Engine Mayhem. Infiniti G35.

hdspice

My ever so faithful car has been paid off for some time and only required the usual maintenance (which the dealer has always performed). Monday I went to start my car...it coughed and coughed about 15 times and started with a cloud of smoke. It was towed to the dealership. I received dreadful news--a new or used engine is needed ($15K or 10K, respectively). I nearly had a breakdown.

Later, I got a call from the "retention" manager. He wanted to discuss my options: lease or buy a new car. He's willing to give me $9K value on my car.

I haven't the slightest clue of what to do? I've never leased or purchased an used car. Please advise...the Colorado weather is unpredictable. Thanks!

hdspice

Left out the ENGINE par...sure you guess that. There is plenty of oil and no oil leak.

stever

Bummer. Even with labor, the replacement engine cost sounds high. It's a pain trying to tow a car around for a second opinion but you may want to do some net research on "crate" engines and call for some prices. Those VQ engines have a great reputation too, sorry to read about yours.

(I edited your post btw - you can edit posts yourself for 4 hours after posting).