How to Buy the Best Car Engines?
How to Find and Purchase the Best Car Engines?
If someone asks you about the heart and soul of a car, there’s only one word that comes to mind, which is an engine. If the engine is well-made and the quality and performance is good, the car will have no problem in running smoothly and properly for a long period of time without a huge maintenance.
With the advancement in technology, car engines have also seen a dramatic improvement. Nowadays, car engines are directly connected to computer software running inside the car, and everything that the car does is controlled by software. That’s how far cars and their technological development has gone. Nowadays, we’re talking about self-driving cars. But, the one thing that will never change is the car engine.
Car vendors have always been working on improving the quality of car engines. They are always looking for something that will improve the performance and durability of the car engine. That’s why the Turbo technology was introduced in car engines. These days, engines are more powerful, dependable, reliable and efficient.
But, even with so many improvements in car engines, a machine can’t run forever. Someday, it will wear down and stop working. This happens to every car. No car engine runs forever. There is always a time when it needs replacement.
In that case, you need to act wise and decide on what to do next. Some people scrap the whole car and buy a new one which costs more. Some people go for a big repair which costs a lot of money as well.
But, the best bet for a car owner at that time is completely replacing the car engine. When an engine is repaired, there is a chance that sooner rather than later, it will suffer from a different issue very soon.
In engine replacement, mint condition and unused engines from official car companies are super expensive. At that moment, the best option is buying either a good used engine or a completely reconditioned engine for your car. But before you do that, you have to analyse the current engine problem.
Diagnosing the Current Engine Issues
First of all, you need to find out the current problem of the engine that is in your car. You need to have it checked by an expert mechanic who will deeply check the entire engine to see if it needs a repair or a replacement. If the issue is not that serious, a repair will suffice. But, if the problem is serious, then a repair ends up being too costly.
Everything depends on the problem that has been diagnosed after analysing the car. If there is a serious problem, then the only option that remains is either repairing the car or buying a whole engine and replacing it with your current engine.
Why People Need to Replace their Engines
There is one main reason as to why people intend to replace their existing car engines. That one reason is engine problems. When the existing car engine struggles to perform to its desired capacity, it starts causing problems and in some cases completely stops working. At that moment, the only thing left to do is replacing the engine or repairing it depending on the issue that has been caused. The most affordable and reliable approach is choosing to fully replace your engine in case the problem is severe.
Types of Replacement Engines
After it has been decided that you’ll be completely replacing your car engine, the next important thing is deciding what type of engine you’ll be replacing your car with. There are many kinds of replacement engines which you need to know.
1. Remanufactured Engines
Remanufactured engines are those engines which are completely taken out and then assembled again. All parts of the engines are taken out and are carefully examined, and oil and grease is cleansed from the engine. All the parts are conditioned again and newer parts are added as well, and then reassembled again. This engine is also called a reconditioned engine.
2. Rebuilt Engines
A rebuilt engine is not the same as a reconditioned engine. Only those parts of the engine which need a replacement are taken out and then put in, while the rest of the engine remains very much the same. The remaining parts of the engine keep wearing down with time, and the value of these rebuilt engines varies from mechanic to mechanic.
3. New Engine
A new engine is a mint condition engine which is unused, and is available to buy at the dealer market. It will run just like the engine when the car was newly purchased. The main disadvantage of this is that the new engine is very expensive. It is many times more expensive than a reconditioned engine.
4. Second Hand Engine
A second hand engine is an engine which is taken out from the vehicle of the same specifications, and then put in your car without any changes or maintenance. Most of the times, these engines are taken out from those cars which have been taken out from accidentally damaged cars or those whose insurance has been written off.
Advantages of Buying Used/ Reconditioned Engines
1. Affordable
The used or reconditioned engines are much more cost-effective as compared to new engines which you will buy from the dealer. Used engines will do alright and perform well too. Reconditioned engines; however, will give you a very impressive performance which is as close to the original engine performance as it can get. Reconditioned engines are much more affordable and cheap.
2. Reliable
The reconditioned engines which you will buy from an engine supplier is more reliable. Used engines have covered some miles on the road already, so their performance will be reliable and efficient, and they will do great on the road.
3. Less Maintenance
When the car engine is repaired, it costs a lot of money. This also means that the car engine will require more maintenance with the passage of time when its other engine parts begin to wear as well as they have not been repaired. Reconditioned engines; however, require less maintenance as compared to repaired engines. This results in saving money of the car user.
Tips for Buying the Best Used/ Reconditioned Car Engine
There are a lot of things that need to be considered before choosing a car engine that suits your car. We’ll be discussing some of those things below.
1. Choose the Right Engine for your Car
When you are choosing a replacement engine, make sure to choose the exact engine for your car. For one car model, there are many variants which are released, so make sure to select the exact engine model for your car. The engine should 100% match the exact specification of the car to make sure that the car runs smoothly.
2. See Whether the Engine is Short or Long Block
The second important thing you need to see is whether the engine you need is short block or long block engine. Long block engines comes with all parts of the engine, and short block engines come with only a few replaced parts of the engine and not the full engine replacement. So, you first need to decide whether you require the short block engine or the long block engine.
3. Seeking Service History of the Engine
When you buy a used engine from an engine supplier, make sure to ask the service history of the engine. That tells a lot about what kind of problems it had before its sale, and the kind of issues that might arise in future. Service history is a very important part of the engine buying. Less servicing means the engine is more robust. So, it’s very important to know about these things before purchasing a used engine.
4. Always Choose the Engine with the Lowest Mileage
When you have found a list of available engines that you can use to replace your existing car engine, the next thing you have to do is evaluate the total mileage of all the available engines. Always choose the engine with the lowest mileage as that engine will have the most juice in it to run for a longer period of time without requiring a lot of maintenance.
5. Check if the Engine is Used or Reconditioned
Now, perhaps the most important thing that should come to your mind is checking whether the engine you are purchasing is reconditioned or used. Used engine is taken out from an existing car, and its parts are all used and unrepaired. A reconditioned engine; however, is rebuilt again from individual parts, and whose performance is as good as new if not worse. Buy the engine according to your specific requirement.
6. Buy the Engine with the Most Warranty
Different engine sellers give different warranty dates on engines. It is recommended that you choose the engine with the most warranty available, so that if there is any issue, the engine seller covers your costs for the damages caused to the engine. When an engine has a big warranty timeframe, it not only is an advantage for the customer but also shows the confidence of the engine seller in the product, which is always a good sign.
7. Choosing the Right Seller to Buy the Car Engine
Now, the most important point of them all. It is imperative to choose an engine seller which sells good quality engines whether they are used or reconditioned. Some engine suppliers have been known to sell dubious engines which expire pretty quickly, so it is obligatory to do some research on finding the best engine for your car. A good engine supplier will definitely provide you with a good quality engine, and that results in you saving some more money on maintenance and other stuff.
By motoring journalist, Tim Barnes-Clay – Instagram @tbarnesclay and Twitter @carwriteups
