I contacted American Engine for a quote on replacing my engine. I was given a quote ($1700.) and a time period (7-10 days) that the work would be done. As I thought both were reasonable I went ahead and had them tow my car in.
Six days later they call to inform me I need to come in and sign papers and give a deposit. The deposit was not a problem but why did they wait almost a full week to inform me about the paperwork and deposit? This was never mentioned on any of the phone calls made to them. There goes six of the 7 to 10 day promise.
Upon signing of the paperwork I was then informed this would be another 10 to 16 days. Now, this was not good news as I was renting a car and this is costing much more than originally expected. A three week rental is much more expensive than a 7 to 10 day rental.
A few days later I receive a call that I need more parts other than the engine. I need things like a fuel pump which had been replaced by Sun Devil previously, belts, hoses and more. I okayed the replacement of all that was mentioned. But now this is going to cost me $2800. They also state my old engine is too far gone to be remanufactored so I will need to pay the extra $300 to have it disposed of (no surprise there).
Five weeks later they are done with the car. I noticed that the new engine was completely spray painted black which immediately gave me apprehension (don't you paint something to cover something else up?), but too late now. I've been renting a car for six weeks ($320 a week x 6 weeks, ouch) and this is costing me $5000 total for the engine and car rental as opposed to the $2000 I had figured if American Engine had made good on their 7 to 10 day promise.
Here's what I have under the hood now. An engine with a dip stick that is too short for the engine block (if the dipstick says full, then we have 3 quarts of oil in a 5 quart capacity engine). An engine that burns a quart of oil a week (new engine? Sounds more like a fifteen year old engine). We change the oil every 3000 miles and it is the blackest substance known to man (I would imagine the oil would be dirty after 3000 miles, but definitely not black, come on, it's a NEW engine). A crimp in the fuel line that is hindering the flow of gas (a new one will cost $300 as it would need to be custom made). No replacement of the freon in the a/c system that had been working fine prior along with the compressor not even coming on anymore (receipt states they never removed the system). I no longer have cruise control.
I have no intention of taking the car back for a replacement engine or any type of work. This little venture has cost me more than I could afford. I know I'll need to replace this engine soon enough, and I'll definitely go elsewhere.
I know I needed a new engine but I also know I didn't get a NEW engine and I most certainly didn't get what had been working to come back to me working. I was definitely ripped off.
*Please note, I use the word 'new' to describe the engine, but it is a remanufactured engine.
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