made a big mistake, cost me lots

[hobey19]

some of you may or may not know, but about a week and a half ago, i bought a 1990 nissan 300zx NA 5spd manual. the chassis had 168,000 miles on it, but everything under the hood had less than 40,000 miles. it had a brand new JDM vg30de engine in it, and it was running flawlessly. i got a good deal, i thought. it had been running fine until i drove it down to columbus yesterday to pick up some parts. started it up after it sat for about a half hour and it refused to turn over.

turns out, the guy hadn't put enough oil in it when he last changed it (he is a nissan mechanic). i asked him before i bought it when he last changed the oil, and he said 3 days earlier, so i didn't think about it much. should have looked, because after having it at IPS Motorsports this evening (who, if you have a performance car in the columbus, ohio area, i couldn't recommend high enough), i found the engine seized

now, this wouldn't be too bad, but i made the mistake of putting almost all my money into this car, leaving me with zero money to replace the engine. so, i am relegated to selling this car for about a third of what i paid for it just over a week ago.

the biggest mistake i made in the whole process was believing that since this guy was a nissan mechanic, i could trust him about his car. i was in such a rush to get a 300zx (they are hard to find in my area in good condition), i bought it without taking the proper precautions.

i unfortunately learned my lesson the hard way, but hey, what can you do. sorry, just had to kind of get this out, its hard to let a car go like that. hopefully, some other young guys like me will read this and remember it when they go to buy a car.

craig

[Floppyman]

No oil light or check engine light on the dash go on at all during this time? Really too bad. If it would have been bought from a dealer at least there might have been some liability seller's part. What are you going to be driving now?

[hobey19]

well, i have a 2001 honda accord ex auto that i gave to my sis when i bought this, so i don't really know. i am going to try to get through the rest of the summer and see about getting one then, but who knows.

and no, no oil or check engine light

craig

[Tin]

im thinking the guy scammed you. some kind of light should have come up on the dashboard. well...lesson learned. theres a saying that goes "theres an ass for every seat.". no pun intended.

[hobey19]

trust me, i know i got ripped. deep down, i think i knew before i ever even bought it, i just wanted it so bad, i didn't want to think about the bad things.

the place i took it to said the mechanic should have known

craig

[Tin]

Originally Posted by hobey19 trust me, i know i got ripped. deep down, i think i knew before i ever even bought it, i just wanted it so bad, i didn't want to think about the bad things. the place i took it to said the mechanic should have known craig

i have been there before. i leased a pickup truck when i was younger and put TONS of miles on it. so for 2 years, i was essentially paying for a truck i didnt even own anymore. i owed $7000 in over-mileage. that was a big wakeup call to me. like you, i really wanted my truck very bad and got oblivious to the consequences.

[Jaggannath]

You been back to the mechanic to talk to him?? I'd suggest checking up on his liability, especially if you signed some kind of contract

[LA22]

you probably need the money from selling the car, but if you dont. Why not keep the car and save for the new engine when you get enough money?

[rhys_925]

Originally Posted by LA22 you probably need the money from selling the car, but if you dont. Why not keep the car and save for the new engine when you get enough money?

i totally agree i mean if the problem is you dont have enogh money for a new engine why not just save up for one instead of sellin the car for 1\3 of what u payed and then save up for a different car (you can use the car u gave your sister untill u got enogh)

[Byte 2.0]

Man that sucks. I know I could give the advise, but as you are aware, hind sight is 20/20. I am sure you know that 100 percent now. I don't know if you could work out anything with the seller, as it was probably as is.

This is one of those lessons learned the hard way that will stick with you for many years to come. Rest assured, when it comes to major purchases in the future you will not make the same mistake, which if I am correct at your point in life you have not brought a house yet. That is a road full of pitfalls.

I know I get blasted by mechanic's for this, but this has served me well for 15 years or so.

When I change oil, as I do most of the time for my self. I add an extra half to a quart of oil.

Why, I have never own a new car or truck and most had small leaks, so this way I have extra for the leak.

Is it safe? Allot of mechanic's will say no, I have heard some actually say the would rather be a quart low then half a quart over. Not me. I have worked on engines, at least a few Fords and only Fords. I know if the cars and truck that I have worked on the oil pan is in such a way it would probably take 2 or 3 before the oil would rather the lowest moving parts, such as the Crack shaft.

I know this because when I had some oil pans off and I could see the line where the normal level of the oil had been.

Also don't take my word for this and try yourself, unless you are comfortable, as I am not a certified mechanic. I work on my own stuff.

