Thanks for the responses so far. I'm leaning toward fixing it. The car in general and the engine in particular can be seen as a POS by many, but I can't get past the math involved. New engine+unplanned maintenance over 3-4 years might run 4 grand tops, but a 20K new/used car will depreciate a heck of a lot more than 4 grand in 4 years, plus added insurance expense. She actually likes the car. There's a chance it could go 5+ years too, why not?