Recently my daughter asked me how many cars I've had in my adult life. It's funny but I had a hard time remembering. All of them have been used, slightly abused, and passed on while they had a little life in them. In the end each of them served me well for a season, a reason, but not a lifetime. I would say my manufacturer of choice for many years had been Dodge. I bought a new off the lot Doge Ram 50 when I was a tot, then a Dakota, then a Ram in 1500 and 2500 models. Extended cab, crew crabs, long and short beds. I've had Silverados, one in the 1990's, and recently the Duramax diesel and now a 2500 HD. In between there has been a Suburban, which I basically lived out of while working as a photographer for the New York Post in the mid-2000's. A few vehicles back after getting rid of a newer Ford F-150 I landed in a GMC Yukon Denali, which has been my favorite non-pick up vehicle. My buddy Joe has two new ones and I recently took a ride in one of them and I would say that is my bucket list ride.
I can't remember but I think I even had a Jeep Cherokee along the way, or my parents had one. With the help of my in house Mopar (Jeep) mechanics Lauren and Brandon I set my eyes on another Jeep. With there help and guidance I found a bunch out there. Theresa and I looked at a few and in my ADHD impulsive head I would have bought a few of them, always making excuses on why it's a good vehicle.
Then on Thursday before fishing I went and looked at the above which is now my new fishing assault ride and daily driver for work. It's a 2004 Cherokee Special Edition with 181,000 miles. . It's a 4.0 straight 6 which is what I've learned the go-to engine if you're going to buy an old one. It's stupid clean inside and out with minimal rust underneath, something that they are notorious for getting over the years. It's crazy to think this car was born in 2004, when I was 36 years old. That's a long time and many, many lives ago.
I was nervous going alone because my purchase history of just about everything isn't that solid. When I showed up and saw it I was impressed and not only about the car but the seller. He knew the history, had all kinds of receipts, and pointed out every noise and concern he had. I did the check the kids had told me about things to look for and it all checked out. For a final price of $3,900 I felt it was a good purchase. I am sure something will come up but again the kids do this for a living which gave me great confidence. The sellers were kind enough to deliver it to my door from down in Medford. They came in and we had a nice conversation. They are God-fearing Christians so I don't think they'd pull a fast one on me.
The cargo area is big and will surely hold my stuff and fishing gear. I've seen Leif is in his own similar year Jeep since I've known him and it has served him well. I'll outfit it with rod holders and some bins for waders and tackle. I've seen all kinds of cool set-ups fly anglers have come up with which makes going fishing a little more organized them me having a Helios 2 hanging out the bed of my truck doing 60 down 195.
So it was no surprise to me that after cleaning the windows and breaking out a new bottle of Armor All this morning the check engine light came on when I fired her up. I'm not worried, it's just par the course for me. I'll have Lauren throw a computer on it and see what comes up. Last evening I took it for a nice ride down to Philly to see Erin at school and it drove nicely. I hope it's around for a long time.