New and in desperate help

[Nate1021]

Hello

I'm new to this forum and am looking for alternative solutions or at least confirmation that my mechanic is legit in what he is quoting me for my repair needs.

I have a 2009 Nissan Altima 2.5S that I bought in 2011. It has 98K miles and was previously used as an Enterprise fleet vehicle.

My problem started about 2 weeks ago when I was driving to work after filling up at the gas station (Exxon). On the freeway, my car started running so rough that I thought I blew a tire. Upon inspection, my tires were fine but my check engine light was blinking. After taking it to Autozone for code reading, I got a P0300 and P0304.

I switched out the spark plugs hoping that it would be a simple, and cheap fix, but it only helped out a little bit. I didn't drive it at all afterwards and just got back from my mechanic and was told that there is Zero compression on cylinder for, and the other three are running at about 85psi as opposed to the normal 120psi.

His master mechanic said that he could find no fault in the surrounding systems that would normally cause this to happen and is baffled as to what caused this. There was no rough ride leading up to this.

He gave me 2 options. 1. Replace engine with new one for about $5K including labor with a 3 year warranty. 2: Replace engine with used one for about $3K with 90 warranty. He said he only uses low mileage replacements if he can find one for a good price.

Is this reasonable or are the other avenues that I can explore? I've done some quick research and found used engines with about 30K miles on them for about $800 online.

Sorry for the long thread, but I wanted to give all of the details. Thanks in advance for all of the help!

[audtatious]

If the compression really is that poor then a rebuild may be needed. I'd check and make sure it's not something else by following the troubleshooting steps for those codes in the FSM

http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/Altima/2009/EC.pdf

[RicerX]

Please keep us posted on any alternative measures you come across. Sounds pretty grim so far though. I agree on the "sounds like a rebuild is in order" part.

[audtatious]

Congrats with the Admin title...out with the old and in with the new

[Nate1021]

Thanks for the reply guys. Not looking forward to dropping the coin on this, but it's been a good car so far and I'm still making payments

[RicerX]

Congrats with the Admin title...out with the old and in with the new

Haha thanks sir! I have some big boots to fill. Hopefully I get to meet a few more people at Carlisle this year.

[RicerX]

Thanks for the reply guys. Not looking forward to dropping the coin on this, but it's been a good car so far and I'm still making payments

I hear ya on dropping the coin. My dad just had a $4000 transmission repair creep in on him with his Tundra. It is never fun but we as drivers gamble with this stuff all the time. Good luck!