over my head, but that is just a personal point of view.

Test drive all years if you can.
You are in the lower mainland of B.C. right?

We took an '02 Sport for a test drive...From the out side the Jeep looked cherry! The interior was just disgusting and the carpets were soaked!
It took the sales man 15 minutes just to get it out of the lot so we could drive it.(Thats the only reason we did drive it after seeing the inside!)

According to the odometer it only had 73000 km on the clock.
My wife wasn't but a block from the dealer and the check engine light came
on! Then the thing died! A 3 km test drive took 20 minutes, stalled 6 times, and when it did run it sounded like a tug boat.

To make a long story short, the sales man informed me that they would
sort the check engine light issue and told me that it had a recent $3000.00
in service done to it and the $18575.00 price was negotiable, infact I could have it for round about the same price as the one we ended up buying.
Don't go to Carter Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep on Willington and Lougheed in Burnaby!

Cheers
Ryan
 

MoladoGuy

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I have an 04 with 78K on it and have had (knock on wood) no major problems to date. I had a slight electrical problem with my power windows 3 months after purchasing it (brand new) but that was quickly fixed by the dealership (maybe not quickly but in a timely matter).

Like everyone has mentioned make sure you look at all the options. Find what "YOU" want and then take it for a spin. If you don't like how it rides, feels, or sounds like then go to the next option.
 

scoobybri

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I personally would go for a 2005+ just for the traction control. If you are going to be wheeling it, you won't need a limited slip or locker. (unless you are doing extreme rock crawling)
 

jkl

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we bought an 03 renegade, and put 32k miles on it the 1st year, so we traded it for an 05 sport.

havent had too many issues with it other than a ****** rebuild, a complete fan assy replacement and 7 trips to the dealer for engine light,

other than that, we wheel it hard and havent broken anything !
 

Marlon_JB2

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I personally would go for a 2005+ just for the traction control. If you are going to be wheeling it, you won't need a limited slip or locker. (unless you are doing extreme rock crawling)

TCS/ESP/ABS/PMS/KJJ/EEC/EKG lol3.gif and all the rest of those 3 letter acronym systems didn't become standard until MY 2006. You're a year off. :)
 

tjkj2002

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My first Jeep (my current Jeep) is a 2002 KJ Limited (in case you couldn't tell from my name.

I'm happy with it. Yeah, it has drum rear brakes, but that doesn't worry me. My biggest complaint is that it doesn't have ABS! I guess I could've checked that before I bought it, but for the $10k I paid for it, I think I got a good deal.
ABS is the devil!:D
 

_UnLiMiTeD_

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during the winter in BC. It can get extremey icey and abs has saved my ass a few times.
 

JeepJeepster

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I believe that in some situations, ABS can be very effective.. Although it can ruin a day offroad when you are needing to slowly go over a rock and it wont let the wheels lock up which means you fall off the other side to fast and taco that new Mopar ****** skid that isnt strong enough as it is which means the ****** goes boom and everyone dies..

I was towing a boat in the rain one day when a guy decided he wanted to turn at the last minute. The front left tire locked up but I didnt let the others lock up.. If I would of panicked and locked up all four of my crappy goodyears, it could of ended worse.. In other words, by better tires and you wont need ABS..
 

RamSport47

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TCS/ESP/ABS/PMS/KJJ/EEC/EKG lol3.gif and all the rest of those 3 letter acronym systems didn't become standard until MY 2006. You're a year off. :)


Mine has all of those 3 letter words...ESP, ABS, ERM, BAC...then people ask what they all stand for, and I just stare at them ... LOL
 

_UnLiMiTeD_

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they should have abs but have it push button so you can turn it on and off because if the new ones have it doesnt that mean they are not to good for off roadng then?
 

Ry' N Jen

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during the winter in BC. It can get extremey icey and abs has saved my ass a few times.



ABS is a nice feature for any car, but you don't need it!
I've been driving for 26 years in The lower main land on B.C. with all it icy
roads and stupid drivers in top of the line vehicles equiped with ABS and
summer tires!
They still end up slamming into other ABS equipped vehicles or off the side of the road in a ditch!

The features of an automobile don't make the operator a better driver.
Time spent behind the wheel and high performance driving courses make you the better driver.
 

_UnLiMiTeD_

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werd. Well a jeep will be a hell of a lot better in the snow then my current car anyways so im sure its not going to be much of a problem for me anyways.
 

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