Like we said, we are professionals to find quality used engines. We have hundreds of engine suppliers in our networks and we have an excellent program for quality control and accountability. In the time it takes a mechanic to contact two or three of his buddies, we are able to get you quotes on multiple engines from dozens of suppliers and manufacturers. Once we get you an excellent engine at an excellent price, we can ship it right to your mechanic’s garage by freight. It’s a win-win situation-you obtain a better price on a better engine and the mechanic doesn’t need to waste his period playing mobile phone tag with junkyards. But of course, you can call us directly and save even more money.
Either way, you’re likely to pay an enormous sum on a whole new car or throw away money upon the markup on a used engine that originates from who knows where.
Alternately, your mechanic may offer to discover a used engine to set up your car. Again, you will see a large markup on the price of this part-and you might or might not have any say in where he gets the engine from and also less knowledge regarding the quality of the engine and the reputation of the auto recycler or junkyard that sourced the engine. Many mechanics have relationships with a couple of car yards where they get their parts and the do little comparison shopping on your behalf, which can be understandable-they’d rather be in the garage than on the telephone all day.
Another option that your mechanic might recommend can be an in-house engine. If indeed they offer a good price and so are a devoted engine shop, this could be a good choice. But in our Driveline Motor experience, we’ve found that only a handful of shops that do engines genuinely have what it requires to do a quality job.
In most cases, they’ll source it to some other repair shop. And when that happens, you’ll be charged a significant markup, not to mention the hassle of having to go through two parties to get status updates and estimates on your own repair.