An engine is the biggest bill in car ownership and not every car earns one. Before we quote a swap we look at the body, the transmission, the suspension and what the car is actually worth running. A straight 2016 BMW with a clean interior is worth an engine. A rusty commuter with a slipping transmission and 260,000 miles usually is not, and we will say so even though it costs us the job.
When it is worth doing, you get real numbers: the long block, the gaskets and fluids that always go with it, the labor, and the parts that we recommend replacing while the engine is out because they will never be this accessible again.
A rattle on cold start that quietens after a few seconds is a timing chain guide or tensioner giving warning. Ignore it and the chain eventually jumps, the valves meet the pistons, and a timing job becomes an engine. On interference engines - which is most of them now - there is no gentle failure mode.
Belts are simpler and have a mileage interval; chains are supposed to last the life of the engine and often do not, particularly on some direct-injection fours and the earlier VAG and BMW units we see a lot of around Temecula. We do them as a complete job: chain, guides, tensioner, and the water pump if it is driven off the same assembly.
We come to you first, confirm the diagnosis, and give you the quote. If you go ahead, the car is towed to our garage and stays until it is finished. Engine work is not driveway work - it needs a lift, an engine crane, torque specs followed in sequence, and a controlled place to keep parts clean.
You get photos as it goes. When it is done it gets fresh fluids, a proper break-in where the build calls for one, a scan to confirm every module is happy, and a road test before it comes back to you.
Photographs from our own engine work work across the Temecula Valley. Plates and VINs are redacted; nothing here is stock.
A low-mileage used engine from a reputable yard is the cheapest and usually comes with a short warranty. A remanufactured long block costs more and carries a real multi-year warranty. A rebuild of your own engine makes sense when the block is good and the car is worth keeping original.
A straightforward swap is usually five to ten working days once the engine arrives. Timing jobs are typically two to four days. Parts availability is the variable, and we tell you what we are waiting on.
Yes. BMW, Audi, Volkswagen and Mercedes work is normal here rather than an exception - a lot of shops in the valley turn it away, which is how it ends up with us.
Yes. It is the cheapest warning you will ever get. Booked in now it is a timing job; ignored, it is an engine and a tow.
A proper diagnosis in the Temecula Valley runs $95 to $150, takes about an hour at your curb, and that fee comes straight off the repair if you have us do the work.
Read More →A front or rear axle of pads and rotors takes us about an hour in your driveway, and it is one of the few repairs where a mobile mechanic is genuinely faster than a shop - no drop-off, no lobby, no shuttle.
Read More →We come to your driveway or office parking lot, change the oil and filter by hand in about thirty minutes, take the old oil away, and look over the rest of the car while we are under there.
Read More →Open seven days a week, 9am to 8pm, across the whole Temecula Valley. Same-day on most bookings.
Call (951) 474-1277