Understanding Your Engine Repair Options

If your engine has gone out or grown tired, this article explains the common options to get your car back on the road.

New Engine from the Dealer - Great reliability, but you'll pay big $$.

Rebuilding or Remanufacturing Your Own Engine - The industry tends to use the phrases "Rebuilt Engine" and "Remanufactured Engine" interchangeably. We prefer the use of the phrase "Remanufactured Engine" as it better represents the thorough work we regularly perform on a worn or damaged engine. Any reputable engine remanufacturing company will replace or machine every internal wearing surface to OEM tolerances to ensure maximum engine life.

You are ensured a quality engine. This is a high value option. You spend much less compared to a new engine from the dealer but still receive all the benefits. Also spared is a core deposit or core charge, you are turning in your own engine for service.

Based in Los Angeles and San Diego, California, Perfect Engine can remanufacture your engine in 3 to 5 business days.

Exchange Rebuilt Engine / Exchange Remanufactured Engine - You benefit from a quality engine. Care must be taken to ensure a compatible engine is supplied. Beware of anyone looking for a quick sale without checking the specifics on your vehicles VIN or other identifying information. They may quickly sell something in stock that is not compatible for you. You will likely have a core charge or core deposit. You will also need to be aware of the cost of shipping both the replacement engine and the worn engine you are returning, as this is also part of the total cost of your replacement engine.

What is a core charge?

Perfect Engine can supply you with a quality engine outright or on exchange.

Engine Overhaul - All engine parts that can be preserved are kept and not replaced, although a few parts are almost always discarded and replaced with new. Little or no machining is performed to keep the cost down. This is often a patch job to get a little more life out of the engine. In most cases, this is a bad investment. The total cost of the repair is still only slightly less than doing a thorough job. The engine still needs to be removed and replaced, and if something goes wrong, the engine will likely need to be removed and replaced again - resulting in a hefty mechanic bill. Don't count on a warranty either. The only scenario where this may clearly make sense is when replacement parts are either not available or extremely expensive. This can occur with large industrial engines and vintage engines, where a complete remanufacture is not feasible or costs a small fortune. This option also become more viable for a company with a fleet mechanic or a very knowledgeable do-it-yourselfer. If you choose an engine overhaul, make sure both you and your mechanic know what to expect.

Perfect Engine offers parts to perform an engine overhaul.

Used Engine / Junk Yard Engine - This is usually less expensive than a remanufactured engine. The devil is in the details or the lack of them as you have no idea of what you are getting. There is no service history or meaningful way to predict how long the engine will last. Of course, if you choose this option - you will still go though the trouble or expense of removing or replacing your engine in order to find how well you fared.
You may get a warranty, but will it cover the high cost of removing or replacing this engine if it does not run well?  We do not offer used engines?

Regardless of the option you choose… It's important you take this moment to address what caused your engine failure to prevent it from happening again. It is also important to examine and perhaps replace parts which affect the life of your engine. Evaluate cooling system parts such as the water pump, belts, hoses and the radiator. You'll also want to take a look at the filters, spark plugs, wires, motor mounts and other small accessories. There is little or no additional labor to change any of these parts once the engine is out. Any replacements will only add a nominal cost to the repair, so consider it cheap insurance for a trouble free, long lasting engine.