Fix or buy another car

Don’t ask a mechanic if s/he can do it for less. Ask the mechanic for an independent assessment of the various “issues.” All it sounds like to me is that you ended up at a dealer’s service department. I’m not saying none of this is possible. Its just the kind of thing you tend to see from a shop trying to drum up business.

But can you clarify about the no oil on the dipstick part? Do you check your oil - at least every once in a while, if not regularly? Do you ever have to add oil? How much oil was added to bring it up to where it should be?