“Your car has a blown engine” is one thing vehicle owners never want to hear when they're talking to their mechanic. It's right up there with “You need a new transmission” and “So, how soon can you get your hands on a new car?”
⚠️ If It's Broken, Don't Fix It - Get Paid Cash for Your Vehicle ⚠️
Rebuilding an engine will often cost you a small fortune. It usually takes a long time for a mechanic to work their way through a major engine repair, too. This might lead to your car being stuck in the garage for weeks or even months at a time.
For these reasons, dealing with a blown engine is one of the worst things that you'll ever have to go through when you own a car. But there are steps that you can take to make the most of the bad situation.
Here is what you should do with a car that has a bad engine.
Make Sure Your Car Definitely Has a Blown Engine
If your car has a blown engine, it'll be pretty easy for you to tell. There is a long list of symptoms associated with a bad engine that you'll notice when you're experiencing severe engine problems.
These are just some of the symptoms that you'll see:
- Very low oil pressure
- Loud sounds coming from under the hood
- Engine overheating on a regular basis
All of that being said, these symptoms are also associated with problems other than just a bad engine. It's why you should always take your car to a licensed mechanic to have them inspect it if you suspect you might have a major engine problem on your hands.
You should also get a second opinion on your car if a mechanic tells you that you do, in fact, have a blown engine. Since rebuilding an engine is such a massive undertaking, it can't hurt to get a second set of eyes on your car before you move forward with an engine repair or get rid of your car altogether.
Figure Out If It Makes Sense to Rebuild Your Engine
Do you drive a 1995 car with more than 200,000 miles on it that's worth less than $1,000 according to Kelley Blue Book?
If so, there's a good chance that you're going to decide that it doesn't make sense to try and rebuild the engine in your car. In some cases, it can cost as much as $6,000 to replace a bad engine. It just wouldn't make much sense to spend that kind of money on an older car.
It might, however, make sense to rebuild the engine in a car that's on the newer side. If you've only had your car for a few years now and still owe a lot of money on it, you would be the perfect person to consider rebuilding your engine.
More often than not, though, people scoff at the idea of rebuilding an engine. They realize that they're much better off taking a different approach to dealing with their problem.
Consider Trading Your Old Car in for a New One
There are more than 16,000 new car dealerships scattered across the country at this time. And almost all of them are willing to do just about anything to attract people to their lots.
Many of them will even agree to take a car with a blown engine as part of a trade-in. They'll give people a discount on a new or used car when they trade their old car in as part of the transaction.
If you're going to need to get yourself a new car to replace your old one that has a bad engine, it might be worth investigating whether or not trading your old one in makes sense. Some dealerships might balk at the idea of giving you anything for your car, but some will also be happy to extend you a trade-in offer.
Think About Selling Parts From Your Car for Cash
The engine in your old car might be worthless at this point. But that doesn't mean that the rest of your car isn't filled with parts that people out there might want!
If you're handy when it comes to working on cars, you can pull many of these parts from your car and get offers for them. You can sell car parts like:
- Radiators
- Catalytic converters
- Fuel pumps
- Transmissions
- And even tires
Your old car isn't worth very much as a whole. But when you part it out, you can make more money than you might realize.
Find Buyers That Specialize in Buying Cars With Bad Engines
If you're having trouble finding a car dealership to accept your car as a trade-in or if you don't have the time (or patience!) to sell individual parts from your car, there is a better option available. It might be the best option of all when you think about it.
There are junk car buyers that would be more than willing to take ownership of your car, blown engine and all. They'll arrange to pick your car up and tow it away after giving you cash for it.
There are more than 8,000 junkyards and salvage yards in the U.S. today, and many of them stay in business thanks to people just like you. These people sell their broken-down cars to junk car buyers in exchange for cash, and many of those cars end up in junkyards and salvage yards when they do.
Look around to see which junk car buyers are operating in your city or town. Try to find ones that have a lot of experience, specifically when it comes to buying cars with blown engines in them.
Get Your Hands on as Many Offers for Your Car as You Can
Once you've generated a list of junk car buyers in your general area, sit down and obtain as many offers as you can from them.
Years ago, this would have meant calling each individual junk car buyer to ask for an offer. But today, you can fly through this process by utilizing the internet.
Visit the websites for the junk car buyers that you're considering using and fill out the forms that they have on them to get offers for your car. Within a few minutes, you can get a cash offer from each of these buyers so that you can weigh your various offers.
Agree to Sell Your Car to Whichever Buyer Offers the Most Money
It's important to obtain as many offers as possible because, as you'll find out, junk car buyers can be all over the place with regards to the offers they make.
One buyer might tell you that they'll give you $850 for your old car. Another one might then turn around and say they'll only give you $250 for it.
If you were to only contact the second junk car buyer mentioned here, you would miss out on $600! It's why you need to try to get a lot of offers on the table.
Once these offers come in, you can look at all of them and choose the one that looks the best to you. Often times, that means choosing the highest offer. But it could also mean choosing an offer that's slightly lower than some others from a buyer that you know you can trust.
Prepare to Sell Your Broken-Down Car
At the end of all the steps listed here, it'll be time to sell your car and erase the words “blown engine” from your memory forever. But before you can do it, you'll need to prepare to unload your vehicle.
Begin by clearing all your personal possessions out of your car. This includes everything from sneakers and clothes to insurance documents and anything that might be hiding under your seats.
After that's done, take your license plates off your car and dispose of them properly. Call your auto insurance company, too, and ask them to cancel the policy you have on your car.
From there, the only thing you'll need to do is sit and wait for your junk car buyer to arrive and pick your car up. They'll bring a tow truck along with them and handle everything. They'll also pay you cash for your car on the spot.
You can take that cash and use it to buy a new car or do whatever else you might want with it.
It's Possible to Sell a Car That Has a Blown Engine for Cash
When your mechanic tells you that you have a blown engine in your car, they're going to have a long face. They'll know that they're delivering the news that you did not want to hear.
But you don't have to let a bad engine keep you down for too long. You can sell your car to a junk car buyer, purchase a new car, and get back out on the road in no time. It's the best possible outcome for everyone involved.
Contact us today if you would like to sell a car with a blown engine and get top dollar for it.