2004 Roadster - 28,000 mis
got water sucked into my engine; there's water in the oil and compression test sez it's failing on 3 out of the 6. Insurance jerks found a used engine in a wrecked Z and say that's the best they will give me. They think I'm getting a good deal because it has less miles and the engine is "completely undamaged". BTW, the used engine is half the price of a new. My concern is if the car was hit hard enuff to total it, there must be some residual damage to the engine. Not to mention if it was broken in correctly or not. Would it be better to have my engine rebuilt?

 

Personally, I'd rebuild. And spend some out of pocket for cams & stuff + add headers and exhaust to put down a little extra rwhp.

 

Owning a salvage yard, I can tell you no, the engine didn't take on residual damage. As a matter of fact, when buying a used engine, it is always better to take it out of a wrecked car. A wrecked car ensures it was driving at the time of the accident. Flood cars and burn cars are often insurance fraud where it may have not been running correctly before the problem. Insurance procedures are different for different states. Used may be the best you can get but I would try to get it rebuilt if I were you. A new engine is almost totally out of the question unless you have less than 5000 miles. Also, insurance companies buy from reputable salvage yards, not anything they can find. I wouldn't worry about the used engine so much as complain about wanting it rebuilt.

 

Eh... This may sound like a dumb question but how can you let the insurance company tell you how to repair your car? I've got full coverage and there's no way in **** if anything less than factory new is replacing parts in my car.

 

+1

 

 

I am speaking from a TX law stand point. Unless your car is brand new, or an acceptable part is unavailable, you will be recieveing a used part. The thing about insurance is you are not allowed to benefit from it. Meaning, your car will not be made better than it was before the accident. If your car is 5 years old then putting brand new parts on it "technically" make it better than before. I know it's lame.

 

Care to share how the water was sucked in, i.e., CAI, or other intake system responsible??

 

you wont know if there is any more internal damage until you get in there...

new motor or low mile used motor would take my vote

 

My insurance company (USAA) just figures how much it would cost, then just send me a check. If I wanted to spend more on upgraded stuff, so be it. If I find a better deal than the insurance company got quoted, bonus. If more damage is found after teardown, then you just file a supplemental claim.