I just blew my engine.. and have to choose between getting one from the scrap yard with about 40k on it or buying a rebuilt short block from mazda. My car has about 130k on it. both about the same price including labor (give or take 500). Which do you think is my best choice?

 

Any idea on the history of the scrap yard one?

If it's anything but "a 2006 engine with service records stapled to the side", you are better off going with the Mazda reman.


I hope you aren't paying a dealer for the labor...

I've seen dealers charge anywhere from $4,500 to $16,000 for a full reman + labor. Low end there is acceptable, but still painful. That $16,000 was monsterous...

 

$16,000? might as well buy an '04 or '05 at that point

 

HA I bough my '08 for that much!

 

Yeah. The guy (local to me, met him a few times at the grocery store in mutual self-interest protective parking) threw a fit, and THEN they told him about the engine warranty, and checked to see if it would be covered, and then covered it.

Said it was $10,000 for the engine and $6,000 for the labor. I asked him to repeat that for verification.

 

I would say you should go with a GM LSX crate motor, all the cool kids are doing it.

 

$500 for labor sounds cheep unless you have someone hooking you up. I believe dealer book time is around 12 hours and the average hourly rate is $700-100/hour depending on where in the country you are at.

Motor choices.

40K mile used motor. Probably a long block with manifolds, injectors and other parts already on it.

Pros/cons
- You get a bunch of spare parts including a motor that can be sold off to offset the cost or saved for the future.You might have to send your motor back to get the core charge. Pro or con depending on the individual. Its a pro for me.
- Might be less waiting time. Pro
- 40K miles of wear and tear and you do not know the condition of the motor. Con
- Original mazda motors tend to be better quality then their reman: Pro but offset by miles
- Warrenty, probably 6 months tops: Con

Mazda reman:
Pros/cons
- Can sometimes take a few week to get from mazda: Con
- no spare parts unless you pay the core charge on the motor: pro or con depending on the individual.
- 0 miles: Pro
- Mazda remans use almost all new parts: Pro
- Mazda reman are not known for their high quality: Con
- Warrenty, probably 3 years 36K miles: Pro

Additional options: If you have the time, get the motor removed and send it out for a quality rebuild. Several advertise and are active on this forum. With this option you get to pick and chose what your getting. Have it ported and balanced for higher revs and power. Pick your parts, oem or aftermarket depending on budget and objetives. Rebuilds will start at around $2K but expect to spend around $3K.

Downside is time. This could add 3-4 weeks to the process. You might be able to find a builder with a motor on the shelf ready to go.

 

Warranty on a Mazda reman is 12 months/12k. Other than that good post. Much better than my previous post

 

12m/12k thats horrible.

 

Yeah IMO, paying for a Mazda reman is not worth it. For not much more there there a couple of reputable builders that will rebuild yours to better than stock specs with a better warranty.