Going price for ls engines?

[redbull396]

Looking for a transplant for my 67 camaro build, and engine prices are ALL over the place. I know I can get a 5.3 or LQ4/9 for under 2k, but all are super high miles, and look like they've been in a barn for 5 years. I don't want a 5.3 or 5.7. An iron block 6.0 would be fine, but again, they all have 100k+ miles.
What I am looking for is an alum ls2 or 3. I know miles, shape of engine is all subjective, accessories, etc., also is part of the equation.
I have found a nicely modded Jeremy Formato built ls2 out of a C6, heads, cam, FAST intake, low mile engine. The owner replaced it with a crate ls7. I have spoken to the owner, and everything seems legit. He is just selling the engine tho, no harness, pcm, or accessories.
With out divulging the asking price, what would an engine like this go for, or any clean ls2 or ls3? Let me know what yall think, I have my mind made up to finally bite the bullet and buy something. Thanks!

[rchaskin]

It primarily depends if it was on the dyno with Cleetus pushing the load pedal and James spraying n2o into the throttle body...LOL
Sorry, I had to....

In all seriousness, here is a link to a parts line that I find very useful for seeing actual prices for actual motors.
http://www.car-part.com/

You can search for engines by car model, and see the mileage.

[silvermonte]

This isnt what you are looking for but on the local craigslist for a 5.3 with 150k-200k miles is around $800 or so, and a iron 6.0 with 200k miles goes for about $1500 in my neck of the woods in Iowa

[redbull396]

It primarily depends if it was on the dyno with Cleetus pushing the load pedal and James spraying n2o into the throttle body...LOL
Sorry, I had to....

In all seriousness, here is a link to a parts line that I find very useful for seeing actual prices for actual motors.
http://www.car-part.com/

You can search for engines by car model, and see the mileage.

Very cool data base, thanks.

- - - Updated - - -


This isnt what you are looking for but on the local craigslist for a 5.3 with 150k-200k miles is around $800 or so, and a iron 6.0 with 200k miles goes for about $1500 in my neck of the woods in Iowa

Close to the same around here. 5.3's actually a little less than that.

[mike@sim-seats]

I sold a running/driving 2002 trans am (LS1/M6) with ~130k miles on it for $3500 a year ago. I currently have a 2002 Camaro, also LS1/M6, that I would sell for the same.

[79 Camaro]

Car-part is a great web site. Keep in mind that the core charge fee is very much a negotiation cost. Most big salvage operations don't rebuild engines. It's just a opportunity to add margin to their sales. Always say I don't have core give me your best price. Also have them send the engine/car/truck serial number and then go down to the local GM dealership to see what really came in and the service history.

[redbull396]

So what I’ve found is an 06 Corvette ls2 built by Tony Mamo. Just under 50k miles for $4500. No acc, harness, or pcm tho. Put down 480 whp thru an A6.
Thoughts?

[dhutton]

Seems high to me. At some point it would make more sense to go new LS3 480hp. LS2 engines don’t have a lot of market appeal imho.

Don

[BMR Sales]

Seems like you could go LS3 - I got my LS3/TR6060 for under $7k and it had about 20,000 miles on it.

LS1/2 have an appeal for some Transplants (Imports), but to a much smaller audience and for less $$$

[redbull396]

I thought it was priced high as well, but the owner is not firm on price, have not discussed what would buy it yet however.
The attractive part is, it meets the power goal I'm looking for, was built right with great parts, and is alum block. The unattractive part is having to purchase all the accessories to make it work, looking at another 2k most likely for harness, pcm, and accessories (that's purchasing new, and not used).
What would be a better price? 4? 3500ish?

Again, this is a 500whp, with a M6, low mile alum block engine. He will also proved me with the orig Mamo tune as well.

[CarlC]

Agreed on the costs for the accessory drive, ecm, wiring, small parts, etc. It's often the cost of the accessories that outpaces the engine. It may seem like more money, but often purchasing what you really want with everything attached ends up being less expensive in time an $.

