Engine Rebuilding

When deciding what to do with that car or truck that is in need of serious engine repair or rebuilding there are several things that you should consider in making your investment decision.

1. Do I like the car and want to keep it?
2. What is the book value of the car in top shape, and what is the resale with a bad engine?
3. If I spend “X” amount on another used car I know I will also need to spend additional money after I purchase it, like on engine repairs, brakes, A/C, transmissions etc. at some point.
4. If I invest “X” amount in the RE-NEW program can I drive out my investment in the next 2 to 5 years and still have a reasonable resale when I want to sell my car?

Example: My car has a book value of $8000. The engine is toast and I have a quote of $5000 to RE-NEW the motor with additional parts to get it into top shape with a warranty. The salvage value of the car with the bad motor maybe only $1500 to $3000 at most. I like my vehicle and don’t want to buy a new car or truck for $15,000 to $35,000 and lose 20% of value when I drive it off the lot. I also don’t want those huge payments every month for 5 or 6 years on a contract. If I spend $5000 to $10,000 on a used car will I have to spend a lot more on repairs?

It makes a lot of economic sense to do those repairs in this case. We can help you do the math. You may not want to do major work if the book value is only $5000 and all the repairs come to $8000, but then again if you do the math in your case it might make sense.

Rule of thumb is you may not want do the repairs if they exceed book value of the car plus 15% of every year you want to keep the car. If you plan on keeping the car, say 5 more years, then in this example 15% of $5000 is $750 times 5 years is $3750, which comes to $8750. You then have driven your investment out of the car, and if properly maintained, you have a car that can be sold at market value when it comes time to trade in or sell.

All vehicles need to be on a maintenance schedule whether new our used. AAA Automotive Services has a cost per mile estimate for most cars that includes scheduled maintenance, fuel, depreciation, insurance, tires, etc., and for most cars it is about $ .62 per mile driven per year if you drive 10,000 miles per year. That comes to $6200.00 per year average, to keep your car on the road. That figure drops to $ .48 per mile if you drive 20,000 miles a year based on fuel cost of $2.40 per gallon. This cost would very depending on your vehicle.

There are other factors to consider also when making this decision. Give us a call: We can help.

When we evaluate your vehicle for a engine rebuild keep in mind that there are many components that attach to and contribute to the well being of a good running engine. The engine assembly can be broken down into several component systems.

When we rebuild a engine we first need to remove it from the engine compartment and disconnect all the hoses, wiring, transmission, fuel lines, and mounts. We inspect as much of the components as we can when we remove them and make a list of these parts that may need to also be replaced as we take them off the engine. Some of these parts can be reused after inspection and some will need to be replaced. In the case of a car being towed in we have no idea at this time if all of them are working as some of them may have contributed to the demise and engine failure. These components can be bad sensors, hoses, a thermostat, radiator, coolant fan motor or a variety of other things that we sometimes need to do some detective work on to determine if they are usable or could cause some other problems. Sometimes we need to get the engine back in and running before we can test them.

After the accessories are removed from the engine block we disassemble the motor. The head and block are cleaned and inspected and evaluated for parts needed to be rebuilt. The block, crank, valves, and camshafts are re-machined to factory specs and new internal parts are replaced. The engine is then reassembled to a long block by a ASE Certified machinist and ready for the engine accessories to be installed on the motor. These components will include a new water pump, thermostat, spark plugs, new oil and filters, other ignition and cooling system parts. Typically the engine is quoted as a long block and all the other parts needed to complete a successful install will be quoted as needed and added to the estimate and final repair bill. We can replace or rebuild the fuel injectors or carburetor, replace the radiator, power steering pump, starter, while they are off the engine as many of these components will not incure any additional labor charges as they have been removed for rebuild. If in doubt now is the time to replace them with only the part cost.

After everything is back together we break in the RE-NEW engine and test all the components by using a scan tool to communicate with the on board computer. At this point we will know if all systems are functioning as they should, make any adjustments and or other recommendations for additional parts or repairs, test drive your vehicle and get you back on the road.

For customers needing a replacement car while your car is in the shop we have one available for your use for $15.00 per day for a compact or $25.00 for a SUV (these prices may very depending on available vehicles), with a valid Washington license and proof of insurance. If your car takes over 10 days to RE-NEW any additional rental time is on us.

We offer an extended warranty with each RE-NEW.

All NAPA Auto Care replacement parts are covered parts and labor for 12 months 12,000 miles nation wide. The Engine Service RE-NEW Engine is covered for 3 years 36,000 miles and a limited lifetime extended warranty is offered at an additional charge. Please ask about our programs when you call.