Yeah, and this is not a typical situation expected by someone looking for a Honda ownership experience.

Follow-up for those into the details: Yes, there are certain VIN ranges of Civic engines from that era that had problems with block cracks. Some info and links to a VIN status inquiry can be found here:

https://www.vehiclehistory.com/articles/a-look-at-the-honda-civic-cracked-block-recalls

Wait: A Honda Civic with only 95K miles... needs a new engine!?!? Did something spectacular go wrong, or was maintenance completely ignored from day one? I'd consider this to be a pretty unusual failure, in normal circumstances.

Just to be certain, I'd check with another mechanic (EDIT: specifically, a local, independent shop with a good reputation). Perhaps it can be repaired instead of replaced. Further: I see used engines for typical '09 Civics (presuming this isn't an unusual performance edition, etc.) for about $1K on-line, so a 4K replacement on a 14 year old car seems pricey to me. There are probably cheaper approaches to solving this problem.

Personally, I'd try to fix this car. My family fleet includes 6 cars; this car is newer and has fewer miles than 5 of my cars; I'm a believer in taking care of an old car - and keep driving.

You should read through the topics in the "Windfall" portion of the Personal Finance Wiki. Not all of it is applicable to your situation, but it will help you get started in the right direction:

https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/windfall/

For those who haven't spent time with JL Collins... He did indeed take on the concept of a 100% stock index fund portfolio. Useful reading:

https://jlcollinsnh.com/2019/03/03/stocks-part-xxxv-investing-for-seven-generations/

Knowing its history, personally, I wouldn't buy a Nissan equipped with a CVT. But you've got one - so I'd just take very good care of it. Yes, you may end up with a transmission replacement at some point - but that's generally a $4K-$5k-ish expense, so it can be planned for. Also: Many people seem to skip the maintenance on these transmissions. Check your owner's manual, but I believe transmission fluid changes are recommended every 30K or so miles (and, knowing the weakness of the design, I would err on the side of changing the fluid more frequently).

In my state, I believe you can submit the original title and lien release - and get a new title that doesn't show a lienholder. I've never bothered doing this, and have sold cars that had originally been financed. I simply supplied both parts of the title when selling; no problem.

Keep that letter with the vehicle's title. Depending on how your state handles vehicle titles, your title probably shows a lienholder. That letter is proof that the lien was satisfied. My state has a two-part title system; after paying off the loan, the lender gives the lien-holder portion of the title to the vehicle owner. If the vehicle owner later sells a car that had been financed earlier, both portions of the title are required to complete the transaction.

Maintenance is the key, not hills and cold. Example: I sent my son to Pittsburgh (cold and hills!) for school and work - in an '06 Honda Element that recently went past 250K miles. The vehicle is doing fine; no plans to replace it. What's really wrong with the Corolla that isn't worth fixing? I see Corollas in my area - with about 200K miles - listed for sale for $2K to $5K. Take a closer look; a transmission repair could actually be worth it.

Also: The rules of the state the car is registered in come into play. For example, in my state, you can completely drop insurance on a car - only if you cancel the car's registration and surrender the license places. The challenge: When you re-register the car, you'd have to (again!) pay sales tax based on the car's value at that time. This is why it rarely makes sense to drop insurance on a car in my state.

If the dealership says it will take $2.6K to get it on the road again, a local independent shop can almost surely do it for much less. I'd get it fixed and keep driving.

See "How to handle collections" here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/collections/

Consider sending a dispute letter (as documented in the link above). If they respond with the original contract used to rent the apartment, point out that your name isn't on that contract. If they fake your name on the contract, point out that you were a minor, and unable to legally sign a contract at that time.

Great point! I might expand this to "...why to use a credit rather than debit card for almost everything."

Regarding the RV world: RV financing tends to have higher rates than auto loans. Be wary of RV dealer financing; see if you can join a good credit union that offers RV loans. Also be aware: The RV industry had a record year in 2021, but it looks like 2022 will close out well below last year's numbers. It also appears new RV pricing will remain pretty firm. However: I suspect a drop in used RV prices is coming, as many who jumped into RVing during Covid figure out that it isn't really what they want as pandemic concerns fade, and try to sell their units. Translation: Right now is a challenging time to buy a new RV, but opportunities for good deals on used RV's may show up in the next year or so.