Vauxhall Insignia engine failure

paulisagayboy

Hi Guys

So I have a Vauxhall Insignia SRi 2011 160bhp thats engine has failed. Apparently a very common problem, although as most things you only find this out after it's too late. It had just passed the 100k miles and I had the timing belt done a month ago.

So my mechanic has suggested that one fix would be a local garage who would fit me with a new half engine but it was cost 5000. Not much point in doing this on a car that is worth max 8000.

So I have spent the last day or so trying to find a second hand engine but they are in short supply.

Looking for any advice. Obviously buying a second hand engine is a gamble but I would probably sell it on after I got it fixed. I have been looking around local breakers yards and also in England although it increases the gamble paying 1300 pounds for an engine from England that could be anything.

Also does it have to be a 160 brake engine or would a 130 engine also fit?

And finally, the mechanic who diagnosed the problem said the bill for doing this is 80...is this not a bit much to just having looked at the engine and telling me it's broke?

Cheers

Toyotafanboi

These are turning into a nightmare for people and second hand engines are getting scarce.

Would the likes of IVI supply recon units for these? That'd be my first port of call.

You also owe the mechanic his money.

Bigus

I know a garage that did two insignia seizures last week , should be a reasonable place to,get a quote , south west Dublin. Pm me if you want contact details . I've used these lads with success before.

CiniO

Out of interest what engines are them which suffer those failures? Diesel/petrol?

paulisagayboy

CiniO wrote: »

Out of interest what engines are them which suffer those failures? Diesel/petrol?

Diesel anything around 2011 seems to be dodge

paulisagayboy

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

These are turning into a nightmare for people and second hand engines are getting scarce.

Would the likes of IVI supply recon units for these? That'd be my first port of call.

You also owe the mechanic his money.

Look the mechanic will get paid no doubt... Just wanted opinion on what people thought of the amount.

And as for ivi, cheers for the info. Another friend mentioned them so will get on to them

Vicxas

Does the mechanic know why it seized?

paulisagayboy

Vicxas wrote: »

Does the mechanic know why it seized?

Something to do with the oil pump I think

khaldrogo

paulisagayboy wrote:

And finally, the mechanic who diagnosed the problem said the bill for doing this is 80...is this not a bit much to just having looked at the engine and telling me it's broke?

Why is a mechanics time so undervalued? How much would a plumber/ electrician/ chiropractor charge you for the same time spent.?

paulisagayboy

khaldrogo wrote: »

Why is a mechanics time so undervalued? How much would a plumber/ electrician/ chiropractor charge you for the same time spent.?

That's my point.... How long would it have taken? Again, not trying to insult anyone but assuming 80 is 2 hours work, would it have taken this?

Tigger

chiropractors ? chiropractors are voodo doctors

Cocobongo

paulisagayboy wrote: »

That's my point.... How long would it have taken? Again, not trying to insult anyone but assuming 80 is 2 hours work, would it have taken this?

Depends how deep did he dig, also i think sometimes they make more money in 1-2 hours depending on the job and could have probably charged this knowing/presuming you won’t do the fix at his garage

cml387

As the old saying goes, it's ten euros for looking and 70 euros for knowing where to look.

Ultimate Seduction

Nothing to do with your problem, but my mechanic charged me 110 for Labour for replacing a front shock and new pads all around. 80 seems very steep just to tell you it's knackered. New mechanic maybe..

paulisagayboy

Ultimate Seduction wrote: »

Nothing to do with your problem, but my mechanic charged me 110 for Labour for replacing a front shock and new pads all around. 80 seems very steep just to tell you it's knackered. New mechanic maybe..

Yeah it just seemed a little high to me.... Might ask him how he came to that number when I head out.

Ultimate Seduction

paulisagayboy wrote:

Yeah it just seemed a little high to me.... Might ask him how he came to that number when I head out.

