Andrew, I have no doubt that your Accord was okay.

But, I think you were lucky. All I am saying is, if it was my ten grand on the table for that Crossfire, I would put it back in my pocket and walk the other way.

Ten thousand dollars can buy a very nice, sorted performance car with few problems. Add in the other multiple thousands that it would take to shove a replacement engine in that Crossfire (OEM or otherwise) and you could have had a nice performance car with much less risk involved. Think of the Porsche 944 that kind of money could buy, or the lightly used Mustang that kind of money could buy, or even the garaged C4 Corvette you could happen upon.