i found an n/a s5 at the junk yard with engine and tranny still bolted in it. the engine looks pretty much complete. minus the usual ripped out stuff like power steering, a/c, random crap. but the intake assembly and everything else still appears whole. i don't know anything about this motor, but i'd like to buy it, rebuild it, port it, etc. so if and when i need to replace my engine, i would have two.

how much should i offer for an engine with unknown problems which probably didn't run when it arrived?
they are pretty reasonable people, but i just wanted some opinions. oh yeah, and they pull all motors "worth selling whole" and put them in their warehouse and this one is still in the car so that could factor into a lower price i would think.

Thanks for you help.

 

For an unknown interior condition rotary, I only offer $100-$250 depending on what I see the motor looks like and if it is a S5 or not.

Like if I see that everything is bent, and it is sitting in a pile of goo, or you can see gaskets that have gone I'd offer at the low end of the scale.

But if the motor looks solid, is a S5 and has been somewhat taken care of, then higher up in the scale.

For example I am buying a S4 13B long block with a known blown oil seal for $150 right now. Hopefully I'll pop it open and find little other than seals and gaskets that need replacing, but it is a crap shoot. I might pop it open and find a whole end plate, housing, and rotor toast which means I'll need another just to make a running motor.

 

to get it cheaper, i'll have to take it out of the car myself. any suggestions on methods of removing an engine from a car that's on top of another car? i was think of just wrapping some rope around it, unbolting it then slowly let the rope out until it lands on the car underneath it. but that would probably be really hard. access to the entire over and under the motor is really good so i can reach anything.

 

I'd give them an extra $40 to pull it for you.
Pull any fragile stuff you need before they start.
(The injectors & fuel rails are worth $100 alone)

 

yeah, or just get them use the forklift/whatever to move the car.. they shoudl do that for free. Make sure you get all the externals, if they'll give them to you, they're worth having.

I'd offer $100 for a core motor, maybe if you can get a battery up there and kick it over and see if it has compression you could offer a bit more - reasonable compression means all the internals (rotors, housings, etc) should be in decent enough shape to rebuild.