To keep costs down a rework of the original wiring harness can be done. It's time consuming work, but you will know it inside-out once done and save a lot of cash.

[BMR Sales]

Agreed on the accessories, Heck the Drive Junky System I'm selling cost me $2800, the Wiring Harness & ECU was $1400 and then you still have hundreds of $$ to spend on the small stuff. Finding a Engine is the easy part!

[AU Doc]

From my experience in finding an engine, the market on these has become pretty efficient, and pricing takes into account the miles, accessories, harnesses, generation, etc. The junkyards are mostly in the know, now, so you'll have a hard time finding a deal there. eBay is the same. If you're willing to spend the time, you might find a deal on CL or FB Marketplace.

You can still find good deals, but you either have to get really lucky, or do a ton of leg work, or possibly both.

So, if I had it to do again I'd start with Car-Part, and look to see how much a corvette LS3 with the accessories costs. Then decide if the price difference was worth the miles vs. a crate engine.

[redbull396]

Car-Part doesn't have any crazy good deals, higher mile ls3's complete are around $5500, and thats 100k plus miles. Lower mile dropouts are 7500 and up. Ls2's aren't much less tbh.
I've scoured corvetteforum, ls1 tech, CL, Facebook, and others for months now.
Some of the facebook sales sites have some decent prices on things, BUT, that's such a gamble to me. Any used engine is for that matter.
I'm gonna see if I can get this Mamo built ls2 for 3500ish. Like I said, it's already built right, and putting down way more power than a stock ls3, and quite honestly, only 20-30 hp shy of what a max effort NA ls3 will do.
I could go cheap route on accessories and buy used to save some money, but that's a gamble as well. Wiring, harness is what it is, will go thru PCI, or PTI, what ever it is?

[c4racer2]

Who would pay $5500 for a 100K mi LS3 when a crate brand new one is $1500 more ?
That’s a no brainer in my book.

[AU Doc]

Who would pay $5500 for a 100K mi LS3 when a crate brand new one is $1500 more ?
That’s a no brainer in my book.

Exactly!

[redbull396]

I agree, used prices are ridiculous. 7k for a crate motor doesn’t include the 2+k in harness, acc, pcm, etc tho. I can see where someone on a budget would buy a complete dropout that has everything for that.

[65 drop top]

Who would pay $5500 for a 100K mi LS3 when a crate brand new one is $1500 more ?
That’s a no brainer in my book.
Same thought here. A crate motor was a no brainer for me.

[Zachalanche]

Stumbled across this the other day:
http://bdturnkeyengines.com
Engines are used, but they test, and dyno them in some cases. They can even provide a custom tune. For a modest build this seems like a decent deal in the 3-4k range. Truthfully you can get a hold of an old truck vortec engine for less, but it can be a crap shoot.

[AU Doc]

Who would pay $5500 for a 100K mi LS3 when a crate brand new one is $1500 more ?
That’s a no brainer in my book.


Exactly!


I agree, used prices are ridiculous. 7k for a crate motor doesn’t include the 2+k in harness, acc, pcm, etc tho. I can see where someone on a budget would buy a complete dropout that has everything for that.

I should walk my comment back a bit. Used market pricing seems to have pushed up to the point that it makes the decision very difficult. It usually comes down to the accessories, ecm, and wiring. You can typically get a used engine with all those extras for a little less than a crate engine. Sometimes you can even get them with a transmission. So on the surface it looks like a $1,500 difference, but once you start adding up all the other costs, it's quite a bit more.

So I'd say slight edge to buying used.

However, then you factor in the risk of getting someone else's junk, plus the labor of reworking the harness, having the ECM flashed, etc., now you're maybe leaning back towards a crate engine.

It's not an easy decision.

