Bought an 04 Infiniti G35 coupe off Craigslist. This is my first car i payed for by myself. Payed 5000 cash. I caught a deal at the last minute a day before heading back to college and drove it about 160 miles from Atlanta to my college in Statesboro (Georgia Southern University. Go Eagles!). everything was great. A week after that my engine cut off while i was in a Walmart parking lot and my oil and CEL came on and when i turned it back on i get this TERRIBLE clanking noise so i turned it off immediately and tried to diagnose it myself. It was obviously an engine problem so i got it towed to it to nissan so they could do a further diagnosis. turns out one of my pistons went bad and my engine is pretty much done. got a quote for a re-man engine and they said $7500 so after towing my car back to my apartment and deleting nissan's number i went searching for another shop that will drop in an engine for me and figured the cheapest route was to find an engine myself. LEarned a huge life lesson about patience. probably gonna sell/trade the car and invest in a bmw 335i coupe that i take my time to look over and have diagnosed. was wondering if you guys knew a good place to get an engine and maybe some seats (previous owner tore them and the armrest up).

 

Ouch man very sorry, that really sucks. I'd say the best place is somewhere local, so you can at least do a visual inspection. I use Car-Part put in your area info and "engine" under parts. Seats, probably same thing.

 

lmao good luck with the bmw

 

yea ull be in twice the shhh your'e in now with a 335i

 

Look into whether or not your state has a lemon law or Lemon-Aid law for private party purchases and how long it is from date of purchase.

I know in my state that if you buy a car from a private party and spend over like $2K on it (don't quote me on that price), it has less than 125K miles on it, and something major lets go before you've had the car long enough to have it pass inspection (like 7 business days), you have the right to return the car and get your money back or split the cost of the repair 50/50 with the seller.

The previous owner obviously knew something major was wrong with the car and he suckered you in on buying it. $5K is super cheap for an '04 G35 Coupe unless it has a ton of miles on it.

I would be ripshit at the seller if I were you unless he disclosed to you that there were problems with the car ahead of time. Usually when you buy something used on craigslist or someone you don't know in general, if the deal seems to good to be true, it probably is.

 

Wow really? Never heard of that. Usually in private sales its as is and responsibility of the buyer to look things over prior to purchase .

 

I just took a quick look online and it doesn't look like Georgia has a Lemon-Law on used cars of any type. That sucks.

Life lesson I suppose... hopefully it doesn't set you back too much since it sounds like the car was still pretty cheap to buy despite the motor problem. Before you go sinking a bunch of money into it, definitely have it checked out by a mechanic to make sure the rest of the car isn't flawed as well. I'd hate to see you throw even more money at the car only to find out that the tranny is on the way out, the car has been in a huge crash with a shoddy repair job, or the rear end is about to explode.

 

Damn, thats some terrible luck man. Sorry to hear.

$5k for a 04 G35 coupe sounds too good to be true... that should've flashed some red lights for you right away. Esp if you didn't get it inspected by a mechanic at the time of purchase. These cars are not cheap to fix.

Good luck with repairs if you decide to keep it. Be careful if you do try going with BMW. That was my other choice instead of the G35; I looked at a used 05 BMW 3 series before buying my 05 G35. I really wanted a M3 or 330 but I figured any costs down the road would be more than an Infiniti.

BMW's are nice cars but remember they are german vehicles and can me more expensive to repair when needed vs japanese cars. Infiniti's share parts with Nissan's so it makes parts sourcing a little easier. Not so much with BMW's.

 

Can't tell you what I'd do..could be construed as 'premeditated'. I can not stand when people try to pass their problems on to someone else. Its unamerican. That **** should have been a man and taken his hits. Sorry this happened to you, man. Best/cheapest thing to do would be to get the rest of the car inspected to see if its worth a motor swap and then if it is, find a good used motor (they're cheap) and work with a reputable installer/mechanic. Still gonna cost you $3-4k tho.

If its not, and you have the space, part out the body/interior and try to get some cash back. Recycle the aluminum motor for cash and junk the thing. Good luck.

 

Fellow GSU Eagle here! Sorry to hear about your G. Sunbelt Champs at least!!!

 

hence why i'll be investing in one with bumper to bumper warranty.

 

Thanks for the advice guys. wont be able to drive back to atlanta for the winter break cuz of the car so im gonna take advantage of an empty college town and pick up a few jobs and build up some money. i'll get a diagnostic done and let you guys know what the plan is for my G

 

Haha yeah man. Starting our first year strong! you still go here? we can link up. I stay in Cambridge

 

Wow that sucks, let us know how the engine swap goes :/

 

That can be a pricey purchase... but if you can afford it then go for it.

If you're looking for a 335 with a full warranty, you'd be looking at a model that is probably 5 years old or less to obtain a bumper-to-bumper warranty. Most Warranties only last 4yrs or so, and if you want an extended warranty then you'd have to pay extra (which can cost a lot!)

I looked at newer 335's and 328's with the 6spd manual transmission before buying my G35, and most of the newer ones I found cost $16K or more. Not sure what your budget is, but if you don't have that kind of funds, then definitely pick up some jobs and save your $$. I love BMW's myself (one of my favorite cars is the M3), but IMO they are overpriced and can be very costly to own unless you have a lot of money.

Good luck and let us know what happens with your G.