Does anyone know about head gaskets mines just gone and the garage have quoted me £643.00 is that about right?

Question

its a 1999 renualt megane 1.4

Answer 1

You might be better off getting a second hand engine and get it fitted may work out cheaper

Answer 2

If yopu live near Preston mail me and I will do it for half that price  

Answer 3

Hi,

   I'm amazed at the number of people paying a fortune for work on their cars!  Is there no friend or relative you can ask to strip the ancillaries off the engine for you?  You can then take the head to a machine shop, I have recently got a friends head skimmed for 25pounds - and you need a full "head-gasket set" from the dealers, which should be under sixty pounds.  It is then up to you to see if you want to have a mobile mechanic come out to re-fit the head and start the engine - agree a price beforehand, and get him a Haynes manual which lists all the torque settings which the various bolts need to be tightened to.

Answer 4

It might just help if one could see ones way to enlighteneing us as to the make and model of ones vehicle.

Just a thought.

Answer 5

Fair price for a garage quotation and the amount of work req.if head needs skimming

Answer 6

sounds pretty cheap.  Head gaskets blowin can be the source of other "head problems" so be prepared for an ever increasing bill,. I hope u dont have an engine with an aluminum head. Could be trouble brewing. best of luck with the new bank loan - ha

Answer 7

Depends on the car, a head gasket is easy to change if you know what youre doing, as long as the head  doesnt need skimed then that price is way too high,  

Answer 8

it's probably right, theres a lot of work to do, but always get a second quote.

Answer 9

Yep it's cheaper to just get a new car in most cases.

the head gasket is the part of the head cylinder which seals the unit, when it goes, the seal goes and has to be replaced, with the head being skimmed in the process. It sometimes isn't done properly and may have to be done twice. But once done, properly, it's like having a new engine, and shouldn't go again for 40k miles. If you get it done ask for the car to be serviced at the same time with a new cam belt, oil filter change etc.

Answer 10

If your head gasket goes its one of the bigger problems you can have go wrong with your engine, and will cost a good deal to fix, so this isnt wrong, although it will depend on car etc.

Answer 11

Sounds about right including parts and labour.

Answer 12

It's a 5 and a half hour job on this car....  ÃƒÂ‚£643 sounds a bit steep.

My mate has the 1.6 version ( absolute niiightmare to work on) and his HG went the other week. It's a 9hour job on that and he got it done for 650, including parts.  

Answer 13

It does sound a bit pricey! Try phoning a few more garages for quotes. Unfortunately, HG failure is one of these jobs where most of the bill is for labour, the parts themselves aren't that dear, but the job's usually a full day's work for a mechanic.  

Answer 14

It all depends on the type of job you want to have done. To strip the head down and have it skimmed, rebuild with new gaskets seals and head bolts, and then, this is where it gets expensive, fit a new cam belt and tensioners. The latter of course do not have to get done. However, no garage/mechanic worth his salts would put your car back together using the old belt etc. So, in essence you are getting two jobs done at once.Ask yourself, was your car due a new timing belt ? If so, then you can drive away without that worry for quite sometime.  

Answer 15

that is way to much get a second quote i could get it done for half that much.

Answer 16

You could probably find it a little cheaper, but that sounds about right.  The sad part is, the actual gasket costs about a fifth of that, but they're charging you for taking apart the engine.  If you can't do that yourself, then you'll have to pay.  It sucks

Answer 17

depends ow bad its gone, e.g not too bad jst new head gasket and thats bout it, or seriously bad then probably lookin at new rad, head grind, thermostat plus head set,and then the labour charge and enviromental charges, and vat if the garage is registered. all depends on car though, because prices are varied amongst car manufacturers

Answer 18

Thats slightly pricey.

Its normally £150 to take the head off. - just to look at it.

it would normally be around £300 to replace max.

i think what may have hit you here is the price of the new head!

Renault arent the cheapest for parts

Answer 19

go to a car spares shop and byuy a product called k seal pour it into the header tank run the car for 15/20 minites and problem will be sorted run the car for a few days and change the oil and check the levels then sell the car  

Answer 20

I think there's some varied advice here: A head gasket failure is not uncommon, it's also not one of the worst things that can happen - I would seriously expect you to get this work done for between £300 -£400 parts & labour.

Get a second opinion from an independent garage - ask around friends & family to see if there's somewhere they'd recommend.

Answer 21

My advice is this, find a good reputable mobile mechanic (ask around), who should be able to do this job for a lot less than you were quoted. It's not necessarily the nightmare problem some people think it is, and is a pretty straightforward job for a competent mechanic or DIYer. Make sure the head gets checked out at a local engine specialists, and skimmed if necessary. The gasket sets are relatively cheap (local motor factors, not main dealer), and get your cambelt done at the same time if it's done (say) more than half the recommended mileage. Then you'll save the labour you'd have spent having this done later on.