What each one is
A half-cut is the front half of a car, cut behind the front seats, sold with the engine, gearbox, wiring harness, ECU and often the suspension and dashboard. A nose-cut (front clip) is the section ahead of the firewall. A loose engine is just the engine, with whatever accessories are fitted to that unit; no wiring harness or ECU.
Half-cuts are popular with workshops doing engine swaps, because every connector and module comes with the engine. Loose engines are the volume product: they are what counters and workshops replace every day.
Container economics
A half-cut takes the floor space of several engines, so a container of half-cuts holds a small fraction of the units a container of loose engines holds. ENGICOR ships 90 engines in a 20-ft and 130 in a 40-ft (or 45 + 45 / 65 + 65 with gearboxes). The freight per engine is correspondingly lower, and so is the landed cost per unit — see landed cost of a container.
The trade-off is completeness. If your customers need the wiring and ECU, a half-cut saves them hunting for parts; if they are replacing an engine in a running car, they already have them.
How customs may see a half-cut
This is the risk most first-time buyers miss. A loose engine is normally classified as an engine under HS 8407 or 8408. A half-cut carries a large part of a vehicle, and some countries treat it as a used vehicle or apply vehicle rules to it — including age limits and bans. Check the classification with your clearing agent before you buy a container of half-cuts, and check the import rules atlas for your country.
What ENGICOR supplies
ENGICOR supplies loose engines only — no half-cuts or nose-cuts — Grade A, by the full container, from a large-scale Guangzhou warehouse with an inventory of 2,000+ engines. Used gearboxes are offered only inside the mixed configurations, untested and as-is.
Price a container yourself
Build the mix you want in the online quoter — 90 engines in a 20-ft or 130 in a 40-ft, or 45 + 45 / 65 + 65 with gearboxes — and the FOB total reaches your inbox the same minute, at our published per-unit prices, every engine Grade A. Prefer to ask? Tell us the destination country and the models you need and we reply within one business day, usually within hours.
Frequently asked
What is a half-cut?
The front half of a car cut behind the front seats, sold with the engine, gearbox, wiring, ECU and often the suspension.
Are half-cuts classified as engines by customs?
Not always. Some countries treat a half-cut as a used vehicle or apply vehicle rules to it, so confirm the classification with your clearing agent before buying.
Does ENGICOR sell half-cuts?
No. ENGICOR supplies loose Grade A engines only, 90 per 20-ft or 130 per 40-ft container, or 45 + 45 / 65 + 65 with gearboxes.