Motor swap ripoff at shop?

[cawkazn]

long story bear with me

So I paid a shop $2000 for a motor swap and to put new brake pads and resurface my rotors.

When I got the new motor put in and the guy gave me my car back, he said that I needed to drive it for a bit to break it in and that it will be driving "sluggish" and shaking for a bit but will go away as a i drive it. he didnt tell me how long I needed to break it in either even though i asked him, just drive it alot was his answer.

within about an hour of driving it the check engine light came on, and the car would not idle, also the car is sluggish meaning i press the gas, and it doesnt grab than a 1-2 seconds later it grabs and the car starts moving. so i think no problem, i gotta break it in! after i ran through 1 full tank of gas all these problems were still there. so i brought the car back to the shop and told him everything and he now says that it needs new O2 sensors to make it run right, which i must pay for because the car needed a new motor in the first place because i forgot to put water in radiator so car overheated, head gasket broke, water got into the engine and messed up the O2 sensors. so thats why i gotta pay for them. even though my car did run fine before, and the check engine light was on

Seems to me like he knew it wasnt running right (sluggisheness etc.) and told me to "break it in" until the 1 month warranty on it was up. which brings up another thing, first he says theres a 4 month warranty on it, than as im driving home he calls me and says sorry its actually a 1 month warranty.

anyways does it sound like this guy is ripping me off?

IMO its seems like i paid the guy $2000 for a new motor that does not run right, wtf!

also this guys prices kept changing, first it was $950 for a new head gasket, than it was $1600 because he was going to have to take the whole motor out which he did not think before so thats the price jump, more labor. than it jumps to $2000 because both my heads are cracked and my pistons need new rings which would cost more getting repaired than an engine swap.

 

[ericautopart]

Sounds like a good jerking to me but is it a new motor or rebuilt? Typically the remanufactured engines warranty is 3/yr 36k miles. The only way I've ever seen a 1 month warranty is if it's a used salvage yard engine. And no! It should not be running rough and throwing codes.

 

[fangotango306]

yeah sounds like you got taken

 

[cawkazn]

its a used motor with 85,000 miles on it supposedly. the check engine light was on before any of this ever happened so i guess its not his responsibility to repair them for free than. i dont know if that is what would make the car run funny though, and i doubt it. he also said my cadillac converter could be messed up from the water too and i might need to get that replaced. should that have been replaced in the motor swap?

i did not think it should be running rough, and thats what pisses me off, he knew it was not running right and tried to just tell me to "break it in", in hopes of me driving it past the warranty IMO

 

[cawkazn]

whats even worse is i have been going to this guy for 2 yrs and have even brought him business

 

[cawkazn]

whats worse is i have been going to this guy for 2 yrs and have also brought him business

 

[410Fortune]

why did you need a new egine to begin with?
what engine are we talking about? What year did the new engine come from?
what are the codes?

codes can definatley tell you why its running rough

 

[cawkazn]

97 ford explorer v6 4.0 i have no idea about the codes.

got a new motor because first i needed a new head gasket, than i needed 2 new heads, and than i needed new rings for the pistons. he said it would be cheaper to just get a new motor put in than do all the work to it. i personally think he is just going to fix my old motor and sell it.

i dont know much at all about cars.

 

[cawkazn]

oh yeah sometimes when i try and start it, it doesnt turn over.

 

[david alfaro]

Time to take him to small claims court.Sounds like he ripped you off but good.

 

[cawkazn]

its at his shop being repaired right now, putting new O2 sensors, which i must pay for, and this should be the magic fix and it should be running right when i get it back. we will see.

 

[cawkazn]

it took a month to do the motor swap also

 

[eXcali]

I agree you were taken. The guy can't call you back and change the warranty agreement after you have already settled on the terms and made payment. What he's trying to do is your basic bait and switch tactic. I would never pay $2k for a used engine installed. He most likely got this engine for $200ish at the local Junkyard.

 

[410Fortune]

it is WAY cheaper to buy a junk yard engine then try to repair a blown V6

I charged my last customer (=hobby not a shop) $500 to swap a 95 OHV out for a 98 OHV 4.0L, he bought the engine and parts, about $700, so for $1200 I did the full swap with a full tune up, but I dont charge $87.00 an hour, I just charged him $500

its still running around today

Your old engine is worth about $50 in scrap metal, it is not worth fixing and selling for him because there are so many of them in the junk yards you can get a lightly used V6 for our trucks for $2-500 all day long and thats as a off the street consumer, if he knows anyone at a wrecker he could get it far cheaper still

ask him for the codes next time, or if the check engine light comes back on, posting the codes here will give you MUCH insight

I think $2000 is fair for a shop, if he fixes the current problems, you are LUCKY to get a warranty, 90 days is usually it for used engines

 

[cawkazn]

its typical for a shopt to do something like that. they are a business, the goal is to make money. i dont mind paying the guy for the labor and for the motor etc. what pisses me off is that if someone pays you alot of money to put a new engine in, do it right, and make sure that its running right. the main point being he new it wasnt running right and told me to "break it in"

 

[410Fortune]

a used engine does not need to be broken in, iot should take minutes to determine if it will tun right

A used engine is what you got and paid for knowing it was used so dont call it "new" a new V6 would cost you $1500-2000 just for the engine


Now that doesnt mean he did the conversion CORRECTLY, there are several points of interest when doing engine swaps in these trucks to look out for

I wouldnt say you have been taken just yet, lets see if the new 02 sensors fix it.

Why did you need a new engine in the first place? cracked head right? how long was it driven like this?
is the truck doing the same thing with the new engine as it was before?

 

[cawkazn]

the car overheated because i forgot to put coolant in it. waterpump was leaking. put a new water pump on, car still drove funny. found out it needed a new head gasket, than new heads and rings on pistons, than a motor swap instead of all those repairs. i paid $1200 for a motor with 85,000miles on it.


yes its doing the same thing as when i brought it in, it wasnt "grabbing" the first time i brought it in.

 

[eXcali]

its typical for a shopt to do something like that. they are a business, the goal is to make money. i dont mind paying the guy for the labor and for the motor etc. what pisses me off is that if someone pays you alot of money to put a new engine in, do it right, and make sure that its running right. the main point being he new it wasnt running right and told me to "break it in"

Break-in time is only for brand new vehicle off the line or a brand new motor. There should never be any break-in time for used components. The idea of break-in time is to give the metal components time to age and wear properly. A used engine is already aged and worn. A bad O2 sensor should not be causing your vehicle to stall or not start. A good mechanic would have run it long enuff for the ECU to relearn if that was the case.

You could have gotten a qoute from a dealership to install a new motor pretty close to $2k-3k range depending on where you live.

$1,200 paid for a used motor is insane. I've seen rebuilts with performance parts go for $500-750 out here.

 

[cawkazn]

im in southern california, so i could have gotten a new motor or a used motor from a dealership for 2k?

 

[vroomzoomboom]

the other things i would look for is to see if he even changed the motor if it is doing the same things as it did when you first brought it to him. like, do any of the bolts look like they are new (shiny), or turned. do you have any grease spots that line up to old parts. i just sold a truck, and one thing the person noticed right off the hope that it had new bolts on the exhaust manifolds.