While I was stuck in traffic 2 weeks ago while on holiday, my 300 overheated. With my 300 now at SE, they have quoted me £2500 to repair the engine, as the heat of the water has ucked the cylinder head or something, and I need to know how reasonable this quote is, or if there is someelse in Essex able to do this work. ( I choose SE as I live in Maldon anyway, and they do know 300's) Cheers to anyone who can help.

Daz I've seen used engines for £1400 mate, Give AndyZ a bell(07761 763 474) as I belive he maybe have a couple of engines.

 

Its up to you really, how you'll feel with a used engine but a £1100 saving or a rebuilt engine(would it be "like new"?

 

Trev

Or a second hand engine could be even bigger trouble

dont be daft buying a second hand engine,when u can have a new engine at wot is a really good price!

the same job done up in sunny neast is 3-4 k

then again if ya get the engine out and you find a lot more probs its gonna be a lot more than 2.5 k

either way you loose,that the zed for ya

Valid points....but if the second hand engine is in sound condition following the correct checks I dont see it being much of an issue. Maybe John N can advise here?

 

Like you say Jay, there maybe more issues when SE start taking the engine apart/checking components etc.

 

If it was me, I would look at a good second hand engine from a trustworthy source AndyZ/Mike at MJP etc, and then spend the £1100 saved on making sure this engine would last - and ask Progress Engineering(01622 687070) to see what they could do to a good working secondhand engine for £1100. (NOTE - I said "if it was me" )

 

Trev

trey if the 2nd hand engine has been stripped and put back together amd gets a guarrantee then go for the 2nd hand,but usually a 2nd hand engine has just been pulled from another car and they dont really no wat its like,so then you are taking a big risk that it aint fooked.

most of the people uve mentioned are top people with zeds but a 2nd is a 2nd and not a reconned engine , so watch wot ya doing .

it wouldnt be nice if u paid out 1.5 k + installing it only to find out 6 months later that u need another.

hope everything goes ok with you.i hope you dont end up going through 4 engines like i have.jay

through 4 engines like i have.jay

Christ mate!! How come 4 engines?

Trev

From my past experience, you get what you pay for, so beware any engine that you've not seen running or had inspected unless you get a guarantee that also covers the labour costs if it fails.

 

I cracked a cylinder head 6 months ago (don't know how because the only overheating had been 60k before!) and I had it fixed by SE. They seem to have done a good job (forget my recent posts grumbling at them, what I thought was another buggered gasket was a failed radiator cap) and the price was fair for the amount of labour. They also fixed various minor problems free of charge while doing the work. Only problem is that they take a long long long time.

Daz - my total sympathy! You are at that awful point where everyone gives you different advice so here comes my 2p worth. I blew my engine and was faced with a £4/5k rebuild (parts/labour) as it needed new ring, skim and valves. The other choices I came up with were to take a chance on a secondhand engine (£750/£1500 parts only) or buy a brand new engine (£5/6k parts only). In the end my engine was a 1991/110,000miles and having spoken to both AndyZ and Mike Feeney I chose a 1994/70,000miles one from Mike (nothing at all wrong with the one from Andy just that his was a little older. Both people are totally trustworthy adn gave me run downs on each donor car, Andy in fact had a video of the car running before it was picked apart. When I saw the engine it was leak free and luckily was a good one - I WAS LUCKY.

 

You say the quote is for an "engine repair" and that may not mean that they are completely stripping and recon'ng the engine! If it has just damaged one or both of the heads then it will be a skim, etc. Find out exactly what they are going to do to the engine and what the warranty on the work is going to cover. See how much they would charge you for sliding in a replacement engine. Doubt whether this helps much but good luck. Email me direct if you want any other info on this.

 

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Z first and anything else is secondary!

John Newcomb (NukeEm)

www.geocities.com/jn300zxtt

£2500?!!! That's bloody dear! My bother got a whole car which he is driving around for £2000!

How can they quote a price like £2500 without even knowing what's wrong with the engine.

Does that mean that if it only needs a new head gasket (£80), you get charged £2500?!

Someone's making big bucks out there me thinks!

Originally posted by shaunmac:

Does that mean that if it only needs a new head gasket (£80), you get charged £2500?!

Someone's making big bucks out there me thinks!

LOL how much do you thimk Nissan will charge you for head gasket failure or even Turbos?

ANSWER more than some cars are worth,that's the price you pay for maintaining a 10 year old supercar

 

 

 

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KEEP IT SIDEWAYS;).

If you live in the South East, this is probably a fair price. It's all very well saying that the gaskets are only £80 but you have to get the engine out, etc, etc. Not as easy job if you want it done well.

 

SE charge a bsic £1500 including the evil VAT for basic replacement of both head gaskets. £600 for machining and various other work on the heads/valves while they are out is optional. Replacement heads if they have cracked are £600 - £700 each.

 

My failure was the second I've had in 168k. First time was done by Nissan. End result was lots of broken connectors, missing brackets and bolts, etc which sadly I didn't know about at the time. SE did a very tidy job with nice shiney new bolts everywhere, etc. They even fixed my gear box problem free of charge.

 

And before you ask, I'm not an SE fanatic as you will gather form an earlier post where I mentioned some of their paintwork, but credit where it's due.

trey,snapped cam belt

poorly installed 2nd hand engine

then

full rebuild

then

1 month later i got hit by a copy of the river seven on a road and ended up with a brand new engine(thanks to my insurance)

now i just need the electrics sorted from the mashed 2nd engine poor install