Bought a $900 Civic off Facebook and the timing belt let go 4 miles from the guy's house
Saw a 2000 Civic coupe listed for $900 in Modesto, guy swore it ran great, just needed a smog hookup. I handed over cash, got maybe 4 miles down the road, and the motor just quit with this awful clatter, turns out the timing belt was original with 187k on it. Now I'm out the money, the car is parked in front of my place, and a shop quoted me $1,400 to swap the head and belt, which is more than I paid for the whole thing. Do I try to flip it as a roller for $400 or just eat it and part it out?