What does an engine swap cost?
An engine swap normally costs between approx. 13 000 kr and 90 000 kr or more, depending on which engine goes in. The labour itself usually runs 8 000-15 000 kr, the rest is the engine: a used engine from a scrapyard is cheapest but has an unknown history, a remanufactured exchange engine costs more but comes with a warranty, and a brand new engine is the most expensive. Here we go through real price ranges and what drives the cost, with no rose-tinted numbers.
The pricing picture in short
| Engine options | Engine cost | Typical total cost incl. labour |
|---|---|---|
| Used engine from a scrapyard | roughly from approx. 5 000 kr and up | approx. 13 000-27 000 kr |
| Remanufactured exchange engine | approx. 32 000-123 000 kr | approx. 40 000-90 000 kr, more for large engines |
| Brand new engine (OE) | approx. 47 000-113 000 kr | approx. 55 000-128 000 kr |
The labour cost of 8 000-15 000 kr is included in the total range above. All prices are incl. VAT. Note that the used-engine figure is a rough market picture with large variations, not a promise: price and condition vary greatly between different scrapyards.
What drives the price of an engine swap?
The biggest factor is which engine your car has. A common four-cylinder diesel like the BMW N47 costs about the same as remanufactured exchange engine approx. 53 000 kr incl. VAT with us, while a V6 diesel like Mercedes OM642 runs approx. 76 000-85 000 kr depending on specification. As a comparison, the equivalent remanufactured long block from established Swedish players runs approx. 59 000-108 000 kr incl. VAT for common engine families.
Lifting out the old engine and fitting the new one takes roughly a full working day in the workshop, in round terms 8 hours at hourly rates of around 1 500 kr, so 8 000-15 000 kr depending on car model and workshop. Main dealer workshops charge more: a complete engine swap there can pass 80 000 kr, while independent workshops often land at 35 000-50 000 kr for the whole job, engine included.
An exchange engine is delivered as a long block, meaning without the sump, turbo, injectors and EGR. Those parts are transferred from your old engine during installation. That keeps the engine price down, but it also means the condition of the ancillary parts matters: if the failure was caused by, say, a faulty oil cooler or a broken turbo, it must be fixed, or the new engine risks the same fate. The warranty terms require such ancillary systems to be checked or fixed during installation. So budget a margin for ancillary parts, how much depends entirely on what broke.
When you buy an exchange engine, a core deposit is added, which is refunded once your old engine has been sent in and approved, so it is a temporary outlay, not a cost. Engines are shipped on a pallet and often weigh 150-250 kg, so delivery and handling are part of the planning, as is the return transport of your old engine, which you arrange yourself.
Recondition or replace? How to choose the right track
There are two honest answers to an engine failure, and we offer both within Meksta AB.
That way you keep the car's original engine, which can have a value in itself on less common cars and enthusiast cars, and you pay to fix just what is broken. Engine reconditioning is what Meksta has done for many years at the workshop in Tyresö. Read more and see prices at meksta.se/motorrenovering and in the price list for engine reconditioning. Sometimes, too, part of the job is enough, for example a cylinder head reconditioning, instead of a whole engine.
That gets you a fixed price, a 12-month warranty with no mileage limit and a predictable process: the engine is built to order, with a build time of normally approx. 1 week after your engine version has been verified against the VIN, up to 2 weeks during high workload. An exchange engine is the right choice when you want a known final price from the start, or when your own engine is too damaged to be worth reconditioning. One reservation: if the block on your old engine is cracked it affects the core return, so contact us before you order and we will look at it together.
Exchange engine with core deposit: how to work it out
The price you see on the product page is the engine's price incl. VAT. At purchase a core deposit is added, and it is refunded in full once your old engine has been sent in and approved, the requirement is that the block is intact: no holes, no cracks, no broken-off pieces. The deposit amount is always on the product page before you order: you see the engine price and the deposit together, no surprises at checkout.
A worked example: a remanufactured BMW N47 exchange engine at approx. 53 000 kr plus a labour cost of 8 000-15 000 kr gives a total cost of around 61 000-68 000 kr, plus the deposit, which you get back after an approved core return. We describe the whole flow from order to deposit back on the page How the exchange system works, and you can find the deposit conditions in detail under Deposit and core return.
Want to understand the whole product before you crunch the numbers further: read our guide Exchange engine: how it works. And if you are in the middle of an acute breakdown right now, start here instead: Engine failure: what do you do now?
FAQ about engine swap prices
See the price for your car right away
Search by your registration number and we will show which engines fit your car, with the price right away, incl. VAT. Can't find your engine, get a quote and we will normally get back to you within one working day.