this car makes me depressed 02 altima needs $1k in parts

[lovablekitty]

made a rookie mistake and purchased this "too good to be true" 2002 nissan altima from individual seller. they covered up the fact that the check engine light was on and I discovered it 2 days later as I got off the highway and my car shut off locled up and left me panicked. he gave me a major deal and i thought it was because the car needed motor mounts inspection and plates. called dmv to male sure the title was clear and tpok ot to a mechanic to verify motor mounts ect. I took a 2 hr test drive with him and everything was fine $2700 im the owner of the car of my dreams. get right to work planning customization grill rims fog lights ect. tpo excited to finally be the proud owner of a black beauty like this altima.

back to being stuck on the side of the road the car started back up i get to atozone and they print out a list that totals $1000 just in parts. does anyone he any similar problems in their life? jk I wanted to see if anyone has gotten these codes in combination and had to replace all of them!? maybe just 2/4. any encouragement from not reaffirming what a dumb idiot i feel like is appreciated. I have been pretty hard on myself about this so you dont need to tell me im a silly woman i am well aware. I just need to know if youve have the following codes pr a combo of them and how you fixed it.

1. transmission control module
2. throttle body unit
3.crank shift position sensor
4. transmission control solenoid


thanks for reading i hope you enjoyed my tale of a womans misery. visiting my mechanic in the am and hoping for the best.

[AZhitman]

First off, welcome aboard.

Second, feel free to post up the seller's info, so we can make him miserable.

Third, don't panic. Let's take this one piece at a time.

A little info will help - THe specific codes that the car is giving, as well as your general location, to begin with. You might be able to do some of this stuff yourself (with our help) and save yourself a ton of money.

That's why we're here.

[lovablekitty]

thank you for your reply. as for seller info I have just initiated contact and have decided to ask for his help with the parts (implying a gentle obvious elephant that he knew). He persit that he is a good person and the light never came on when he had it. Liar liar pants on fire. ugh the nerve of this guy lying to me makes me wanna punch someone in the throat. Honesty is always the best policy qhwn selling a car to a mother of small children. jesus hes a pig. once I get more info I may pursue lemmon law but for now im focused on the cost. i am in dallas, tx and we have a n area that has a 2 mile strip of more than 20 huge salvage yards and pick n pulls. priced some used ones on ebay that were decent looking and much cheaper.
i dont have much spare money after $450 i spent in the last 24 hours on motor mounts tires alignment balancing. gas treatment, im tryin to treat this car like a lady.
i will write the codes down in the morning when i meet with my mechanic. I hope its not as bad as i think it is......he noticed someone did an engine repair when he did the motor mounts and the water pump. im soooo scared i can hardly sleep thinking of what I may have just done buying used. every fear they warn you about has hit me like a ton of bricks.

[CoupeVQ35CVT]

Don't panic, it won't help. Worse comes to worse, you may be able to sell it off and cut your losses. And yes, for an older 3rd generation model Altima '02-06 I'd expect to pay $3-$7k and even then eyes and ears open.

What have you been doing with the car in the month since you posted? Is it working now? Did you find the parts and get them replaced? Remember a lot of times the mechanics and shops will give you a laundry list of items that you apparently need and while that's not a problem, the problem is that they don't often just tell you what you 'need now' vs. what can wait.

If you can list the problem engine codes you have obtained, that will help us figure out what you may need done NOW and what can wait till later, so at least you have a safe drivable car for the time being. BTW I'm in the DFW area, and while Don Davis Nissan in Arlington has been decent in my experience, given your budget constraints I'd recommend getting quotes from other smaller shops such as Firestone, NTB, etc. and post those up here to see what's going on.

[AZhitman]

Legal action isn't an option - Lemon law only applies to dealers, and it's a stretch even then.

You can buy a code reader for $35 at an auto parts store. DO NOT trust the guys to scan the car, because they'll just give you the generic answer. We need to know the exact codes that come up. Post them all here, and we can help.

Often, a certain code will mean one thing on one car, but be a common issue (completely different) on another car. That's why we need to see the engine codes.

No more panic. Besides, $1k annually is what should have been spent on the car since it was new in order to maintain it properly - You're just getting the brunt of the prior owner's deferred maintenance.

BY THE WAY.... if it helps, next time you talk to the seller, let him know that the ECU stores the HISTORY of the codes as well. So, you CAN tell if it had a CEL while he had it. That may help him change his tune, and offer to throw you a few bucks for the repairs.

If not, we can publicly humiliate him (and trust me, we're good at it).

[seldomseen]

You need to figure out what the used car sale/purchase laws are for both dealers/private sellers are in your state. Some states require a used to pass safety/emissions inspection unless you knowingly purchased the vehicle with disclosure from the seller that the vehicle will not pass inspection due to XYZ problems. 99.9% of cars sold by a private seller will be "As-Is", however, it's a different story if a private seller knowingly sells a car with XYZ problems that will require a significant cost to repair the vehicle and does not make a good faith effort to inform/disclose XYZ problems to a buyer.

You need to spend some money to determine what the exact problems are and what the cost for repairs will be. Get written estimates from a dealership and two independent repair shops. If the repair costs are excessive you can let the seller know that you are willing to take him to small claims court to get him to buy the car back from you. Just figure out what the cost of repairs will be in relation to the price you purchased the vehicle for. If you attempt to resell the car you will very likely end up losing a ton of money, because you will need to disclose the issues the car has.

[lobo_s10]

I have a 98 altima went thru some issues and ended up replaceing the transmission. When i bought it the guy said it was just a clutch berring. but it all depends on how much you like the car. If you wanna keep it or not try www.partsgeek.com for parts sometimes cheaper than store sometimes not. Good luck.