Buying used engine. Condition unknown
 

Looking for some advice. I currently have a boxster with what I assume to be a cracked cylinder head. Runs well but burning coolant.

Now I've sourced a parts car with flood damage 80,000 miles. The security unit under the drivers seat is corroded and the car won't start. If I jump the starter the engine will turn over but for electrical reasons won't start. Getting the car under $2000 if its a good idea or not is the question...

Any help appreciated thanks

Worse case -- you swap the heads and move on.

If you care -- there is probably $2k in other parts on the car.

Mike

Buy
 

If you have the time and know how.....DO IT. You can get your $2,000 back in let over parts sales once you are done..

time is the thing. and garage space. time and room to pull the car apart and troll the forums and swap sites selling your bits and pieces. otherwise, if you are in it for a cheap engine, you should determine if the engine is ok. depending on the year and size of the engine in the donor it will have typical failure modes; figure out what those failure modes are and determine if there are tests for them (even in a non-running engine) - check coolant, check oil filter, leak-down test, visual inspection (i.e., can you pull the transmission and eyeball the ims?).

otherwise, can you pull the clu and ecu out of your current car and plug it into the flood car long enough to get it running?