[David M]

I would file a small claims lawsuit. A sympathetic judge might look at your situation and rule in your favor, especially since the person who sold you the car was a "professional" and would have known about the oil light situation.

The mechanic clearly did know the low pressure oil light was not working since they are supposed to come on right before you start the engine when the key is in the "run" position. Any good mechanic would notice this. You can cross examine the defendant in small claims. The first thing you should ask him is his professional experience as a Nissan and if he considers himself competent enough to work on your type of car. Then ask him to estimate how many times he has worked on your type of car. He will of course say "yes" and "hundreds"..or something similar. Encourage the guy to boast about his knowledge on his own. He will think the more he boasts of his knowledge about your type of car, the more competent an "expert" that he wil appear before the judge. What he won't realize is he will be digging his own grave.

The mechanic will probably say the car was sold on an "as is' basis but "as is" does not apply if there is fraud involved.

After he brags about his abilities as a professional Nissan mechanic, state to the judge that with all his expertise then he must have known there was a problem otherwise he would have been fired as an incompetent Nissan mechanic years ago.

Tell the judge that the chances of the low pressure oil light failing the same exact day he sold the car to you are infintesimally small.

At this point you have nailed him. It will smell of fraud to the judge.

There are two points that you must make clear to the judge.
1. He is a professional that knows when the oil pressure light has failed.
2. There is a virtually zero percent chance the oil pressure light failed on the same day you purchased the car.

Had anyone other than a professional Nissan mechanic sold you the car then you would not have much of a case as anyone else could claim lack of knowledge about oil lights. Work his expertise against him...then nail him.

Before going to court, you must hire a professional independent mechanic to fill out a written report as to what happened to the engine. You better confirm that the low oil pressure light really does not come on, otherwise it really is your fault and the independent mechanic will note this is his report.

Some time and the cost of the report is all you have to lose. Make sure you also file a claim for any provable monetary losses you had including, towing, loss of wages and the cost of the mechanics report. You will need to prove these losses on paper. There is no pain or suffering in small claims or nuisance type claims.

You're not out a car just yet. You still have a fighting chance. Don't put off filing the suit, there is a statute of limitations.

[hobey19]

well, to give everyone an update, the car has been sold. unfortunately, it was stuck about 200 miles SE of where i live, so my parents decided for me it was best to sell it. i just got back from selling it.

i know, it sucks, but i learned my lesson

as far as taking my car back, despite the bad situation i am in, i am not going to ask my sister for it. i gave it to her as a gift, and she needs it as bad as i do. things are looking up, tho, because there may be a new car in my future within the next month.

thanks for all the advice, i will see what my folks want to do.

craig

[David M]

Darn...I thought you had a real case against that dirtbag who sold you the car.

[mairving]

Maybe you could tow it over near where the mechanic works and park it...with a big sign in the window.

[David M]

Find out who his boss is and his bosses boss and email a link from this thread to the both of them.

[hobey19]

shop owner

something tells me there ain't anybody above him. my dad is a magistrate, so he is handling all the legal stuff for me

i will keep you all posted

craig

[Marke522]

I had a similar problem years ago with a Toyota Tercel. Drove it for years until one day when I hadn't changed or checked the oil for about 6 months. Suddenly on the highway it started sputtering like it was out of gas, but I had a full tank, and started wondering what other kind of fluids a car needs. No transmission fluid to check in a manual, no power steering, brake fuild was ok, antifreeze was ok, then it struck me, ...OIL!! Oh man I was so mad at myself. I had no light on that car because the previous owner took it off to make a hotwire for his car stereo. Never thought the oil light was that important.

I sold the car for $200 to a salvage yard, but I got my money, and lesson, out of it. It should have ran a lot longer if I took care of it.

I totally know how you feel, I've been down that road before and we will both be down it again.

I do hope your right about a younger reader learning from this, rather than on his own, making the same mistakes we did.

[hobey19]

yea, unfortuntately this happened at a time in my life where i can't afford to have this happen. i am going to be a sophmore in college in august, and here i am without a car and without money. luckily, i am working on both right now, and all will probably be well.

i bought the car as a project car, but i figured since the guy already did the engine swap and 60k maintenance, it would be small stuff (suspension, body, interior) from there. it was such a beautiful car, but i wanted to restore it to its original beauty from 15 years ago. oh well, i should have known this was not a good car for a college kid. i still plan to get one when i get out, and not give away my daily driver then

craig