Need car buying advice

Long story short: I'm an unemployed full-time college student. I have a 99 Wrangler with over 104k miles that's all rusted and beat up from offroading and it feels like it's going to fall apart every time I so much as hit a bump. It also does the annoying death wobble when I hit about 52 mph. It gets me where I need to go, but I'll be graduating in about a year (hopefully) and I'll need a reliable vehicle to travel across several states. I'm not 100% sure I trust the Jeep to survive a highway trip when it can barely hit 60.
I see a few used VWs (at dealerships) for about $5500, one of which has only 38k miles. I *could* potentially sell the Jeep for the same price, get a VW with much lower miles, and break even. Worst case scenario, I have a newer car with lower miles that could last a few years. Best case scenario, I have a reliable car that I can just replace with something better when I start working.
The only downside I see to this is having less storage space for moving my stuff, as well as a risk of getting a car that happens to have expensive issues pop up. Should I get rid of the Jeep and get a VW, or just keep the Jeep and hope it holds up for another year and a trip across several states?
Just looking for advice and thoughts.

a reply to: trollz

Keep what you got until it explodes. Then get something new. My oil-change guy drove a van that lasted 600,000 miles.

a reply to: trollz

"death wobble" bent rim? Bad tire? Mud packed into backside of the rim?
It could be a real cheap fix.

I have heard good things about the toyotas like the corrola and also scion.

Drive that thing as long as you can.

originally posted by: seasonal
a reply to: trollz

"death wobble" bent rim? Bad tire? Mud packed into backside of the rim?
It could be a real cheap fix.

It's apparently a common thing with Wranglers. The front wheels start shaking back and forth when you hit a certain speed. My one wheel almost came off one time. I had to pull over and have it towed.

a reply to: trollz

My advice, get rid of the jeep, before it leaves you stranded. I like the dodge caravan, you can pick up a used one with under a 100 thousand miles on it from any used dealership just for a few grand.

They are not that bad on gas mileage, 17 city, 24 highway and have plenty of room for carrying anything. My caravan has the stow and go seats, that fold down into the floor to open up more room.

a reply to: trollz

If you can get one for the amount of money you have to spend i would suggest a Land Rover Defender.

Drive the jeep till you get a new car, sell the jeep and move on.

I like Mitsubishi Shogun and a good old land rover defender/discovery with good milage on them, could get them cheap..

originally posted by: alldaylong
a reply to: trollz

If you can get one for the amount of money you have to spend i would suggest a Land Rover Defender.

I agree you can't go wrong with one, plus they last a long time and go anywhere.

a reply to: trollz

That jeep sounds too dangerous to drive on the highway. A death wobble when you hit 52 mph and highway speed limits are 65 - 70 mph? I wouldn't take a chance of possibly losing control of your jeep at those speeds. I would try to get as much money as I could for the jeep and buy a safer vehicle. It's not worth putting your life at risk.

Dealerships want to take you for a ride.

|how to inspect a used car|

Reports I have read at Zero Hedge indicate that used car prices are going to drastically drop in the coming months. New car prices are going to decline also. Drive the jeep for a while longer and just see what the market does for now. If you do trade, buy a good cheap standard low mileage pickup truck. Forget the extend cab SLT's. Why pay for extravagance you don't need and will only depreciate even more over time. My next truck will be exactly that, a plane Jane, plus being a 4 wheel drive.

a reply to: trollz

I love Jeeps. If you have an inline 6, you have a 300,000+ motor. Is there any way to have the front end repaired? Parts are cheap but labor is not. I own an 03 liberty renegade 3.7, an 2012 Wrangler Unlimited with the pentastar motor, and a 2000 Audi TT Quattro (basically a VW with a 1.8T motor). I love to drive the VW but it is very expensive to repair and breaks often. I am good at repairs and over 11 years with the Liberty and 130,000 mi, I have been able to make all repairs my self. Look at vehicles with timing chains and not belts if you buy with many miles or plan to drive many miles before it dies.

originally posted by: seasonal
a reply to: trollz

I have heard good things about the toyotas like the corrola and also scion.

I have a Scion XD, that little giant is awesome.

On the subject of Toyota the Celica GT is a fast little sports car, easy maintenance and cheap to run, has 170+bhp with new spot air filter etc.. OK not got a lot of boot space but was fine, mine back in 08 was just under £5k and only a few hundred to run for a year.


