MrPT wrote:OP, I do think it would be worth obtaining more info regarding the engine rebuild, if you can. Particularly for an enthusiast, who would see a well documented and financed rebuild as a big plus point rather than a turn off. My car was similar when I bought it - actually ended up being driven by the previous owner to the dealer where they printed off a full bill of materials for me (the forum at its best!). If it was done under warranty, I doubt shortcuts were taken, so you might just need to chase up the paperwork.
Sorry, i obviously wasn't clear - I have the paperwork/invoice for the warranty work on the engine - I guess the relevant line regarding the question above is "Replace engine with exchange engine"; which I take to be a replacement of the entire engine.
What I do not have have is the background to the issue that led them to replace the engine (bear in mind I didn't own it at the time); though if the invoice can be assumed to be in chronological order it looks like it was the main bearing shell issue, as they changed those first and subsequently changed the engine.
Happy to try to answer any other questions.