Hi folks,

I've been looking to buy a car. A couple of them are high mileage cars with fresher engines already swapped in.

Any tips about about buying such a cars?

Is there a way to verify that the engine has "only 99K miles" OR "only 108K miles" on it?

Would the used engine that they bought before swapping come with any kind of paperwork? And would mileage info on that paperwork be reliable? (given the remote chance that the owner even kept the paperwork)

I'm wondering if i have any way of confirming this. Any way other than just taking some guy at his word. Some guy who i don't know who's selling a car.

I have read form one of the experts in the 5th gen section that buying a car with a good engine already swapped in is a good idea.

Also you guys have already given me great advice warning about the great llkelyhood of a particular swap NOT being wired properly. Much appreciated.

 

All I can do is post my own experience buying a Swapped car.

Only problem was the distributor being wrong and wiring being iffy but still better then most amateurs (wiring was done by somebody paying attention its just exposed)

I've been very happy as I've been able to spend extra money on a retune and few other small bits.

Car is not perfect its still a "project" but I love it.

 

Their is no way to verify mileage other then just taking his word. The engine probably came with paperwork just depends on if they kept it or not. Also if they got it swapped at a shop they might have the paperwork for that as well.

I bought a ls swapped crx many years back and that was the worst/best decision I could have made. Not knowing anything about cars I find out their is a giant list of things wrong with it. It forced me to learn how to fix cars though. In the end every single part he put on the car I had to replace. I am very against buying a swapped car after that mainly because I don't trust anyone. And I think it is so much better knowing you did the work to your car. I have since bought a completely stock ed hatch from the original owner and have never loved a car more.

If you really want to buy a car that's already swapped finding a great running car is definitely possible you just have to weed through all the morons which for the most part is pretty obvious.

 

Always look at wiring as much as possible bro

What you could do if you don't trust the seller

Commpression test it and if you do buy it

Swap out water pump timing.belt and tensioner

With nice new ones from honda

 

There's nothing wrong with buying a swapped car IF you know what you're getting yourself into. A large majority of swaps are hack jobs and have problems. You need to be able to spot their bad work. Only then can you decide if it's worth dealing with. Some things I'd look for...

- Do the engine and tranny still have VIN tags?
- Are the mounts and axles right and in good shape?
- Condition of the harness and quality of added wiring for vtec, etc.
- Does it have the right ecu?
- O2 sensor wiring and functioning
- Verify that the CEL actually functions and there are no codes
- Does the car have a cat?
- Condition/level of oil and coolant?
- I won't buy a used car without doing a compression test. Instead of taking their word on mileage, this will give you a better idea how healthy the engine is.

 

Thanks to all of you for sharing your experiences. Much food for thought.