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Give the undercarrige, brake lines, cooling system,, ball joints, tie rod ends etc. a once over. If that stuff looks ok, a $2K engine is probably worth it. I'd fix any obvious issues at the same time the engine is replaced.

You can't get much for $2K that is guaranteed to have no issues.

Your other option is to spend a little more and get an economy car, even a new one. That isn't a popular option on a car site, but there is a big difference between 16 mpg and 28-30, unless you don't drive much. It's nice to be able to gas and go for the next 5 years after driving worn out junk, too. Again, not a popular assertion on a car site.



Especially with the last 1/2 of this, though off road in a cheap car might lead to big issues. You also have to take into account how many miles you will be driving your work vehicle. How many miles will you be adding to your Jeep in the next 5 years? What kind of shape will everything be in then, and will it last that long? Big difference if your adding 5,000 miles a year or 20,000 miles a year.

Really, you might want to look into an AWD Chrysler Minivan! They knock down decent gas mileage, and in AWD can go most places your jeep might. You can buy them pretty cheap and they have proven to be pretty reliable.

When my wife was driving for her job, she was driving 25,000 miles a year. When the trans on our 95 Intrepid gave up at 174K, it would not have been cost effective to rebuild it because the rest of the car probably would not have survived the required miles to offset the cost. We ended up buying a nearly new car because, when it was paid for, the miles would have been lower then any used car we were finding would have had on them when they were paid for. After 4 years, a 100k car stood a better chance of being a good car then something that started at 80K - 100K then added another 100K would be, and the Intrepid at 274K would not have been pretty either. Gene