Blown engine or failed transmission: repair or sell?

The shop calls with the word nobody wants: the engine is gone, or the transmission is. The quote that follows is often more than the car feels worth. Before you say yes or no, it helps to put both numbers on paper.

The math that decides it

You need three numbers:

1. The repair cost, in writing, all in: parts, labor, diagnosis and any related work the shop says is required.
2. What the car will be worth after the repair, as a running car in its real condition. Look at listings for the same year, model and mileage, and be honest about the rust, the tires and everything else.
3. What the car is worth now, as it sits. That’s a junk or as-is offer, which you can get by phone.

The repair pays off only if number 2 minus number 3 is clearly bigger than number 1. When the repair costs more than the gap between the fixed value and the as-is value, you’d be paying to lose money.

Two things push the decision toward selling even when the math is close:

• Age and mileage. A new engine in an old car still leaves old brakes, suspension, cooling system and body. The next repair is often not far behind.
• What failed, and why. An engine that overheated may have damaged other parts. A transmission that failed because of a fluid leak may come back if the leak isn’t fixed.

What an Illinois shop has to put in writing

Illinois’ Motor Vehicle Repair Act, 815 ILCS 306/15, sets the rules for repair estimates:

• No work over $100 starts without your specific authorization, after the shop makes the required disclosures.
• A written estimate or a written price limit. The shop can’t charge more than 10% over the estimate, or go past the price limit, without your oral or written consent.
• The estimate includes everything, “including any charges for estimates and diagnostics,” and it must say whether each repair is required or suggested.
• Teardown costs. If the shop has to take an engine or transmission apart to estimate the repair, the estimate must show the cost of disassembly and reassembly if you decide not to go ahead.
• Parts: the estimate names the major parts and whether they’re new or used.

That teardown line matters most for a blown engine. Ask for the “if I say no” figure before anyone opens the engine, so you know what walking away costs.

Your four options

For a wider look at private sales and trade-ins, see junk it, sell it or trade it in.

If the car is at a shop

Settle what you owe first. A shop that did work or stored a car at your request can hold a lien on it under the Labor and Storage Lien Act, 770 ILCS 45, and for smaller bills it can hold the car until it’s paid. Unpaid bills can end with the shop selling the car. Once you’re square, we can pick it up from the shop lot; give us the address and hours.

If the car is on the street

A car that can’t be driven shouldn’t sit on a Chicago street for long. The city treats a vehicle on the public way that is “incapable of being driven in its present condition” as abandoned under MCC 9-80-110, and abandoned cars are ticketed and towed. Move it to a driveway or garage, or get it sold.

Selling a car with a dead engine or transmission

We buy cars that won’t start, start but won’t move, or make the noises that sent you to the shop. Tell us what the shop found, whether the car rolls and steers, and where it’s parked. The non-running cars page covers the rest.

Send the form on this page, or call (872) 356-9799 with the shop’s diagnosis in hand.