[1972Mach1]

I know this thread is asking about getting a running engine, but just an FYI and something to try if you're one of the guys looking for a "core"....check with your local dealership. I run the service dept. at a Chevy/Caddy dealer, and we sell LS cores for $500. Most the time it's a 5.3 or 6.0 that had a roller seize and take out a cam, but with 100k miles a lot of people just go for a new long block. We've got a few car guys working here so they get snatched up pretty quick, but I've got a 5.3 sitting in my buddies shop and also a good running 350 Vortec I scored for $50 from work, and that's what we charge customers to get the old crap out of the parts department.

[weatherman]

The crate vs used decision gets even tougher if you want something other than a stock configuration, like a stroker crank (or destroked) for more/less cubes, forged pistons for nitrous or boost, or a dry sump for serious track use.
If items like these are on your engine “wish list”, then it’s going to be even more difficult to find best deal, and it may skew the things toward a core engine that needs rebuilt anyway.

[conmax]

found an ls2 from a 2007 vette for 3k. after refreshing, i had 7k in it. could have got a new ls3 for about the same.

[AU Doc]

Did you get the accessories with the LS2? What about the harness and ECM?

If the engine needed building then I would expect a lower price to begin with. If you just added bearings and cleaned up the cylinders for peace of mind, that's a different story. I may be in the minority, but for my part I would only go the junkyard route if I'm planning to drop it in and drive. But we all approach this differently.

[rickpaw]

It all depends what a used LS(x) comes with. For example, if a used running $3k LS2 comes with accessories/wiring/ECU, then the price is not too bad; considering a new 430hp LS3 crate does not come with accessories/wiring/ecu (those are $2500 extra). So $3k LS2 running vs $10k running new LS3. Quite a price difference.

At the end, it's all depends on your budget and what your plans are.

[79 Camaro]

Just FYI. On CorevetteForums in the C3 parts for sale section a person listed a 5.3 rebuilt for $2500. Do not know anything about other than the post.

[redbull396]

The crate vs used decision gets even tougher if you want something other than a stock configuration, like a stroker crank (or destroked) for more/less cubes, forged pistons for nitrous or boost, or a dry sump for serious track use.
If items like these are on your engine “wish list”, then it’s going to be even more difficult to find best deal, and it may skew the things toward a core engine that needs rebuilt anyway.

This!! Yes, you can get a STOCK ls3 crate 430hp engine, MINUS accessories, ecm, and harness! That 7k crate engine needs $2500 worth of stuff to make it run, then you have a new engine for $9500.
The ls2 i am looking at, has TEA 2.5 heads (~$1800), mamo spec'd cam ($500), mamo ported FAST intake and TB ($2000), and he will give me the tune for it as well.
Granted, I have to buy all acc, harness, and pcm. I am getting a 500whp low mile engine for less than the cost of a stock crate ls3, not much less, but its not an apples to apples comparison either.


It all depends what a used LS(x) comes with. For example, if a used running $3k LS2 comes with accessories/wiring/ECU, then the price is not too bad; considering a new 430hp LS3 crate does not come with accessories/wiring/ecu (those are $2500 extra). So $3k LS2 running vs $10k running new LS3. Quite a price difference.

At the end, it's all depends on your budget and what your plans are.

This seems to be the debate some are missing on here...

[rickpaw]

This!! Yes, you can get a STOCK ls3 crate 430hp engine, MINUS accessories, ecm, and harness! That 7k crate engine needs $2500 worth of stuff to make it run, then you have a new engine for $9500.
The ls2 i am looking at, has TEA 2.5 heads (~$1800), mamo spec'd cam ($500), mamo ported FAST intake and TB ($2000), and he will give me the tune for it as well.
Granted, I have to buy all acc, harness, and pcm. I am getting a 500whp low mile engine for less than the cost of a stock crate ls3, not much less, but its not an apples to apples comparison either...

Especially when you can verify that the engine runs (dyno/vehicle test drive, etc...), the asking price of $3500 is a good deal. I'd jump on that.

[redbull396]

Forgot to mention it has an ati 10% damper, and 42lb injectors, that’s another $800 bucks in add ons

[Projus]

I have a 2014 L99 engine and 4L60E transmission with 18,000 miles. For $6000