That sounds like a lot of $100 bills to me.
install rebuilt engine?
Hi, not sure if I am posting this in the right place. I have a 2002 1.9 TDI with a blown engine. I am looking at putting in a rebuilt engine with 130,000 for $4000 completely installed. Do you think I will get my money's worth out of it? How many miles should I get on that engine. I had 190,000 on the original engine. Thanks.
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Yeah I would definitely find one that is rebuilt with a warranty over something with unknown history. I can see the emotional want to put a new engine in, just make sure the new one will be good an won't die. Definitely don't want to leave your grand daughter stranded
$4000 seems a bit much for a used ALH engine installed. It really depends on what else they are doing. Is this the car that had the engine dismantled by your son? If so, shops generally charge more to repair a car that has been worked on first. Bringing in a car with a dismantled engine can cause other problems, some parts may be damaged or missing, they may have a lot of work to do in addition to the normal engine replacement. Also, are they changing the timing belt and/or resealing the injection pump, filters, new injectors or other maintenance items on the used engine or perhaps doing some other work on the car for the $4000?Hi, not sure if I am posting this in the right place. I have a 2002 1.9 TDI with a blown engine. I am looking at putting in a rebuilt engine with 130,000 for $4000 completely installed. Do you think I will get my money's worth out of it? How many miles should I get on that engine. I had 190,000 on the original engine. Thanks.
As far as if it is worth it, maybe. How is the rest of the car? Tires, brakes, body in good shape? Typically an older Beetle will need suspension work, probably a headliner and other interior repairs, door latches are not uncommon to need replacing, etc. Air conditioning components, hood and strut supports, there are lots of parts that, if you can't do yourself, can add up to a fair amount of money. But to me that is not the biggest issue.
The biggest problem I would worry about is the auto transmission. The one in your car is known for unreliability. I would not be surprised if you spend the $4K on the engine only to have the transmission go out soon. A factory rebuilt auto is about $5000, you can get cheaper ones with varying results, but no option is cheap.
If you decide to go ahead with the engine replacement, I would only recommend it in conjunction with a 5 speed manual swap. With the engine out it is not that much more work and will make the car very reliable. The ALH/5 Speed combo is about the most reliable Diesel VW ever made. They can go 3-400,000 miles with proper maintenance, but may cause nothing but problems when neglected. Assuming you go ahead, I would strongly recommend you fins a good TDI mechanic, not a VW mechanic, not a foreign car mechanic, not a friend/relative, but a GOOD TDI mechanic. Otherwise I an afraid you are headed for trouble.
Finally, I would only recommend this much work if you plan on keeping the car. The repairs will probably be about what the car is worth, maybe more than it would bring on the open market (again, depends on condition). If a sale is in the near future, I would sell now for whatever you can get and cut your losses.
An older Diesel VW can be a good car for a young person, our daughter has a 2001 Golf TDI we got her in high school, she drove it through college and still has it. But it has been looked after and still needed a fair amount of repairs and maintenance. If you don't have someone that will make sure she does the repairs & maintenance on the Beetle, look at a Honda Fit or Toyota Corolla. They pretty much run forever with minimal maintenance.
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