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Engine Swap Cost: All You Need To Know

Engine Swap Cost

Engine swap cost ranges from $500.00 to $1500 on labor costs and from $500.00 to $9000 on a complete engine block repair.

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Engine problems are never fun and require thousands of dollars for repair. That's why many people hesitate about investing in these repairs, but at the end of the day, you can only drive your vehicle with a working engine.

One of the common repairs people get into when they have severe engine problems is performing an engine swap. Unfortunately, the problem is complex, and the repair requires significant money.

This article is a detailed guide to help you understand the engine swap cost. It will lock you through basic information about the concept of an engine swap. We'll highlight some important factors you should consider when evaluating the price of swapping your engine.

What is an engine swap, and what does it mean?

Before we dive into the details about the engine swap cost, we all need to be on the same page about the idea of an engine swap and what it means in the first place.


An engine swap is when your mechanic removes and replaces the engine with another one. This might involve bringing a brand-new engine or a used engine, and in some scenarios, your mechanic might rebuild your existing engine to fix internal problems.

Swapping your engine is complicated and requires advanced mechanical skill sets, so you can only do it on your own by simple DIY. Furthermore, swapping the engine also requires high costs, so you must evaluate before investing any money.

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Engine swap cost

Before you invest in swapping the engine, you must understand and has a good idea about how much to expect to swap the engine. According to automotive experts, engine swap costs range from $500 to $9000!

For a more specific breakdown of engine swap costs, here's how it should like in general:

  • Donor engine: from $500 to $4000
  • Labor costs call in from $1000 to $5000
  • Modifications and accessories: from $500 to $2000

Unfortunately, it is a very significant investment, and that's why many experts recommend evaluating the situation carefully before you put in this amount of money, especially if the repair costs are getting closer to the vehicles of value.

Typically, automotive experts like to use the threshold of 75% to decide whether you should move forward with the investment. In other words, if your vehicle repair costs approach 75% of your vehicle's existing value, you should move forward with the repairs and buy another vehicle.

For example, if your car is worth $10,000 and your engine swap cost is $9000, in that case, it might not be worth the repair, and you should instead post your vehicle for sale and use its value as a down payment to purchase another vehicle in better shape.

engine replacement

Factors impacting engine swap cost

And then, the swap cost will be different for every vehicle. So, in other words, there are some factors that you should consider when evaluating and doing the math to determine how much they expect for the engine swap cost for your vehicle.

According to other water experts, the following factors are the main factors impacting the overall engine swap cost:

1.    Type of engine

The engine type is the first and most significant factor you should consider when evaluating the engine swap cost for your vehicle. Engines are made in different ways; some are more complicated than others. Also, some engines are more available than others, so you can only find them easily without any concerns about waiting time.

2.    Labor costs

The other component to consider is the labor cost. For example, when you have an engine swap, you might have it done at a small independent shop, while others might prefer to go to a dealership. Regardless of where you go, labor costs can be different, and that's why some people think going to a smaller shop is a good way to save on swap costs.

According to automotive experts, since you are dealing with a complicated problem, you must make sure you are using the right mechanics. In other words, it's not a simple oil change that you want to do, it's a huge investment, and you want to make sure that the right person is doing it so they don't introduce problems that could cause additional money.

That's why you must be careful to save money on the engine swap cost and find the right skills to perform the job. Otherwise, if you think about it long term, you might be losing money by saving on labor costs.

3.    Condition of the new engine

The other thing that might impact their engine swap costs significantly is the condition of the donor engine. In other words, we indicated that your mechanic would bring another engine and put it inside your car at the end of the day. If that engine is in better shape, it will be cheaper than another brand-new engine.

While that's the case, you should be careful about which type of engine you will use, and saving on that donor engine is not a good idea. This is because it will not guarantee that you won't deal with major engine problems soon. Thus, it will be just a waste of time and money for you to install that engine.

4.    Your vehicle type

Also, your vehicle type itself might impact the engine swap cost significantly. For example, some vehicles are known to be very expensive, and every part of the vehicle will be expensive as well; therefore, the engine swap cost will be more expensive than others.

Also, your vehicle type impacts the parts availability. For example, if you're looking for an engine swap cost for a vehicle made in the US, it means that there are some parts replacements available, and it will most likely mean that you'll have a lower cost for the engine swap.

On the other hand, if someone is looking to change the engine for another vehicle that was made outside of the US and parts to placements are not available, this will mean that there will be a waiting time and might impact the overall cost of the engine swap.

5.    Additional costs

Finally, there might be additional costs that you owe your mechanic might require. For example, if another simple problem in the vehicle needs to be fixed and addressed simultaneously, this will add to the costs.

For instance, if your mechanic decides that your brakes need to be in better shape and you have to replace them, you should be prepared for all those surprises you might not be ready for. The total bill does not only reflect the engine swap cost because it could involve other stuff.

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How do you choose the right mechanic to perform the engine swap?

As we indicated earlier, one of the biggest mistakes many people make is choosing a cheaper mechanic to do the swap so they can save on the overall cost. However, that's not a good idea. Instead, it would be best to focus on finding the right mechanic to perform the engine swap so you don't have any future complications.

Typically, it would be best if you were looking forward to the following in your mechanic:

  • Previous experience in engine swap in a similar vehicle to yours
  • Good reviews by previous customers who've done an engine swap
  • Has a clear idea about how the engine swap should be done and can provide you with an estimate
  • Has the proper license to perform the job and has a good reputation

Cost of ECM Repair

Final thoughts

An engine swap is one of the most significant car repairs that anyone might deal with. However, it involves a significant amount of money that needs to be invested, so you have to be careful about how much you put towards this investment and whether it's worth it.

As indicated in the article, repair costs for swapping the engine could easily range from as low as $500 to as high as $9000! So obviously, only some drivers will be willing to replace it if it costs the higher ends unless the vehicle is very expensive.

If you need more convincing about swapping your engine and want to get rid of your vehicle instead, a cash car buyer can always help you appear that cash car buyer; we guarantee to buy any vehicle regardless of its size or condition. Furthermore, we pay you the top dollar for your vehicle and provide you with free car towing service within one to three days!

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