'99 Villager Head Gasket Repair

My Villager was overheating and I changed the thermostat. But, it was still overheating and losing a lot of water. I took it to a mechanic. They said it has a bad head gasket and possibly a cracked head. They estimated the repair to replace the head gaskets at $2000 ouch, ouch, ouch. Apparently, the head gasket set is a dealer only item and is $600.

What would you do? Would you fix it? I would have to take a loan to get it fixed. The local Ford dealer agreed to give $1000 for it towards a 2003 Taurus with less than 50K miles. It sounds like a good deal to me.

Sounds like either way you are going to have car/loan payments. What is the condition of both vehicles? After fixing the motor in the Villager, how long is the vehicle going to last you before needing other major repairs (suspension, etc.)? Is it time for a newer car? These are some of the questions you need to ask yourself. You know what you are going to use the vehicle for, what your needs are. Is the newer car going to have the room you need? Is it going to have better fuel economy to help offset the payments? You are going to have to decide.

To bad your not local to NYC area. I would have given you the 1000 and ran with it. Did your mechanic ever check the fans,water pump hoses etc. This is my take 2000 dived by 6months is 333.33 if your new car is going to cost you that much you want to put out the money for 6 months and save what you would have spent over the 36-60months of payments for the new.

To bad your not local to NYC area. I would have given you the 1000 and ran with it. Did your mechanic ever check the fans,water pump hoses etc. This is my take 2000 dived by 6months is 333.33 if your new car is going to cost you that much you want to put out the money for 6 months and save what you would have spent over the 36-60months of payments for the new.

Ya, that's generally my line of thinking as well. Most of the time it's better to do the repair. I probably would have been a good move. I went ahead with the trade. Our payments are $218/month with an extended warranty. I really don't like the idea of having a car payment. Right now we just need a reliable vehicle.

BTW, the fans were working and the water pump was working as far as I could tell. They said they made sure the Villager had a full radiator (apparently it was low when I dropped it off) and when they were running the engine for diagnostics they said one of the cylinders filled up with water and "hydra-locked the engine."

You need to stay away from those mechanics. If all you had was a bad head gasket you would have had oil in the antifreeze and a host of other things. My understanding is that if its something that you have never done b4 its best to qoute high. A head gasket that is worth 600 is a bunch of BS. I am going to call the dealer in the morning just to find out for myself. This thing would have to be made of platinum for it to cost that much or you misunderstood and he meant the head and the gasket. Either way you sold it. I would consider returning the taurus in a year and getting something from japan. I love all cars but you used the word reliable. The only reason the villager is what it is, is because its made by nissan. Wow that's alot of is and its.