Help with new engine

diddydi

My daughter has a Ford KA and when it went in for MOT this week she was told the engine was knackered. Apparently she had not filled it up with oil for poss 1 year!!!! She has recently been made redundant and cannot afford a new engine nor buy another car. The garage suggested we buy an engine from a local scrap yard for £100 but these have all been removed from the vehicles and being a mere female I haven't got a clue what I am looking at. Is this a good idea? or what other alternatives do we have. Any help and advice would be much appreciated

Inactive

Public transport.

flang

The best option of to find a the same model KA thats had rear end damage. That way you know the engine is in working order. Ebay is another option.

How old is the car? Whats the mileage? It could be cheaper to sell the car and buy another.

If shes not added oil in the last year god knows what the rest of the cars like! Poorly maintained vehicles should not be on public roads.

djheath

This sounds a bit strange to me. If the car was just going in for an MOT, then they wouldn't check for the engine being knackered - they would check emissions which could potentially show an unhealthy engine, but before spending massive cash on a new engine, I would check the exhaust system, lambda sensors and service the engine first to eliminate these cheaper potential causes for a failed emissions test.

By the sound of it the car drove to the test station fine. If she hasn't put oil in it for over a year then the car would have died within minutes if it didn't have any oil in it at all, so there must be some in the engine doing its job. I service my car every year and never need to put oil in them between services. I do check they oil regularly though, but I never need to top it up, so it doesn't mean my engine is knackered because I haven't topped up the oil recently.

Personally, I would get a second opinion, then get the car serviced and looked over and see if anything really needs doing.

goldspanners

this does sound strange, how did it get to the MOT station with a knackered engine?
what is actually wrong with the engine?
the ka engine is a pretty old and simple beast, it may be just as easy/quick/cheap to repair rather than source and fit a new engine if its required.

harveybobbles

flang wrote: »

If shes not added oil in the last year god knows what the rest of the cars like! Poorly maintained vehicles should not be on public roads.

Nor should the people who drive them...

Part of the driving test should include:

Checking and topping up of fluids.
Changing a wheel.
Jump starting a dead car.

diddydi

Inactive wrote: »

Public transport.

Not an option I am afraid and not very helpful. We live in a small village in the middle of nowhere and only have 2 buses a day. One at 8.30 a.m., too late to get to work, which returns at 16.30 before she finishes work.

diddydi

flang wrote: »

How old is the car? Whats the mileage? It could be cheaper to sell the car and buy another.
If shes not added oil in the last year god knows what the rest of the cars like! Poorly maintained vehicles should not be on public roads.

It is a Y Reg with 50,000 miles. I apologise for misleading everyone. It was going for a service as well as an MOT. It has been regularly serviced since new and was in good order. The garage said there was not a drop of oil in the engine. The car was running perfectly well and the oil warning light did not come on. Yes they did all emission tests and filled up the car with oil. When the engine was running there was then thick black smoke pouring out. We always use the same garage and I don't think they would rip us off.

steveo3002

ring around the breakers and see what warrenty they offer on a used engine

maybe the garage can suggest a decent breakers that they trust

most of the breakers willl run the car and scrap any engines that are ropey

engines last fairly well these days...id say theres a good chance you will find a decent engine ...then look after this one

diddydi

steveo3002 wrote: »

ring around the breakers and see what warrenty they offer on a used engine

maybe the garage can suggest a decent breakers that they trust

most of the breakers willl run the car and scrap any engines that are ropey

engines last fairly well these days...id say theres a good chance you will find a decent engine ...then look after this one

Thank you Steve. Garage did recommend a breakers and I went to look at engines. I was told by a friend I should hear them running so was a little surprised to see they had been taken out. They give 3 months warranty.

hewhoisnotintheknow

if she managed to drive it too the mot station, surely the eninge still works. If you are thinking about replacing the engine you might as well put oil in the current one and drive it until it stops working