My name is Amber. I'm a disabled single parent working two jobs just to try to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. With the nature of my disability, I shouldn't be working this much but I have no choice because otherwise we wouldn't be able to survive.
On March 3, 2026, my car (a 2006) rendered itself unusable and put me in an emergency situation where I needed another vehicle immediately to be able to get to work, as I don't have help and I cannot afford a taxi or rideshare. Over the last few years, I managed to save up a small emergency fund that I hoped I wouldn't need to use and could continue building into a down payment on a house someday to get me out of this cycle of poverty. This included hours and hours of digging returnable bottles and cans out of the trash and recycling to squirrel some money away. I now needed to use this money to purchase a car.
On March 5, 2026, I traveled almost 3 hours to Elizabeth, NJ for a car I had found on Facebook Marketplace that was in my price range and met my needs. Everything seemed OK. It was raining that day, so I couldn't get on the ground to look under the car, and I was so stressed and anxious the whole time because of the emergency situation I was in. Also, the seller and employees there barely spoke English. I purchased the car and drove the almost 3 hours home, even making 3 different stops along the way with no problems. However, as soon as I pulled into my apartment complex, the check engine light came on. I messaged the seller, and of course he had no idea what it could be.
The car was advertised as having no issues and the ad also said it had new tires and brakes. I took the car to my mechanic, and it had a code for the oxygen sensor and a code for the catalytic converter. My mechanic found that the seller had put a spacer on the O2 sensor, intentionally altering it to change the way the catalytic converter would read to try to prevent the check engine light from coming on. He also found that the car needed a complete exhaust - they had welded what looked like a length of fence post tubing into the exhaust, and within days of owning the vehicle, the exhaust broke off at the resonator, making the car very loud. It was also found that the tires were not even close to new - they are from 2021 and are starting to dry rot and are not safe. Because of these issues, I can't even register the car in New York because that would require me to get it inspected within 10 days and it will not pass inspection. My temporary NJ tag and registration expire April 3, leaving me with no car.
I need help to pay for the parts and labor to get this car working properly. Because of the catalytic converter failure, I am burning through gas at an alarming rate - I'm filling the tank twice every week/week and a half and I barely go anywhere. I can't afford this. I'm asking for help to purchase the parts and pay for the labor I need to have a vehicle that I can safely get around in. I'm also going to have to find some way to take the seller to court.
On top of this, I was already struggling with working and my mental health, and because of the toll this car situation has taken on me, my doctors have taken me out of work because I was on the verge of hospitalization. I can't even afford to be hospitalized because I'd have no way to pay my rent and bills and would end up homeless. I'm having suicidal ideation and am close to having a complete mental breakdown. I need help getting by while I'm out of work so I can work with my doctors to try to get out of this mental and emotional state. I am not functioning. I'm at a point where I cannot even prepare meals. I don't know how long this is going to take for me to recover.
Any help provided would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you.