Gentlemen,
I need some constructive advice on remanufactured engines, especially those from Jasper and Advance Auto. Here's the scenario:
My niece is driving (uh, was driving) a 1995 Pontiac Grand Am SE with a 3.1L V6. One day in the not too distant past, she noticed the oil pressure was really low. The genius riding with her said, "no worries, you can still drive it two miles down the road to the convenience store...," which she did. She checked the oil level and found it to be at the full mark. Figuring it was gauge problem, she drove it home, with the gauge reading quite low as to oil pressure.
The engine has now developed a "noise from the lower end of the engine," as my brother-in-law describes it. The oil pump was diagnosed as being shot, hence the lack of pressure. My BIL is hesitant to put a $400 oil pump in the engine, only to find that a bearing or something similarly serious is shot due to my niece's decision to drive with minimal oil pressure.
This car has 102K on the body and engine, with the tranny rebuilt at around 40k miles. The body is in really good condition and it has new struts/shocks on all four corners, new brakes on the corners, two new tires, and a new radiator, water pump, and alternator, all within the last year.
They were thinking of buying another used car to replace the Grand Am and junk it. I told them to reconsider buying someone else's junk and maybe put the money into a Jasper engine, have it installed, explain to my niece how to read gauges and respond to those readings, then drive it 'til it drops (while maintaining it mechanically, of course).
My rational is if they took $4k and put it into a "good used car," they're gambling on not having to replace the alternator, tranny, water pump, etc., on the used car they purchase. Nope, they can't afford a new one and that Grand Am is a "known quantity," bad engine (maybe) and all.
My BIL said Advance would sell him an engine for that car for $1,500, which included a three year, unlimited mileage warranty. Jasper wants $2,163 for a reman'd engine. I'm not certain what their warranty is. Of course, they'd then have to find someone in central Illinois that has a clue as to how to install it.
Sorry for the long post, but I wanted your thoughts on this.
BTW, how would they check the current engine to make certain that it is, in fact, "shot?"
I need some constructive advice on remanufactured engines, especially those from Jasper and Advance Auto. Here's the scenario:
My niece is driving (uh, was driving) a 1995 Pontiac Grand Am SE with a 3.1L V6. One day in the not too distant past, she noticed the oil pressure was really low. The genius riding with her said, "no worries, you can still drive it two miles down the road to the convenience store...," which she did. She checked the oil level and found it to be at the full mark. Figuring it was gauge problem, she drove it home, with the gauge reading quite low as to oil pressure.
The engine has now developed a "noise from the lower end of the engine," as my brother-in-law describes it. The oil pump was diagnosed as being shot, hence the lack of pressure. My BIL is hesitant to put a $400 oil pump in the engine, only to find that a bearing or something similarly serious is shot due to my niece's decision to drive with minimal oil pressure.
This car has 102K on the body and engine, with the tranny rebuilt at around 40k miles. The body is in really good condition and it has new struts/shocks on all four corners, new brakes on the corners, two new tires, and a new radiator, water pump, and alternator, all within the last year.
They were thinking of buying another used car to replace the Grand Am and junk it. I told them to reconsider buying someone else's junk and maybe put the money into a Jasper engine, have it installed, explain to my niece how to read gauges and respond to those readings, then drive it 'til it drops (while maintaining it mechanically, of course).
My rational is if they took $4k and put it into a "good used car," they're gambling on not having to replace the alternator, tranny, water pump, etc., on the used car they purchase. Nope, they can't afford a new one and that Grand Am is a "known quantity," bad engine (maybe) and all.
My BIL said Advance would sell him an engine for that car for $1,500, which included a three year, unlimited mileage warranty. Jasper wants $2,163 for a reman'd engine. I'm not certain what their warranty is. Of course, they'd then have to find someone in central Illinois that has a clue as to how to install it.
Sorry for the long post, but I wanted your thoughts on this.
BTW, how would they check the current engine to make certain that it is, in fact, "shot?"
