Breaking the Stigma Surrounding Used Engine Parts
In the world of auto repair, there is one area where consumers still feel a bit trepidatious about buying used: the engine. As the figurative heart of any vehicle, an engine needs to function efficiently and reliably. Unlike a headlight, tail light, or wheel, engine parts are something most consumers are not only willing to buy brand-new and at elevated prices but prefer to do so in order to avoid future performance issues and continuous costs. Although understandable, buying used engine parts is still beneficial in many ways, and can be just as reliable as brand-new ones if you know what to look for!
The Benefits
Anyone who’s paid any attention to recent headlines, the weather forecast, or their own receipts for everything from a fill-up at the gas station to groceries from the supermarket knows there are two pressing issues facing the world today: the economy and climate change. In many ways, these issues seem so challenging that many average citizens are left wondering what they can do to combat them. Rather than feeling helpless, one way we can all tackle these problems is to buy used wherever and whenever we can, including engine parts for our vehicles.
In most cases, buying a used or refurbished car part cuts the price by 50% or more, affording the average consumer a significant amount of savings. This is money that can be used for monthly expenses, savings, personal projects, or rainy-day funds.
Additionally, buying used helps the environment significantly. First, it keeps automobile parts from occupying space in landfills. Second, it saves on the resources needed to destroy them safely. Lastly, it reduces the need for corporations to expend resources in energy, mineral mining, production, and waste disposal in creating new parts.
From both an economic and ecological standpoint, buying used car parts -even engine parts- makes perfect sense!
The Importance of Knowing Your Engine Parts
Displaying a willingness to buy used engine parts isn’t enough to ensure they’ll work perfectly. For that, you have to have an intimate knowledge of your engine or have complete trust in the expertise of people like the professionals at Kenny U-Pull.
The first thing you’ll need to determine is if your engine is a long or a short-block engine. Put simply, a short-block engine contains only the essentials needed for a car engine, such as a crankshaft, cam pistons, and connecting rods. A long-block engine contains more diverse and intricate parts, such as a camshaft, lifters, valve trains, and a cylinder head. Although it seems like a short-block engine may be easier to replace engine parts for, the reverse is actually true. Since a short-block engine is compact and not easily dissected, long-block engines are actually more accessible and trouble-free when it comes to replacing a single part, and won’t necessitate replacing the whole engine.
Once the short vs long-block determination is made, finding out which essential part needs to be replaced (like the engine valves, pistons, piston rings, connecting rods, crankshafts, or oil sumps) will be your next step. Although used and refurbished parts can work just as well as factory-new ones, the history and condition of the engine parts are essential to determine. If you can’t make that determination on your own, you’ll need to rely on someone you can trust, so you won’t end up with a faulty part.
With over 50 years of expertise in the field and in customer satisfaction, let Kenny U-Pull help you with all your used engine part needs! Contact us today for more information!
