Head Gasket blown - replace or get a different car?

lol whatever. An alternative concept you might be familiar with is "payback"

What would I do? Fit another engine and suck it up. You wouldn't think twice about ripping off an unsuspecting buyer?

Threads like this make it real easy to spot the sociopaths

 

Even worse, recent customer of ours got sold a 2011 back in Sept 22' where the head gasket blew a week after buying, and ALSO found the previous owner rolled the Odometer back 100k on it and the new owner didn't even know (his bad but still)..I firmly believe "Payback" or "Karma" or whatever you want to call it is going to visit that person and it's not going to be nice!

 

If you have proof they rolled back the odometer you should report them to the police.
Or maybe the tag office?
It's a felony in most states. Plus get a lawyer and sue them for the cost of a new
engine and labor.
Or just let another criminal get away with it.

 

Yep. Bill thinks suckers are fair game, but not everyone takes their grievances to the Better Business Bureau

 

Last option is the best way to go. I have nerflix to watch, too trouble to pick up the phone and report the bad guys.

 

It's not JUST reporting them. This person go scammed! And screwed!
And this keeps happening because no one does anything to stop them.

 

Maybe Toyota is the first cat needing a bell? Between the EGR clogging, head gasket blowing, crappy piston rings AND lack of acknowledgement, they’re not a popular company for me. Not that the others are any different.

 

So, instead of name calling why don't you offer the OP an opinion on what to do?

Look, somewhere it is written, (in the Constitution, I believe) and it is the rule of this land:
Buyer Beware.

As stated above, you can buy any used car and a few weeks later it chits the bed. Who's to blame?
In this case it's toyota for the design.

What if you sold your Gen3 and found out a month later the new buyer started seeing coolant lose?
What Would Todd Do?
(Come on buddy, answer with real intentions. btw, BBB is not for individuals selling cars.)

What is a plan the OP can use? Anyone? All the self-righteous ones? What would you do? Sell it with a $4700 discount?

When I used Blue Devil in my Gen3 it lasted ~6 months before showing problems again and that was only when asked for 100% power on a mountain pass.
We drove home just fine. No coolant lose. And as far as I know it's still doing fine with the current owner.

Please continue!!

edit:
OK, Todd, I'm letting your words bug me. That was kind of an extreme word, no?
We're talking about used cars. Most assume the worst, or should...
I suggested giving to a charity of the OP's choice to help with,,, whatever.

Shall you and I talk about charitable giving? Shall we?
Shall we talk about donating blood on the regular? I donate platelets about 1 or 2 times a month.
That is 2-3 hrs of my time. But when you're in the 6 gallon club, you don't talk it.

Come on Todd, don't talk about me. Talk about the OP.

 

xxxxx

 

@Neets if you're still reading this off the rails thread, give gasket masters a call for a second opinion.
808 E Cota St, Santa Barbara, CA, United States, (805) 800-2550
or
5521 Holt Blvd, Montclair, CA, United States, (909) 203-0848
https://www.gasketmasters.com/about

 

I have used private sale on all my cars for decades. Most of the time I fix it up before sale but I certainly disclose any and all problems in the ads.

If it was a $4700 head gasket defect I would have it repaired rather than take that hit. Of course I would find a cost effective shop that offers a guarantee that could be advertised as a positive.

A head gasket repair at multiple places around here could be had less than $2500. In this case I might have a used engine put in for the same price. If the car was very clean , garaged and otherwise very nice (like I keep mine), I might go rebuilt installed for $3500 and bump the sale price by $1500. Especially is today's market.

Options allow honesty and integrity.

 

Thanks RJ for finally stating an perspective, like the OP asked for.

I don't understand how you'd spend "$xxx on a repair rather than taking a hit." Isn't spending this money taking the hit?
I guess if this works out financially for you at sale time, all is well.

 

You start out with an ethical mindset. I would make additional money after repairing it. The numbers I was quoting was with the work contracted out so no labor on my part.

 

OK, let's say I have the same ethical mindset as you.
I spend ~$3000 to fix up this head gasket issue before selling it.
Then ~3 month later it starts displaying the same problem, and let's say there was a warranty on that work for X time/miles.
The new owner has to come back to me bc the warranty is not transferrable.
What do I do then?
Return it to the repair shop and lie that I still own the car. And how do I compensate the new owner of that used car?

I need your ethical counseling.

At the end:
It's a used car. Buyer Beware. As-is. No warranty. But you spent all this money on it trying to make it nice for a new owner.
I used to joke that my cars are in their nicest condition just before I sell them.
But I'm not going to throw $3000 to repair a car that runs fine.
As I said, when I used Blue Devil in my coolant it seemed fine for a long time until I went back to the Rockies.

 

That's why you get at least a year warranty or better that's transferrable to the next owner should you sell it. Not rocket science and keeps your bad Karma at bay.