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if you had a 7 year old car and there was an issue where the motor needed to be replaced (known overheat issue with the brand but not yet a class action or recall)

And given parts shortages

Has anyone ever had a good experience they want to share with a remanufactured motor with a warranty?

No experience with having it done, but you will have three options: New; remanufactured, or used (from wrecked car). With risk getting higher as you progress and part cost lower. New and reman should have a longer warranty on the engine. Used is usually 30 days at best. A significant part of your cost is going to be the labor either way. 15-20 hours at 100-200 an hour so 1500-4000. Unfortunately those engine warranties don't usually cover labor. So you are looking at 3k to 6k depending on the model. Complexity of the swap and scarcity and complexity of the engine are generally the controlling factors on the cost. To consider you really need to know how much the car is worth with a running engine and how much it is worth as is. If as is + engine replacement cost is anywhere close to intact, you may be better off selling the car to junk yard instead and investing that and any repair costs on a newer car. Another concern is this overheating issue. Is it a design defect that will be present in any replacement engine or is it something for which there is a known fix.

[This message edited by grubs at 3:42 PM, Monday, September 26th]

A couple of things to consider:
If there is a known heating issue what prevents it from happening with the replacement motor? Are you placing a new motor in there that will have the same issues 3-7 years from now?
Why is the remanufactured motor available? What is it’s origin? Like your old engine – would it be "remanufactured" and then sold on to someone else? Even if it’s a motor from a wreck or write-off then the heating issues might already have started impacting it. Your present motor lasted 7 years – you might be thinking a remanufactured motor will last the next 7 years, but maybe it’s already from a 5 year old vehicle and although it passes tests and might last some years then maybe not 7…

Other than the motor what’s the overall condition of the vehicle? What’s the value? For the price you could get for it as is plus the estimate for the motor-replacement could you get a more reliable or comparable vehicle without the known heating issue?
Define "remanufactured". If there is a known heating issue then I would worry that the block itself might have heat distortion or cracks and stuff. That can be machined back to specs, but I would prefer having a new/alternative block. I’m OK if remanufactured is that the various add-ons and parts are replaced (manifold, carb, water-pump etc), as long as the heart itself is fine.

IF the price is right AND IF the replacement motor is in mint condition (think new rather than refurbished AND IF you like the car AND IF you think the overall condition will make it last +3 years… then go ahead.

grubs correctly points out that the main cost will be in labor. There will also be some unexpected costs in engine mounts, bolts etc that are best replaced if you do this. Personally I would only do this if a) the heating issue has been dealt with in the replacement and b) its a new motor and c) I plan on owning this vehicle for at least another 7 years.

Great advice as usual. Looks like it's a manufacturer quality issue with a nicer car that is in nice shape and otherwise well maintained. At some point there may be a recall. But for now I am hearing of a lot of similar issues with the manufacturer.

I think we are hoping for 3 years for around $6000 if we can get that warranty. What everyone said reinforced what I was leaning towards (reman with parts and labor warranty). I would be willing to buy the car at scrap price and put a motor in it and drive it. And the car would be worth over $10k with the motor replaced. So I think it's a solid idea to replace if it can be done...
Thanks for the thoughts.