You can also do a Oil Analysis on the used engine - the oil can be extracted
from the engine at Tri-Star then after it's in your car and you have around
1000 miles on the oil (new oil & filter when the installation is done, of
course) - the numbers should be similar.
Yes, I sell Oil Analysis kits, - but I'm not suggesting you buy mine - there
are numerous vendors selling the kits - with mine it'll take approx 7-10
business days to get results once the oil sample is mailed. And you may not
be able to wait that long - the shop with your car may not want to wait that
long either. And Tri-Star may not hold the engine is someone shows up with
a handful of cash - but it's an option anyway.
The engine at Tri-Star will be sitting on a shelf strapped to a pallet -
they won't be able to do a compression test. And I suspect their only
gurantee is to provide another engine if the one they send is bad. You'll
be out the installation costs and have to pay the shop to install a
replacement is one is needed. So you're right to worry about getting what
your're paying for. Having to pay for the re-installation of a replacement
engine may raise your costs to an unacceptable level also.
You might also ask Tri-Star for the engine # and if possible, the VIN of
the car it was removed from. With the VIN a Carfax *might* tell you
something about the condition of the engine, or it might not. If you get
the engine # *and* the VIN you should be able to determine if that engine
actually came out of that VIN. It might not be possible to tell if that
*exact* engine came from the VIN they provided but MBNA *might* have some
info to help correlate the 2 numbers together. But gathering more info is
never a bad thing. There's also a possibility Tri-Star will tell you that
info is not available. If nothing else, Tri-Star will see you're not going
into this blindly.
In the end, you're counting on Tri-Star to provide what they say they're
providing - only their reputation & desire to maintain their good name
(assuming they have one) will make them do that - possibly the local BBB
will have some info on them - but bear in mind that some people making
complaints thru BBB may or may not have been reasonable in their
expectations from Tri-Star - some people want to pay for used but expect to
receive *as-new* parts from a recycler. And when that doesn't happen they
complain. But a call to BBB will be informative.
You can also ask this list and others what the experiences have been with
Tri-Star. I seem to recall them advertising in "The Star" every issue so
they're going after the MB business aggressively by spending the money.
There are other used engine suppliers out there - Potomac in Md comes to
mind as being one of the biggest. But there are others.
Hopefully this rambling answer will help a little. You;re not totally
without options - BTW, depending on the condition of your old engine, you
could rebuild it, or at the very least (if you want to mess with it) sell
some of the parts to reduce your final cost - unless someone wants it as an
exchange basis.
Sincerely,
Larry T (78 240D)
A Blood Test for your oil - www.youroil.net
For Test Results http://members.rennlist.com/oil
Weber Carb Stuff http://members.rennlist.com/webercarbs
http://members.rennlist.com/my_911/Index.htm For my Paint Job Info
----- Original Message -----
From: "Brian Chase" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2006 3:29 AM
Subject: [MBZ] Used Engines from Tri-Star
Listers,
The wheels of action are finally grinding to a start in the resurrection
of
my 83 240D. I'm planning on purchasing a used engine tomorrow from
Tri-Star
in PHX. My auto is at the shop in Tucson, and awaiting shipment of the
engine.
Question: How can one really know that the proclaimed mileage on a used
engine like this is anywhere near accurate? It would be in the best
interest
of the crooked parts outfit to claim to be selling a nice low-mileage
engine, yet actually to deliver their highest-mileage engine. They are
claiming to be selling me their lowest mileage 240 engine, but as I said,
it
would take some genuine honesty not to pull a bait & switch.
I know there's probably no answer to this question, but what have you all
found in your experience? Bear in mind that I am no where near this outfit
geographically and thus cannot do any physical investigation.
Brian
83 240D
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