Remanufactured Vs. Used: What Should You Put In Your Taurus?

By Author: Peter Jones
Total Articles: 231
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In an economy that doesn't allow for the easy borrowing of money that is required to purchase a new vehicle, it is imperative for smart consumers to minimize the cost of operating their existing vehicles. The smart consumer will look to lower their overall cost of operation, while the short sighted consumer will look to spend as little money as possible now - often doubling or tripling their overall cost of vehicle operation.

In this article, we'll look at one of the most commonly replaced Ford motors - the Ford Taurus engine - with the goal of determining whether you should be looking at remanufactured Ford engines, or used engines. We'll examine the pros and cons of both product types, and help you figure out what the right Ford car engine will be for your needs.

The first premise you need to understand is that all remanufactured Ford engines come from used Ford engines. There is no way around that. In fact, if you purchase a reman, ninety-nine times out of one hundred, you will be required to send a core back to the company you purchased from. The core is you old, ...
... broken engine, and the reason they want it back is so that they can run it through their factory and come out with a new engine. There are wildly varying degrees of end results - you have highly reputable companies like Jasper engines all the way down to companies that seem to open and shut down overnight. Typically, quality remanufactured Ford engines will be big bucks.

The second premise you need to understand is that there is no need to run a lot of engines through the factory that get run through it, and many Ford motors that are run through are just too far gone to be effectively remanufactured. What is the point of remanufacturing a Taurus engine with 20,000 miles on it? Such an engine is hardly even broken in. Likewise, a 15 year old Taurus engine that has never had its long life coolant changed could have so much corrosion around intake ports and in the cooling channels that it could never be effectively remanufactured.

For our last premise, you need to understand that there is no method for determining what the best option is 100% of the time. Take what we talk about, and use it to help guide you in your decision. I'll explain the general rule of thumb, give you a few exceptions to the rule, and let you go from there.

Having been in the business for almost a decade, my general rule of thumb when trying to recommend a remanufactured or rebuilt Taurus engine is that if I can find an engine with less than 60,000 miles on it for 60% or less the price of a remanufactured engine, I will buy that used engine.

Exceptions to this rule come into play if we're dealing with a motor of excessive age. A 20 year old used engine fitting the above description will most likely be fine, and I would put one in my own vehicle. But when talking to a customer who is looking for an engine for their family vehicle, I would recommend they pursue remanufactured Ford engines unless the used engine in question was in impeccable condition, and available at an exceptionally good price. A further exception would be based on warranties.

About: I would never buy a used engine with less than a year warranty, and never buy a remanufactured ford engines with less than a three year warranty. Further, you should carefully research any engine company you're thinking of buying from with the BBB, before you purchase.