I have a 2011 Toyota Avalon that is needing a new engine. Looks like it threw a rod. My dad watched all the time and he passed 3 months ago and I don’t have him here now to get advice. No money owed on the car. It’s in good shape otherwise. What is your opinion. Should I get a used engine or see if I can find someone to rebuild the engine. I’m at a loss and miss asking my dad this stuff. The auto repair shop said it’s rare for a Toyota to do this.
Depends. How many miles on the car?
I would price out the job and weigh your options (engine vs new car)
The auto repair shop is right, it is very rare for those engines to experience that kind of catastrophic failure. What happened? Does the car have a million miles on it? Oil changes neglected, or oil was too low due to leaks or burning?
Are you able to swap the engine out yourself, or have friends or family help do it? If so, taking a chance on a used low-mileage engine might work out. However if you have to pay a mechanic to do the job you'll be out of pocket for both the engine and the labor if you wind up with a bad used engine.
Modern engines are too complex for most shops to rebuild properly. Also when a connecting rod breaks it can do a lot of collateral damage and your engine may not even be rebuildable. A factory-remanufactured engine would be best, but of course that's a lot of $$$$ to put into a 14-year-old car.
A quick check at Kelley Blue Book shows the private party selling price of a 2011 Avalon in good condition with typical mileage (around 145K) to be about $6500. That's a rough estimate of course, but is probably close to what installing a remanufactured engine would cost. (Though if the car is a low mileage creampuff it could be worth more.)
@chucktobias it has about 150,000. I had changed the oil about a month earlier. It was in a parking lot on a mega hot day with the air going as I went into a store. My son was waiting for me. When I came out the engine was off but he let the air still run. He thought it was out of gas. He said it shuttered then quit. I tried to start. It had gas. It tried to start after I let it sit while my oldest came to check it out. It tried to start and the. We heard a loud metal sound. Called tow and took to a repair shop. They said they would turn something and could hear a metal piece clanking. They suggested a used one from a local company. $6000-$8000 or from a junk yard cheaper.
Are they going to guarantee in writing the used engine they suggest to install as well as labor? Also don't forget that other problems may be discovered while swapping out the engine that can increase the cost of the job.