new engine or new eclipse?
 

My younger bro has a 1996 Mitsubishi Eclipse with over 200k miles. While driving from New Orleans to Dallas to visit me he noticed smoke coming from under his hood. Upon checking, he found smoke coming from around his oil cap as well as smoke and oil coming out of the dipstick area. Prior to leaving New Orleans, he had noticed some oil leaks under his car and added a bit of oil before leaving. When he finally arrived here, smoke was continuing to emit and noticeably more oil had found it's way out of the engine. He took it to a local shop and they briefly glanced under the hood, and then said he had blown his piston rings and needs a new engine and with labor it will cost appx $6000. David, my brother, just spent alot of cash repainting his car, adding a body kit, new rims and tires, new performance exhaust, and getting a tune-up. I'm having the car brought in to have it tested to find the exact cause. My question is should he look at getting a new engine, and will it really be that expensive, or should he find another eclipse to transfer his new parts?

RE: new engine or new eclipse?
 

having a bad piston ring does not necessarily mean you need a new engine. Here is what i would do just to check up on what is actually wrong. Do a compression test. from what your saying it might not even be that. The compression test will give you an idea of exactly what might be wrong. But to me it does not sound like you need a new engine. You might need to have it rebuilt but that is nowhere near the cost they quoted. It might end up being like 2k depending on where you take it. If you really needed a new engine, it wouldnt be running.

RE: new engine or new eclipse?
 

Thanks for the advice and such a quick reply! I'll have the car tested and let you know what they find out.