I'd just pay it and avoid him in future. They don't like being questioned on their pricing.

run_Forrest_run

Tigger wrote: »

chiropractors ? chiropractors are voodo doctors

while (some) car mechanics think they are brain surgeons and try to price accordingly.

paulisagayboy

paulisagayboy wrote: »

Hi Guys

So I have a Vauxhall Insignia SRi 2011 160bhp thats engine has failed. Apparently a very common problem, although as most things you only find this out after it's too late. It had just passed the 100k miles and I had the timing belt done a month ago. ...................

And finally, the mechanic who diagnosed the problem said the bill for doing this is 80...is this not a bit much to just having looked at the engine and telling me it's broke?

Cheers

Well, he'd have had to identify what was wrong without attempting to start it. So he'd have had to check quite a few things to ascertain it was actually w@nked, to be fair.

paulisagayboy

Augeo wrote: »

Well, he'd have had to identify what was wrong without attempting to start it. So he'd have had to check quite a few things to ascertain it was actually w@nked, to be fair.

He said he started it and drove it into the garage which I was quite shocked about to he honest.

grogi

CiniO wrote: »

Out of interest what engines are them which suffer those failures? Diesel/petrol?

Diesels. The washer somewhere around oil pump gets stiff and the oil does not get proper pressure and a warning sign was showing up on the dash for a few seconds after startup.

Easy fix - replace the washer. But Opel/Vauxhall decided a different approach. They basically disabled the dash warning...

khaldrogo

paulisagayboy wrote:

That's my point.... How long would it have taken? Again, not trying to insult anyone but assuming 80 is 2 hours work, would it have taken this?

So, to you, 40e ph is an acceptable hourly rate for someone who has spent 4 yrs doing and apprenticeship and x amount of yrs experience post qualification?

What is a plumber/electrician/builder/plasterer hourly rate?

khaldrogo

run_Forrest_run wrote:

while (some) car mechanics think they are brain surgeons and try to price accordingly.

Mechanics with extensive electrical knowledge on modern day automotive electrics are essentially car brain surgeons.

Toyotafanboi

Ultimate Seduction wrote: »

I'd just pay it and avoid him in future. They don't like being questioned on their pricing.

They're probably sick of justifying it to people who think they don't deserve it.

As another poster said, it's a €10 for looking and €70 for knowing where to look.

Sure you pay the doctor €50 for 15 minutes work for him to tell you you have a headache after you've just told him you have a pain in your head.

ohnonotgmail

paulisagayboy wrote: »

That's my point.... How long would it have taken? Again, not trying to insult anyone but assuming 80 is 2 hours work, would it have taken this?

is €40 an hour an extortionate rate for a mechanic?

logie110

Old boys 2011 astra 1.7 cdti engine went too week before Christmas.
Got 2nd hand engine from Vauxhall breaker in the north for a grand sterling and local mechanic fitted it in two days for 500 quid.

paulisagayboy

logie110 wrote: »

Old boys 2011 astra 1.7 cdti engine went too week before Christmas.
Got 2nd hand engine from Vauxhall breaker in the north for a grand sterling and local mechanic fitted it in two days for 500 quid.

What breaker did he use?

Ultimate Seduction

Yeah the lads quaoting 3 or 4k for an engine seems crazy, the brother replaced his on 2007 a 2l diesel avensus for 1000, engine 6 and 4 for labour

paulisagayboy

Ultimate Seduction wrote: »

Yeah the lads quaoting 3 or 4k for an engine seems crazy, the brother replaced his on 2007 a 2l diesel avensus for 1000, engine 6 and 4 for labour

Well I have had 3 quotes for fixing up the engine... All around the 3g mark. A second hand engine is probably going to cost 1500 without the labour from quotes I'm getting... Really torn ok what the best thing to do is.

Ultimate Seduction

paulisagayboy wrote:

Well I have had 3 quotes for fixing up the engine... All around the 3g mark. A second hand engine is probably going to cost 1500 without the labour from quotes I'm getting... Really torn ok what the best thing to do is.

3k seems expensive for a 2nd hand engine of that year when you'd buy the whole car with tax and test for 4 or 5?

