WJ Buying advice

Hey, I'm considering getting a WJ to replace my wife's elantra. I've been dead set on the 4.0 because of reliability until reading the Jeep Forum's WJ buyers guide Most of them in my area are around 200K miles and I want something that I can cheaply maintain for the forseeable future and I love the solid front and rear axles. What should I look for as far as options? Should I stick with my initial thoughts and stick with the 4.0 or would I be better off with the 4.7? What other options/years should I look for?

Here are a few I have been looking at: 2004 Grand Cherokee Looks much nicer than the others, but is it worth an extra $1000? This one is stretching how much we are willing to spend out of the gate, but it looks and sounds like it may not have any other problems. 2001 Grand Cherokeel We are going to try and test drive this one tomorrow as it is close by and not too expensive. 2001 Grand Cherokee needing Trans Much cheaper than the others, and may still need some work. I like all the new parts though as I shouldn't need to replace them.