how much would you pay for vehicle with bad head gasket?

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Originally Posted by dishdude
Originally Posted by Nick1994
No way Jose. Blown head gasket probably means the engine overheated and blew up. Not worth your time.

I know it's boring but just save up the money and pay off that Escape so you can sell it too and just have 1 cool car you like.

Also, how do you park a Suburban in San Francisco? I drove through there 5 years ago and couldn't stop, there was NOWHERE to park at all.


Nick always brings common sense to these threads.

Forget about these humongous old bombs, drive the boring, slow Escape and enjoy living in the Bay Area. Go out and socialize, date. In a few years when you have some extra cash you can pick up a project car.


I agree 200% on this!! Escapes are VERY nice vehicles!
 
What I would do. Show up at their place and tell them to pay *you* $200 to haul it away and take it off their hands.
 
Not just no, but HECK NO!! If the engine needed a valve job or was down in compression in a cylinder or 2 maybe. But an overheat on a 300K engine? No way. Save your money and effort.
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Originally Posted by philipp10
My general take is, if the car was decent, the owners would fix the HG and sell for a higher price. If there is one thing....there are probably more hidden.
Not always, the wife could want it gone, they bought something else, inherited car, etc. PO of my 03 Jetta sunk over $3k into it over 1.5 years before I got it. They were moving to Calgary and and were asking $2k, I got it for $750. A big V8 gas guzzler might not jive with the cost of living in the Bay Area for someone who has limited income, or parking.

Motivated sellers are sometimes motivated by non-automotive factors. I've let things go for cheap that I was sick of looking at, too.
 
Salvage value especially if not drivable.

The seller only reveals the massive issue however the vehicle may be in really poor condition otherwise but was driving.

Junk heaps are fine if you can fix them DIY. But you want to pay someone.
 
Originally Posted by maxdustington
Originally Posted by philipp10
My general take is, if the car was decent, the owners would fix the HG and sell for a higher price. If there is one thing....there are probably more hidden.
Not always, the wife could want it gone, they bought something else, inherited car, etc. PO of my 03 Jetta sunk over $3k into it over 1.5 years before I got it. They were moving to Calgary and and were asking $2k, I got it for $750. A big V8 gas guzzler might not jive with the cost of living in the Bay Area for someone who has limited income, or parking.

Motivated sellers are sometimes motivated by non-automotive factors. I've let things go for cheap that I was sick of looking at, too.


coming from a self professed cheap guy cannot argue with your logic. Sometimes there are great deals if your smart about it.
 
ok so basically most people think buying it is a dumb idea some people think it would be ok for a few hundred bucks. i'll probably go look at it on tuesday just to see what's up. if it just burns a little coolant but there is no coolant in the oil and it runs and drives well i might still consider it. i'm looking at a few other trucks as well. crew cab square body is one of them
 
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Originally Posted by clinebarger
LSx engines don't just blow a head gasket for no reason......There are underlying issues that caused the engine to overheat to the point it compromised the head gaskets!

I wouldn't even attempt to save that engine after who knows how many times it's been severely overheated. Don't forget the 4L60E was also overheated!!



This. This I the first time I have seen a bone stock LS blow a head gasket, at least that I can remember.

Like for 300 bucks it would be worth it to someone like me for the interior power options or since I don't have to drive it find a 6.0/4L80E for 1500 bucks at a wrecking yard and swap it over the weekend for something to do. Otherwise? Nope, not worth it.
 
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Originally Posted by dogememe
apparently story is the radiator went out and inevitably they overheated it and now the head gasket is bad


Run away. Even in good running shape with 260K+ I wouldn't pay $1300 for that.
 
Originally Posted by dogememe
Originally Posted by dishdude
263k miles and a picture from across the street? It's scrap.


i'm having a [censored] of a time finding a clean condition vehicle for under $2k that isn't beat to heck inside and out. i understand that if i replace the head gasket probably in 6 months the tranny will go out given the way i drive and i've already killed four 4l60e transmissions.

That's because you're looking at $2k vehicles in one of the most expensive places in the US.
 
Their wording seems curious to me.

"Has head gasket issues."

So it needs a psychiatrist to reveal some repressed memories and stop the bed wetting or what? Does it need anti-depressants?

Maybe I am being paranoid, but that wording sounds like they know (or strongly suspect) there is more than just a head gasket that's busted, but they don't want to say anything to scare off optimistic folks like yourself who think it might be workable if only it's the head gasket and nothing more.

Did you check the car fax history? May be nothing there, but then again there might be a whole lot. It's free, so why not do it?

$1300 is out of the question IMHO. $500 is the max if you can determine the head gasket is all that's busted. Beyond that, it looks like 5K lbs of regret to me.
 
I decided to pass on that Suburban, and ended up buying a 95 Chevy K1500 truck in very nice condition and fully functional. Thanks all for your input!
 
Me thinks you made the right decision. I used to have. 96 Tahoe that I really enjoyed...maybe to much, but that's a whole different thread!

BTW - I still have a CD-ROM with the Chiltons manual on it for those trucks and SUVs. You can have it if you want it, just PM me.

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Originally Posted by The_Nuke
Me thinks you made the right decision. I used to have. 96 Tahoe that I really enjoyed...maybe to much, but that's a whole different thread!

BTW - I still have a CD-ROM with the Chiltons manual on it for those trucks and SUVs. You can have it if you want it, just PM me.

Thanks lol but I have Chilton and Haynes on paper. Never used them but I usually try to keep them in the truck in case I ever get stranded or something.
 
Do you like it or not? Get it cheap and drop a new engine in. Chevy V8s are dime a dozen, just as cheap to rebuild. Even if you need new heads, why not performance heads with an intake manifold and a nice cam..... you could have a nice truck by the end if it
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