- our friends at the auction site bring a trailer are listing this 1985 jeep cherokee laredo, up for online auction.
- it has a gm 2.8-liter v-6 mated to a three-speed automatic transmission, plus all the goodies for its day, including selec-trac four-wheel drive, power front seats, and factory am/fm cassette stereo.
- bidding is currently at $5500, and the auction ends on tuesday, september 28.
wildly popular in its day, the xj-generation jeep cherokee only seems to have grown more so in recent years. although legions were built over the model's decades-long production run, which stretched from the mid-1980s into the 2000s, their propensity to rust and their popularity as built-out off-roaders mean that finding unmolested original examples is not easy. that makes this 1985 example, up for auction right now on bring a trailer, all the more remarkable.
as a 1985 model, this cherokee hails from the model's early days. it's powered by a gm-sourced 2.8-liter v-6 backed by a three-speed automatic (the legendary 4.0-liter inline-six would arrive later). four-wheel drive is via amc's selec-trac system. this cherokee is a laredo and boasts power front seats with cloth upholstery, air conditioning, and power windows. it also retains its original wheels and factory am/fm cassette stereo.
this cherokee has just over 48,000 miles and has been in the same family since new, with the seller's grandparents the original owners. that low mileage along with a lifetime spent in washington state accounts for the body's well-preserved condition—the envy of xj enthusiasts in the midwest and northeast.
the xj cherokee's just-right size and timeless styling are even more appreciated today than when it was new. with a few days to go in the auction, bidding stands at a still-reasonable $5500 at this writing. but these jeeps are just too popular for such an original example to slip out the door for that bargain price. check out the video below to see how jeep sold them back in the day.