Horrible situation you are in alright, if you do get it fixed up, I hope it lasts you another 200000kms

logie110

paulisagayboy wrote: »

logie110 wrote: »

Old boys 2011 astra 1.7 cdti engine went too week before Christmas.
Got 2nd hand engine from Vauxhall breaker in the north for a grand sterling and local mechanic fitted it in two days for 500 quid.

What breaker did he use?

Mcmullan breakers in Strabane. Only break vauxhalls

unkel

Sorry for your trouble, paulisagayboy. Rotten situation you're in.

Is it an option to sell the car "as is" to a mechanic / to the trade? And use whatever you get + whatever the repair would have cost to buy a different car?

paulisagayboy

logie110 wrote: »

Mcmullan breakers in Strabane. Only break vauxhalls

Was on to them....i will keep checking with them. Sound for the help.

paulisagayboy

unkel wrote: »

Sorry for your trouble, paulisagayboy. Rotten situation you're in.

Is it an option to sell the car "as is" to a mechanic / to the trade? And use whatever you get + whatever the repair would have cost to buy a different car?

Yeah it's defo an option. I don't really have a lot of contacts in that area so it's hard to get the word out. I mean it's taxed for the next 12 months and has a custom set of alloys and a nice spec. To be fair I think it's a lovely car but what's a good price for it. Let's say I think it's worth around 8000 sold Privately, maybe 9000 from a garage. So a garage puts a couple of grand into it and it's a good deal. Would I be wrong to be expecting 4g 'as is'

FR85

Would that be the same engine that fits the Saab and is in some of the Alfas and Fiats.....could you go down that route? Think it's a Z19 code.
I know there are a few components that are shared, you might not have to limit yourself to an Insignia engine

paulisagayboy

FR85 wrote: »

Would that be the same engine that fits the Saab and is in some of the Alfas and Fiats.....could you go down that route? Think it's a Z19 code.
I know there are a few components that are shared, you might not have to limit yourself to an Insignia engine

The engine code is a20dth. Haven't heard anything about a saab engine fitting it... I still haven't got a definite answer about whether the insignia 130bhp engine will fit in my 160bhp car, so defo haven't gone down the saab route.

FR85

paulisagayboy wrote: »

The engine code is a20dth. Haven't heard anything about a saab engine fitting it... I still haven't got a definite answer about whether the insignia 130bhp engine will fit in my 160bhp car, so defo haven't gone down the saab route.

That's a 2l? The 1.9 ctdi lump was shared across the GM range and that's where I was going with Saab/Alfa/Fiat. See what other models you engine is used in and you maybe able to source the same engine from a different brand.

The 130 variant may well fit, normally the physical blocks are the same, it's the ecu, turbo, injectors that are different.
I have a buddy in Cranleys who I'll touch base with on Monday, I'll see if he can be of any help.

paulisagayboy

FR85 wrote: »

That's a 2l? The 1.9 ctdi lump was shared across the GM range and that's where I was going with Saab/Alfa/Fiat. See what other models you engine is used in and you maybe able to source the same engine from a different brand.

The 130 variant may well fit, normally the physical blocks are the same, it's the ecu, turbo, injectors that are different.
I have a buddy in Cranleys who I'll touch base with on Monday, I'll see if he can be of any help.

That would be great. Appreciate any help I can get.

J.pilkington

OP, I am going to make an obvious point here but I think it’s worth making, if you are buying a second hand engine which has a known weakness ensure it’s thoroughly checked out and get the preventive maintenance carried out before / during fitting while it’s easily accessible

paulisagayboy

J.pilkington wrote: »

OP, I am going to make an obvious point here but I think it’s worth making, if you are buying a second hand engine which has a known weakness ensure it’s thoroughly checked out and get the preventive maintenance carried out before / during fitting while it’s easily accessible

Absolutely.... It may seem obvious but a lot of people wouldn't think of it.... Cheers

TheDriver

Digging up an old thread but there are some litany of insignia horror stories. My buddy had a 12 diesel and cost him a fortune with parts constantly going plus 2 more buddies with engine seizures. I think you'll find a 2011 is only worth 6000-7000 in most places