Engine Blown What to do??

Ebe_Scrooge

You said "the Cogs under the bonnet are all rubbing together". That's a bit vague :-)

First step would be to get a mechanic to take a look. They should be able to see what's actually wrong, and give you an estimate.

If the engine really is completely shot, ask the mechanic how much for a reconditioned engine. It won't be cheap, but you can at least make a decision based on the value of the car, the cost of buying a new car, etc. etc. Bear in mind, a reconditioned engine is near as dammit as good as a brand new engine. That's all well and good, but can be a bit of a waste if eveything else on the car is also nearing the end of its useful life ....

movilogo

Scrap the car and get a new one.

darkwarrior

Blakey1982 wrote: »

Thanks all.

I paid £350 in December to have it serviced, 2 tyres, balancing etc etc and now this happens. At least it happened outside my house.

Just checked some sites and I could pick up a replacement engine for about £350 - how much would it be to replace it by a garage though....any ideas??

The car is only worth around £1500 obviously when working so i'm trying to decide what's the best thing to do. Similar cars on eBay sold as non-runners are currently around £600 - £700

Something to bear in mind; I got my Punto for £1000. Drove it for 3 years, the engine seal went so it could drive but it had no power, was on its last legs.

I took it to Vauxhall and used their eco-flex system to get £1,000 for it towards my new car.

They didn't know the engine was bust :P

Now of course you're saying yours isn't drivable but it may be worth looking into something like this, even webuyanycar. Maybe they will take a non functional car off your hands.

As for installation, I'd imagine it would cost at least £100.

LandyAndy

Blakey1982 wrote: »

Thanks all.

I paid £350 in December to have it serviced, 2 tyres, balancing etc etc and now this happens. At least it happened outside my house.

Just checked some sites and I could pick up a replacement engine for about £350 - how much would it be to replace it by a garage though....any ideas??

The car is only worth around £1500 obviously when working so i'm trying to decide what's the best thing to do. Similar cars on eBay sold as non-runners are currently around £600 - £700

Your December expenditure was servicing / wear and tear and, in any case, is a sunk cost and irrelevant to your current position.

I would have thought you would be paying for a day's labour to replace an engine (say £250 bearing in mind that there will be costs for the odd cooling hose that doesn't make the transition, new oil and antifreeze etc). At that sort of cost, and assuming the car is otherwise decent, I would go for it as any alternative course is likely to be more costly.

However, first you need to have the worst confirmed.

Blakey1982

Sorry scrooge - well there are two cogs on the left hand side of the engine that you can clearly see have rubbed against the metal casing around it. Almost like they have moved or slipped however the belt is still on the cogs below it and they dont look broken as such.

Appareciate the advice on this. I do feel a bit better for getting peoples views.

A mechanic friend is coming over tonight to look at it and see what he thinks. I'm guessing a reconditioned engine will be around £400 and the cost to fit it around £600 - I really dont have that sort of money though. I'd have to get a loan i think.

Blakey1982

Thanks LandyAndy

Thanks darkwarrior

Hopefully i'll know more when the mechanic comes to see it i suppose.

Ebe_Scrooge

It's hard to say from your description, and if you've got a mechanic coming round he's obviously far better qualified to give a correct diagnosis.

However, from my limited knowledge, I'm not aware of any "cogs" that would be exposed to view in most engines. I suppose it may be the timing belt that's gone, maybe the cover has come adrift as it's usually covered. If that's the case then it's quite possible that some serious damage has been done.

If it's a "wheel" rather than a "cog" then you may be lucky and it could be something like an alternator that's gone - in which case it's not nearly so bad.

Pure speculation on my part - your mechanic is obviously the best person to diagnose it. I'd be interested to hear the outcome :-)

LandyAndy

Ebe_Scrooge wrote: »

Pure speculation on my part - your mechanic is obviously the best person to diagnose it. I'd be interested to hear the outcome :-)

As would I.

Lum

Can we get a photograph of these cogs in the meantime?

skiddlydiddly

You might be lucky and it just be a broken pulley.