Should I be wary of cars with rebuilt engines when looking for a used automobile?

Question

I'm currently in the market for a used car and I've seen a couple that look like fair deals, but they list that they have rebuilt engines. I was wondering if that could be a red-flag for anything, for instance the mileage that they advertise is simply the mileage "for that engine" etc.

Answer 1

Ask to see receipts for the rebuild. What you need to be aware of is that there is a difference between rebuilds. If a professional shop did it then it's probably good, if an amateur did it, it's likely that clearances, alignments and toque values may not have been followed "to the book".

An engine that idles smoothly, does not give off smoke and runs quietly is usually good. Look at where the car is normally parked and look for signs of oil leaks.

Answer 2

its easy enough to tell once you see the car and look at the odometer , i would not be afraid of a rebuilt engine but see what else has been done to the car , if it has enough miles to have had the engine done some other things will have had to have been replaced too. but just take a compression tester adn check the compression of the engine, simply take out the one spark plug at a time place the compression tester into the whole have another turn over the engine until it pushes the piston up to top dead center TDC it will make a pssst sound once it hit TDC if it has low compression then most likely it hasnt been rebuilt, But if it does have good compression then check for colored smoke blue,black, grey blue smoke is oil, black smoke is gas,grey or white smoke is water. look at the frame,take it for a test drive listening to any un normal sounds rattles ect... hope this helps you on your car buying

Answer 3

its easy enough to tell once you see the car and look at the odometer , i would not be afraid of a rebuilt engine but see what else has been done to the car , if it has enough miles to have had the engine done some other things will have had to have been replaced too , good luck , happy hunting

Answer 4

check reciepts,vehicle repairs if owner kept diary of all things, my 89 iroc has 85000 on rebuilt still runs strong and does not use oil