Sale Price
$2,900
Auction sale price
The Car That Started It All
We bought the car.
Then we found out
what we really bought.
A 16-year-old's first major car project became a real-world lesson in auctions, transportation, diagnostics and expensive repair decisions.
Current Project
2015 Infiniti Q50 Premium
The silver Q50 was bought sight-unseen at auction as a father-and-son first project. It showed up on a trailer covered in dirt, and once it was cleaned up and scanned, the real story started: a transmission problem and a pair of lean codes. That car became the founding Bought Busted build — documented exactly as it happened.
- Engine
- 3.7L V6 · RWD · Silver
- Odometer
- ~159,000 mi at purchase
- Acquired
- Auction — August 2026
- Invoice Total
- $4,168
- Previous Owners
- Two — Texas history
- Codes
- P0171 / P0174 · P0500 / P0720
Build Status
- Stage 01PurchasedComplete
- Stage 02DeliveredComplete
- Stage 03DiagnosedComplete
- Stage 04Transmission SwapIn progress
- Stage 05RoadworthyNot started
- Stage 06ModificationsNot started
Latest Episode
The Series Starts Here
Episode 01Coming Soon
How We Ended Up Buying a Busted Q50
The auction bid, the fees nobody mentions, the trailer delivery, and the first scan that changed the plan. Episode 01 covers the decision that started the whole project.
Real Numbers
The winning bid was only the beginning.
Every dollar that goes into this car gets logged. The vehicle-and-auction invoice totaled $4,168 before a trailer ever moved. Confirmed figures get published as receipts are verified — personal details, account information and private paperwork stay redacted. Title, tax and registration figures are an estimate based on the $4,168 invoice amount and current Texas/Denton County fees. The county tax office determines the final taxable value and amount due.
Auction Fees
$898
Auction fee on the invoice
Broker & Doc Fees
$370
Broker/service $295 + document $75
Transportation
$618
Confirmed — $600 transfer + $18 final leg
Taxes, Title & Registration
$370.25 estimated
Expected at county tax office; emissions-station charge pending
Repairs
$2,900 planned
VR30 swap — planned / in progress
Modifications
Coming soon
Black roof, mirror caps, grille and lower accents — nothing purchased yet.
Known + Expected + Planned Snapshot
$8,056.25
$4,168 invoice + $618 confirmed transport + $370.25 expected title, tax and registration + $2,900 planned swap. Not total invested — it excludes the emissions inspection station charge, diagnosis and other repairs, maintenance, tools and modifications.
Build Log
Written Like It Happened
Auction
From a $2,900 Bid to a $4,786 Delivered Car
The confirmed cost of getting Project 001 into the driveway: a $2,900 winning bid, a $4,168 invoice, and $618 of transportation across Texas — before title, tax, diagnosis or a single repair.
August 29, 2026Diagnosis
The Shop Said It Needed a $7,000 Transmission
The first professional quote landed hard. What was actually inspected, what was assumed, and why we did not sign off on a $7,000–$8,000 replacement right away.
Coming soonTransmission
Why We Chose a VR30 Transmission Swap
Rebuild, replace or swap. Breaking down the options a family actually has to weigh when the labor bill outruns the car's value — and how the $2,900 VR30 plan came together.
Coming soonAuction Reality
What the auction listing didn't tell us.
We learned the hard way that an auction price is a starting number. Between fees, transport, taxes and the problems a listing never mentions, the real cost of the car only appears weeks later — usually on a lift. This is the part of car buying nobody films, so we are filming it.
Explore Auction LessonsFees on top of fees
Buyer premium, gate fees and admin charges are not part of the bid you win.
Getting it home
Non-running or unknown-condition cars need a trailer, and that quote moves fast.
Unknown mechanicals
A five-minute inspection window hides transmission behavior and stored codes.