Forgot to mention my old mate had the Subaru wrx saloon in blue with sti upgrade running about 270+ bhp on boost, not sure if you can get one in the USA? but i remember it was massive in the inside and fast, parts were more expensive than my Toyota Celica.

Another is the 06-07 BMW M3 they're reliable, didn't have one but the next door neighbour has, she told me that it's pretty fast with decent room inside and not that expensive to run only maintenance can cost more apparently.. Can't say much on that subject as i haven't had one.

a reply to: trollz

Stay away from VW's and Audi's if spending extra on upkeep is a concern.

Toyota trucks are the most burly and cost effective vehicles I have ever owned. I also feel Honda provides a similar standard for passenger cars, with Toyota again being hard to beat when it comes to cost/output ratios.

Toyota manufacturing sets the standards for what all other manufactures establish... someone Toyota certified in manufacturing typically has little efforts obtaining well paid jobs. I spent many many hours comparing the oddest of details about makes/models of cars... down to the sensor systems/ engine management systems, you name it. I was a BMW technician for well over a decade.

If I had a 5k budget, I'd be dropping 3k on the best of those I listed that fit my needs, then dropping another 1k into getting it back to better health.

Jeeps are known to easily go 250,000 miles without any major repairs, you can`t say that about many other vehicles.

obviously you have some worn or broken suspension or steering components on the front end,it`s cheaper to fix a car than it is to buy another one.

VW`s are expensive to repair but if you aren`t going to maintain the vehicle anyways and just drive it until it has problems and then sell it, a VW might be a good choice.

originally posted by: Tardacus
obviously you have some worn or broken suspension or steering components on the front end,it`s cheaper to fix a car than it is to buy another one.

VW`s are expensive to repair but if you aren`t going to maintain the vehicle anyways and just drive it until it has problems and then sell it, a VW might be a good choice.

Yeah it has alot of wear, like I said it's been used for offroading. The problem is I don't really have the money to be doing repairs, so I'm trying to decide if I wanna hope it holds up another year, or if I should just sell it and get a lower-mileage car for the same price, like a 38k-mile Jetta. I should be able to get a well-paying job after I graduate, so I'd plan on just buying something newer anyway when I start working.

a reply to: trollz

Go with a cheap honda civic or a well maintained preferably unmolested acura integra. They are good cars with great fuel economy generally don't need much in the way of upkeep and are plentiful.

I'd say avoid VW, I have seen 2 Jettas with blown valvetrains, both light drivers.

The jeep death wobble is from too much play in your steering linkages, ball joints or steering box.

IF you are feeling handy...

If you lift jeep up on jacks stands, you can move the wheels and feel for any movement in the parts, replace anything that has ANY play.

If someone moves the wheel back and forth slightly, you can put your hand on each linkage and really feel any sloppiness.

Mark the linkages with paint, so new replacement ends go back on same location as prior.

Shouldn't need balljoints at that mileage, unless oversized wheels where used, so probably just some loose control linkage ends.

In that price range, I'd get an Audi A6 Avant, but I'm old. C6 A6 sedan isn't bad at all if you want flash and comfort.

Not much else can touch it for the money. There are some great deals on used MB, like the E class....under $5000

Those are cars youll want to keep, vs a Focus or whatever.

Keeping in your price range, Acura TSX is a good middle of the road choice, nice like the Germans, but Honda underneeth. The 2.4 has a timing chain....pretty much bulletproof and the trans is super easy to service. Those cars had inclusive maintenance when new, so guaranteed they got the basic services verses an equivalent Honda. I drove both, owned a new Accord and a RSX. See, a premium model lives a easier life and doesn't get so beat.....generally.

I'd be happy to post some for-examples.

I owned about 20 Audis and close to 10 VWs. I have a 2013 allroad w/APR near 400 ft-lbs on ethanol. Wife has our 2nd new Tiguan a 2017, previous was a 2010 w/APR and 6M....kept it 5 years. Mom has a Jetta Sportswagen, 2011 after driving her 1996 Passat 17 years. Jetta Sportswagen is nice, did I mention I'm old? In Europe, younger people drive wagons sedans are for old men! The US market Passat gets discounted so heavily it's silly if you're into new cars. If so, the Golf 7 is amazing for $19k new but I think a Passat can be bought for LESS. We got $5000 off out 2017 Tiguan...