What would you do?

[Kracka]

This is a tough call, I'd want to inspect the car and try and figure out what caused the failure. If I concluded it was not his fault I'd probably offer to return half the money or help fix the problem. Honestly, these days you can get a running 4G63 for under $500, maybe offer to buy that for him and let him cover the installation/labor. This almost exact situation happened to me a few years ago, bought a car and 68 miles later the timing belt slipped and destroyed the valves. I purchased it from a well respected woman and she refused to help me. Not only did I loose every ounce of respect for this women, but I also caused to woman a great deal of embarassment, humiliation, and lets just say her career record isn't quite as spotless anymore. I don't like it when people fuck me so I got even with this woman and caused her a whole lot more damage than the purchase price of the car...don't let this happen to you. Offer to help the kid out unless its totally obvious he beat the piss out of it.

At the same time, the prick inside me wants to just say "fuck 'em." This is a very tough call to make and you're really going to have to go off what you feel inside. Not a bad idea to consult with your mother and see what her take on the situation is, like it or not, parents are very wise a lot of the time and really are crucial when tough situations like this arrise.