What is your question?
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What is your question?
Hello Everyone, Let me start off by saying thank you in advance for any constructive tips or opinions. Here is a little background information before I get into my question, I am a first time car owner and recently purchased a used 2002 chevy cavalier. When observing the car I took someone I know who can inspect the car for me, we discovered the water pump needed to be changed which I was willing to fix. The car fax was also unremarkable. The car ran great up until recently (a month after purchase). As a matter of fact it ran so well that I was convinced it would last a good long time so I invested in some new shocks, breaks, basic car radio upgrade so I can plug in my phone. I started to go on 4-7 hour drives and started to leak antifreeze from the freeze plugs and head of the engine. Took it to a mechanic and the diagnosis was I needed to get the head rebuilt at a machine shop. I had a choice, sell, junk, or fix. I believed so much that the car was not so bad that I dreadfully fixed it and hoped for the best. Got the car back and 5 blocks after I drove off the mechanic shop the car shuts off. I was furious. I had to tow the car back to the shop and they took 3 days to get back to me. They thought it was the idle, which did fix the car from shutting off, but now the new issue is the bearings are bad which was discovered after 5 miles of a test drive. So back to square 1. I felt like a fool, like I shot myself in both feet. I have new front and rear shocks, new water pump, new head, new radio, new tires, fresh flushed anti freeze with the proper coolant from the manual and my bearings are going bad. So before I junked the car I shopped around for a new lease or finance. Honestly new is out of my price range, even certified used it a lot. So my choice is once again to fix the problem and keep all my new parts. I did all the research I can think of on buying a new engine for my car. I can get used, remanufactured or rebuilt. I found a used engine for $600, 75k miles, and 6 month warranty. I may go with this option. But I am also considering remanufactured because apparently the engine that goes with my car is known to over heat and leak antifreeze. Jasper seems to have the best reputation hands down but they are charging waaaaay too much for a reman engine. I just can't buy from them and have all of this make sense. ATK is the next best option from what I can find for remanufactured engines, they even have a great warranty and are half the price of Jasper. But I read online that some people have had really crappy experience trying to get the warranty honored with ATK. I assume it's because some people try to install it themselves? I would be getting it installed at a certified mechanic place. AutoZone sells the engine I need but it says Spartan/ATK, which has really bad reviews online. I also found just ATK from Napa, I can't seem to find much information online about their engines. Has anyone had any luck after putting in a remanufactured engine from ATK in a chevy cavalier? I read that these are supposed to be very reliable cars and I would like to make this car last. But before I go down this road I would like to hear some other peoples experience on the issue, hopefully form other cavalier owners. Thanks.
I appreciate that. They are definitely my number 1 ideal choice but they quoted me $3,700. I'm scared after all the repairs I already made, if this goes wrong too I am going to just lose my mind. Has anyone ever dealt with ATK?
YES , I have , they were marginal , at best , in my opinion. All the others you listed , I would only recommend to an enemy! Years ago , I had a customer that insisted on getting one from Advance because it was $600.00 cheaper than the jasper I quoted him. I reluctantly agreed to do the install , and when I went to put anti-freeze in it , it promptly started pouring out of the block , where they had put 'bondo' auto body putty and lots of paint over it! I had to call the company to get authorization to 'fix' it with J-B weld (GREAT STUFF! -when used properly). Cost him $300.00 extra for me to take the time and do it right - He ended up with an engine that lasted him at least 2 years that I know of (without any coolant leak!) I know the Money parts a tough call , but since you know the condition of the rest of the car ........ I wish you the best of luck , Get someone good for the install , that is extremely important , regardless of what brand you ultimately choose.