Remanufactured Engines and the Scum That Can Stick On Them

[Astrapevan]

Man I have a LOT to unload here. If you are interested in a remanufactured engine PLEASE read this before you buy!! (no matter what car you are replacing an engine/transmission)

Meeting the Swine of the Engine Business

I was recently completely tricked by a company selling online remanufactured engines, Remanns.com . I foolishly made a hasty purchase being swayed by a professional looking website and a shiny 7 year unlimited mile no fault warranty before completing my due diligence and researching the source. After all, who would assume remanufactured engines could be anything but that. So after the excitement of finding a cost effective solution began wore off, I searched for reviews of this company only to completely shatter any hopes of a long term solution. This sent me into a late night spiral landing me into a rabbit-hole I never expected to find myself in.

It turns out I regrettably fell for a trap placed by a long running fraudulent company, Midwest Auto Recycling LLC !! Midwest Auto Recycling LLC is a parent company for MANY aliases a few of which include:
- Southwest Engines / Southwest Transmissions / SW Engines / SW transmissions https://www.yelp.com/biz/southwest-engines-cudahy
- Remann's Engines https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.used.remanns.com
- Quality Used Engines / Quality Used Transmissions https://www.trustpilot.com/review/qualityusedengines.com
- Engine and Transmission World https://www.yelp.com/biz/engine-and-transmission-world-milwaukee
- Engine Shopper LLC https://www.bbb.org/us/wi/cudahy/profile/used-auto-parts/engine-shopper-llc-0694-1000001307/details
***Among others****

Watch this video to add some visual adventure to this boring rant :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7_Gzudu0bE

Through these many aliases, google advertising, and well executed web design (Mike Haney, https://www.linkedin.com/profinder/pro/mikephaney) they have been able to saturate the market with "options", although they are the same underlying company. Their business model operates by selling remanufactured and used engines of incredibly low quality to unsuspecting customers looking to save some cash.

They are not new at this game, they have been doin it fo years!!! As one website gets exposed another pops up and starts preying on the resourcefully under-informed. Recently they've caught the attention of The State of Wisconsin District Attorney, who is pressing charges.
A few links clarifying these lawsuits:
https://www.bbb.org/stlouis/news-events/bbb-warnings/2017/07/wisconsin-doj
https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/2017/06/27/used-auto-parts-company-accused-deceptive-business-practices/433941001/

Remanufactured engines

They do not have a single machine shop with oversight and quality controls. Instead they have multiple rogue warehouses throughout the country "remanufacturing" engines using cheap as f*** Chinese replacement parts that are doomed to fail. Upon which they have refused to honor their lame fictitious 7 years industry leading BULL-SCHEISSE warranty. Technically you are getting a remanufactured engine, but I wouldn't trust a unqualified high school kid to cut my hair let alone rebuild an engine with rubberbands and legos.

Used Engines:

Their used garbage engines are just that, sourced from various salvage yards throughout the country which are shipped as they are able to locate, no quality assurance or validation of function. There have been multiple reports from folks doing VIN inspections on the engine they received finding out the engine has been documented with much higher mileage than advertised (ie. 65k miles when there is actually 180k). SCUMMY!!!! SOOOOO SCUMMY!!! especially considering these customers are usually trying to save money because funds are tight. Again you are technically getting a used engine, but I wouldn't stroll down to the local dumpster for my dinner tonight. It is a meal, it'll fill you up, but WTF are you doing! Not very sustainable...

Moving forward

There ARE legitimate companies selling good remanufactured and used engines with the aim to please their customers, but "Remanns etc." are about as far from that as you can get. I wanted to post this rant hoping that it would appear in search results when dumbasses like myself are looking to replace their engine, and this is one of the only places I have an open forum. Optimistically if it saves even one person from making the mistake I did, this rant is doing it's job. I hate to admit I was outsmarted by a fraudulent company, but I have always been a little too optimistic and trusting, especially when a company is based in the good ole USA. The truth is Midwest Auto Recycling LLC is a parasitic company filled with scumbag employees who are well aware of the type of business they participate in. They need to be stopped in order to restore and retain faith in a GREAT industry. Auto remanufacturing is green friendly and cost effective when executed well. We all have our Astro/Safaris because we appreciate the hell out of the beauty of restoration and customization. Try to get the word out to anyone looking for a used or remanufactured engine, because when the money ends up in the wrong hands you are funding the lifeblood of these swine. They need to DIE (financially speaking) in order to allow the legitimate companies to continue to thrive and keep the industry's reputation.

Ultimately I was able to avoid charges and dodged a huge bullet by cancelling my card and reporting the fraudulent charges to my bank I ended up going with a remanufactured engine from ATK. They are not perfect when you look at the reviews but these companies have the unfortunate nature of a selection bias, meaning the most displeased customers are most likely to review. Midwest Auto Recycling LLC does not have any shred of a positive review. I could not find evidence of a single pleased customer in decades of operation. Please take my advice and spend a few extra hours researching reputable sources for your remanufactured engine and don't allow this company to continue unethical practices by giving them your money. By allowing this company to financially struggle you are supporting and saving the reputation of a great Industry.


PS: ATK engines are the exact same as Spartan and Surefire engines. They are sold through auto-zone and advance auto parts for a very reasonable price. You can get these engines through those stores or contact them directly / through other vendors who will run promotions commonly (I used https://gearheadengines.com/ and recieved 10% off, I have no affiliation!!). ATK/SPARTAN/SUREFIRE holds themselves to a high standard and produces 90,000+ engines a year. They are contracted through many commercial retailers and produce engine for GM directly. I was able to get an excellent deal with 3 years unlimited mile no fault warranty that will actually be honored and am extremely excited to get the engine in my mechanics hands so I can get my 95 Astro rolling again!!!!!!!

[markmitch]

Thanks for the info now go to facebook and any other social network sites and post it again and again.

[chevymaher]

I use advanced auto for engines and they always been good.

[Sailing_Faith]

Just ticked over 70,000 miles on my ATK engine... runs great. Thanks for your documentation on this, I hope it helps others in the future.

[AstroWill]

Thanks for posting and not being shy about mentioning company names!

Places like that suck but there are usually plenty scamming places around.

Sometimes it's nice to have someone in person that you can talk to, like if you order your engine at your LAPS.