I got screwed on Craigslist...my mechanic tells me my engine is all F'd up...what are my options??

Scrap yard??

 

Ask him what is wrong and how he determined it. Then post it here. There's a lot of folks who are real knowledgeable and can help you determine a path forward. But that's near impossible without actually knowing what's wrong.


Asheville engines seems to be popular if you need a remanned short or long block.

 

says pistons have bent glow plugs, antifreeze leaking out exhaust manifold, someone shaved the heads, put extra thick gaskets, did not work

 

That sucks sorry

 

$7,000 bucks down the drain

 

If the short block is still good then you need heads.

Can you go after this CL seller?

 

Unless there was a written warranty between the buyer and seller, the deal is treated "as-is".

I got burned bad too on my first diesel. It was a 2001 f350 7.3. "142k miles, runs great". It did run well when it was being babied. The odometer was either swapped or rolled back. Actual mileage was 350k+. It had HPO issues, was dusted from a broken stock intake, among other issues. I never tried towing with it because it couldn't push itself up a hill at 65mph, even with the 4.10 gears it had with stock sized tires.

I ended up selling the piece of crap for half of what i paid for it after throwing all the possible cheaper possible solutions at it with no luck. When i tried contacting the seller, no response. A friend of mine who knows those type of laws very well told me it was an "as-is" deal done through craigslist and i got burned. There was nothing i could do but cut my losses. I was honest about the issues when i sold it and was lucky to get half what i paid for it. It still took 4 or 5 months to sell.

Sorry to hear about you getting burned too. I sold cars/trucks successfully for a while before settling into my current career and have seen too many people trying to trade in vehicles they got burned on, both from shady dealers and private party. I can't stand dishonest sellers or thieves. A lot of my success selling cars was from honesty and earning my customers' trust. I didn't get rich off every deal i made, but i sure made a lot of deals and had a lot of referrals as a result.

 

Did the mechanic take the engine apart? Just because the top end is bad, doesn't mean the lower is bad. Were there any oil leaks.

 

I had my choice of used engines for $2300-2600 a year ago when I needed one. They aren't that hard to find. I went with the $2300 one and it runs like a champ.