certified pre-owned by meth-heads vehicle

Fox and I went looking for cars online, and we found this one:

Orange Mazda 6

We thought: It's orange! It's in our price range! Those are good cars, right?

So on Sunday we went to check it out. There are a couple of things wrong with it, but we figured that just might be why it's not too expensive. The glove compartment latch is broken, and it's missing a stereo (the dealer said the people he got it from removed it, though I think that's wrong).

Monday I rushed over there after work to test drive it. It drove a little ... funny. We thought: maybe it needs an alignment. We could handle that.

As much as we wanted this thing, we're also not idiots. Yesterday we took it to a mechanic, the *excellent* PR Motorsports in Hayward. I found them on Yelp - my local mechanic was too far away to take the car to. They looked it over very carefully, made detailed notes... and told us not to buy the car.

When we told the dealer what was wrong, he said he could fix half that stuff for free! And he knows a cheap mechanic who can totally handle all the rest of that stuff! He'll even reduce the price $1500! We're thought: no.

The dealer said that if we don't buy the car, he's just going to send it to an auction. Note to self: do not buy cars at auctions (I'm guessing you can't take those to a mechanic).

You'll understand why this is so funny when you see the estimate. As far as we can figure, it was owned (by meth heads?) by someone who thought they knew how to work on it, but didn't. That probable explains all the missing parts, all the wrong parts, etc. My boss suggested that someone may have been racing it and took the original engine out, replaced it to race, and then put the original back in to get rid of it. Who knows. Whatever happened to it, I think we just avoided a huge money pit.


Autumn

Here are your prices. Some of these items are not essential right away (see *) and the used spare tire is an approximate cost.

Is overdue for the 90k service $399.00
- Right side engine mount is broken $230.00
- Rear transmission mount is torn through $171.00
- Front, front lower control arm bushings tearing $295.00
- Wrong drain plug on engine oil pan - possible future problem/leak
- Right axle CV boots are seeping grease $570.00 *
- Oil leaking > either from oil filter housing or oil filter o-ring $ need further investigation to quote
- Engine cover insulation is eaten > rodent ? $122.40 *
- Glove box latch is broken $90.00 *
- Spare tire is missing $100.00 used part (not available new)
- right front (tiny) light bulb in headlight housing is not working $15.00? Small bulb & easy to replace *
- Front brake rotors are warped $417.30 > can wait until it gets worse
- Front engine under tray missing $54.00 *
- Hazard lights not working >>> probably caused by improper stereo removal
- Factory stereo $702.76 + labor to install + fix whatever wiring damage there may be *
- A/C not working >> We take our own cars to San Leandro radiator and air conditioning *
- Rear brake pads are down to 2mm remaining $223.00 *
- Rear tires could not be removed - need a special lug nut key $200.00 for correct lug nuts and a set of new wheel locks > includes labor to remove wheel locks >> This will need to be done the next time the wheel come off
Front bumper has been repainted; rear windshield wiper was loose and installed in incorrect position; brake pads are aftermarket; coolant, engine and power steering fluid are all overfilled
NEEDS TIRES $600.00 ? depending upon brand/quality

Let me know if there is anything else I can do for you.
Thank you
-Laura