I drive a 2010 Jeep Patriot 2.4L Sport with 164K miles on it. Second owner and I've had it since 2019. I wanted to get a 2020 or 2021 Honda Civic come summer and I just can't make enough to sustain a car note and my other bills at the moment. I wanted to do some traveling this summer and that was a big reason for a new car. Since I'm no longer saving for that car I have some money set aside and I want to clean up my ride. What are some things I should do? Or with my miles should I just sell my jeep and get a used car with lower miles?
(I live in Texas so when I say travel I mean long rides for hours, I just don't see my car holding up too well for these trips)
This is a bad time to be looking for a car, supplies are tight and prices are up. However if you can manage to sell off the Jeep and pick up a Corolla or Civic of about the same age and miles it would be a lot more reliable than the Patriot. (You may well be able to get a good price for the Jeep in this seller's market but on the other end you're going to be paying an inflated price for its replacement.)
Just be sure to have a trustworthy mechanic go over any candidates. You'll want a guy with a "fancy scan tool" like Scotty uses to talk to all the modules and get a true picture of what's going on inside. Condition is everything when looking at used cars and even a reliable brand can break down and become a money pit if it's been abused, not maintained, flooded, or in a major accident.
