I have a 1995 DX Civic, manual, with 145k miles. The engine needs to be swapped, because the crank will go out soon. But everything else is in great condition, though it’ll probably need a new clutch in 10k miles.

What would you do between these two options?

1) Pay $1200 for an engine swap to an identical engine with 45k miles. Maybe I could lower the cost more by parting out my engine, since everything but the crank is good.

2) Sell my car and get another mid-90s Civic with about 130k miles on it for a total of $700 out of pocket.

I’ve never had a serious car problem *except* for engine problems, so I don’t really know how to appraise the value of a car with 145k on the body and 45k on the engine.

 

Who told you "the crank would go out"? That's a rather vague statement.... what do you mean by 'go out'?

Either way, it's going to ultimately depend on how much you want to keep _that_ car. Myself, if my DX blew its motor tomorrow, I wouldn't swap the engine. My 88 camaro had 3 or 4 different motors out of boredom during its life, though.