Finding the best place to buy used engines is not an easy task. The problem does not lie in the number of alternatives available but in getting the right engine for your car at the best price. That has motivated us to write this article where we will explain how to buy engines online safely and conveniently.
Before you start looking for the best place to buy used engines
Before embarking on your odyssey in search of the best place to buy a used engine, it is highly recommended to take a moment to plan a strategy. This may seem like a waste of time; however, not doing so may cause you to buy the wrong engine. Worse yet, you could be the victim of a scam.
Our recommendation to avoid an undesirable outcome is to follow three simple steps:
- Gather the necessary information about your vehicle
- Know what to look for when buying engines online
- Find where to buy used engines (that meet your criteria)
If it sounds like an overly simple strategy, that’s because it is. All you need to do to get the best place to buy used engines is to control any urge to search “used engines near me” before you are ready for it.
1. How to collect your vehicle information
As mentioned above, the first step is to get all the necessary information about your vehicle. To make your job easier, we have prepared the following checklist with all the information you should have at hand before buying an engine online.
- Basic vehicle information: year, make, model, and trim, as well as all vehicle options.
- Engine Data: number of cylinders, engine displacement, engine type (naturally aspirated, turbo, supercharged), engine fuel type (gasoline, diesel, alcohol, electric, hybrid).
- Car trim: usually designated by a pair of letters such as EX, GL, GT, or similar. However, some car manufacturers such as BMW, Peugeot, and others prefer to use numbers or letters and numbers, for example, 328d, 330i xDrive, 850i, etc.
- Drivetrain information: four-wheel drive (4WD), all-wheel drive (AWD), front-wheel drive (FWD), 4×4.
Now, this may seem like a lot of information to you. In theory, the owner’s manual should contain all, or at least most, of this data. However, a more convenient way to get all this information is to use the VIN code of your car.
The VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) is a unique code that usually includes the serial number of your car. This 17-digit alphanumeric code is usually visible from the outside of the vehicle on the bottom of the driver’s side windshield. Once you have the VIN number, you can look up your car’s information using a free online VIN lookup.
2. What to look for when buying engines online
Once you have all the information about your car available, it’s time to start your search for the best place to buy used engines. The question here is, how will you recognize the right place when you see it?
The best way to choose the ideal place to buy engines online is to filter your search and discard sellers/engines that do not meet the criteria described below.
Shipping and handling. Engines are heavy and take up a lot of space. Don’t forget this when buying engines online, as it could be a costly mistake. Unless you have a pickup truck and adequate means to load and unload the engine, it is preferable to favor vendors who will handle the shipping of the engine to the location of your choice. Moreover, if shipping is included in the price, you can save a good deal of money.
Engine mileage. The useful life of an engine can be estimated according to its mileage. That said, how many miles should the used engine have? There is no simple answer to that question. Depending on the make and model of your car, the engine may be designed to last 200,000 miles or more. However, this depends on various factors, such as driving style, proper maintenance, climate, etc. For this reason, our suggestion is to take your engine as a reference. How many miles did your engine last? Based on that, we recommend choosing an engine with at least half that number.
Engine accessories. A curious fact about car engines is the interpretation of what the engine is. Most people perceive that the engine is all you can see when you open the car’s hood. However, this is not entirely true. The car’s engine as such is only composed of the block, intake manifold, and heads. All the rest are “engine accessories.” So the A/C, power steering pump, water pump, and alternator are all accessories. For this reason, when buying an engine online, it is best to choose vendors that include these accessories, even if you plan to reuse the ones from your old engine.
3. Where to buy used engines
If you have followed the above two steps, you should have a list of possible places to buy your used engine online. It’s time to choose the right one.
The first thing to decide is whether you will buy your used engine from an individual or a company. Regardless of your choice, we recommend that you spend some time researching the seller’s reputation. Failure to do so can lead to undesirable consequences such as being ripped off. In the case of companies, in addition to looking for online reviews, we suggest you check if they are accredited with national or regional associations.
The next aspect to consider is the warranty. Yes, used engines also come with a warranty, or at least they should. In this sense, we suggest you prefer sellers that offer a warranty longer than 30 days. Moreover, you can tell when a business is reputable when it offers a 90+ day warranty.
At buyusedenginesandtransmissions.com we offer OEM used engines and used transmissions right from the source. Furthermore, since all of our used engines are meticulously inspected before they are offered for sale, they all come with a generous 1-year warranty! Don’t wait any longer; contact one of our experts and get your car back on the road now.