Financing is a great way to get a new, safe and reliable car without shelling out tens of thousands of pounds upfront. One slight issue may come when the car gets damaged or breaks, one of the worst ways this can happen is a blown engine. 

In this article, we’ll give you some help and advice on what to do in the event your engine blows whilst your car is still on finance.  

Your Rights

You are permitted to give back a financed car, taken out on a PCP or HP deal, as long as you’ve paid over 50% of the total finance cost.  

Unfortunately in order to give back a car early the car will need to be in a reasonable condition, if the finance company takes back a car and the engine is damaged, they are very likely to seek costs from you. 

Your options 

There are a few different ways to minimise the loss if your engine has blown but can’t afford to repair it outright. You can: 

• Pay for the car to be fixed using a car repair loan 
• Sell the car as is to a garage or mechanic 
• Sell the car as is to a dismantler or scrap yard 
• Strip the car for parts yourself 

Let’s go over these options in more detail. 

Car repair loans 

Whilst a bank loan or credit card may be the first thing that comes to mind, there are far superior options available, especially with interest rates at the current levels. 

Bumper offers interest-free pay monthly car repair loans. With the money going straight to the garage, and you being able to split the cost into multiple manageable payments, it can be a big help if you need to repair your car. 

Sell the car to a mechanic or for parts 

There are loads of companies and individuals that look for broken cars to buy, as they have the space and know-how to fix them. If the car is not worth fixing they may dismantle it and sell it for parts. 

This is often a more feasible option if your car is not very old and would still be worth a bit if it was in working condition.

There are various online marketplaces that allow bidding, this method would probably yield the highest price. Alternatively, there are companies that buy cars in any condition. These are often less hassle as they deal with the paperwork and admin for you. 

Strip the car for parts 

If you have the space, time and knowledge to safely dismantle your car, you could make back more than selling by stripping the car down and selling the bits.  

Be warned though this is not an easy or quick process, and you have to be prepared to arrange for the sale of parts as well as remove them yourself. Unless the car is a particularly rare example you may be left with half a vehicle on your drive for months! 

Is it worth fixing a blown engine? 

To figure out whether your car is worth fixing, it’s necessary to check how much the car would be worth if it was in working order. You need to get multiple quotes for fixing the car's issue. 

Another consideration is how much it would cost to replace the car with one that is like for like, as this may be more than what your car could be worth, due to availability and market trends.  

Financially it’s probably worth fixing a blown engine as long as the parts are available from a breaker or dismantler, as a new engine will often be more expensive than the value of the car.  

How much to replace a blown engine 

Like any repair, the cost will vary greatly depending on the car's age, make and model, and where you are located in the country. We have compiled a list of prices below to give you an idea of how much it’s likely to cost: 

Cost to replace an engine with a new one: 

• Small/city car: £4,500 - £6,000 
• Medium/economy car: £5,000 - £7,000 
• Large/luxury car: £5,000 - £9,000 
• Cost to replace and engine with a secondhand or refurbished one: 
• Small/city car: £1,000 - £3,000 
• Medium/economy car: £1,500 - £3,000 
• Large/Luxury car: £2,500 - £4,000 

How much can you get for a car with a blown engine? 

As mentioned there are a few options for selling a car with a blown engine, but how much you can get will depend on the condition, age and desirability of the car.  

Generally speaking, most people who will fix your broken car to sell themselves will want to pay the sale price of an equivalent working car, minus the cost of replacing the engine, the above prices would be a useful indicator of this.  

If your car is in good condition and was initially expensive, you will have a much better chance of getting a premium price for your broken car.  

What option is best when my engine is blown?

Because everyone's situation is different, it’s advisable to gather all the information you need before you make an informed decision. So we advise you to do the following:

• Research what it would cost to buy a replacement car
• Get a valuation from a garage/breaker for buying the car as is 
• Get a quote to fix the engine
• Visit a site like Bumper for an idea of how the cost of fixing your car could be made affordable.  

Split the cost of repairs into interest-free monthly repayments and find a reliable garage in your area.