Mom got a transmission replaced in her 99 Civic sedan (1.6 with auto), but I suspect it left that shop with little or no coolent given that about a week later the car was dead in her neighbors yard and reportedly had no signs of there being any coolant in it. The shop near her took the head off and says it's all fried. They have found a used engine supposedly with only 100k on it with (supposedly) good compression numbers. They say the engine will be $1400+ tax and another $1500 or so for swapping the old engine for it. I see some google hits for rebuilt engines for about $2000, is that realistic? Anyone have a reliable, well priced source for good rebuilds? is $1500 for labor reasobable? The car is pretty minty for it's age, mom loves it and she's comfortable driving it (she's 79, so that's important).

I haven't had to have a Honda engine replaced since about 1993, so maybe I'm just being unrealistic with my thinking on prices/labor rates.

 

You can find D16y7s and y8s for like sub $400 dollars all over local craigslist and facebook posts. $3,000 for the motor and labor to swap it is laughable. Again, check local forums or facebook, I bet you could find someone to install the motor for you for like 300-500 dollars.

 

Shouldn't they be covering it since they messed up and sent it off without coolant?

If you're willing to do some leg work and sourcing stuff yourself, you can check car-parts.com and find the nearest recycler or do what the poster above said. As for good rebuilds, maybe Jasper Engines? But that won't be cheap.