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Family member has a 2003 Cadillac Escalade. Paid in full. 200,000 miles on it. Motor just went out. Will cost $2500 for a used welded replacement. $5000 for a new one.
Need some advice on what I should do next.
Should he vehicle be fixed or should I work on selling it as is?
Family member has a 2003 Cadillac Escalade. Paid in full. 200,000 miles on it. Motor just went out. Will cost $2500 for a used welded replacement. $5000 for a new one.
Need some advice on what I should do next.
Should he vehicle be fixed or should I work on selling it as is?
Right now it is just sitting in yard in operable.
Any suggestions would be great.
200k is pretty high on mileage, even with a new motor the rest of the vehicle is still 10 years old and everything else still has the wear of a high mileage SUV, transmission, radio, seats, tires brakes, shocks, possible rust thru (may already be showing) and so on. Unless it has a thick book of timely maintenance records and has been garaged it may not be very cost effective in the end, that being said an Escalade is a desirable vehicle.
A lot of times fast and cheap engine swaps are done and do not take into consideration the other systems that are aged, like the A/C system, will it be recharged? Will the radiator be flushed and so on.
What was the reason for the engine being diagnosed as blown?
Thrown rod, no oil pressure, overheated?
$5000 for a new motor would be prohibitive, and NY/NJ is a pretty tough urban area for an older SUV. The bid seems about right for the used motor install, I am guessing that cost was out the door under it's own power again. The Escalade uses the same motor as any Chevy/GMC truck of the same year, and should be pretty easy to come across at a local scrapyard. Were you thinking of reselling it after the work was done? Might not be too much breathing room there. The blue book value of older Escalades has really dropped of recently, and consumers know it's a major gas hog.
One last question, was "welded in" a typo or is it east coast talk for installed? Just curious never heard that one before!
Last edited by orrecc; 10-14-2013 at 10:59 PM..
Reason: Forgot details!
Also not running it is worth scrap price around $300-$500 depending on the area prices, sorry. If you can find someone to pay more for it than that sell it to the first person with cash!
Family member has a 2003 Cadillac Escalade. Paid in full. 200,000 miles on it. Motor just went out. Will cost $2500 for a used welded replacement. $5000 for a new one.
Need some advice on what I should do next.
Should he vehicle be fixed or should I work on selling it as is?
Right now it is just sitting in yard in operable.
Any suggestions would be great.
Private Party Book Value is probably going to run in the $6k-$7k range, depending on the condition of the vehicle.
If you can get a warranted (welded?) engine installed for $2500, that's probably not a bad choice - assuming your transmission is strong, the Escalade is in good condition, and the replacement engine has reasonable mileage.
With a blown engine, it's probably a $1500 vehicle - max.
Bottom line, though, is that it's up to you what you want to do.
Does that $1600 include installation and warranty?
No. Engine delivered. 30 day warranty part only (no labor.)
So 2500.00 is for the used engine installed? Not bad, IMO. I don't know what the job pays as far as number of labor hours x hourly rate but I could find out if anyone wants to know.
The car is paid for. 200K miles for a gasoline engine is good, you got what you paid for. Fix it and you're good for another eight years, at least. Your insurance doesn't go up and you remain debt free.
I have had very good luck with salvage yard replacements. You can get a low mileage drive train from a good wreck for a fraction of new cost.
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