How much for my zed? Or do I engine swap?

Z

ZLuke

Member
Manchester
Hi guys,

I'm not going to go into it too much just yet as It's still very fresh as I was only told this evening, but my Zed is dead.
Head gasket blew, and needed to replace a fair few things with it. The guy working on my car just rang and said having taken the head off the engine is an absolute mess, it hasn't been loved before I purchased. He said it either needs a full engine rebuild, or to be sold as is for spares. :cry:

But just a rough idea,

2003 SE
2.2 Auto
Titanium Silver
84k miles

Any idea what money I can get? I know condition etc is a factor, just a gauge for now.

Devastated! I just can't justify the cost to repair.

Cheers guys
 
I have had a quick look around but haven't had much luck, won't a replacement engine from a breaker plus labour for fitting it be a fortune too?
 
It's worth considering for the right price, it was going to cost almost £1k to fix the head gasket and replace some of the bits around it. Guy reckons full rebuild as well will total £2.5k.

Bad to worse! :headbang:
 
Not sure its worth throwing £2.5k at ? Also seems a lot for engine rebuild ?
I would have thought £1k/£1500 should source a running engine & cover labour to change over :(
Do you know the garage well & trust them ?
 
mr wilks said:
Not sure its worth throwing £2.5k at ? Also seems a lot for engine rebuild ?
I would have thought £1k/£1500 should source a running engine & cover labour to change over :(
Do you know the garage well & trust them ?
Click to expand...

I don't know the guy that well, he was recommended, he works close with Darren Wood etc.
£2.5k is fixing all the head gasket etc and doing the engine rebuild as well. I have no idea if it's too much.
If £1,500 would source and include fitting a replacement engine then I'd go for it 100%

As it stands I'm a car down and a whole bunch of money out of pocket, £300 ish in costs to get this far.
Guy doing the work was up front in telling me if he just fixed the head gasket etc then the other damage he's found would leave it running like s*it or worse, that's after spending £1k. So suggested selling as is for parts if I wasn't up for spending another £1,500 on top, parts and labour to sort the engine completely.
 
Breaking a car for spares may add up financially but have you somewhere to do it & the capabilities ?
If so then you can soon rattle up some cash
There is a good looking 3.0 auto for £4k in the FS section
Alternatively i would be looking to source a re-con engine for £600/£800 with similar costs to swap it over
best of luck :thumbsup:
 
mr wilks said:
Breaking a car for spares may add up financially but have you somewhere to do it & the capabilities ?
If so then you can soon rattle up some cash
There is a good looking 3.0 auto for £4k in the FS section
Alternatively i would be looking to source a re-con engine for £600/£800 with similar costs to swap it over
best of luck :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Thanks MrWilks

I'll see what I can find, if you see anything on the off chance please drop me a message.
Would be appreciated
 
Was it running ok before the headgasket went? What has the guy found that's making him say it needs a rebuild?
Regards
 
Smartbear said:
Was it running ok before the headgasket went? What has the guy found that's making him say it needs a rebuild?
Regards
Click to expand...

It was running well enough, was due a service next month, he has said the chain needs replacing as is worn right down, the Pistons are blue they've been soo hot, he said this have happened over time, but the bottom of the engine is a mess (not sure what he's referring to) he said the rings would need changing etc.
It's all greek to me, he's adament that it would be better swapping, reconditioning or selling as is, I'm going to ask for a list of what's wrong tmoz so I can list it, see what people think.

I am still curious what money I could get as is, not breaking it myself. It sounds like it's going to be either too big or too expensive a job for me at the moment
 
Can the car be moved as I'd be looking for a second opinion on this to be honest.

Get him to itemise everything that needs done to the car with estimated time-scales and costs.

If asked why say it's for the Extended Independent Warranty Insurance you've got as they need exact costs and contact info so they can arrange an inspection on it due to amount of the work he says it needs.

No idea if there's such a thing as Extended Independent Warranty Insurance but it sounds as if it might be a thing!
 
skelters said:
Can the car be moved as I'd be looking for a second opinion on this to be honest.

Get him to itemise everything that needs done to the car with estimated time-scales and costs.

If asked why say it's for the Extended Independent Warranty Insurance you've got as they need exact costs and contact info so they can arrange an inspection on it due to amount of the work he says it needs.

No idea if there's such a thing as Extended Independent Warranty Insurance but it sounds as if it might be a thing!
Click to expand...

I'd want a second opinion as well, if the chain was worn out it would have been making a rattling noise, sounds like he's trying to pull your pants down :thumbsdown:
Regards
 
easiest option would be to replace the engine like for like with one sourced from a breakers or a good source. a decent place will know info about the car it came out of and if it ran etc and offer some sort of warranty.

i got my westy engine from this place, http://www.hills-motors.co.uk/aboutus.php came with 3 months warranty, confirmed milage and the VIN of the car it came out of for £250 (it was an old mondeo engine)

if your then unhappy about the car sell it on after.
 
This is a tough choice.

Quick look on ebay would suggest the going rate to supply and fit a reconditioned and warrantied engine is just over £1,500 Add work so far and transport to the fitters and you're into £2k. To me that's borderline too much on a car that once fitted into will be worth say £4k (less loved 2.2 85k miles, 11 years old)

I certainly wouldn't bother trying to rebuild the existing engine given the description. I equally would not try to drop a 2.5 or 3.0 in as you'll son get into software, ECU, and who know what other minor problems that end up costing £££'s

My gut instinct says sell your 'as-is' for c£2k, add £3k to it and go out buy a 3.0 with £5k and you'll have a better car for not that much extra money. That's only £1k more than the repair is going to cost.

Never easy as you'll have funding issues to sort, keeping on the road, hassle, etc.
 
This is the same engine as the E46 320i and E39 520i isn't it?

If so you should be able to pick up a decent low mileage motor for under £500
 
Mister T said:
This is the same engine as the E46 320i and E39 520i isn't it?

If so you should be able to pick up a decent low mileage motor for under £500
Click to expand...

Yes - the same M54 engine. It's also available in 2.2, 2.5 and 3.0 configurations.

The issue for non experts swapping is all the minor configuration changes that made for the ancills, electronics, etc. for each application
 
Just for reference I sold a 3.0 lump from my old 330 for 350. Needed it gone so if you can find someone breaking their own z and getting hassled by their Mrs to get rid, you may be able to pick up a bargain.
 
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