Cutting granite to size?

[Nat C.]

I am hell bent on having granite bench tops. It's really expensive to buy new but I'm finding a lot of people selling it on craigslist.

My kitchen is fairly small and people are selling large granite pieces as they are remodeling.

I wanted to buy the second hand bench tops and cut them to fit mine. My contractor said it can't be done because granite is very temperamental and it can't be cut in certain places and will crack etc.

I'm wondering if my contractor is saying this as he simply doesn't want to do it. Has anyone ever bought second hand granite and installed it?

[Michael Herr]

I dumpster dove at a local granite shop(got thier permission) , and found many large pieces 2'x4' 3'x6' etc. 

I used randomly broken pieces to lay a patio and square cut pieces to face the top of an outdoor gas firepit. 

(my home,  not a rental) 

Your contractor is wrong. 

Granite is easily cut with the proper wet saw and Diamond blade. 

I cut my granite with a Harbor Freight diamond blade in an old circular saw holding a garden hose on low aimed at the blade/kerf. 

Not a model of safety, so I don't recommend it. 

Cutting it is the easy part,  getting the cut faces polished to perfection  like the top is more difficult.