VR-recon motor & keep or new car?

[Female]

Hi All! I am obviuosly a female and have just discovered this great forum. Here is my question. I have a 94 VR ute which has done approx 330 thousand km/s. In great condition, have spend a bit of money on it to keep it running well and so I can tow my horses around the state. To cut a long story short, the car died on me and a mechanical knock started. The mechanic suspects it to be the balance shaft and suggests a reconditioned motor is in need. He can strip it for me to confirm the problem, but says this is a waste of money. Do you agree? Also, shall I get a reconditioned motor and continue on with the car, or be done with the car?
Thank you!

[rcnugget]

Its simple if you like the car then recon the motor, if you want a cheap fix get anotehr on from the wreckers with a 3 month warranty ..... eitehr that or just buy a new car, I personally would say just recon it then at least you know you have a good reliable engine

[hako]

If you buy another ute and try and trade/sell your current ute with a U/S motor you will only get peanuts for the old one in the changeover. Cheapest fix is usually one from a wrecker as rcnugget says but as your current ute has high miles on it you are only going to get more problems as time goes by.
So from my point of view I'd put another motor in it and trade/sell up to a newer ute that will be good for a few more years. Towing horses calls for a reliable vehicle. Good Luck.

[hsvpunk]

yeah id go the with recon motor too. 3month warranty, and can get ehm fairly cheap too.

on another note, whr abts u from, and what kind of horses... Race horses?? if so, PM me with some info, i dont mind a punt
* Enjoy the forum.

[DannyboyDS]

i'm with Hako,

whack a lower k's engine in from a wrecker, if you can get it all in installed for under 1.5k including the engine purchase, then you can still get a reasonable ammount for the ute, utes/vans wagons all hold a bit of extra value as they are usefull to tradies and such.

You should be able to get a motor with 200,000 on it for around 3 - 4 hundred and a nice mechanic should do the remove and refit for 6 - 7 hundred, got a hubby or someone you can send to do the scouting around, I hate to say this but I see it allt he time, men get better prices then women, simply because everyone assumes they can get away with it.

On another note, just going on what Hacko was saying at 330,000 if they havn't been done recently you might expect the hub bearings, auto, trans cooler lines, power steering pump, heater core, fuel pump, crank angle sensor, oxy sensors or any one of a million things to go wrong.

If your handy with a spanner and have a rough idea, you could keep the car and replace/repair these things yourself as they come up.

[Female]

Thanks guys, appreciate your advice and time. Have already replaced a few things in the car like the fuel pump, starter motor, crank angle sensor, water pump....

Sorry HSVpunk, not into the racehorses.

Will wait for the quote from the mechanic.