HELP: Stranded & Homeless After Engine Failure

Hey, all.

I absolutely would not be doing this if it was not an absolute emergency, certainly not one I ever thought I would need to crowdfund assistance for.

My name is Sam Kessler.

About four and a half weeks ago, I bought a used car from a dealership, pictured above.

Aside from driving it a few miles home, it accrued no additional mileage, as I was packing it for a 2000-mile cross-country relocation from Chicago, IL to Los Angeles, CA for my work.

Five days ago, on August 24th, I started my drive, stopping for the night in Kearney, Nebraska, about 650 miles in.

The next day I got about 400 miles when, somewhere near Silverthorne, CO, my car's engine died in the middle of the mountain range west of Denver.

The car made a horrific noise, immediately started to struggle up a slight incline, started blasting thick white smoke out the exhaust, lost all traction and acceleration, then died as every warning light on the dash started flashing.

After an hour waving down cars without any reception, a state trooper stopped and assisted me in contacting a towing service. After spending $400 to be towed an hour and a half back out of the mountains, I learned every single mechanic within 50 miles of me was fully booked for the next two weeks because of the sheer volume of tourist traffic on top of local accidents, and the soonest I could have my car even looked at was more than a week later by a dealership.

The dealership quoted the repair as being a $15,000 full engine replacement, and needing to take over two weeks in labor, which is literally the full cost of the car when it was manufactured, and an amount I cannot afford.

I am essentially stranded and homeless in a small town south of Denver, potentially for over three weeks. I'm a thousand miles both from where I started and where I needed to get, with no way to afford to repair my car or even start it, and it held literally everything that I own. I am absolutely desperate and would be endlessly grateful for any assistance. I'm hoping to initially raise a minimum of $5,000 that could go towards lodging, food, and potentially extend it a little to buffer for the enormous financial setback I may have to endure if the car needs extensive repairs.

Endless thanks to everyone for whatever support or assistance can be provided.

Much love, Sam