My mechanic says I need a new engine!
 

Hi,

I took my 8 in the other day because I've been having starting problems after it's been warmed up. It starts cold just fine. Anyway, I figured my coils needed changed because it's been a while. I had my plugs changed not that long ago. My mechanic said I need a new engine (it's at 75k atm) but didn't ask why just yet because he said they needed to keep it an extra day to run some more tests. I just had some questions and wanted to ask some advice because I value the opinions of you guys on the site.

Questions:

How reliable are the replacement engines from Mazmart, etc?
I've seen replacement engines from $2500 - $4700.. is this about right?

Advice:

As much as I love my 8, would it even be worth investing in a new engine or move on to something else?
If anyone has moved on from an 8, what other car did you move on to?

Thanks in advance for any help on this!

While the symptoms sound right, you need to be sure that it was properly diagnosed. A compression test should really be done properly with a rotary compression tester (that your mechanic isn't likely to have) to confirm.

Mazmart's remans are essentially just remans from the dealer. The big difference is that Mazmart isn't overcharging you, Mazmart won't send you a dead engine, and Mazmart won't screw you over if something does go wrong. All 3 are entirely possible, or even likely, when buying a reman from the dealer.

Mazmart's remans start at $3,300 for MT, $4,800 for AT (I think), with optional addons. Plus shipping. Plus a $1,000 core charge that is refunded when they get your engine (or probably waived if you send your engine to them first).

The 'worth it' question is something that only you can really answer. Financially, the answer is almost certainly going to be "no, it isn't worth it". However, only you can answer the other strings that the 8 pulls for you, and how much value they have. LOTS of other cars that people have moved to out there, lots of threads about them.

My engine was replaced while it was still covered by that extended 100,000 mile warranty at around 73k miles or so. Haven't had any problems with the replacement engine. Just with everything else.

You could probably buy a used 8 with the same mileage as yours for less than the cost of replacing the engine in your current 8. When you factor in labor and everything...you're definitely going to be spending more on replacing the engine than buying another used one.

I'd move on completely to another car altogether.

I mean even if you bought another 8...how would you feel about owning a car with resale value so low by now that it actually costs less to replace it with another one than to spend any money repairing it? In my opinion, when the value of a car has diminished to the point where you have to start asking yourself the same questions you ask when you have a problem with your computer or printer...you've reached the point of no return.

Thanks for the response and advice guys. It turns out my 8 year mark on my 2005 ended on 3/31/13. I'm having a couple of dealers find out what a new engine is going to cost me parts and labor wise just to see what I would be getting into. If I go the engine route, I'll definitely get one from Mazmart. As for moving onto something else, there are only a few other cars I actually like. A BRZ I could afford, however a GT-R (as much as I'd love one) really isn't an option. Lastly, I could never trade my 8 for another one as we've been through so much together. It just wouldn't seem right. :)

The dealer's price is typically around $5,500-$6,000 if they are "reasonable", higher if they like to inflate things. I have seen as high as $10,000 for the engine and $6,000 for the labor. The dealer is also your worst option when it comes to faith in the engine, since it has happened several times that they have installed a bad engine than told the customer "it's your fault, we aren't helping".

Another option is sending your engine to a company like rotary resurrection or rotor sports racing to have it rebuilt.

I just found out my mechanic didn't have the proper compression machine to check. They just did a diagnostic test. I'll be taking it my local Mazda dealer probably in the next week to get a second opinion. RIWWP - How reliable are the remans from Mazmart? I'm asking because I hope to not have to go through this again.

wiesel42 - Good point. I was just looking at Rotary Resurrection last night and they aren't too far from me. I didn't know of the other one.. I'll look into that one as well.

Appreciate all the insight guys!

Mazmart's remans are essentially the same as the dealer's remans....wait, I feel like I've said this before recently....

Oh, in this thread. See my first reply.

Everything still applies. I highly recommend flushing the cooling system after putting 1-2 thousand miles on a reman. More and more cases are popping up with excess engine sealant floating through the coolant systems after a reman install, which has probably been happening for a long time, just not enough people checking/flushing before. I'm thinking it is one of the major causes for early reman failure.

Thanks again for the info! I went yesterday to pick up my 8 and it wouldn't start after it sat in their parking lot all day (after they pulled it out of the garbage and parked it). They said it started up on the first try but they didn't rev it before parking it (from the garage to the spot is like 40 feet). I thinking they flooded it because it didn't even sound like it wanted to start when I got there. It didn't even sound the same as it would when I would try to start it after turning it off warm. It always cold started fine. Anyway, they're going to let it sit over the weekend and give it another try on Monday. They also said it might need a new starter at this point. Which I find hard to believe. I regret taking it up there in the first place now. I understand it might have low compression but to go from driving it up there (20 min drive and she seemed fine btw) to not being able to drive it home in a few days of it being up there seems unbelievable.