I had one go out on me. Wasn't as bad as you might think, but I was probably very lucky.
If you think that nasty clicking & thunk is bad, just wait until you hear the joint after it drops all the ball-bearings! One awful grinding noise.
In my case it went out about 70 miles from home. It was the slowest, most nerve wracking trip I've ever had in a car. I did make it back home and had it replaced the next day. It could have come apart entirely, and I would have had a major problem on my hands (expensive tow bill, not enough cash to pay someone in a different state to fix it, no choice of where it was fixed, etc.)
Think of it this way...
While you might wish you didn't have to spend the dollars on a car you are getting rid of, you would have to make a loan payment to buy a new or different used car. I suspect the repair might be much cheaper than one car payment. Therefore, think of the repair as being cheaper than buying a new car!
Good luck!