CARFAX Report - Holy Cow!

SO for the first time in the 11 years since I bought it, I ran a Carfax report on my 1996 Roadmaster Wagon. I bought the car 11 years ago in San Antonio and it had 70K miles on it at the time. Has 135K now. Was a San Antonio car since new, and I thought I had all the records. Carfax had reports going back to 2002 on it. One JUMPED out at me...

06/29/2006
57,486 mi
Alamo City Auto Repair & Tire
Services Performed:
Engine replaced
Drive belt(s) replaced
Drive belts checked
Body lubricated




-Texas Mike

Wow. New engien at 60k? That's crazy. Wonder what the heck they did to it for that to happen

RedandBlack wrote:

Wow. New engien at 60k? That's crazy. Wonder what the heck they did to it for that to happen

I have all the other records, or at least a lot of them. Was one-owner before me, and they guy was an officer in the military there in San Antonio. Bought it new there. Wild.

Hmmm.... the shop does not look like a place you'd go for a new engine.  See: https://www.alamocityautorepairandtires.com/alamo-heights-car-care-center

My money is on it being a typo.  Probably engine oil replaced, along with some belts that were dodgy.

I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss that shop.  

According to this page:

Our services include:

Blocks

Align Boring & Honing
Bore Sleeving
Cam Bearing
Cylinder boring & honing
Magnafluxing
Main bearing bores & main cap sleeving
Pressure testing & casting repairs
Surfacing & counterbores machined
Upper & lower bore sleeving
Cleaning

Aluminum & cast iron vat cleaning
Cleaning
Glass bead & shot peening
Rust stripping
Connecting Rods

Big end reconditioning
Magnafluxing
Rebush & pin fit small ends
Crankshafts

Magnafluxing
Micro-polishing
Straightening
Thrust repair
Cylinder Heads

Aluminum head welding (casting repair)
Pressure testing
Surfacing
Valve guide replacement & repair
Valve jobs
Valve seats installed
Miscellaneous

Broken bolt removal & thread repair
Broken tap & ez out removal (metal disintegrating)
Engine balancing - Flywheel grinding
Transmission & flywheel bearing bore sleeving
Welding & brazing (aluminum & steel)

My motto: "Frequently wrong, never in doubt!"

I bet if you reach out to them, they have some record of the car in their system. Definitely looks like a decently run place.

RedandBlack wrote:

I bet if you reach out to them, they have some record of the car in their system. Definitely looks like a decently run place.

I actually have a LOT of records from that shop that came with the car. The previous owner lived near them, and after the factory warranty ran out that's where he went for service. I've got records from there for a transmission service and rear diff service at around 50K miles, lots of state inspection and oil change receipts, and alignment at 40k and a fuel system flush, and others. One of the things I liked was all the records my car had when I bought it, but I never saw an engine job receipt in the folder! Especially one that was just about one-year and 12K miles before I bought the car.

Oh and for those that don't know, this car was traded in at the local Lincoln dealer there in San Antonio in 2007. The dealer didn't want it, and sent it to auction. A small local lot bought it, and it sat on their lot for a few months. I spotted it on Craigslist, and watched it a few weeks before doing a yard run to SA from Austin, and on a whim stopped to look at it....and I fell in love. I had to sell my Caddy Catera Sport to buy it...which was hard, since the Catera was totally sorted and beautiful, and the Roady needed some work, but the low miles and service history in the glove box sold me. But yeah, had no clue about any motor work.

As found in 2007:


Today:


You just never know!

-Michael

Two words. Salvage title. Unload that heap and move on...

Why would they list "drive belts replaced" if they replaced the whole engine?

hmmmm?


HHHMMMMMmmmmmMMMMMMMM???

Why would you replace an engine and put the old belts back on it?

Why'd they "check" them then?

hhhHHHHHHHhmmmMMMMMMM???????

Also, Mike I hope you saved that antenna flag. That thing is rad.

CBurne7 wrote:

Also, Mike I hope you saved that antenna flag. That thing is rad.

The antenna flag was masking the fact that the power antenna was broken when I bought the car. That was one of my first repairs. I'm on antenna #3 now 11-years-later. Knock-wood, still working!

-Mike

81X11 wrote:

CBurne7 wrote:

Also, Mike I hope you saved that antenna flag. That thing is rad.

The antenna flag was masking the fact that the power antenna was broken when I bought the car.   That was one of my first repairs.  I'm on antenna #3 now 11-years-later.    Knock-wood, still working!

-Mike

Maybe if you flew the Texas flag constantly, it wouldn't break!