2019 Nissan Altima 2.5 SL engine replacement

[Arp209]

Hey guys going to make this quick but my 19 Altimas been overheating a lot this year and it led me to replacing plugs and coils and in doing so my dumba** broke a spark plug and in doing so dropped some metal pieces while retreading. Over the past 2 months it led to multiple misfires and eventually stopped working. The mechanic offered to remove what’s left so I could get the diag, said piston 3 had several damaged spots and a little bit in the 2nd. Their repair offers were to get it cleaned out then send off to a machine shop and get the repairs done and the costs we’re 5-7k or I could get a used 2024 Altima with 30k miles the engine was $1100 and labor and fluids came out the rest in goal $3800. I would love some education if this was a poor choice, a good choice, or was I better off just buying a new car? Bought car at 23k, I’ve spent thousands in maintenance in repairs and a yr $600 monthly loan. And carvana seems to think this car is now worth $4k. Would appreciate some input so the next purchase doesn’t make me want to never buy a car again! Thanks!

[VStar650CL]

That's a decent price for a used engine installed. The PR25DD is very common and you can find them all over eBay and car-parts.com with low miles for around $800, but they'll mark it up a bit. The rub is the labor, Motor quotes 16.5 hours for a long block R&R (basically equivalent to what you're looking at with a used engine). Add in the fluids and incidentals, $3800 is decent.

[Arp209]

I appreciate the incites. I get it back in Thursday. It’s been a long month. 3 shops later. My concern really is if there are any software updates and they don’t do it ! But I am going to keep my mouth shut and let them do their job!

[PalmerWMD]

I appreciate the incites. I get it back in Thursday. It’s been a long month. 3 shops later. My concern really is if there are any software updates and they don’t do it ! But I am going to keep my mouth shut and let them do their job!

Hoping for the best possible outcome!!
I must confess the fear of messing up and making things worse is a big reason why I dont work on my cars

(and I also think 3800 USD parts plus labor installed is quite a decent deal in 2025 though I do not have the expertise of the previous poster.)

[D1dad]

There’s a yard in Indiana that has lots of Nissan engines and trans for a decent price. I got a 2.5 for my 09 Altima several years back for $450 that had 38k on it. I’m only two hours from south bend so I went and picked it up. While there, they had a cvt for my 18 rogue that I grabbed as well. $800 for the cvt and TCM and it was super low mileage. Luckily I haven’t needed the cvt. This place is right along the toll road between Detroit and Chicago, so I assume they’re getting toll road accident Nissans. My daughters enclave premium trans blew @78k (yeah rip on cvts) lol. The cheapest I could find was 3k for one with over 100k. She had it rebuilt for under 2k. Piece of crap!