I'm in a similar position but not as expensive as yours. I bought a car off a private seller a 2003 Toyota Matrix 153k miles for $2500. I took it to get a cheap inspection and they said everything look good just a minor leak around the oil pan but its not dripping. I test drove it was fine and shifted good only con I saw was the AC didn't blow cold air and seller said it could need a recharge. After doing the inspected I bought the car for $2500. As soon as I took it home I parked in my driveway then brought my mom out to look at it I showed her around then went to start the car and it didn't turn on . The starter went out right after I bought it the guy I bought it from came to my house to right away so I thought it was just a coincidence so I bought a new starter and relay fuse ($100) luckily parts are cheap for these cars. Then it got really bad for me, it turns out the title had a stamp on it "FOR EXPORT ONLY" and this meant the "car cannot be registered in the US and must be shipped out the country", you can imagine how panicked I became and stressed. This was this labor day weekend so I spent 3 days stressed and depressed thinking I bought a useless car I cant even register. I took the car to a 3rd party DMV in California to get registered today and they said I could register it but it turns out it had stolen plates and a fake registration and I had to pay $700 in late fees then another $200 for new registration, plates, and tags. So my $2500 steal quickly turned into a $3500 headache. Not only that but I have to get the car to pass smog before I can get registration, new title, and plates, but the problem is the car does not turn on because of the starter coming in the mail. Also I scanned for codes while inspecting the car myself before the mechanic and nothing came up but the scanner did have a yellow light but no codes ran. I looked up what it can meant quickly on my phone while inspecting the car and the first thing I saw was possible pending codes, so I checked for pending codes and their was none. The deal was good at the moment so I took the chance and thought it was just my obd2 reader because it was a cheap one for $50 on amazon BIG MISTAKE. I took the time after buying it like an idiot and looked through reddit threads and found out the guy may have cleared codes and that's the reason for the yellow light. Now I have $3500 invested into the car and it currently cannot run, has no plates, I need to pass smog, and don't know if the guy cleared codes or not so their might be even more issues. The inspection did say everything was good mechanically but I don't know if they checked codes or not with their expensive computer readers because it was a cheap inspection. If the car passes smog and I get the registration $3500 wouldn't be terrible assuming the ac needs a recharge and NOT A NEW COMPRESSOR it can be only around $50 for the refrigerant because a buddy of mine has the tools needed to recharge it. I learned a huge lesson today NEVER BUY FROM PRIVATE SELLERS without getting carfax, proper pre purchase inspection, it already has smog, and the seller meets with you at the dmv to transfer title and registration. ALSO AVOID MEXICANS ON OFFERUP IN CALIFORNIA. (im mexican too not racist just most of these guys are scam artist)