Question. Trying to help a friend

[chronical]

He bought a 99 jeep grand cherokee about a month ago and the motor seized on him. He had two different shops tell him he needs a motor. At this point he isnt sure what to do. He cant afford to drop $1500 to get it running again. Are the motors cheap and abundant on these cars? Is the install relatively easy? Is his roller worth anything to sell as is with the hurt motor and if so how much?
It is a 99 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the 4.7 and has a 179k. I'm just trying to find the best course of action for the guy. Thank you and here are a few pics.

[Baron Von Crowder]

4.7 engines are high $$$ and known for being junk.

[shumpertdavid]

and the vehicle isn't worth much of anything non-running.

[BP]

It's probably either a sludge bucket or it dropped a valve seat, maybe even both. 4.7s are garbage and they are very spendy used, I'd definitely spend the extra for a reman. Also make sure they either replace the intake manifold or use a screened gasket, otherwise it'll fail again almost immediately.

Hate to be harsh but those things are cheap for a reason. Just like all the nearly free Intrepids you see out there, they'll need an engine and probably a transmission soon.

[chronical]

Is it worth 1k as it sits?

[shumpertdavid]

doubtful