1 month warranty on 2nd hand engine - worth an extra £100?

[deadtom]

as per the title really, I'm hunting around for a repacement engine for my car and it seems an engine with a months warranty is 100 - 150 more than the same engine without. (£300 without, 400 - 450 with warranty)

just wondering whether these warranties are worth bothering with when it hikes the cost up by 30% - 40% ish?

engine in question is a 2.0 t-spark for a 156

thanks PH

[DaveH23]

I would look in detail about what the warranty includes but also how far would you need to travel to get any warranty work done.

[Greg_D]

it's to cover you against the new(ish) engine being a pup and not working from the off, personally i would pay it (taking into account the caveats mentioned above) for the confidence that if the engine didn't fire up, had poor compression or failed after 200 miles that i'd be covered.

The company hasn't checked that the engine will actually work, they are just taking a punt, just like you.

I take it that if you don't take out the warranty that you can whistle if the thing has no pistons........

[deadtom]

Greg_D said:

it's to cover you against the new(ish) engine being a pup and not working from the off, personally i would pay it

this is pretty much my thinking at the moment, I'm just trying to keep costs down as so far this damn vehicle has cost me £300 per day to run :'(

[rallycross]

Be careful what you are doing here, most breakers will sell you an engine with 30 or 60 days warranty included, there should no charge for that (provided its fitted by a garage to a regular car, not kit car).

The warranty is only to say that the engine is fine and working as they supplied it, not to cover you for a month driving around after its been fitted.

Those twin spark engines are terrible for failing in the 156 so you have no hope of findind a cheap one I would pay the right price and buy from someone who is prepared to warrant the engine is ok (alternative is to go and see it running and let them take it out while you are there but not easy to do this).

For all the effort of fitting it there is no doubt its worth paying a bit extra to get it from a reliable source.

[deadtom]

well the two im looking at closely at the minute are this one:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/220957658495?ssPageName=...

and this one:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/270874569532?ssPageName=...

both have a short warranty; first impression is that the one for 275 doesnt have much description, is an older engine and is clearly just being taken from a beat up old car at a scrap yard and therefore best avoided, but then the one for 450 isnt much better described, and is possibly no better despite the shiny engine cover and higher price.

[rallycross]

I wouldnt touch the cheapest one.

These guys more likely to know what they are selling

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Alfa-Romeo-2-0-T-Spark-E...

[deadtom]

yeah, thats the other one ive been looking at, but the ad says nothing about a warranty.

I tried to ring them earlier to ask about it but got no answer.

[Ozzie Osmond]

Greg_D said:

it's to cover you against the new(ish) engine being a pup and not working from the off

Yup. If paying more also reduces the chance of wasted labour that's got to be good news.

[Jasandjules]

When you say second hand, are you purchasing from a company?

If so, as a consumer purchasing from a business you are entitled to a warranty under SOGA.........

[deadtom]

I think all the ones I have been looking at are from companies. Guess most people dont have the necessaries to remove an engine on their drive.

problem is that describing an engine as a good runner is somewhat subjective isnt it?

[deadtom]

alfamotive said they test everything and guarantee the engine is sound, and can warranty everything except the bottom end.

standard practise or sound shady?

[rallycross]

Usually just a months guarantee and they don't specify what part of the engine is covered ie it works or it's an expensive
piece of scrap and they'll send you another one.