How Much Does It Cost To Replace An Engine? - Car Ownership

Crash Boom Bang

Let's face it, your car just isn't a car without an engine and there is nothing quite heartbreaking than finding out that the heart of your car has gone to the big junkyard in the sky.

Engines fail for a number of reasons, overheating, a parts failure, such as a cam belt breaking or catastrophic failure due to low engine oil. Its never a pretty sight and most times it will not be covered by warranty as unless your engine failed due to a documented factory fault, the onus will be on you to have it repaired.

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Having engine work done is not cheap, whether you choose to do the work yourself or have someone else do it for you, you are still looking at thousands of rands in parts and labour, so let's take a look at some of your options you have and the associated costs.

Damage assessment

The first step you will need to take is to ascertain the amount and type of damage that has occurred inside your engine. This will tell you what your next line of inquiry should be. Full catastrophic failure of the engine block will mean you need to replace the sub-assembly, a blown head gasket may just require some machining and a new gasket.

Whatever the case you will need to find out the extent of the work required to make a decision as to what course of action to follow and how much money it will ultimately cost. If your car is with an auto mechanic they will charge you a strip and quote. This is them partially or completely disassembling or removing the engine to find out how far the damage goes. Typically this will be charged at an hourly rate that can go anywhere from R250 an hour to R5000 an hour, depending on the complexity of the car and difficulty of the work,

If you have the tools, facilities and the know-how you can do this yourself. The complexity of newer cars can make this an arduous task but once you know what happened and what needs to be fixed you can move on to the next step. Deciding what to do.

OEM Crate

This is by far the most expensive option. If your engine is a total loss, i.e., the subassembly is beyond economical repair, you can inquire with the manufacturer of your carto see if they can sell you a complete engine or as close to complete as possible. Engines can be purchased as a long block, which is the block and cylinder heads attached, or as a short block (subassembly), which is just the engine block with engine crank pistons and con rods pre-assembled.

These will come at a premium and will take time to order, as most OEMs do not keep complete engines ex-stock in the warehouse locally.

Once again, the price of these replacement engines varies greatly depending on the age, technology present, and complexity of the car. Some OEMs might offer a deal of R28 000 for a simple model, or you may be in for an eye-watering R180 000!

Remanufactured

There are a host of companies that offer remanufacturing services. These companies will typically take in your damaged long or short block engine and exchange it for a completed unit at a price. They will sell you a completely rebuilt engine that is ready to goand is often accompanied by a guarantee of some sort.

This is a quick and easy process that can drastically reduce your car's downtime and you know what you are getting. The service does come at a premium though, due to the nature of the business you will need to contact them for pricing as many no longer advertise costs. They will typically also pick up and collect at the auto mechanic but if you take the DIY route you will be on the hook for picking up and dropping off your engine.

Engine importers

Another option for sourcing a complete engine is to approach an engine importer. These are companies that specialise in bringing in engines and gearboxes from other countries. They source engines from European, Japanese and American cars and then sell them locally, This can be cost-effective but the downside is you really don't know what you are getting.

Some of these engines don't come with service history and the kilometres and condition are generally unknown. You will need to contact the importer for pricing but past experience has shown that you can pick up these import engines anywhere from R8000 to R35 000 depending on what you are looking for and the popularity of each unit.

Junkyard

You can roll the dice on a junkyard engine. This will require you to head to your local junkyard and try to find a replacement. The junkyard will buy up crashed cars and strip out the complete engine and put it up for sale. Often times this is done as quickly and crudely as possible, they will simply cut wiring harnesses, pipes, and engine mounts right out of the donor car to get the engine out.

We say this is a gamble as you can never truly know what you are getting in terms of engine health, kilometres or service history and in a few cases that we have found the engines themselves have been damaged in the removal process or during the crash and can not be seen.

Most junkyards offer a 30-day guarantee on the engines they sell but many sell them as is. Costs can vary anywhere from R10 000 to R20 000 but you may struggle to find rarer engines

Also, remember that if you choose to fit a different engine you will need to register it on the eNatis system as it may raise legal issues if you get pulled over in a full-on roadblock or when it comes time to sell or trade-in the car.

Parts bin

If you choose the DIY route this is probably the longest way, time-wise, to fix your engine. It will take the longest as you will need to source each part individually, take the parts in for machining, buy spares etc. It can be incredibly labour intensive but rewarding to learn about the interior workings of the heart of your car and once completed and you hear the engine start up, will give a sense of accomplishment that very little can rival.

This option also allows you to take the repair at a pace that your wallet can handle as you pay for the parts and work on your own time. It also assures you of what you are getting in terms of quality of work and the parts being fitted.

Of course, this will not be to everyone's taste and it really does come down to how much money you have to spend and the timeline of your repair.