Originally Posted by chrisnation

I bought a diesel Jeep Cherokee specifically to go touring down thru' France & Spain. These tough, mechanically basic [cart springs at the rear!], manly vehicles can be picked up for about £2k for a really good one in UK. And once down in the £2k region, they hold their value if not beaten about.

I sold Tonto l [1996/P], a Cherokee LTD with electric everything and never a moment's trouble, for £2250 after 7 years' ownership and 2 trips to France/Spain . Replaced it with Tonto ll [2000/W] Cherokee Anniversary [immac, electric almost everything, f.s.h.] for £2200. Those are the figures you’re looking for.

The 2.5 diesel will give you +/- 35 mpg on the m/way. The cams are shaft drive, so no worries about whether the last owner has done a belt change - at least as far as valves and pistons coming together in a disorderly rabble.

Make sure the a/c works before you leave. You're gonna need it. If the Jeep runs OK, but is due for a regular service, get it done in Spain. I saved so much on the ridiculous service costs of Jeep main agents in UK by getting Tonto 1 serviced [+ other important work] in Tarragona that the saving covered 1] The return ferry 2] All the diesel 3] 120 litres of Euro1.05/bott Valencia wine. I later found out that the Jeep main agent in Valencia was actually cheaper £/hr than Tarragona! And so helpful and efficient.

I made the mistake of avoiding the Autopista down the coast after the Barcelona freebie. What a nightmare! Dreadful road, all smashed up, all the trucks that should have been on the m/way, all the local traffic, passing through every town. Had made the same mistake earlier, up in France, by avoiding paying from southwest Brittany to near Cahors. As an ex-boatyard owner, I did not see the funny side of being stuck for many miles behind a wagon transporting a sizable boat.

Came back north on the pay-way and it was bliss. Just factor in the cost of these toll roads as part of your mental/physical health policy.

I don’t recommend swinging all that way east to Lyon Why not straighten out the bends by going A16 >A28 to Rouen.>le Mans>A10 Tours>Poitiers>N147 Limoges>A20 @Limoges >Toulouse A61>A9 Perpignan >Le Boulou.

Come off at Le Boulou, turn west >D115 Le Ceret and take the D115 all the way over the mountains into Spain, drop down and pick up the autopista at Girona. The trip over the mountains on this route is really spectacular. Right at the top is the old customs post, now a falling-down shed. On the rock wall opposite the shed is painted a vertical white line. On the French side of the line is painted an arrow pointing back the way you’ve come with ‘Francia 75 kms’ On the Spanish side is an arrow pointing south and ‘Espagna 360 kms’ That’s yer Catalans for ye. On the m/way to Barcelona is a huge rock with ‘Free Catalonia’ painted on it. Underneath, someone has replied in English ‘Why?’

Happy trails!