A decade ago, there were many shops that would, under no circumstances, install used engines. There reasons were varied, but most stemmed from bad experiences with junk yards. Things have changed, and used engines now represent a way to get a quality component at a bargain price.

In the past, if you needed a BMW engine, you would have trouble finding the specific one for your vehicle. This was before the days of computers, and the person seeking a BMW engine would have to make dozens of calls to junk yards to see if they had the vehicle their BMW engine would come from. Sometimes, you would call the same yard twice and try to get a different person, because one of the workers might remember having a vehicle that another didn’t – nothing was on computer, and running a business like this on paper is impossible! Now, everything is put in the computer as it comes into a salvage yard, and inventory status is made available to select industry companies who have the ability to locate almost any BMW engine.

The same applies if you’re looking for a Buick engine. Storage techniques are better today than they were in the past too. Many years ago, and engine would “lock up” in storage and not do any good to an end user. Now, quality salvage yards use a facility called “fogging” to protect their motors. For example, if a Lacrosse comes in to a yard, the Buick engine would have oil poured down the intake manifold to “fog” the motor, causing it to stall. This oil will stay in the engine and cause the engine to not rust internally. Another technique to preserve a Buick engine is to remove the spark plugs and pour a moisture displacement down into the cylinders. This prevents freeze up nicely, allowing these used engines to sit for years. There is more than one way to pickle a motor!

Interchange is another area that has rapidly grown. Chevy engines are a good example of this. If you take 14 different Chevy models from the same year, there might be only 3 different Chevy engines between them – the motors can be used in more than one vehicle type! This makes Chevy engines lucrative to deal in, since the chance is greater that someone will need your motor. Chevy engines are typically not held in inventory for very long.

Know that whatever type of vehicle you have, whatever your walk in life, used engines represent an opportunity to save money, get a quality product, and put yourself back on the road quickly. These proven products help to protect the environment and allow you to drive responsibly.