Postby disallow » Tue Apr 09, 2013 5:51 am
I've found that shops tend to go to the 'change the engine out' option fairly quickly these days. Problem for them is once you start disassembling the engine, you can get into it for a really high amount of hours very quickly. At $100-150/hr labor, it doesn't take long to justify just changing the engine out with an exchange engine from a reliable source. Would probably reduce comebacks, and if they buy the replacement from the right supplier, it would probably come with some warranty that would limit their liability if things don't go as planned.
Now, if you can find an independant shop, or reliable backyard mechanic that charges $50-60/hr or less, the logic changes, as you are into it for less labor which rules out justifying a rebuilt or exchange engine.
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